It’s not often that we see a long-running light novel series come to an end and even less often one as popular as Ascendance of a Bookworm.
So let’s talk about the series as a whole. How did you like the story? What were your favorite and least favorite parts? Was the ending satisfying? Who is your favorite character? Who is your least favorite? General thoughts?
Good point about Frieda and her benefactor. I don’t remember, was he ever named?
Regarding Ferdinand, I agree that he is a compelling character and he certainly didn’t deserve to end up with Detilinde, but I’m still not convinced that Myne is the best solution here either. I am internally fighting with me because on the one hand there is a guardian marrying his ward, but on the other side there are so many unconventional circumstances around this that it turns into a “yeah … but …” argument in my mind. Did he ever saw her a a child after learning of her previous life? Did Myne for that matter? I feel like her Urano memories are more like knowledge without the accompanying emotions behind it. Did she ever miss her Motosu family the same way she missed her Ehrenfest one? Would Ferdinand reading young Myne’s memory come away with the impression that she is an “adult in a child’s body” or that she is a “child with knowledge of an adult”.
I had the same thought after I wrote that and looked him up on the wiki: Lord Henrik. What’s even easier to forget? He is Damuel’s older brother. I remembered that Freida had a cameo when characters received blessings at the end of Part 2, but completely forgot Damuel was in the same building for it! asdfasdfgdfsg
It just goes to show you just how far Freida’s circumstances get swept under the rug. She’s the consort of Damuel’s brother, and we’re rarely ever given opportunities for it to register.
(Edit: Going by the wiki Henrik was born 12-13 years before Myne, and Freida was born 1 year before Myne. Freida was 6 when she met Myne and already promised to be the concubine of a low ranking laynoble who was 17-18. Yurgenschmidt eugenics continue to provide for the creepiest things that happen in the series.)
You’ve pretty much encapsulated the dilemma. Most of us want the characters to be individually happy, but it feels off. We can visualize perspectives for Ferdinand and Myne that would help rationalize it, but we don’t have them. It needed more time.