Mercuri

Yes. Any time I'm reading the most recently released volume of a really good light novel and the page number hits 300 I get scared the book is going to end and that I'm going to have to wait months for the next volume to be released.

Absolurely terrifying.

Yeah. I wouldn't say the anime is bad but it does water it down a whole lot. I guess it's how I feel about the Reincarnated as a Sword anime vs the LN since the LN is significantly better. Like, Ferdinand's behavior makes a LOT more sense in the book since you get to see more of his character and emotions. Likewise for Benno when Myne collapses and Mark has to remind Benno that she's not someone else (trying to be vague to avoid spoilers). It really drive the point home how much Myne is walking this fine line and every moment she's on the verge of absolute disaster but somehow making it through with help. Ferdinand's interpretation of the dream world was also significantly better in the book since he was more baffled, confused, and made incorrect assumptions. Just a lot more depth overall.

I really can't wait until I get through the Temple arc and start reading completely new material. I'm also glad I decided to start this series from Book 1 Part 1 rather than just try to pick up where the anime left off. Past experience has told me that the book is almost always better.

MC is literally what a pre-pubescent kid would dream up what a “cool guy” would be.

Glad to see the book is JUST as shitty as the anime. Maybe even moreso. You must really, REALLY hate yourself. I think doing heroin would be better for your health than reading this.

I'm continuing on my journey through Ascendance of a Bookworm. I've finished Volume 2 Part 1 and am about 3/4ths of the way through Part 2. It has been every bit as enjoyable as I expected it to be, even if the art isn't as good as Llo's (kidding).

I think the most surprising things for me are the differences between the anime and the book. The anime does a pretty good job of hitting all the main plot points but the amount of extra details in the book are so cool! For instance, the anime barely shows you how bad the orphanage is prior to Myne's arrival whereas in the book you get to really feel how abysmally terrifying it had become. Additionally there are a lot more inventions Myne creates in the book that you never see in the anime. And I always thought Delia was an interesting character but she's quickly become a dark-horse favorite of mine. Finally, High Priest Ferdinand shows a lot more emotion in the book when speaking privately with Myne. I feel like in the anime he was always stoic even in private but when she hands him the book that was a great moment. Speaking of book and inventions, the book process was very different from the anime as well!

There have been so many differences that it honestly feels like I'm reading "Ascendance of a Bookworm: Extended Director's Cut". Also Myne's "Bwah?" is becoming as endearing as Fran's "Hmm" and I like that.

I can't wait to see more maid swordswoman.

Serious:

So the cover seems to depict a human riding a deer. There is also the subtitle: "Survivors." Plural. But we only see the deer and the human. No civilization or technology or even ruins is shown; it's just forest. So my guess is that the titular "survivors" are the deer and the human. The story starts with the human waking up in a cave with no recollection of how he got there or even who he is. Needing things like sustinence and information he sets off only to find forest. When almost eaten by a bear he is saved by a deer and turns out he can telepathically speak to the deer. There is a deer prophecy about the coming of their King and the human slowly starts fulfilling the prophecy even though he's doing little more than just trying to survive.

Not Serious:

Kuzco Buckington Winthrope III is the crown prince of the kingdom of Clopinhagen. On the day he is to be crowned king, the witch consort attempts to poison him but her bumbling assistance mixes up the poison specifically for Kuzco with essence of deer, turning Kuzco into a deer. He then ends up accidentally on the cart of a traveling merchant leaving the city... until the merchant finds a talking deer in his cart. We laugh, we cry, wrong levers are pulled and after the roller coaster ride the deer is finally reinstated as King but is still a deer.

Have the perfect book for this:

That being said, I started volume 2 a hour ago.

https://media.tenor.com/5rgyEsENjeEAAAAM/i-hate-this-data.gif

The characters in it aren't just entities that stop existing the moment MC stops looking at them like the LOD system in a video game.

lol. Yeah, sometimes it's fun to see things from a different character's perspective. I remember John Scalzi did it really well with part of the Old Man's War series. One book follows events from the MC's perspective with his adopted daughter showing up at opportune times. Then another is from the daughter's perspective and all the deus ex machina from the first book is explained. The interweave can be nuts.

Reincarnated as a Sword is probably my favorite LN but it admittedly does start out a bit slow. I think it starts to separate itself in book 3 and really starts to shine by book 5. Also, I don't do audio books but I imagine the narrator can make or break a book.

Are the books that bad? I was also unimpressed with the anime. Like, I thought it started strong but by the end I was yelling about how incredibly stupid everything was.

Same. I enjoyed the anime but it isn't something I can watch Repeatedly. Still, I'm a sucker for isekai and it's even more silly since he gets reincarnated as a girl and stuff.