Honzuki no Gekokujou

[Kraco]

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan o Erande Iraremasen
Ascendance of a Bookworm
https://i.imgur.com/znScyUO.jpg

"Urano, a young Japanese soon-to-be librarian, dies in an earthquake. She is reincarnated in another world as a young girl named Myne, but learns that books are scarce and only provided to prestigious elites. Myne (retaining her memories from her previous life) decides to create and print her own books so that she can read again." -Wikipedia



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I've been reading the manga adaptation of this story, one of the many isekai series I read, and quite like it. This is, as far as the manga has so far got at least, quite the opposite of the most usual isekai series these days with their overpowered main characters. Because Main (or Myne), the MC, is beyond weak. But then again, she's not fighting anything, unless it's her family's poverty. The world is more realistic than in most fantasy series by having the commoners be as piss-poor as commoners were back in the day. Many other medieval sounding social structures and facts of life are also in effect.

Naturally this does share some of the common isekai weaknesses as well, such as many very old common inventions being absent just so that the MC can introduce them. But all in all it's not so bad. The story is quite slow, at least in the manga, so if the first eps make it look like not your thing, then it probably isn't. I'm happy enough with the anime as well.

[MFauli]

Standout anime for me is Gekokujo no Honzuki. Such a wholesome show. Reminds me of the anime of 20-30 years ago, before I knew that they're 'anime'.

[neflight86]

Pretty good, slow burn feel-good type show. I look forward to her progress in making a book, and likely elevating general literacy along with it.

[Munsu]

I'm watching, just a laid back show that's easy to watch. Wonder how the magic, which we've seen glimpses of so far, will materialize as the series goes on.

Also wonder if the first scene of the series is something towards the end game of the series, or if we'll catch up to it soonish and go from there.

[Kraco]

Also wonder if the first scene of the series is something towards the end game of the series, or if we'll catch up to it soonish and go from there.

I was bloody annoyed by the first scene! I felt spoiled by it, despite being a long-time manga reader. No such spoilers happened in the manga adaptation and the manga hasn't yet reached any such point as was present in the first scene. Although I suppose the anime will overtake the manga as they usually do, so it was going to be just a temporary annoyance in any case.

[MFauli]

The feeling reminds me a lot of Kemono no Souja Erin. Although the story probably won't have similar serious twists.

[Kraco]

Episode 5


- - - - -




The mother is funny. She wants to burn everything.

[Munsu]

Episode 5


- - - - -




The mother is funny. She wants to burn everything.

Mai was a complete idiot.

[MFauli]

I wonder if that aura we've seen twice now is dangerous for others. Felt like she was about to kill that kid, then her new mother. Without truly wanting to, ofc.

[Munsu]

I wonder if that aura we've seen twice now is dangerous for others. Felt like she was about to kill that kid, then her new mother. Without truly wanting to, ofc.

Hard to tell at this point. Like at first it seemed like she was powering up towards something, then it seemed like it was a reflection of losing hope on this world and wishing to disappear from here (got sicker as a result too)... so who knows...

[MFauli]

Episode 6:

The devouring, huh? I wonder ig'f that's what's happening to Main. Tbh I'm still trying to figure out if Main's spirit killed the original Main, switched places, or fused.

Feel bad for Lutz. This is such a stiff world where nothing fresh ever happens and you don't even have much say in what you want to do. Although I thought maybe craftsmanship is great for Lutz, because he can be the one to build all the crazy devices Main tells him about. That's more interesting than most jobs, I'd guess.

Also Otto, lol, get a grip on yourself lol

[Kraco]

Feel bad for Lutz. This is such a stiff world where nothing fresh ever happens and you don't even have much say in what you want to do. Although I thought maybe craftsmanship is great for Lutz, because he can be the one to build all the crazy devices Main tells him about. That's more interesting than most jobs, I'd guess.

That's what the world used to be, more or less. In the towns, you had to be a member of a guild to have a profession where you weren't strictly serving someone. To become a member of a guild, you needed to be a master's apprentice for however long it took to learn the craft and pass the master's exam. Of course there were some schools as well, but those were often tied to the church in one way or another and/or required money/sponsor, so they were academic institutions for the elite. Becoming an apprentice, servant, soldier, sailor etc. was serious business because vagrants were not often tolerated by the law at all, at least officially.

For Lutz it was great his background was such because it means he actually can make stuff for Main, for the time being. Assuming he manages to become a merchant, he can merely supervise the production or subcontract it, in order to have stuff to sell. That's what he wants to do.

[Munsu]

Episode 7:

So now we know, she's just untrained (and doesn't have the means) to control her excess of mana.

[MFauli]

Which made me wonder if the other devouring kids also were 'travellers' like Main.

The big thing in this episode, however, was how Lutz started figuring out she's not the real Main, right? This makes me want to know w things:

1.) What happened to original Main? Did she die and Main took over OR did Main, unintentionally of course, kill her?

2.) How will people react to finding out? Especially her parents? Tbh they should have long noticed that this isn't their Little girl anymore.

[Kraco]

I suppose her obsession with books, which is pretty ridiculous for a commoner in that world, is helping masking her weirdness in people's eyes. Perhaps the parents think she's so strange because of the frequent fevers. Superstitions and all that. As long as she hasn't pulled off anything truly outrageous, people would overlook a lot since she's a kid. Lutz's pov would be a bit different because he's also a kid himself, so he would view Main as a peer and thus more readily notice odd things.

[MFauli]

But the way she talks to adults that aren't her parents? That she's about to make paper?

The shampoo can be explained as coincidence. Paper? Not so much.

[Kraco]

But the way she talks to adults that aren't her parents? That she's about to make paper?

The shampoo can be explained as coincidence. Paper? Not so much.

It's indeed an interesting question what makes Benno trust so much in her. Of course he's really happy he got to buy the rights to the shampoo, but he's quite ready to invest in her paper venture as well. On the other hand she's not asking for any small loan of a million dollars, so he's not risking much presently. Perhaps the culture believes in divinely inspired people or something. At the end of the day, he's a businessman, so when he smells a potential for profit, he will go for it, even if it involves a weird kid.

Otto must simply think she's super talented.

[David75]

Benno knows about magic and the Devouring. So it might not be that strange to have a little child speaking on equal footing with him.
He also immediatly understood the value there's in Main with the Kanzashi and Shampoo, because it seems some of his business(es) deal with clothing/apparel.
So when she talks about a new and cheaper way to get paper in a world where it is a rarity for nobles, of course he listens...
Also, let's be cynical: Main dying quick is his way out the contract. It's not a surprise he wants the first batches of paper right before her baptism as he knows it might be her time limit.
Although we know she won't die and will meet that priest who is probably key to her survival... And Benno might be the one helping her getting proper help because it also serves his interrests for the future when he understands the true depths of Main knowledge and the large number of new markets he can create thanks to her.

[MFauli]

Hello dead forum :(

Anyway, next episode should be inteResting. fighting the devouring.

Btw if Lutz told Main he loves her and Main accepted, she'd be a pedophile, right? 🐧🙈

[Kraco]

This anime flows quite smoothly. As a manga reader, at least, I haven't got any complaints, aside from the spoilers in the kind of extra parts of the episodes.


Episode 10



Main's collapse was quite phenomenal. Benno's attitude was proper for a businessman: He doesn't care as long as there's coin to make.

[David75]

Benno now understands how far ahead Main is, and paper/shampoo/hair ornaments are minuscule scrapes compared to the vast potential she still has.
But he also is very cautious not to break her and will probably search and find ways to solve or at least tame the devouring.
I wonder if he knows about how Main should has to remain motivated and avoid ill feelings, because somehow I think he tried to train her to some realities that align with that.

[MFauli]

I actually hope she'll find a cure. Or just details about the devouring, considering she's from another world. Frieda's existence implies that not everyone suffering from the devouring is from another world, so maybe Main gets special privilege once she tells the right person.

[David75]

Since there's a religious guy appearing in the official spoilers, he probably is part of the solution.
My guess is there's some kind of spiritual training to control your spiritual and body energies.
Mages probably are a thing in that world. Magic is used in contracts, so my guess her powers will find ways out of her body and solve the devouring as it's depicted: too much energy inside a box that's too small.

[Kraco]

Benno now understands how far ahead Main is, and paper/shampoo/hair ornaments are minuscule scrapes compared to the vast potential she still has.
But he also is very cautious not to break her and will probably search and find ways to solve or at least tame the devouring.
I wonder if he knows about how Main should has to remain motivated and avoid ill feelings, because somehow I think he tried to train her to some realities that align with that.

Benno is quite an interesting character. He basically gives nothing for free, but he gives Main (and Lutz on the side) excellent opportunities to earn coin and learn a lot in the process. I'm not sure if he actually had any means to save Main, per se, although I imagine he would have the means to help her somewhat immediately, for the time being. But he doesn't want to, as long as he figures Main can do it on her own, with a few pointers. Seeing how he suspects he could get a whole lot of crazy ideas out of Main, it's intriguing he is doing this, instead of trying to bind her to his business more directly.

[MFauli]

Episode 11:

Uh, made me cry several times :(

I'm still hoping that Main can figure out a way to cure the devouring. That would probably bring her enough fame to make all the books she wants.

... ah, so sad ...

[Kraco]

Back when reading the manga, I was wondering what's the background of the whole magic thing in that world. It's known the nobles are monopolising magic and all the benefits it grants, assuming creating the magic items also requires magic. We don't know if it's possible to actually use magic directly, like hurl fireballs, which would naturally explain how the nobles became nobles in the first place if it's possible. All in all this also explains why the nobles are more than happy to let any commoners with mana (causing devouring) to simply die as children.

However, this doesn't actually explain the very beginning. Like if the first humans with mana couldn't naturally spend it and thus were doomed to have it accumulate until it killed them, how did those humans survive in the first place and pass on their genes? This suggests there must be a natural way to get rid of the excess mana. Yet even rich merchants' children are doomed to die without the magic tools of astronomical price only sold by nobles. So, how does it all work? One possibility is that the people who originally did have the magic capability came from elsewhere. Their original environment had a readily available natural resource that conducted the mana out of them. Now the magic tools are made of the material. However, the information about that is closely guarded by the nobles in this city/country, and they would only import enough of the stuff to satisfy their own needs (to create the magic tools of any kind sold to buyers with lots of coin). Maybe there are also magic weapons the nobles only possess, to keep themselves in power.

We actually saw a scene earlier with the weird tree that was, perhaps, activated by Main's mana. Maybe that's only one example of the useful materials. Still, this is all nothing but my own speculation as I haven't read the novel, and the anime is catching up to the manga fast.

[MFauli]

I started reading your posting, but then stopped. Kraco, did you read the manga past the current anime episode or not? I don't want to be spoiled by passive spoilers (a la 'no, thing hasn't been explained yet') :/

[Kraco]

I started reading your posting, but then stopped. Kraco, did you read the manga past the current anime episode or not? I don't want to be spoiled by passive spoilers (a la 'no, thing hasn't been explained yet') :/

Yes, the manga is, kind of, still a tiny bit ahead of the anime. I say kind of because this anime's very beginning was actually further ahead than the manga, as strange as it sounds like. I don't personally feel like I spoiled anything, but I respect your point of view since technically you are correct about your passive-negative technique. I started the post like that because I was talking about my thoughts back when the manga was at this point of the story.

That being said, with this anime's beginning as it was, I actually couldn't give you any real spoilers even if I tried to.

[David75]

I also think trombe might be part of a solution for Main. And it would be two birds with one stone, since trombe fibers are at the core of her paper manufacturing. And even a third bird as she'd be the only one able to really control trombe, so she could really secure her market.

[Kraco]

I also think trombe might be part of a solution for Main. And it would be two birds with one stone, since trombe fibers are at the core of her paper manufacturing. And even a third bird as she'd be the only one able to really control trombe, so she could really secure her market.

It looked pretty dangerous, though. She might get seriously injured experimenting with the trombe.

[MFauli]

Episode 12:

Aww, it was so cute when Main did the silly prayer posture to express her excitement at the end :D

Bummer that the devouring was kinda forgotten though, except for the rushed beginning part.

[David75]

I was waiting for the devouring to show or for the medallion part to create a ruckus or reaction from the priest.
But her personality got her directly to a higher target.

I'm still a little uneasy with the too good to be true medieval setting.
Benno, my man, beware of illicit behavior with a loli...

[Kraco]

I'd assume the remaining two eps will be spent to catch up with the very beginning of the first episode. Don't ask me since this has almost caught up with the manga. Apparently the second season will launch in April.


Bummer that the devouring was kinda forgotten though, except for the rushed beginning part.

What do you mean? The whole conversation with Frida was directly about it and how she would rather die free, spending the rest of her days with her family, than live as a slave, never seeing her family again. Her general weakness was present in the whole episode.


I'm still a little uneasy with the too good to be true medieval setting.


This is more believable than most fantasy, which are more or less easy living, apart from needing to fight demons and whatnot. I'm not sure I understand what exactly you are referring to. Or are you saying this looks too realistic, which you won't believe to last?

[MFauli]

I hoped to see more about the devouring itself, not just some farewell talk. That's what I mean. See David's posting, something happening during the baptism. If anyone knows more about the devouring, it's gotta be priests. Although we saw the blue haired guy from the opening for the first time ...

[David75]

Too good to be true: where's human evil side in that show ?
It might be I have a pavlovian reaction.

[Kraco]

Too good to be true: where's human evil side in that show ?
It might be I have a pavlovian reaction.

How would it show? The people we are seeing are mostly quite poor. However, you can see the harshness of life, the inequality, and all that stuff all over the place. There's plenty of structural evil in that world. Fortunately we aren't seeing the usual rogues, bullies, thieves, and such from the regular fantasy series occupying every street corner. With the medieval laws as they were, those guys would be executed in no time.

[MFauli]

I never thought this world was particularly 'good'. People work all day, have no entertainment outside of probably the most basic shit, and you can't even travel without losing everything.

It's pretty realistic actually in that way. As long as you submit to society's demands, you're fine. Have a head of your own? Problems

[David75]

Pavlovian as in used to those anime trends.And of course I noticed life is not easy and pretty much as you described.
It's just a bit surprising Main did not meet people with evil intentions pertaining to her many knowledges, thus high value.

[Kraco]

Pavlovian as in used to those anime trends.And of course I noticed life is not easy and pretty much as you described.
It's just a bit surprising Main did not meet people with evil intentions pertaining to her many knowledges, thus high value.

Not so many know about it. Benno is a businessman. He has been looking for ways to benefit from Main's otherwordly knowledge all along. However, he also happens to know Main can drop dead at any moment, so any pressure is to be limited. He's not particularly rich, has worked hard for his own business, and thus is not rotten by default. He has been quite strict with Main, but I'd say it was partially due to Lutz being a part of the deal, and Benno definitely can't be gentle at all with Lutz to make a decent merchant out of the kid. On the other hand Main desperately needed some reality checks.

Frida is the other outsider who has been directly dealing with Main more. She considers Main her friend, though, and is still a kid herself, so obviously she wouldn't be the first to try to exploit Main. There are a few other people who know something, but they only know scattered details, so it's more likely they wouldn't imagine Main must be a mountain of priceless secrets.

All in all I don't consider it, at this point, yet so strange there haven't been around too many unscrupulous people interested in her.

[MFauli]

Episode 14:

Fantastic finale!

You know, I hate the whole 'sudden awakening' thing in most anime/games/movies these days, especially iseksi-anime tend to be really cheap about it. But Honzuki pulled it off nicely.

It actually felt chillimg, because I absolutely didn't expect Main to go full-on possessed witch-girl :D Was a cool moment.

And I liked the nasty head priest. That was the first time we got a glimpse of tthe reality of this world's society beyond the 'work hard and be happy' so far. I actually was really scared for the parents :( the dad is such a likeable dude, but he totally would've gotten him and his wife killed if it wasn't for Main's crushing. Phew. I really want to hug these two parents and tell them 'you're awesome' ❤

Anyway, this is a nice ending point for season 1. Season 2 is now my most wanted together with Beastars S2. I feel fortunate that I got 2 such great shows this season :]

[Munsu]

Really enjoyed this season as well, surprised I endured it given the subject matter and the lack of "action", but how awesome was she at the end?

[Kraco]

Yeah, this is quite different from the majority of isekai stock. No OP MC and little action/adventure. Not totally unique as there are all sorts of isekai these days. The traditional setting of the MC needing to struggle worked well. I'm happy this anime adaptation wasn't terrible. You never know these days.

[Kraco]

Episode 16



- -- -- --




What sort of street rat was Gil before becoming a gray robe? You'd think he at least didn't grow up as a servant of the main temple and develop a personality like that. He should be transferred into the army or navy, where they would beat the attitude out of him. He could work as a kitchen monkey or something, until old enough to become a soldier/sailor.

It's an interesting thing about the manners and speech. In the past the aristocracy developed their own way of behaving and conducting their business partially to set themselves apart from the commoners.

[MFauli]

Yes, I find it irritating, too, how openly rude he is towards Main. You'd think he'd be scared of punishment from other blue robes or masters.

Well, for now we'll get 2 more episodes of Main winning over her other 2 servants. Best scene was when she stared at them angrily with her crazy magic eyes :D

I hope this season makes some real progress, though. Honestly, this series could make good use of a time skip sooner rather than later. Lutz becoming a full fledged trader, Main becoming a respected priestess, and then showing some romance between her and Lutz, and also hearing new rumors of a way to heal the sickness.

So much potential. I love this anime :o

[Kraco]

Yeah, I kept all the time expecting some kind of more dramatic development or time skip. Never appeared. Main is still as weak as ever, even if she doesn't need to fear for her life anymore, being able to donate mana regularly. I guess it makes sense, after all, since they couldn't have had a time skip without Main first having a way of surviving. Now, however, they could have one at any time since there's basically nothing preventing her from living a long life. It would be good if she got a bit older as right now being a tiny brat affects her position/authority automatically. Will the scope get larger if there's a time skip? Who knows?

[Kraco]

Episode 17


-- - - - -

Hmm... While now the anime has already sped past the manga, I can still wonder at the scene of Main & Lutz arriving at the temple and how Gil was admonished. It was inferior here in the anime, compared to the manga. I wonder which was is closer to the novel source. If it's this anime, it's no wonder the manga did it differently.

Nevertheless, all in all (especially if I ignore some details in the anime in favour of the manga), Gil's redemption wasn't that bad. At the end of the day, the kid never had anyone who needed him or appreciated anything he did, and then he lost even the little he did have (food, of all things) when he was ordered to serve Main. While it doesn't excuse his rotten behavior earlier, it does explain why he became such, keeping in mind the highest leader around is the utterly corrupt fool, which undoubtedly affects how everything is handled in the place. I'd say Gil's reform wasn't out of place, as soon as he understood that if he does his best, it will actually matter, and it will give him the greatest reward, that is, good food, plus some appreciation. He wasn't actually evil, wasn't ordered by anyone to make things difficult for Main, or anything like that, so it's okay he changed so fast. It seems obvious he didn't work properly in the past (before Main) because he viewed all tasks as punishments and it didn't seem to matter whether he works or not.

Delia is a bit different, though. Maybe she did have a previous experience of abandonment, who knows, but I feel like she turned a new page a bit too easily. But then again, she's an idiot, so what looks like inconsistency in the plot, may actually be valid. There's still the distinct danger that one word the temple head, and she will again do something unnecessary. Because she's too stupid to even recognise her own benefit.

[MFauli]

Ngl, I cried a bit when Gil realized that Main was being honestly well-meaning towards him, and him clearly showing that this is the first time in his life that someone showed positive feelings for him. Made me want to hug that little, brave guy. :(

It really goes to show that while this anime looks like a children's show, it's deeply rooted in a very cruel world that has a very tight framework within that people get to live their life.

I don't expect this anime to progress that long, but I'd hope that Main eventually works her way up and helps fundamentally change this world's society for the better.

[Kraco]

I don't expect this anime to progress that long, but I'd hope that Main eventually works her way up and helps fundamentally change this world's society for the better.

She's already making the place a whole lot better by introducing pizza and lasagne. And paper, but who cares; paper doesn't taste good.

[MFauli]

Yeah, but how about introducing human rights? 🤷*🤷*🤷*

[Munsu]

I missed this was starting, time to catch up.

[Kraco]

Yeah, but how about introducing human rights? ��*��*��*

If she really wants to change things that way, she needs to give them the printing press. Together with the cheap paper, it would cause the world to change dramatically over time, just like it did in our world. Not that she would live to see it, as it would still take more than a single person's lifetime, but a huge change extremely fast might be too much to expect anyway.

[MFauli]

Episode 18:

Omg, this anime made me cry a little again when those poor orphans at the end understood that someone who cares about them appeared.

But i also have to say, Main was awfully reluctant to help them in the beginning. I know It's usually the 'stupid hero does things without thinking' thing to do, but here i found it actually unrealistic how reluctant she was. Someone from the real world should instantly want to help and insist on it. I can't see myself being all 'oh well, i can't do anything, let them die'. To insist on help in this case isn't really heroic, It's normal imo.

Things worked out in the end, but not without Main being given several pushes.

[Munsu]

Episode 18:

Omg, this anime made me cry a little again when those poor orphans at the end understood that someone who cares about them appeared.

But i also have to say, Main was awfully reluctant to help them in the beginning. I know It's usually the 'stupid hero does things without thinking' thing to do, but here i found it actually unrealistic how reluctant she was. Someone from the real world should instantly want to help and insist on it. I can't see myself being all 'oh well, i can't do anything, let them die'. To insist on help in this case isn't really heroic, It's normal imo.

Things worked out in the end, but not without Main being given several pushes.

I disagree, at least in being reluctant to help, etc. My main problem with her was that she didn't show empathy at all, that's the issue here, the rest follows.

But reluctancy to help I can't say it is a given that someone would do it, but the lack of empathy to me was the biggest thing that seemed uncharacteristic of her.

Yes, we know she has a twisted set of priorities, but till now she at least has shown to be someone who cares about others. At least I thought so. Now we have her rationalizing it all as as a means of having her own sweatshop.

[Kraco]

You have forgotten that she has been living in that world for a while already and has also suffered and almost died a number of times. She has lived in the paucity of the commonors in a class society and gotten used to it. I reckon it might have served this series well to have her witness a death of someone she knew, but I guess that would have hurt the fluff too much. All in all, nevertheless, she didn't like seeing kids starve to death, but it wasn't as big a shock for her anymore as it would have been if she had just got isekaied yesterday. She already recognises it as a part of that world, even if she doesn't like it and wants to change it. This is also reflected by her way of talking about it, such as saying he wants to change it to have a peace of mind for reading. When your life is hard, you cut the crap, essentially. When she says those who don't work, they don't eat, she really means it.

If I was disappointed by something in this ep, it's how childish Main is. Wasn't she an adult when she died? She sometimes acts her apparent age far too well.

[MFauli]

There's an argument to be made that your appearance affects your mind, too.

[DarthEnderX]

Watched all of this over the last two days. Surprisingly entertaining.

[DarthEnderX]

19

---

I think it's hilarious that she's basically running a sweatshop, and that's considered to be a huge improvement.

[MFauli]

Tau fruits being able to remove mana is maybe the most important finding from this episode. It was kinda mentioned quickly only, but as Benno said, it could have massive ramifications.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, like, why did NOBODY care that when she picked up a normal fruit, it turned into a goddamn monster seed?

That seems pretty fucking important.

Also...WHY THE FUCK IS SHE STILL SICKLY? If she's having her mana drained now, why is the Devouring still regularly taking her out?

[MFauli]

Maybe she's got leukemia on top of the devouring - some real drama 🙈

[Kraco]

We don't know if it really was a regular tau fruit or some freak fruit that just looked like a normal one. Main would need to test it out a few times at least before jumping into conclusions. It seems pretty strange nobody would know of it if it was 100% systematic.

I'd guess Main is still sickly because she was so weak for such a long time. Perhaps she will need more time to build stamina up to normal human levels. If it's not that, then it means there's something more wrong about her status. I bet the higher nobles would know more, but there's no way they would tell.

[Munsu]

Tau fruits being able to remove mana is maybe the most important finding from this episode. It was kinda mentioned quickly only, but as Benno said, it could have massive ramifications.

Well, first we'll need to find out if it was because it was a trombe in the first place. To that end, what is the relationship between the tau fruit and the trombe and what's the nature of a trombe...

Is it something that in general a tau fruit morphes into given certain conditions, or is a trombe a trombe intrinsically and it can disguise itself as other plants, etc.?

[Kraco]

Episode 20


- - - -



Lots of crying in this episode. Lutz's old man is seriously bad at communications. All in all I feel like most of the brains in that family have concentrated inside Lutz's head.

This felt a bit like an unneeded episode. I thought Lutz's family had already accepted his merchant future.

[MFauli]

I must have missed something , because this was seriously dumb otherwise. His dad completely shits on his chosen path, his mom, too, hid brother starts a fight at his work place, then his parents annoy the whole store, too.

And Lutz is the one who misunderstood his dad?

Oooookay :/

[Munsu]

Yeah, this made no sense at all. They fight, they then harass Lutz at work, then they say that he could have done whatever the heck he wanted all along??

[neflight86]

I don't really get it, either. I guess the most charitable interpretation is that his dad wanted him to stop seeking approval for his decisions, and instead just 'man up' and take responsibility for making them happen.

[MFauli]

I don't really get it, either. I guess the most charitable interpretation is that his dad wanted him to stop seeking approval for his decisions, and instead just 'man up' and take responsibility for making them happen.

Toxic patriarchy

[Munsu]

I'm of mind that this is either a half-assed filler or something must've been cut from the original novel that made more sense of this event.

[MFauli]

Episode 22:

I kinda wanted to find out what animals *do* exist, when pigs and wolves are unbeknownst to everyone ��

[DarthEnderX]

I was happy with that scene cause she was reading the book and I was like "Do they even have pigs and wolves?" And then they didn't. :p

Was happy that she finally made a book. Disappointed that it's a children's Bible...

[MFauli]

Was happy that she finally made a book. Disappointed that it's a children's Bible...

Tbh though, in a society where most people can't read, even a bible is welcome literature.

[DarthEnderX]

I mean, the Bible was OUR first printed book, so I guess it makes sense.

[Kraco]

Considering the book was published, if you can call it that, right on the premises of the grand temple, I would have been surprised if the high priest hadn't suggested to make it religious scriptures if Main herself hadn't said so first. Nevertheless, even by using this sort of wood carving printing technique, Main could already make money. She should be more careful before introducing the Gutenberg printing press, as it was a revolutionary piece of technology. It could potentially bring a whole lot of attention upon her.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah, the printing press was revolutionary, for created the exact thing that she wants. So she's ain't gonna be careful for shit!

"Oh, this might start a revolt where the peasants get smart and overthrow the nobles? I don't give a FUCK! GIMMIE BOOKS!"

[MFauli]

Her bringing mass produced print media to the world is the most exciting part atm. The rest of the episode felt rather slow, though. I hope we'll get a season 3 soon.

[DarthEnderX]

The most exciting thing would be her learning magic, cause you know she'd be a supermage with her supermana.

And I desperately want to see what this world's magic system is like. And how she'll break it.

[Munsu]

The most exciting thing would be her learning magic, cause you know she'd be a supermage with her supermana.

And I desperately want to see what this world's magic system is like. And how she'll break it.

I'm just hoping she goes all Carrie on us again...

[MFauli]

I want a time skip!

- young woman Main, a real beauty
- engaged with Lutz
- has learnt magic
- travels with Lutz in a waghon, spreading books all over the world
- being persecuted by aristocrats

[DarthEnderX]

I'd much rather, ya know, SEE how those thing happen rather than skip over them.

[MFauli]

I'd much rather, ya know, SEE how those thing happen rather than skip over them.

Sure, if we're guaranteed 10 seasons ... :p

[Kraco]

Episode 23


- - - -


Wasn't Main an adult in her original world? It's kind of amazing how witless she sometimes (very often) is and how she really can't see her own benefit pretty much ever. She dreams of books and libraries in a world where books are extremely expensive, yet she has zero interest in making money, despite money having already saved her life. Like what the heck was her argument with Benno even supposed to be about? How is she going to spread books around if not by selling them, huh? She needs capital, capital, and more capital.

To really put books on everybody's tables and fill public libraries and bookstores with them, she also needs get her paper making a couple of gears higher. She needs to set her sights on proper water powered paper mills. For that she absolutely needs her own riches because nobody's going to lend an ear to her strange talks. She understands nothing of this, though, surprisingly enough.

[Munsu]

Episode 24:



Nice to see the potential of the trombe and why it's such a problem, but I was kinda hoping for a human on human battle, so was letdown on that regard.

[DarthEnderX]

That thing is soooooo much paper!

It's funny seeing that thing and then knowing she's been growing those things in the yard...

[Kraco]

The high priest will start to accumulate gray hairs due to how much work looking after Main is. He can never count on her not screwing up as soon as she leaves his line of sight.


That thing is soooooo much paper!

It's funny seeing that thing and then knowing she's been growing those things in the yard...

Yeah. Not just a few people would probably suffer a heart attack if they heard Main has been basically cultivating them in great numbers, with practically no safety measures in place.

[DarthEnderX]

I was getting pretty annoyed at the Head Priest constantly say "Stop acting surprised at stuff!"

If you don't want her to be surprised, fucking tell her what she's going to see beforehand.

The unmitigated gall to be like, "Hey former street urchin, stop gazing in wonder at this MAGIC FLYING ANIMAL RIDE!"


Yeah. Not just a few people would probably suffer a heart attack if they heard Main has been basically cultivating them in great numbers, with practically no safety measures in place.What do you mean? She's GOT kids with hatchets! What could be safer!

[Kraco]

I was getting pretty annoyed at the Head Priest constantly say "Stop acting surprised at stuff!"

If you don't want her to be surprised, fucking tell her what she's going to see beforehand.

The unmitigated gall to be like, "Hey former street urchin, stop gazing in wonder at this MAGIC FLYING ANIMAL RIDE!"


I can never remember which one is the head priest, which one the high priest... Are you sure you remembered it correctly?

I actually disagree with you slightly here. She needs to learn how to remain cool and calm even when something surprising happens, or rather, especially then. If she's forewarned, it's no surprise and she wouldn't have a surprised reaction, at most a delighted one. So, he needs to keep pushing her and then reprimanding her every time, until it sinks in and she gets rid of that reaction.


What do you mean? She's GOT kids with hatchets! What could be safer!

Absolutely right. My mistake.

[DarthEnderX]

I can never remember which one is the head priest, which one the high priest... Are you sure you remembered it correctly?Yes. Ferdinand(the good one), is called Head Priest. At least in the Horriblesubs version.

[MFauli]

Episode 25:

I can never tell when someone's gonna side with Main or give her shit.

That class system is so frustrating, but the pacing is too slow to expect Main bringing meaningful chance. How far ahead is the manga?

[DarthEnderX]

Well they mostly want her to behave more, but she almost fucking died because of that dipshit, it makes more sense to side with her, especially since she's a valuable resource.

Yeah, the class system is the worst. It worked out this time, but only because the highest ranking person present happened to not be an asshole, not because the system works.

[Munsu]

I was hoping Main would go berserk...

[DarthEnderX]

I was hoping Main would go berserk...Nah, you have to threaten her loved ones for that, not her.

[Munsu]

Nah, you have to threaten her loved ones for that, not her.

He hit her retainer and I'm sure that by now she has plenty of affection for him.

[MFauli]

I was hoping Main would go berserk...

Yes! I was so hoping for some 'KANEEEEDA!' action. Unfortunately, nothing.

And they probably would have called her a monstet then -_-

[Kraco]

I imagine the rotten knight actually wanted her to go berserk, giving him ample justification to strike her down. It's hard to say if Main could have brought down the knight first with her raw mana power, devoid of any spells. The knight might posses some defences against such simple attacks. In that sense it's good Main is slowly learning to behave, even if it's frustrating to watch scenes like this. If she ever gets powerful and influential enough, she doesn't anymore need to bow her head, but right now she's neither.


How far ahead is the manga?

The manga is quite a bit behind now.

[DarthEnderX]

He hit her retainer and I'm sure that by now she has plenty of affection for him.I mean, he punched him.

The High Priest was gonna EXECUTE HER PARENTS.

[Munsu]

I imagine the rotten knight actually wanted her to go berserk, giving him ample justification to strike her down. It's hard to say if Main could have brought down the knight first with her raw mana power, devoid of any spells. The knight might posses some defences against such simple attacks. In that sense it's good Main is slowly learning to behave, even if it's frustrating to watch scenes like this. If she ever gets powerful and influential enough, she doesn't anymore need to bow her head, but right now she's neither.



The manga is quite a bit behind now.

I would assume he'd be interested in how the Light Novels are going.

[Kraco]

Episode 26 Final



-- - - -



Others are starting to notice Main's latent high mana potential, but she herself has no idea of it or how much it matters, naturally. The head priest now finally also understands the real value of Main's esoteric knowledge, something that Benno realised a long time ago. It's actually a good thing the head priest took this long to realise it because it allowed him to learn the quirks of Main's personality, especially her obsession with books.

I hope the last words mean a third season is a possibility, not that the story continues in the novels.

[MFauli]

I hope the last words mean a third season is a possibility, not that the story continues in the novels.


I sure hope so, too! :Y

Hated the adoption talk, though. We already had this and it's sure to create big drama again. Although something will happen to actually make it happen. Since I really doubt they're gonna kill her parents, I'd assume they tell her that it's just a formality and she can still visit her "real" parents.

[Kraco]

Yeah, the adoption talk was annoying, but it's also realistic. The nobles wouldn't understand why Main would ever refuse such a chance. It's like a promotion from Earth to Heaven (not in the sense of dying). On the other hand it's also absolutely correct that few other things could protect Main better in a scenario where her power and knowledge start to attract more attention. I have a feeling in that world an established noble could send men to snatch a commoner from the streets, and nobody would or could do anything about it. On the other hand it is also irritating how Main needs to bow so low in front of the worst idiot nobles.

[DarthEnderX]

Now that he knows she's a secret adult, Head Priest is totally going to marry her.

[Munsu]

So we come full circle to the beginning of the season, which made us think the Priest was experiencing all of this through her mind. But it looks like the "procedure" was less intrusive.

Looking forward to a continuation.

[MFauli]

https://twitter.com/anime_booklove/status/1282271086294388741

3rd anime season confirmed!
Best news

[Munsu]

Awesome, thanks.

[Kraco]

Jolly news indeed!

[MFauli]

Has this aired already? Seeing episodes 1 and 2 on certain sites, but according to LiveChart, it's still over a week until it starts.

Edit: Ah, they're recaps.

[MFauli]

episode 27:

Aaand it's back, too! Lovely episode. Main about to built a book press machine, nice :D Guttenberg would be proud of her.

I have to admit, I didn't quite understand (or remember) what this whole thing was about ink and different ink. Also why did Main sign a contract where she promises not to use ink anymore? Won't her book press use a type of ink, anyway?

Random detail that somehow catched my eyes: The nice smoke effect coming from the houses in town.

[DarthEnderX]

So pleasa-OH NO! Kidnappers!

[Kraco]

I have to admit, I didn't quite understand (or remember) what this whole thing was about ink and different ink. Also why did Main sign a contract where she promises not to use ink anymore? Won't her book press use a type of ink, anyway?

Although I don't exactly remember her negotiations with the ink guild, but in any case, their ink wasn't good for her, so she came up with a new one. However, in that medieval society every craft belongs to a particular guild. Maybe it's not by law (exclusive rights granted by the crown) in that country, but it's at least by heavy tradition. So, if she keeps making her own ink, it would automatically mean the ink guild is her enemy. The ink is, after all, the ink guild's livelihood. Back in the day, before the free market, guilds held monopolies in their particular fields. It ensured the prices stayed high as it limited the number of craftsmen and thus competition. So, all craftsmen earned enough from their work. It sucks for consumers, but consuming is quite a new concept anyway. Historically, common people earned barely enough to survive.

Theoretically if Main sold the production method to the ink guild and then bought her ink from them (let's hope the contract said something about the price), the guild should have nothing to worry about anymore. However, since they still kept doing something suggesting stalking and possibly kidnapping, I reckon the guild master is a real scumbag who's interested in more than just running his guild.

[DarthEnderX]

However, since they still kept doing something suggesting stalking and possibly kidnapping, I reckon the guild master is a real scumbag who's interested in more than just running his guild.I mean, they showed as much. Someone is paying him to go after her.

[Kraco]

I mean, they showed as much. Someone is paying him to go after her.

It seems potentially quite risky to go after a blue robe priestess. A blue robe indicates nobility, who can use magic. Furthermore, the temple can't possibly ignore such actions and still maintain face. If the temple bans a person, and their family, it could be quite a social and even professional suicide. If the temple in this series' world is even half of what the church was in medieval Europe, that is.

[DarthEnderX]

The person paying also appeared to be wearing priest robes.

[Kraco]

The person paying also appeared to be wearing priest robes.

Oh. I thought he was just a random noble. Then it certainly would be more complicated. However, the ink guild master should be all the more careful in that case. Dead men tell no tales, and all that.

[DarthEnderX]

Oh. I thought he was just a random noble.I mean, it might have been, but it looked like blue robes, so I assumed priest.

[neflight86]

I was surprised how fast I got back in the 'swing of things' this episode. Looks like the first books finally happened after all, so now there's progress to parallel the increasingly shady back door dealings surrounding Mein. This series is (if I remember correctly) particularly good at juggling multiple things simmering at the same time, so I'm excited.

[MFauli]

episode 28:

The ending left me confused: Is Main being adopted by Lord Karstedt now or is she not? The last exchange made it sound like she'll be able to see her family until she's 10 years old, then she'll enroll a royal academy, supposedly as Karstedt's daughter? Not quite sure why Main suddenly agreed to this. Or will she stay with her parents? I would have expected a firm "I already have a father!" at some point here, but it never came.

I'm hopeful we'll get a little time skip soon, though. Although I forgot her current age. 8?

Also, I hope after all this "you cannot control your powers", I hope Main actually starts to learn how to use her powers, lol.

[DarthEnderX]

She gives up way to easily when someone tells her something's improper. She should be more demanding than she is.


Also, I hope after all this "you cannot control your powers", I hope Main actually starts to learn how to use her powers, lol.I assume that's what the academy is for.

[Kraco]

Main is quite an airhead, in the end. All she cares about are her family/friends and books. Her background is a peaceful literature girl from Japan, so conflict isn't really in her nature, either. She has almost died multiple times already due to the sickness in this isekai, so it makes sense she won't instinctively look far into the future but rather try to gain as much as she can in the short term. I'd say this explains why she can accept conditions that allow her to keep going for now, even if a change is dictated to happen mere couple of years later. Before entering the temple, she had to more or less accept she wouldn't even be alive after two years.

In the end Main is a highly dangerous entity for much of that society. Not only because she's a commoner with a huge amount of mana, but also because she's changing things. Those in power usually don't like change as it might threaten their position. Only if the change clearly benefits them, it can be a good thing, but even so they might be called radicals for it. Main actually has more or less the best allies she can because as a non-aristocratic merchant Benno doesn't care about social norms as much as he cares for profit. On the other hand, Ferdinand, the high priest, is kind of a disgruntled young noble, so he's not about immediately eliminating everything that could in any way harm his/his family's way of life.

[neflight86]

I wonder what her social life was like in her previous life. At face value, you'd assume she was a borderline shut in (at the library) who only wanted to read books all day, every day, with no need for human connection. Maybe it has been the years in this world (or perhaps a more affectionate family), but Main's homesickness is pretty pronounced. Its sad to see, and one of the few times in anime where the construct of the suffering involved with loneliness has been at all effective on me on an emotional level. I'm sure it is a combination of her diminished stature and the conspiring of fateful machinations that confine her, but that shot of her eating alone, unable to even take comfort in her servants, was so dreary a to make me feel for her- an accomplishment of storytelling in my eyes.

Even though it has been looming for episodes, I've lost the plot for this ceremony coming up. Is it simply to recharge some magic items for the church, or is there some sort of turning point involved?

[MFauli]

episode 29:

Oho, a more casual nobelman appeared! And makes Main pouty instantly, nice.

I'm kinda glad the adoption went over well without more drama. After all, it is the best choice.

A little low on content this week, but that's also because I could keep watching this anime forever. It's one of those rare anime that successfully managed to build up a believable fantasy world, so just ovserving everyday scenes is interesting.

[DarthEnderX]

I'm glad the knight at least realized what a non-issue not being able to hang out in the library is.

[Kraco]

I'm glad the knight at least realized what a non-issue not being able to hang out in the library is.

Perhaps because he's an outsider. The temple folks ought to be more or less hardcoded into thinking the precious books will never leave the library. I wouldn't still call it a non-issue. The temple is the heart of the religion, and religion is all about tradition and following the established forms and norms. It's one of the most difficult organisations to change at all, in any direction, even if it's something seemingly insignificant. All things considered Main is getting an extreme amount of freedom as it is. Of course it's due to being able to exploit her deep pool of mana, but it's still all thanks to the head priest, who has personal interest in Main (what's inside her head).

The knight got quite sagacious lecture from Ferdinand. The head priest is very successfully made to be an intelligent character, which makes me happy. Too many isekai authors aren't capable of that and need to rely on plot convenience to make folks look smart.

[neflight86]

More good content. Gutenburg is almost ready, and this upcoming travel is already shaping up to be lively.

[MFauli]

I loved how she turned "Gutenberg" into a title that's given to people lol.

[MFauli]

episode 30:

Hm, kinda flat episode imo.

What I didn't quite get: Was the attack at the end so powerful because of Main's mana or was the new jerk priest powerful by himself? I'm just surprised that Main was out of mana so quickly suddenly, when they always implied that she has such an enormous amount of it inside her.

Although, I kinda liked the realism of Karstedt's attack lol. In most anime, no matter how strong an attack, there'd be remains, likely even still alive enemies around. Here the attack was so powerful, that it obliterated everything in a certain radius, leaving no trace.

[Kraco]

Episode 30


- - - -



It's like this suddenly turned into an action series! Maybe I should have suspected as much with that new priest that behaves more like a character from a somewhat comedic action title. To be honest, when we started to see glimpses of powerful people targeting Main, I thought we would be offered a far more subtle but nefarious plot to catch her. This was anything but. But then again, if Sylvester is more like a typical noble in that city, as opposed to Ferdinand, maybe this is how they operate, with over the top, brazen stunts. If that's indeed how it is, then Main is actually far safer than she would be otherwise. Although she might be getting some background, or backup, however you put it, later, for the time being she's still only loosely attached to any powers. So, more indirect methods by using corruption, established structures, laws, and traditions would leave her with less ways to defend herself. But if it's just barbarian attacks, nobody's going to blame anyone if nameless heads roll.

Quite an interesting episode, all in all.

[neflight86]

Much happened, encompassing what appears the entirety of the winter rituals. Good to see the church depicted as actually travleing and doing things to curry favor with the peasantry; not being just a monolithic building to collect taxes/tithes.

When was it established she was traveling with the cooking servants for Mr. Benno's restaurant? I forgot all about that sub-plot.


when we started to see glimpses of powerful people targeting Main, I thought we would be offered a far more subtle but nefarious plot to catch her. This was anything but.

I think the implication was that there was an escalation in schemes to make her first excursion her last. The first one being the lord's hospitality that would have no doubt ended with tragedy, and when that failed, the kidnappers at the next estate, and finally the out in the open magic attack. The battle was okay, but this isn't that kind of series, and the direction doesn't really suit it/support more than this every once in a while, like the Trombe battle last season. A balance is nice.

[MFauli]

episode 31:

Oh, nice intriguing end there with the approaching pedophile noble, lol.

I liked the talk between Main and the priest, but one thing that was frustrating to be omitted by Main was mentioning that people's lives ultimately became much better by the widespread of books and information in general. I would have liked to hear the priest's answer to that, see how loyal he is to the status quo versus making the world a better place.

Also, it's not like the Gutenberg press was a job killer lol. The opposite: Due to normal people having access to printed stuff, demand rose exponentially. The few books that were created by hand before took eternally to be done and were then sold to a few noble people. The books and newspapers created with the Gutenberg press were sold to millions of people, so Main could just ask Karstedt or Benno, whoever is better suited here, to strike a deal with other kingdoms to share the Gutenberg press technology and then everyone has work to do. It's not like one press creates all the books. There could be book manufacturers that focus on specific topics, then there'd be newspaper manufacturers, and so on. If I were mine, I'd arrange a meeting with the "book maker guild" or whatever their name is, do one of those blood seal contracts so they cannot steal the technology, and have them present the advantage of this book press. That's how everyone would benefit and Main wouldn't be anyone's target ... well, maybe the target of some conservative noble who doesn't want people to read.

Oh, and wasn't the scene cute where the grown man priest groomed the little child Main and gifted her a necklace? /s

[Kraco]

Delia's deal is still so strange. Was she there in Main's crew to placate the high priest? I can't remember anymore. She's a spy in open, yet still act friendly with Main, then next moment goes to the high priest to report anything she thinks worth reporting. Everybody knows she's doing that and barely even bothers to hide it. Is there some bigger plan behind allowing it to continue? Perhaps hope the high priest makes a mistake and loses his life, based on the information. Although I suppose this time we are supposed to think the pedo noble will instead aim for Main or Main's family. I don't really believe anything bad will happen, but if it did, it's hard to imagine Delia being able to continue as she does much longer. The high priest wouldn't care about a single gray robe brat's life, unless he saw some value in making that life a big deal for his own political goals. After all this time, it's difficult to believe Delia could gain redemption anymore. She just doesn't care at all even if Main gets killed due to her actions. She doesn't care about others, nor herself.

Main was indeed quite silent about the possibilities of printing press and the changes in the society and business it could bring. Maybe it's because she hadn't ever stopped to think about it and thus explaining it all extempore was impossible. All she wants are physical books in her hands and to spread the love of books.

[DarthEnderX]

Oh, and wasn't the scene cute where the grown man priest groomed the little child Main and gifted her a necklace? /sYeah, that guy...he's kinda sus. Not sure what his deal is yet.

[Kraco]

Yeah, that guy...he's kinda sus. Not sure what his deal is yet.

His general behavior is quite childish. I'd say he likes children because his personality is immature. He shares a wavelength with them.

[DarthEnderX]

Delia's deal is still so strange. Was she there in Main's crew to placate the high priest? I can't remember anymore. She's a spy in open, yet still act friendly with Main, then next moment goes to the high priest to report anything she thinks worth reporting. Everybody knows she's doing that and barely even bothers to hide it. Is there some bigger plan behind allowing it to continue? Having her there is very beneficial because they know she's a spy, and thus, can control the flow of information.

If they lost Delia, the High Priest would find a new spy, and next time, they might not know who it is.

[MFauli]

Yeah, that guy...he's kinda sus. Not sure what his deal is yet.

I mean, we know that pedophilia is okay in this world, considering how accepting everyone is about nobles marrying children like Deliah or the head priest enjoying Deliah's company (in the past), too. Thinking about it, I'm surprised Twitter hasn't cancelled this anime yet, lol.

But I hope the new rude priest is a good guy and doesn't turn out to be totally nasty like most of the upper class in this world.

Btw I always laugh when they show the noble district: Everyone has the same house and they're all perfectly aligned. As if someone played medieval SimCity and wanted to maximize stats. Kinda dumb, because you'd expect a sense aesthetics at least in the upper class ranks in this world.

[Kraco]

Having her there is very beneficial because they know she's a spy, and thus, can control the flow of information.

If they lost Delia, the High Priest would find a new spy, and next time, they might not know who it is.

True, but they don't seem to control it all too well. It's more like they only make a token effort to control it, but in reality don't really care. That would be understandable since she's there permanently, everywhere. It would be difficult to keep her out of the loop all the time. Maybe they allow the situation to continue like this because they can still get along with Delia. If they must suffer a spy and information leaking, at least they can choose a spy that's not too insufferable. It's not like the high priest could just send in a new person without everybody knowing what's going on. If an existing member of Main's group was ordered by the high priest to become an informant, we all know how well that would work. Main would probably need to dictate to the poor bastard what to tell to the high priest. Delia at least is so amoral that if the high priest told her to poison Main, she just might do it. So, she fulfills that thankless role without a complaint.

[DarthEnderX]

Btw I always laugh when they show the noble district: Everyone has the same house and they're all perfectly aligned. As if someone played medieval SimCity and wanted to maximize stats.Lol, thought exactly the same thing.

[Buffalobiian]

Just binged this. Good watch.

-Not knowing what pigs/wolves are? They have a damn pig slaughtering festival..

-Sylvester as a priest is weird. Much of the series was about having Myne behave like a priestess/noble, then this guy rocks up lounging around and doing whatever the fuck he wants, and everyone is rather okay about it.

-During the Trombe fight, Myne said Ferdinand was lying about having little manner left. Specifically she said he has enough for the ritual and then some. I wonder what her basis is for this statement. Can she actually detect people's mana now?

-When Myne first used the Crushing, it was portrayed as if she was stronger than even Ferdinand. Now I'm not so sure. I think if he wanted to kill her, he probably could.

-Kids with Devouring just need to know a single spell, and dump mana into that to stop themselves overflowing. I suppose this plot device is over already.

-The adoption thing is essentially what we had a few years back, but now learning magic under a nice noble to live longer is better than being mistress of an unknown noble while being fed magic items.

-they did a good job portraying how anti-competitive guilds are.

-Story has been a pretty interesting progression of firstly gaining connections (Benno/Otto), amassing wealth then ultimately power.

-I think there was a subtitle translation error during the black-magic-vs-carriage-fight. The subs say something to the effect of "keep casting the shield so the black magic absorbs your mana", but I think I heard something more like "The black magic will absorb your mana (if you get close), keep casting the shield spell from above"

-"Myne" is the superior way of writing her name.

[shinta|hikari]

Would you recommend this to watch? And if so, on what merits, so I know if it fits what I want?

[Buffalobiian]

Would you recommend this to watch? And if so, on what merits, so I know if it fits what I want?

The main draw of this story for me is that there is a cute, likable character who is eccentric in her goals and outlook on life (wanting books).

She struggles through poverty and ill health in order to achieve this, and watching some of her inventions reminds me of Dr Stone.
Unlike Dr Stone however, she really needs the help of others in accomplishing what she needs, and at first often doesn't succeed.

You watch her forming friends, meeting mentors and developing as a person while navigating her way up medieval society - not because she wants to, just because she wants to read - and that can lead her to stupid and funny places.

I agree with MFauli's Kemono no Souja comparison in that this is a rather slow series with the main character originating from humble origins yet ending up much further from there.

(I'm struggling to convey why I like this while avoiding major plot points/spoilers)

This show does not have any action.

It involves economics later on because book making is not cheap. It leads to some enjoyable bickering. I get some Spice and Wolf feels.

[Kraco]

-Sylvester as a priest is weird. Much of the series was about having Myne behave like a priestess/noble, then this guy rocks up lounging around and doing whatever the fuck he wants, and everyone is rather okay about it.


You shouldn't compare Main and Sylvester. Main is a commoner given a blue robe through tough negotiations, which only succeeded because the temple desperately needs sources of mana. She's still looked down on by folks because blue robes belong to nobles. Sylvester is obviously a real scion of an important family. He can do whatever he wants due to the his background. Main, however, needs to try to blend in really hard to be able to maintain her position, in official contexts. I believe I said it earlier, but Main is actually given a lot of leeway as well. It wouldn't be unimaginable if she had been made to behave like a good little girl, studying religion and other priestly activities all day long, restricted from doing pretty much anything selfish. Instead she uses most of her time to run her workshop, putting the orphans under the temple's care to good use in there. You can hardly say that's an ordinary duty for a priestess.

In short, Main is every bit as weird as a priestess as Sylvester is as a priest.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 32

-----------------------------------------------







I thought Lutz was supposed to inherit Benno's company...

[MFauli]

I'm kinda disappointed that all nobles except for the gentle head priest seem to range from either arrogant pricks to outright evil assholes. Let's not kid ourselves, if Main hadn't been introduced via the head priest, even Karstedt and her guard would treat her like shit. And now we saw those other nobles that meet with the priest leader and everyone is so comically evil, ugh. Make this whole world feel so unpleasant to live in. A revolution is warranted, but with royalty monopolizing magic fighting abilities ...

Also wtf, did the anime really claim that THIS is the first time a desperate mother left her baby at the church? Come on, that makes no sense, lol. Also, for a moment I thought Main's mom would join her at the church, because she is a "wet nurse", having a baby of her own rn. But then I would have felt bad for Tuli, so I'm glad that didn't happen.

[Kraco]

Seems like Main doesn't have much interest in science, even though the printing press was extremely essential for modern science to develop and prosper. We have seen in the past Main does sport an interest in many things, not strictly in books, but maybe science was something like her least favourite subject back in school, in her previous life. Even though it requires a lot of reading. I refuse to believe Main would have been able to brush it off due to self-control. She hasn't got any.

I don't anymore know what to think of the nobles plotting Main's demise. Their previous attempt was so incompetent that it's hard to take them seriously. At least the scene did reveal something: Lots of other nobles apparently hate Ferdinand, yet find it difficult to get rid of him. So, it's not all about Main.

[DarthEnderX]

She only cares about science when it's IN a book. She has no interest in doing experiments or learning by doing.

[Kraco]

That's a good point.

[neflight86]

Here I thought the chunky priest was behind the previous kidnaping event, but thankfully he is sort of indifferent to Main until being given a concrete incentive by the other nobles who want to use her undoing as vengeance against another noble. While not a nice thing per say, I'm glad that not everybody is exclusively caught up in her (mein) and explicit dealings with her. Isekais tend to lose me when a great portion of the supporting cast's life begin to revolve around the mighty isekai protagonist, and that hasn't happened here.

Maybe the kid's allergic to goat's milk?

[Buffalobiian]

The kid's got measles or smallpox/chickenpox IMO.

[Kraco]

The kid's got measles or smallpox/chickenpox IMO.

He's dead if it's smallpox. Who else would get it, as well? Delia can forget about becoming a concubine even if she survived it.

Although that being said, maybe the temple has some fancy magical healing methods. I don't recall us seeing healing magic all that much, though. The use of magic has been quite erratic in general, in this series.

[MFauli]

Episode 33:

Good job, everyone, you would have let Dirk die. OMFG. Dehlia to the rescue! A baby bed that isn't totally open would be a nice idea, wouldn't it >_>

I loved the ink color testing, everyone standing around the young servant and watching so seriously at what's gonna happen :D

Didn't totally understand the plan for Dirk (so, is Main adopting him herself once she has been adopted?!), but I feel like we're reaching the point where Main will have to decide whether or not she wants to change this world for the better, aka fight nobility. Things could have gone WAY worse with Dirk easily, had the head priest not been as supportive. Someone else would have left Dirk to die, and I wonder what Main would have done then. "Oh well, it's how this world works", eh? Surely not, and yet the consequences would have been enormous. Hoping that they touch upon this dilemma in this season and then further develop it in the future.

[neflight86]

As Dehlia suggested, the church isn't known for stellar care. I'm expect they will be more careful in the future under Main's management.

Main is planning to make a contract with Dirk after she herself is a noble (which will be once she is adopted) to spare him from a life in a dungeon filling chalices.

Main doesn't seem to be the hot headed 'lets change the social constructs to better suit me' type, except when it comes to books, her hobby. I don't think this will delve into political/class structure reform.

[MFauli]

Main doesn't seem to be the hot headed 'lets change the social constructs to better suit me' type, except when it comes to books, her hobby. I don't think this will delve into political/class structure reform.

So what do you think Main would have done if the head chief had told her "no, we cannot do anything, the baby will die"? Do you really think it'd be in-character for Main to just accept that?

[Kraco]

So what do you think Main would have done if the head chief had told her "no, we cannot do anything, the baby will die"? Do you really think it'd be in-character for Main to just accept that?

That would have been out of character for the head priest. He's the dude who saved Main, who was in a similar situation as Dirk here. Sure, he's no saint, but we have seen plenty of evidence of the man having some morals, even if he's a pragmatist. Perhaps the high priest being so corrupt pushes the head priest into the opposite direction. As I said before, the rotten nobles in general don't seem to much like Ferdinand, so maybe he's a part of some kind of righteous noble faction.

I expected Delia to go report to the high priest everything she has seen, like the symptoms, and that the head priest visited shortly after. The high priest probably would have guessed what's going on. Then the high priest's men would have come to take Dirk away, traumatising Delia. That would have resulted in Delia becoming a little less loyal spy. I wonder if the last scene will lead exactly to that, just with a little extra detour.

[Buffalobiian]

So what do you think Main would have done if the head chief had told her "no, we cannot do anything, the baby will die"? Do you really think it'd be in-character for Main to just accept that?

She'd use the fruit as a poor man's magic tool to absorb his power while getting rich from paper sales.

[DarthEnderX]

She'd use the fruit as a poor man's magic tool to absorb his power while getting rich from paper sales.The correct solution.

[Buffalobiian]

The whole "devouring" thing and magic tools seems to be a way to keep the lower class in check.

What exactly happens to nobles born with mana? Are they just innately able to control or dispel it because they're built different? I doubt it. It just seems like young mages are given items to help control their mana build-up prior to learning how to do it themselves at the Royal Academy (which is of course Nobles Only).

Why can't poor kids go to the academy? Just because.

Why can't poor kids learn a spell or two so they can't just make a couple of Fire Balls whenever they get too pent up? Nobles only.

Why can't you give the poor a reusable chalice instead of a consumable magic tool? Because you can't let magic become prominent in the lower class. If the poor must live and keep their magic, they can only do so as the property of a noble (using the pretext of offering consumable magic tools for their survival).

This entire society is built on a series on monopolies. From a modern perspective, that's simply disgusting.

[Kraco]

She'd use the fruit as a poor man's magic tool to absorb his power while getting rich from paper sales.

Is she actually getting rich from paper sales? We haven't seen much indication of it lately, have we? She was shocked and dejected when Ferdinand suggested she would need to pay for Dirk's blue robe status, if indeed she wanted to protect Dirk that way. That reaction suggested she would find it hard to come up with the money.

At the end of the day, without a printing press the demand for paper wouldn't increase so much, unless the paper was so cheap it could be used as toilet paper, literally. A widespread use for wrapping purchases would also require paper so cheap it wouldn't affect prices exceedingly much. It's not a paper mill she has developed, it's still an extremely labour intensive product of handcraft. It's good for nobles and wealthier merchants for writing letters. Not a super massive market. Books as well, of course, but books being too scarce is Main's reason for doing all this.

[Buffalobiian]

We haven't seen any indication that she's getting richer than the beginning of the season, no.

[MFauli]

Episode 8:

Ok, that is nice plot progression, but Main and Tuli were totally kidnapped by "convenient camera angle". She was literally standing next to her noble guard, nobody should have been able to snatch her, lol.

[Kraco]

Episode 34


- - - - - -



If this was realistic, the person in charge of the gate, who failed to inform the guards and thus allowed the oursider noble to enter with known forged papers, would be executed. That's how it worked back in the day.

I'm very disappointed by the kidnapping scene. It was so lousy. No distractions or anything. The kidnappers just walked in, stuffed Main and Tuuli into sacks, and run off. Like, come on. Otto was facing that way but did absolutely nothing. In fact, the whole scene made Otto looked like he was bribed and collaborating with the high priest's faction. He should be executed as well, just to be sure.

[DarthEnderX]

Dipshits all.

[Buffalobiian]

I can't figure out if I want Delia to have a really harsh wake-up call, or something worse.

[Kraco]

I can't figure out if I want Delia to have a really harsh wake-up call, or something worse.

I don't really care about what happens to her. Even if she died or ended up in a brothel. She's the "Something bad happened to me in the past, so now it's my moral privilege to care only about myself, even at the expense of others, the world owes me that" kind of character. She utterly fails to acknowledge how well Main has been treating her, despite her status as a hostile spy. Because she has maxed out her selfishness attribute. The way she treats Dirk has an echo of her looking at him as her own possession. On an emotional level he's of course connected to her trauma. So, he's a remedy for her. If she still could think of what's best for him, it might not matter, but she can't. She had no troubles letting the rotten, corrupt high priest handle Dirk's case.

[MFauli]

I don't understand Deliah anyway. Are we to assume that she really thinks the chief priest wanted to help Dirk? She isn't that naive, right?

[Buffalobiian]

I don't understand Deliah anyway. Are we to assume that she really thinks the chief priest wanted to help Dirk? She isn't that naive, right?

She's naive as fuck.

I don't think she understands that being a mistress means getting to fuck her.

[MFauli]

Episode 35:

Omg, can they just pls kill both the chief priest and that nasty foreign noble?! I swear, if next episode doesn't kill that fucker ...

But even the head priest was a sneaky ass here. If he just didn't report about what Main and co. technically did wrong, there would have been no need for her to be adopted by someone immediately.

Adopted by that funny priest, omg. On one hand, it's probably the best choice for our weirdo Main, on the other hand, that guy just is a little too full of himself.

And now only one episode remaining ,ugh. At least there MUST be another season, right? Phew. This will end up a real long running anime.

[Buffalobiian]

I just realised this entire society all about wizards ruling over muggles.

[DarthEnderX]

Yeah this episode got Harry Potter AF.

[Kraco]

Action really sucks in this series. The fights in this episode were arranged and paced so terribly, plus things just didn't make any sense. I guess every author will have their strengths and weaknesses, but it would be good if there was an editor who told when things are becoming too ridiculous. Unless this was all the anime's fault, and the director is merely entirely out of their element in every action scene.

I'm incredibly disappointed by the dark orb not exploding and at least amputating the high priest's hand when it overloaded. It just disappeared into thin air and all that energy was gone, as if it never existed.

Otherwise this was a nice depiction of how unfair the world mere centuries ago was when nobles had all the rights, even when they were wrong. Although I suppose it's still like that in some parts of the world, even if nobles aren't called nobles anymore.

I still hate Delia more than the high priest and the ugly foreign noble. The high priest has never pretended to be anything but a petty, greedy scumbag in a high position, and he acts exactly like one, predictably. The foreign noble is just a throwaway villain down to his very looks. Delia, however, is an annoying hypocrite and talentless schemer, a tool hurting everyone around her. Yet she still blames others for all the troubles she caused/contributed to and has the audacity to assume others will clean up the mess, while she acts like the biggest victim in the world. It would be nice if she at least had a chance to redeem herself by sacrificing her own life to save the baby.

[shinta|hikari]

Otherwise this was a nice depiction of how unfair the world mere centuries ago was when nobles had all the rights, even when they were wrong. Although I suppose it's still like that in some parts of the world, even if nobles aren't called nobles anymore.


You mean like USA?

Genuine question, how is accountability for financial/political elites in Finland (or your country for anyone else who bothers answering)?

For the three countries I've lived in, none of them had great accountability, though to vastly varying degrees.

[Kraco]

You mean like USA?

Genuine question, how is accountability for financial/political elites in Finland (or your country for anyone else who bothers answering)?

For the three countries I've lived in, none of them had great accountability, though to vastly varying degrees.

No, I was thinking of countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and others where courts of law are just theaters and whether you are guilty or not is decided before you have even entered the room. Of course in the USA a rich person might be far better off being able to hire excellent lawyers and actually having money to see the whole thing through, but the results are still decided in the proceedings.

Finland doesn't really even have the kind of elite some other countries possess. Accountability is quite high, though of course a random man from the streets would tell you the people in high places can get away with anything. It's partially true as long as those people know the laws really well and have thus avoided breaking any of them, which often isn't the case for a random person planning a quick heist.

Centuries ago if a commoner and noble met in the court of law and if the case wasn't outrageously crystal clear, the commoner was always wrong and the noble always right. I believe it's exactly like that in the world of this series as well.

[David75]

My guess is:
-Head priest reminds Main the reality of this world: you're screwed against a Noble if you do not have the upper hand. Like the backing of a stronger noble or conditions that gets you the upper hand
-Head priest now has the upper hand because he can just kill the foreign noble as a threat since he entered not only the town but even worse holy grounds with forged papers. I thought he could also use that to kill the High priest, since he could say it was the foreign noble who did this, but the Head priest clearly states it would bring too much of a hassle. So I wonder what other trump card(s) he has.
Maybe the slave contract with Dirk ? My guess is that it was written by the High priest to the benefit of that foreign noble... That and the forged pass ?
I wonder if the Head priest can use that to keep the High priest in place and manipulate him for the years to come. Better have a controlled jerk, than a new High priest you have no control of.

[Buffalobiian]

-Head priest now has the upper hand because he can just kill the foreign noble as a threat since he entered not only the town but even worse holy grounds with forged papers assaulted not a commoner, but Sylvester's daughter.

Being Sylvester's daughter was the game changer that meant Head Priest could go ham.

[David75]

True I forgot to write about that.
I wonder if Main already is her contracted daughter. After all she placed some blood on that magic item, so it could be she has already activated the contract. Somehow that would feel like a trap. But it also means Main has some level of trust towards Sylvester, probably something he needed to check.

[Buffalobiian]

True I forgot to write about that.
I wonder if Main already is her contracted daughter. After all she placed some blood on that magic item, so it could be she has already activated the contract. Somehow that would feel like a trap. But it also means Main has some level of trust towards Sylvester, probably something he needed to check.

Yep, I'd say her contract started once she put blood on that seal.

And from what happened this episode where the foreign noble tried to press Myne's thumb onto the new contract, I daresay that contracts take effect upon blood exposure regardless of the person's will.

[David75]

The next question is then why she trusts Sylvester when we know so little about him, so little you can trust.

On another note Ferdinand mentionned the Royal academy, probably where he met Sylvester.
I did not think of the simple fact that in that medieval setting with nobles, knights and clergy, there's a royal familly.
I wonder if Sylvester is from that familly. He's talented but as a noble so carefree it feels like he lacks respect.
To be that free and not fear some consequences makes me think his status is quite high.
Also if you remember, greyrobes were pretty frightened when he visited. That might be the case anytime an unknown noble visists, as they have every rights on anyone of lower ranks, or it might be because it was Sylvester's status.

[Kraco]

The next question is then why she trusts Sylvester when we know so little about him, so little you can trust.


Sylvester is kind of a goofball, which is exactly what Main herself is as well, at least as far as everybody else in that world is concerned. They ought to get along just fine. And let's also not forget they are already brothers in arms, having gone through a victorious battle together.

[MFauli]

The head priest trusts Sylvester, so Main trusts him as well. Simple as that. Also Main has read enough manga, she know that goofball-characters always are on the good side.

[Buffalobiian]

MFauli]The head priest trusts Sylvester, so Main trusts him as well.

Pretty much this. Myne used the seal before she knew what it mean. Now that she knows, it's a toss-up between becoming Sylvester's daughter or having her family (and herself) die. Seems like an easy enough choice if Sylvester is on such good terms with Ferdinand.

[neflight86]

I forgot how weak the action scenes in this are.

...That aside, I have never been clear on the power dynamic between the head and high priest. Which one outranks the other? This behavior suggests the head is above due to waiting for his absence, but if so, why has he been allowed to run amok until now?


I don't really care about what happens to her. Even if she died or ended up in a brothel. She's the "Something bad happened to me in the past, so now it's my moral privilege to care only about myself, even at the expense of others, the world owes me that" kind of character. She utterly fails to acknowledge how well Main has been treating her, despite her status as a hostile spy. Because she has maxed out her selfishness attribute. The way she treats Dirk has an echo of her looking at him as her own possession. On an emotional level he's of course connected to her trauma. So, he's a remedy for her. If she still could think of what's best for him, it might not matter, but she can't. She had no troubles letting the rotten, corrupt high priest handle Dirk's case.

A little late, but this is an interesting interpretation. I always saw Deliah as a damaged little child protecting herself the best she could. She is self-centered, but I never saw her have any appreciable contempt for others unless they stood in her way, which is pretty normal. She's only seven years old or so, right? I doubt she fully grasps where her aspirations are going to lead her, and so long as she compares them to the miserable orphanage experience, it must surely be better. I though her maternal caring for Dirk went a far way in redeeming her for me. She seems to have a genuine care for his well being and a real attachment to him that can clearly be manipulated to bring her to heel against her better judgement. She respects the High priest and thought he must surely be arranging the adoption for Dirk's good, right? Seven years old. I just can't bring myself to hate her like that.

[Kraco]

A little late, but this is an interesting interpretation. I always saw Deliah as a damaged little child protecting herself the best she could. She is self-centered, but I never saw her have any appreciable contempt for others unless they stood in her way, which is pretty normal. She's only seven years old or so, right? I doubt she fully grasps where her aspirations are going to lead her, and so long as she compares them to the miserable orphanage experience, it must surely be better. I though her maternal caring for Dirk went a far way in redeeming her for me. She seems to have a genuine care for his well being and a real attachment to him that can clearly be manipulated to bring her to heel against her better judgement. She respects the High priest and thought he must surely be arranging the adoption for Dirk's good, right? Seven years old. I just can't bring myself to hate her like that.

Haha, yeah. I reckon I did ignore her young age. Maybe because many of the other kids are acting well above their age, with Main being an adult in a kid's body. But if you think of Lutz, he's also very mature, in fact more mature than some of the 18 years old dudes I saw in the army. It's not like Delia would have lived an easier life than Lutz, either, so acting spoiled shouldn't apply to her. She's also dead set to becoming a concubine. Even if she didn't know exactly everything that means, she would still know a lot, due to living in the middle of girls of varying ages in the same position.

All things consider, if you only think of Delia as a child, she should be more naturally attracted to people who treat her well and fairly, but instead she's only following her greed by sticking to the high priest, and she's actively looking for any info she could deliver to the scumbag. Normally a child in her position would find comfort in Main's company, seeing how other people are living pretty secure lives under her, and how Main for all intents and purposes saved everybody in the orphanage. But no, Delia deliberately seeks to only further her own agenda, and she couldn't care less about what happens to anyone else, save Dirk, now. I can't just view her purely as a young kid not knowing what she's doing. Because she clearly does know. Even if she's half the time fooled by the high priest.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 36

---------------------



lol, so Sylvester was the biggest backer Myne could have.

I remember last episode that old priest missed the memo or something because he's not a noble (or so Ferdinand said), but he's the uncle of the lord.. eh, whatever.

A bit sad, but they seemed to make the adoption as light as possible. Technically Lutz and Benno shouldn't have been able to hear the explanation from Gunther (like he promised) but instead from Ferdinand or something. They did just sign a contract after all.

And yes Sylvester. Killing that family is a very bad idea. Not killing them is like... the whole reason Myne did this.

[Kraco]

Sylvester being the lord was kind of a cinderella twist for Main. Of course it does explain how he can act so freely. It all feels like a bit of a stretch for realism, but on the other hand, once Sylvester heard about and witnessed Main's magic power, it's obvious he would want to keep her as close as possible. Sylvester being aware of Main's innovations should have made it an even easier decision.

If Main now needs to attend the academy to learn magic properly, I reckon she will have less time for workshops. At the very least I doubt she will have time for priestess duties, so I expect that life to be over for her. Not that she would have enjoyed it anyway.

High priest getting sent to a very personal meeting with the headsman was high justice. No doubt trying to slither out of all responsibility and even manipulate Sylvester sealed the deal. Realistically the foreign noble wouldn't get executed, but having to empty his coffers for a ransom would make sense.

[David75]

Quality droped quite a bit, particularly Main and Tuuli's faces during the contract scenes.
End of the story to be told... They probably should have said: End of Main's story, after that is Rosemyne's

So Sylvester really was the top dog after all... greyrobes knew, he was too carefree and probably also enjoying some free time for a change. I now also understand why so many knights were present when he fought alongside Main, but also why that very powerful attack. He was the target.

His statement about Main's familly totally shows us how that world works, like we've discussed before: you have power, you totally do anything you want with those under your power. Greyrobes, that knight, and now commoners. Even killing them for your goals is totally common.
It really puts into perspective all of Benno's warnings.

Now Sylvester gains a large mana power bank with technological knowledge to speed-up progress and benefit his domain.
Main loses ties to her familly but is not physically dead.
That way it's also easier to end that case with the high priest and that foreign noble: none of the victims/culprit are there anymore. Convenient.

Didn't see that coming, Sylvester and Ferdinand being brothers, even if only sharing their father. It doesn't add much to the story other than giving depth to the trust they can share, since they remained close from childhood.

[Kraco]

Didn't see that coming, Sylvester and Ferdinand being brothers, even if only sharing their father. It doesn't add much to the story other than giving depth to the trust they can share, since they remained close from childhood.

It does explain why it always felt like there was much more to Ferdinand than just being a random noble and the head priest. It also explains why Ferdinand and the high priest had such a strained relationship; the high priest always considered Ferdinand an unwanted bastard, whose existent lowered his own value in the lord's eyes. Without Ferdinand, maybe Sylvester would have spend more time with his poor uncle, must be what the high priest was thinking. It didn't help Ferdinand was obviously much more intelligent than the high priest.

[MFauli]

I don't like this :/ From a formal, logical pov, everything makes sense within the setting and rules of this world. But I just don't like how it all went over. Especially Sylvester, who acted like a goofy fellow before, but now that he's revealed to be the lord, he acts like any nobel asshole, abusing his power and not smiling once. He's on Main's side at the moment, but that doesn't make him less of an asshole.

Part of why I disliked this whole procedure is, though, because it totally wasn't clear what's actually happening. At first I thought the family members are gonna lose their memory regarding to Main. That didn't happen, but then Lutz and the Gilbert company all knew about Main, even though the contract said "Main is dead and you have to act like that". Well, now everyone knows that's not true. Weird.

But my biggest problem goes back to Sylvester. There simply is NO REASON to be such an asshole. Where's the problem in letting Main meet her family on some occasions? At least once a year. They could easily arrange something for them to spend a day together, talk about the things that happened, and just enjoy being together. But nothing. Literally "MAIN IS DEAD, ACCEPT IT!". Considering how everyone knows she's not dead, there cannot be some important reason to hide her being alive - if Lutz and everyone actually thought she's dead, I could accept some bs argument like "there's regulations among nobles that absolutely mustn't become known blabla", but evidently, things aren't as tight knit.

And I was disappointed that Main herself didn't push for some exception in regards to meeting her family. It went over too smoothly from her side, too.

I really would have liked the story to be a bit more courageous at this point, and make Main oppose Sylvester, either changing his mind, or actually making enemies of him and running away with everyone. Considering how she has the knowledge to change this world, it would have been interesting to follow her family being on the move. Oh well. Enough fanfiction time.

What I'm also sad about is that any Main X Lutz is dead at this point. Unless I'm forgetting a way for Lutz to become a noble.

Whether or not I'll enjoy the next season depends mostly on how Main behaves from now on. If she just dives into nobel life, joining some noble school and such, that'd be disappointing. I really hope she'll set a firm goal to take down the unfair class system in this world by using the power of books. After all, books/mainstream reading/writing helped bring about modern democracy irl. And we've seen again that even those supposedly "good" are ruthless assholes when it comes to power. Main shouldn't accept this world that forced her to be taken away from her family.

[DarthEnderX]

Sylvester being the lord was kind of a cinderella twist for Main. Of course it does explain how he can act so freely.It's weird that he's such a hardass now, when he was such a goofball to begin with.


If Main now needs to attend the academy to learn magic properly, I reckon she will have less time for workshops. At the very least I doubt she will have time for priestess duties, so I expect that life to be over for her. Not that she would have enjoyed it anyway.My prediction is that she'll invent some way to use books and magic together in a way that will revolutionize how they use magic.


Whether or not I'll enjoy the next season depends mostly on how Main behaves from now on. If she just dives into nobel life, joining some noble school and such, that'd be disappointing. I really hope she'll set a firm goal to take down the unfair class system in this world by using the power of books. After all, books/mainstream reading/writing helped bring about modern democracy irl.Sure, but, Gutenberg was not, himself, some kind of freedom fighter. The written word inspired others to do it. And not even HIS written words. He merely supplied the medium.

[Kraco]

The goofy personality must have been Sylvester's real character, but he can't act like that in an official capacity as the lord of the domain. He wouldn't be taken seriously, which would lead to assassination attempts and wars. When he's a ruler with absolute power, he also needs to use the absolute power for it to stay absolute. Dictatorships always suffer from corruption, but it also depends on the ruler's behavior how much corruption thrives. It's hard to imagine this would have been the first time the high priest was attempting to fill his own pockets by abusing his power and position. So, the goofy character disappearing at least sometimes was inevitable as soon as Sylvester was revealed to be the lord.

I'd say the harshness of the deal was to be expected. Normally Main would have either died because of devouring or become a magic generator for a noble, basically little more than a hidden slave locked away. Sylvester might have absolute power as the lord, but he can't go against all the nobles in the domain. He needs to follow the same general rules and laws and respect the traditions to a point. He needs his own faction of supporters. This was probably as much as he could stretch things for Main's sake. A whole lot of talent will be wasted in the city, but that's how deeply hierarchical systems work. Maybe Sylvester actually plans to change things relying on both Main's enormous magic capacity and the printing press. It would mean at least partially destroying his own position and reducing the importance of nobility, but if it succeeded, it would make the domain a lot stronger. We can only hope.

[David75]

Picture books could help detect babies with devouring much quicker and provided Sylvester undertands the benefits behind, they could find a way to help them grow up fine and control their mana. In the end Sylvester could increase his mana users quite a bit.
He needs to create a caste/order that does not conflict nobles interrests.
But for one he could increase the number of knights with powerful magic.
Rosemyne can with basic hygienne/nutrition/fitness tips increase the population well being. And since they would get more mana users, that also means it is easier to feed them, build anything, apply those tips.
Magic spells picture books. With different cats depending on your caste and level.
Possibilities are endless.
Sylvester's domain can grow so powerful it probably could create problems with other regions... unless they grow so fast in power no one can beat them.
I'm still wondering about the Royal familly, my understanding is that Sylvester is the local lord. So he's probably not the country's top dog. But he could clearly up his standing a lot if he manages the growth well and is not perceived as a threat by royals...
After all Main could have been eliminated by Sylvester at some point.
The same could happen to Sylvester and his domain.

[Kraco]

Even if there's a king, we wouldn't know if it's a strong king. It could be a country under feudalism, with the king holding very limited power over the top noblemen.

[MFauli]

What I'd like to know in all this royalty system: What makes all the lords abide the king's laws and the laws themselves? So far we've seen absolute ruthless nobles that will do anything as long as it benefits themselves, Sylvester included. You'd think in such world, nobody would give a shit about the king. Is it purely because of the king's overwhelming power? Or do these nobles actually have an honest set of values that they treasure?

In other words: Does Sylvester abide by the king because he respects him, or does he follow the law because he's scared shitless of the consequences to him, an inferior, weaker fellow?

[Buffalobiian]

There's been no mention of a country or kingdom. Cities could be city-states ruled by their respective Lord, with no need to specifically call them a king.

[neflight86]

A decent enough bittersweet end to the base Mein arc. I expect a time skip for the start of the Rosemain saga.


His statement about Main's familly totally shows us how that world works, like we've discussed before: you have power, you totally do anything you want with those under your power. Greyrobes, that knight, and now commoners. Even killing them for your goals is totally common.
It really puts into perspective all of Benno's warnings.

Yes, that does drill home just how... unfair the power balance is between different castes of this society. Higher ups can blatantly abuse that differential to coerce some pretty savage things, and they are so far from what I am familiar with that I hesitate(d) to grasp how big a deal these petty power squabbles between nobles could be. At least she got to see them off and have Deliah spared.

[David75]

There's been no mention of a country or kingdom. Cities could be city-states ruled by their respective Lord, with no need to specifically call them a king.
I derive my thoughts on a Royal familly from Ferdinand's reply to the foreign noble shock with Ferdinand having a wand and thus being able to cast (high level I presume) spells.
Royal Academy->Royal Familly->King/Queendom

[MFauli]

Yes, that does drill home just how... unfair the power balance is between different castes of this society. Higher ups can blatantly abuse that differential to coerce some pretty savage things, and they are so far from what I am familiar with that I hesitate(d) to grasp how big a deal these petty power squabbles between nobles could be. At least she got to see them off and have Deliah spared.

And that's what irks me so much. If the higher classes have that much power, we're really looking at the plebs as nothing but slaves. What prevents Sylvester from going to Benno and just taking whatever goods he sees there, because he fancies them? Can Benno say "you have to pay money for that" without losing his head?

I wish Main had shown more ambition to understand this world and see what's wrong with it. Right now, she's so obsessed with books that she doesn't seem to find much wrong with this world's circumstances. And as someone who's so knowledgeable about books and their history, I would have hoped to see more agenda from her side.I mean, making cheap book telling the religious tales is already a massive impact on this society, in more than one way, but that impact seemed to completely fly over her head. I guess the best I can hope for is that society changes thanks to Main's inventions WITHOUT her noticing. Maybe that's a narrative twist this series will take, like someone starting to print books or even newspapers that mark the liberation of the plebs from nobility.

[DarthEnderX]

In other words: Does Sylvester abide by the king because he respects him, or does he follow the law because he's scared shitless of the consequences to him, an inferior, weaker fellow?I don't see why the king would HAVE to be stronger in order to hold authority. It's not like real-world kings were always the strongest guy around. Power comes in many forms.


I wish Main had shown more ambition to understand this world and see what's wrong with it. Right now, she's so obsessed with books that she doesn't seem to find much wrong with this world's circumstances. And as someone who's so knowledgeable about books and their history, I would have hoped to see more agenda from her side.I don't really see why it's Mein's responsibility to fix all of this society's woes.

[Kraco]

What prevents Sylvester from going to Benno and just taking whatever goods he sees there, because he fancies them?

Pretty much all governments do that by collecting taxes. However, doing it arbitrarily by marching in and taking stuff from individual shops can hurt the economy when those merchants move their business elsewhere, not being able to live under the unpredictable, unfavourable circumstances. In reality Sylvester might not need to walk anywhere, though. If he indicated he needs something, merchants might be all too glad to send him samples, free of charge, hoping for good deals or returned favours afterwards. The lord would set trends among other nobles and aristocracy, so making him a walking advertisement might not be a bad investment.

[MFauli]

Pretty much all governments do that by collecting taxes. However, doing it arbitrarily by marching in and taking stuff from individual shops can hurt the economy when those merchants move their business elsewhere, not being able to live under the unpredictable, unfavourable circumstances. In reality Sylvester might not need to walk anywhere, though. If he indicated he needs something, merchants might be all too glad to send him samples, free of charge, hoping for good deals or returned favours afterwards. The lord would set trends among other nobles and aristocracy, so making him a walking advertisement might not be a bad investment.


You misunderstood my point: Can Benno prevent it without dying?

The answer imo is no, hence why the portrayed society basically has slave-status.

As for why Main should be the one to better this society: Because she's the one who can.

[Kraco]

You misunderstood my point: Can Benno prevent it without dying?

The answer imo is no, hence why the portrayed society basically has slave-status.

As for why Main should be the one to better this society: Because she's the one who can.

It's not a slave-like status just because there's a ruler with absolute power. Go back a few centuries in our world and most countries were like that. It doesn't mean all of our forefathers were slaves. There would undoubtedly be consequences for Sylvester, as the lord, if he started to use his power haphazardly. Not only indirectly by ruining the economy of the city but he would certainly lose the support from many a noble family. That would probably lead to getting ousted and killed. No man can lead a country alone. For all we know, there could still be laws he has to follow as well.

I'm not sure Main can live long enough to change everything. A human life isn't that long, compared to the great changes needed. She could certainly get things started. Unlike in our world, the problem is the magic in that world. Nobles have magic, commoners don't. That a physical difference between nobles and everyone else, and it's not inconsequential either because magic can be used as a powerful weapon. Main would need to destroy that concrete barrier to change things for good. Like David already said, if all children with devouring could be saved, and they didn't automatically become fodder for the noble families (or get adopted in the best case scenarios), then it alone would begin to change things. It wouldn't happen overnight, though.