Isekai Bookworm: the Isekai we needed but didn't deserve, and furthermore, the most underrated and least watched Isekai of the season, that's at least getting a continuation in Spring 2020 for its 2nd cour...like how great is that! It's almost like in the slew of all-too-familiar Isekai LNs that purge the same formula as if that's the ONLY way to make it interesting, that Ascendance of a Bookworm FINALLY saw the change towards that formula to forge and become its very own thing.
*Spoilers be warned*
In the sense of realism, Isekai Bookworm retains the fantasy that the genre is all but known for, but with the twist that this is actually more of a slice-of-life than the fantastical elements it bargains at the beginning, and all but perishes it right from the start, as evident from the MC Maine (or Myne as the manga/LN states). Originally a girl named Urano Motosu who has substantial interest in books and literature with a dream to be a librarian one day, her life was cut short but not without hoping to see the dream be realized in her reincarnated afterlife. When fate strikes her a chord, she awakes into a 5-year old girl living in the Medieval era town of Ehrenfest, except that body that her soul is tugged into isn't as healthy as she'd thought. The body, frail and weak from an occurring disease, can only be cured if her passion is kept reeling in a.k.a books and literature, and so that dream she had from before, becomes her conquest to make and create modern things in old times.
First things off the bat, Isekai Bookworm is unlike similar brethrens out there trying to play the Hero counterpart to defeat evildoers, but rather, focuses on the one element that keeps it going: to find books in primitive times, because paper isn't common at all. Furthermore, the sole reason for Maine's purpose to find paper can even be referred to as a kid's struggle in trying to find something of interest in a world that the word "invention" doesn't really ring a bell towards its citizens. To make matters even worse, Maine's "upbringing" in a poor family doesn't make things any better for her as materials of paper and even books are only available for the wealthy, not to mention the ancient language that she supposedly has a hard time settling into at the start.
To counteract all this, Maine would befriend many of the character cast, starting with the family who has it rough to always take care and watch out for her flailing health: father Gunther, mother Effa and elder sister Turi, who were the first people to notice Maine's progress in both her wellbeing and inventive innovations whilst prepping her for the medieval world's terms and conditions. Along with Gunther's friend Otto's help to teach Maine about the ancient language, and Lutz, Maine's childhood friend shows up along the way when she decides that her paper-making process (that he has witnessed) be turned into a for-profit business, all looks set for the plan to be in motion. And whaddya know, his dream of being a merchant coincides with Maine's interest of selling her stuff, much to Otto's rejection being an afterthought, the two decided to cooperate, and taken to Merchant Benno, who'd supervise their business and lay off others who'd want a slice of their business for ulterior motives. And you know the intricacies of mere 5-6 year-olds in business where Maine literally has an adult's mind that shocks even the most seasoned merchants, but could still potentially be cheated due to the aggravating giveaways of her weak health. Regardless, this character cast, especially MC Maine is what hooks me onto this show for reasons.
Probably what will turn people off from this anime is the entire slice-of-life regime that is flushed all around, but trust me, that same regime is what draws me into this show with awe and fascination, at how the world could be different for what it is, going back to being children and solving problems with mistakes and failures that aren't offset from growing human life. Maine makes no attempts to sweep her failures under the rug, as her experimentation allows her to know what does and does not work to make her paper-making business flourish, and along with her "secret stash" of modern-day knowledge and education to teach the others and be wowed by such items. If you don't get what I'm trying to infer here, is that everything is damn wholesome and educational that I can't shift my eyes away from it to see what would Maine's next step forward is gonna bring onto the table.
Ajia-Do Animation Works' visuals are just perfect for this anime, the art being reminiscent of one being very light and a great mix of color palettes along with the many Maine-chibi forms of educational explanation content that are easy to watch and have fun alongside it. On the animation side, I'm just glad that there was just the right amount of animation, given that there are still sprinkles of the bits and pieces of low-budget work that exist within the anime, but are not glaringly noticeable that it affects the overall quality. Music-wise, lots of lightheartedness (and some serious notes) with the world and its worldbuilding established from the setting that it does mimic so well, and same goes to the cheery atmospheric and lovely OST by both Sumire Moroboshi and Megumi Nakajima.
For one, I'm sure that this isn't the end of Maine and her world-building shenanigans, as we'll have to wait until the 2nd cour to flesh out more of what's to come of her sickness and how that affects the people she abides by. But as much as this Iyashikei of a feeling this anime has, it's certainly one to take on a chill ride. It's very personal too and it never stops being intriguing to see things through, if that is ever anything to win hearts by.