Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke ‒ Episode 24
The immediate occurrence carries on right after last week's episode. Grandpa's still not done after punching people out of existence, so he readily yeets himself out of a nearby window and speeds to Rosemyne's rescue right after she's been knocked out by poison. This is his big moment after his standoffish nature and uncertain disposition were teased around Rosemyne before. Though now I get the impression the reason he was really told to keep his distance from her was that…Grandpa's kind of a lummox. He's brutally efficient at chasing bad guys down and slinging spells to take them out, but a bit of an oaf when it comes to the delicate task of freeing Rosemyne from the captivity of a burlap bag. Swinging her around to send her soaring through the air with his overt strength is funny, but also mildly concerning. Please stop praying for my grandpa; you're making him too strong, etc.
Thankfully Ferdinand is there to catch Rosemyne and take it from there. Around here is where I felt the whole action-packed kidnapping escapade might be covered too briskly, but the writing quickly made it clear they weren't out of the woods just yet. Having the knight guards round up the perpetrators was one thing, but it also turns out the poison Rosemyne ingested wasn't simply some crazy purple knockout gas—it was actual poison taking rapid effect, necessitating Ferdinand to make his own snap decisions. It didn't take long before some of the other set-up subplots converged, and I figured out that Rosemyne's ingesting of the jureve and the necessary long nap would be the result to carry this series into its next phase.
It's a smart way of using the often clinical manner of Bookworm's explanations to catch the audience off guard. Not only is Rosemyne taking the jureve not happening on her own planned schedule, but the complications of the poison and her own manifold mana mean that she winds up sleeping for way longer than the previously prescribed amount of mere weeks. First it's a year, then it goes on for over two years. And the abruptness of the setup factors into the feelings it's supposed to elicit. The audience barely has time to grasp the situation, and it's by comparison that those in the various layers of Rosemyne's orbit are similarly blindsided.
It creates the opportunity for a very unique take on the old storytelling mechanic of the timeskip: the two years pass to take Rosemyne to this new section of story and status quo, but while the viewers don't get all the information in between, they're not totally knocked out into the dark like she is. Rosemyne is spending time renovating her mind-palace in an adorable visual metaphor, keeping her in view while reminding us of how isolated she is from the rest of the plot now. Time is seen passing, with glimpses of characters going about their daily lives while she's out, all while Ferdinand dutifully watches over her, impatiently grumbling about how long she's taking to come to, while clearly concerned enough to regularly return to her side. Right, those into the taboo gaps precluding a potential Ferdinand/Rosemyne coupling will be feasting on all the concerned carrying and caring this episode. For those who see it as an adoptive pseudo-parental role, it's still a very sweet depiction of the meaningful connection.
Part of the fun of timeskips is catching up with all the characters after the interim. While there are a few updates for Rosemyne (Damuel and Brigitte didn't get together after all, man!), it's positively skimmed over in favor of prepping her for her trip to magical prep school! That is abrupt, and knowingly undercuts a lot of the emotional payoff this setup could have been leading to. The anime even shows her previous Myne-era family rejoicing at the news of her reawakening (look how big Kamil has gotten!) before immediately noting that the magic school plot means they won't get to see her for a while. Never mind the way it shortchanges the sense of plotting that was built up before this. I have to give the series the benefit of the doubt that the finer details will be filled out later, but as-is it really makes it feel like nothing much happened while Rosemyne was indisposed. Really, there were no other attempts at power plays or political undermining from other factions while she was out? Nothing? I'm not sure how hard this vibe with everyone is pushed in the original novels, but here in the anime, it unfortunately feels in line with the accelerationist pacing that defined this phase of the adaptation.
Granted, that's a brisk undercut that can be covered for in the forthcoming next-part adaptation. Starting a fresh story arc is a great place to also spend space catching Rosemyne and the viewers up with everything else she missed. In the moment, this is a cleverly constructed finale that uses its status as a finale in this specific show smartly. I love little details like the stack of new books that grows in number next to Rosemyne's sleeping body while waiting for her to wake up. And the emotional investment from characters like her grandfather and especially the concern of Ferdinand was there. It's just that, as with so many stories in Ascendance of a Bookworm and especially the finales I've covered, it felt a bit overstuffed. Still, it means there's plenty to look forward to catching up to with that next season.
Rating:
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Chris is back to hit the books. You can see him posting about anime, transforming robots, and other quality reading material over on his BlueSky.
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