Series synopsis
Ascendance of a Bookworm, also known as 本好きの下剋上 司書になるためには手段を選んでいられません is a Japanese animation drama sci-fi & fantasy television series that premiered on Nippon TV on October 3, 2019. It stars Yuka Iguchi, Show Hayami, Mutsumi Tamura and Takehito Koyasu.
When a sickly young girl suddenly becomes obsessed with inventing new things, her family and friends are all puzzled. "What has gotten into Myne?" they wondered, never dreaming that the answer is not a "What" but a "Who": Urano Motosu, a book-loving apprentice librarian who died in an earthquake in Tokyo who somehow found herself in Myne's body! And since Myne's world is still in a medieval stage, where books can only be owned by the elite, the new Myne intends to do everything she can to bring ...
Premise
When a sickly young girl suddenly becomes obsessed with inventing new things, her family and friends are all puzzled. "What has gotten into Myne?" they wondered, never dreaming that the answer is not a "What" but a "Who": Urano Motosu, a book-loving apprentice librarian who died in an earthquake in Tokyo who somehow found herself in Myne's body! And since Myne's world is still in a medieval stage, where books can only be owned by the elite, the new Myne intends to do everything she can to bring her beloved books to the masses in the time she has left.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Yuka Iguchi as Main (voice)
- Show Hayami as Ferdinand (voice)
- Mutsumi Tamura as Lutz (voice)
- Takehito Koyasu as Benno (voice)
- Megumi Nakajima as Tuuli (voice)
- Tsuyoshi Koyama as Gunther (voice)
- Fumiko Orikasa as Effa (voice)
- Satoshi Hino as Otto (voice)
Supporting cast
- Tomoaki Maeno as Mark (voice)
- Aya Uchida as Frida (voice)
- Hiroshi Naka as Gustav (voice)
- Kazuhiko Inoue as Sylvester (voice)
- Toshiyuki Morikawa as Karstedt (voice)
- Yuuichirou Umehara as Damuel (voice)
- Yuko Sanpei as Gil (voice)
- Sho Karino as Fran (voice)
- Chiyo Tomaru as Delia (voice)
- Minori Suzuki as Rosina (voice)
- Kiyono Yasuno as Wilma (voice)
- Haruki Ishiya as Shikikoza (voice)
Guest cast
- Haruka Yanagisawa as Person in the Market (voice)
- Megumi Fukuchi as Person in the Market (voice)
- Yui Sawatari as Person in the Market (voice)
- Taishi Omae as Person in the Market (voice)
- Seina Nishiwaki as Person in the Market (voice)
- Junko Oyama as Person in the Market (voice)
- Hiroyuki Takahashi as Person in the Market (voice)
- Takuya Kuriyama as Person in the Market (voice)
- Manabu Hokazono as Person in the Market (voice)
- Eri Akiyama as Apprentice Soldier (voice)
- Mei Fukuda as Apprentice Soldier (voice)
- Maho Oka as Orphan (voice)
Episodes
This series spans 5 seasons with 98 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 4 | March 10, 2020 | March 29, 2022 |
| Season 1 | 36 | October 3, 2019 | June 14, 2022 |
| Season 2 | 24 | April 4, 2026 | September 26, 2026 |
| Season 3 | 10 | April 11, 2022 | June 13, 2022 |
| Season 4 | 24 | April 4, 2026 | September 26, 2026 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Side Story One: Eustachius's Incognito Operation Downtown The head priest wants more information on Main, so he sends two of his aides, Eckhard and Eustachius, to investigate her. |
March 10, 2020 |
| 2 |
Side Story Two: Visiting Missus Corinna Eva and Turi find themselves having to accompany Main to Corinna's residence, because she wants to take a look at the outfit Main wore for her baptism. |
March 10, 2020 |
| 3 |
Re-Ascendance of a Bookworm (1) Main begins her journey to create paper, facing setbacks and revealing her true self to Lutz. |
March 29, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
A World Without Books Motosu Urano, a college student and a bookworm of the highest order, loses her life in an avalanche of books and wakes up in another world as a sickly girl named Main. Nevertheless confident that she can deal with any situation as long as she has books to read, she looks all over her new home for one, but doesn't find any. To make matters worse, she couldn't see any writing in town when out with her mother Eva. She realized that she found herself in a world with a low literacy rate, one where books were prohibitively expensive. |
October 3, 2019 |
| 2 |
Life Improvements and Slates Having learned how expensive books are in this world, Main resolves to make books of her own. However, she soon finds out just how frail her new body is when she and her elder sister, Turi, decide to go to the gate to deliver something their father forgot—she can hardly take a few steps before running out of breath. But that's when Lutz, a neighborhood kid the same age as Main, offers his help. Main is touched by this and soon makes it to the gate. There, Otto gives her his old slate, letting her experience the joy of writing once again |
October 10, 2019 |
| 3 |
The Events of Winter While everyone is snowed in by the harsh winter, Main has a plan: a plan to craft pseudo-papyrus as the first step towards making a book. Meanwhile, Eva teaches Turi a bunch of skills in order to prepare her for her upcoming baptism in the summer. Main is told to think about where she wants to apprentice, but as always, books are the only thing on her mind. As winter rolls on, however, the family bonds and grows closer together, and Main hits upon the perfect gift to give Turi to wear on her baptism day. |
October 17, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I've Become a Noble Myne begins her new life as Rosemyne. Her first challenge is to complete the baptism and adoption ceremonies! |
April 4, 2026 |
| 2 |
Lower City Family Reunion After the baptism ceremony and adoption, Rosemyne returns to the cathedral to become the high bishop. |
April 11, 2026 |
| 3 |
Archduke's Castle and Italian Restaurant Rosemyne officially moves into the castle and Sylvester finally eats at the Italian restaurant. |
April 18, 2026 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beginning of Winter | April 11, 2022 |
| 2 | The Story About Winter Stay's and the Future | April 18, 2022 |
| 3 | The Dedication Ceremony and Spring Arrives | April 25, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
I've Become a Noble Myne begins her new life as Rosemyne. Her first challenge is to complete the baptism and adoption ceremonies! |
April 4, 2026 |
| 2 |
Lower City Family Reunion After the baptism ceremony and adoption, Rosemyne returns to the cathedral to become the high bishop. |
April 11, 2026 |
| 3 |
Archduke's Castle and Italian Restaurant Rosemyne officially moves into the castle and Sylvester finally eats at the Italian restaurant. |
April 18, 2026 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | Nippon TV |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 3, 2019 |
| Last aired | July 11, 2026 |
| Runtime | 24 minutes |
| Status | continue |
| Schedule | Saturday at 17:30:00 |