Herald Anime Club

The Herald Anime Club Meeting 124: Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 4


Meeting Date: 10/27/2019

Disclaimer: The Herald Anime Club discusses shows as they’re airing. Naturally, there will be spoilers for a given episode. You have been warned!


Samantha Ferreira: Hi everyone, and welcome to the Herald Anime Club! I’m Samantha, and I’m here with Anthony Simpson

Anthony Simpson: Evening

Samantha Ferreira: Tonight, we’re heading back down the isekai well for Ascendance of a Bookworm episode 4: “How the hell do you drink tea but not know about vegetable stock?”

Anthony Simpson: There are some things about this episode that I liked and there are some things I didn’t like.
For the record I’m opposed to child abuse but my god Main needed slapped to the smug look off her face.

 Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 4 Still

Samantha Ferreira: She kept lording her knowledge over everybody. Like…
Last week, I read a report that explained how scientists trained rats to drive tiny cars through a maze… so even rats are more advanced than the people of this freaking world. Main is just lording her accumulated knowledge of SIMPLE CONCEPTS over them like it makes her someone special.

Anthony Simpson: I don’t like smug Main at all. Like, I just hate that look on her face.

Samantha Ferreira: Same. I mean, I had trouble warming up to this show to begin with, but this episode just made me say “yep, Main is just straight-up THAT ASSHOLE”

Anthony Simpson: Yep.

Samantha Ferreira: I’m still trying to figure out how this world didn’t know about vegetable stock.

Like… they live in a village with a communal well, so wasting water would be stupid if not ill-advised, and civilizations have made stock for literally thousands of years. It logically does not work

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Anthony Simpson: I don’t know how they wouldn’t know about it either.
One thing I do want to say I was happy to see her get called out a few times this episode. When she got to the forest and started to dig for clay she got called out about lying to her dad.

Samantha Ferreira: Likewise. But… that was way after we saw her literally commandeer a classroom because “I knows best – they’re not as gifted as me”

Anthony Simpson: I didn’t like that part either. Smug Main is not good Main.

Samantha Ferreira: Yeeeah.

Anthony Simpson: I did feel bad for her when her clay tables got stepped on.
I wonder what was up with her eyes when she got mad after that.

Samantha Ferreira: My guess is that’s what leads her to be a person of interest for the high priest later on.

 Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 4 Still

Anthony Simpson: Could be.

Samantha Ferreira: For now I’m just joking that she’s the Omen child. Any final thoughts this week?

Anthony Simpson: Less smug Main the better.

Samantha Ferreira: Agreed.
That’s all the time we have this week! Til next time, remember: when baking your clay tablets, watch for shrapnel!
Have a great night!

Anthony Simpson: Good night

After the Meeting…

Samantha Ferreira: I still don’t get how they don’t understand vegetable stock.

Anthony Simpson: I don’t either. This show is set what I’m guessing a renaissance type Europe so I’m sure they had vegetable stock then.

Samantha Ferreira: Yeah… Also, I mean… This is a clearly constructed city with a uniform look, so you have to assume some form of urban planning. But nobody can read.

Anthony Simpson: Well the wealthy obviously can if books exists the rest can’t (at least what we know so far).
so at least to me that makes some sense.

Samantha Ferreira: True.
But like… you’d expect to see some literature somewhere. Shopkeeps writing up scrips for accounting, craftsmen keeping records and orders, etc.

Anthony Simpson: They understand numbers and the military at least can read. But I can see where you are coming from.

Samantha Ferreira: Indeed. Sorry – I’m just over-analyzing this now, lol

 Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 4 Still

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