Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 35

Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 35

A Shounen Protagonist in a Slice of Life Series

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 Episode 35 was pretty good. There was action, intrigue, plot development — the whole works. It also gave me a glimpse of what this series could be and what I want it to be.

I know this isn’t an action series. And I know Myne isn’t a shounen battle series protagonist. But, I do wish that she was a bit more liberal in her mana usage. From this episode, we saw that Myne has a lot of mana. She can also use that mana to do significant harm to people.

Sure, Myne wants to create a world in which she and everyone else can enjoy books. She doesn’t want to fight. But, fighting might be the quickest way to achieve her goal. And it would keep her and her family safe in the process.

Myne using her mana from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 Episode 35
Myne using her mana

Think about it, if everyone knows not to mess with Myne, she’d be able to do so many things. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad for Myne to murder the guy who kidnapped Tuuli. And the same goes for Count Bindewald and the High Priest. I mean, what’s the worst that’ll happen to her?

Are the knights going to come to arrest her? Not with the support of Ferdinand, Sylvester, and Karstedt. And even if some rogue knight tries to take her in, would they actually be able to defeat her? I doubt it. Well, that is, if she used her mana to its full extent.

Unfortunately for me, I have a feeling nothing like that’s going to happen. I’d love to see Myne snap and destroy one of these antagonists. Put the smug Nobles in their place, Myne. The time for the proletariat to rise is now!

Count Bindewald

Count Bindewald is one of those villains who looks like a villain. And not in a cool way. He looks exactly as he is — rich, smug, and a terrible person. But, the good news is that he might die in the next (final) episode of the season.

Anyway, with Count Bindewald in the picture, it’s finally explained why Dirk is part of the plot to get rid of Myne. And when I say it’s explained, I mean the explanation is so poor that you have to read between the lines to figure it out.

So, allow me to break it down for you. The original plan was for the High Priest to sell Myne off to a Noble from another country. He wanted to do this to get rid of Myne. There’s no other reason. But, we then found out Dirk was being sold to this Noble instead.

Count Bindewald holding a contract from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 Episode 35
Count Bindewald holding a contract

Dirk replacing Myne didn’t make any sense. But, as the High Priest says in this episode, he’s keeping Dirk. And in return for keeping Dirk, the High Priest is giving Myne to Count Bindewald. How does that make sense, though? Why is the High Priest trading Myne for Dirk?

The answer comes from a comment Ferdinand makes when he shows up. He says that the High Priest wouldn’t know about the new laws because that meeting was only for Nobles. The implication here is that the High Priest is not a Noble. And if he’s not a Noble, he can’t form a contract with Dirk.

In the end, we have the High Priest offering Myne to Count Bindewald in exchange for making a contract with Dirk. The High Priest gets his own baby mana slave and so does Count Bindewald. It’s a win-win.

It’s Lord Ferdinand to You

So, despite what I said about it being the time for the proletariat to rise up, I liked Ferdinand flexing his status. Even though he’s supposed to be below the High Priest, the High Priest is a filthy commoner. Ferdinand is Lord Ferdinand.

Oh, and let’s not forget that not only is Ferdinand a Noble, but he’s a knight too. Ferdinand is everything the High Priest wishes he was. But, I’d prefer if Ferdinand was a bit smugger about his status. You know, to one-up the smugness of the antagonists.

He almost got there when he explained to Count Bindewald that he’s a Noble and a graduate of the Royal Academy. But, it wasn’t quite there. It would have been good if Ferdinand made it clear that he’s the one with the highest status of everyone present. No leaving it even a bit ambiguous.

Ferdinand pointing his schtappe at Count Bindewald from the anime series Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 Episode 35
Ferdinand pointing his schtappe at Count Bindewald

Speaking of Nobles, what’s the deal with the pendant Sylvester gave Myne? She used it when she was in need and he never arrived. I assumed that Sylvester would be the one to come to the rescue, not Ferdinand. But, I guess we’ll find out why Sylvester never showed up in the next episode.

Oh, and let’s not forget that Sylvester is also a Noble. In fact, all the blue-robed priests other than Myne are Nobles. So I guess that means they all actually outrank the High Priest. That would explain why he doesn’t surround himself with them.

I’m not sure if Sylvester is a member of the knights, though. Was that said before or even in this episode? I know he can use powerful magic. But, I can’t remember if he’s actually a knight like Ferdinand is. If you know, and it’s not a spoiler, comment it.

Conclusion

What do you think of Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 Episode 35? Do you think Myne should kill some villains with her mana? Did you pick up on why Dirk was part of the agreement for Myne’s sale? And why is Ferdinand the best character? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 36 is available now.

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