Isekai is one of the most popular anime genres in recent years, and each anime season is bound to have at least two or three isekai shows, both returning and new. It's pretty clear that isekai is here to stay, at least for the time being, and it will be quite some time before it goes out of fashion.
While isekai anime can be fun to watch, a lot of times they can also be very generic, and many isekai storylines are often very cookie-cutter in nature. With the current anime landscape being flooded with isekai, it's easy to get tired of seeing them come out every season. However, there are exceptions to this, and Ascendance of a Bookworm is a very good example of one. A story about a book lover that gets reincarnated into a world where books are extremely rare, Ascendance of a Bookworm is extremely popular, with its third season having just ended earlier this month. Ascendance of a Bookworm bucks the common conventions of isekai anime to create a story that can be enjoyed even by people that dislike isekai.
The General Isekai Formula
Modern isekai stories tend to follow a very basic formula: a fairly generic protagonist is sent to another world, either by teleportation or reincarnation, and is given powers or abilities to use in their new life. These abilities often turn out to be overpowered, allowing the protagonist to simply breeze through any obstacle without really having any trouble at all. They quickly establish themselves as a powerful hero and travel the world living out their life as they please. Since most isekai protagonists are often male (and sometimes even when they aren't), they also end up with a large harem of romantic interests, all vying for attention.
Nine times out of ten, the protagonist ends up in a high fantasy world with knights and magic, and often must fight monsters as often as they fight bandits. Game-like mechanics are incredibly common, even when the show's setting has nothing to do with games. The isekai genre is filled with shows that match these exact parameters, and while some great isekai series like How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom and Re:Zero can avoid the more obvious stereotypes, some common aspects still remain.
How Ascendance Of A Bookworm Differs
Myne, the protagonist of Ascendance of a Bookworm, is very different from the usual isekai protagonist. Instead of receiving omnipotent powers, Myne is instead handicapped by the Devouring, which causes her excessive mana to eat away at her body. While she can use that mana to her own benefit, her life is constantly in danger because of it. In addition, while other protagonists see being isekai'd as getting to live out their dream world, a book-lover like Myne is horrified to learn that books in this world are not available to the public at large. This motivates Myne to make books herself, with the core of the story showing her working towards her dream rather than having it given to her.
Much of Ascendance of a Bookworm involves Myne introducing modern inventions to a medieval era. While this is not something unseen of in other isekai shows, it is handled here much differently. Myne's inventions and creations quickly grab the attention of unscrupulous folks, and begin to target her in order to use her knowledge for their own gain. The consequences of Myne introducing modern concepts is clearly evident, and adds a lot of real tension to the series. Myne's story is fraught with difficulty and hard sacrifices, but seeing her achieve and grow with each step she takes is heartwarming and endearing.
What Other Isekai Can Learn From Ascendance Of A Bookworm
What makes Ascendance of a Bookworm so interesting is how Myne makes the best of what she has in order to work towards achieving her goals as well as avoid her death from the Devouring. When she becomes a priestess of the church, her ability to manage her attendants and maneuver situations politically also becomes important, but the core of Myne's capabilities depend on her creativity, not any kind of unbeatable power. Most isekai protagonists seem to have an answer for everything, and while it might make a decent spectacle, it will never be as interesting as conflicts that are resolved using limited but creative methods.
Ascendance of a Bookworm isn't necessarily the best isekai series around. However, it is definitely one of the most interesting and unique shows, and that is what manages to set it apart from the others. While the show may never be as action-packed as a shonen battle anime or as dramatic as a romance drama, it still has a strong concept and compelling characters that still have to deal with problems and real consequences for their actions. Ascendance of a Bookworm is still going strong, and hopefully newer isekai series take a page out of their book.