Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 Review & Parent Guide (Christian Perspective)

In our review of Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2, we will discuss the anime from a Christian perspective. Our anime review includes a parent guide.

This review is about Season 2 of Ascendance of a Bookworm. For our Christian Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 1 review, click here.

Synopsis: Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

Although Myne has been accepted into the church and offered access to the library as an apprentice priestess, her struggles are far from over. She was offered blue robes despite her status as a commoner, leading to her being scorned by nearly everyone in the cathedral. The church gives her servants—grey-robed clergy—but they look upon her with disdain, too.

To complicate things further, the High Priest hates her, and the Head Priest pushes her outside of her comfort zone.

All she wants to do is read, but everyone is making things difficult for her.

Will Myne survive her new role as an apprentice priestess, or will noble society get the better of our favorite bookworm?

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Review of Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2, like its predecessor, is light, fluffy, wholesome, and fun.

As a huge fan of Ascendance of a Bookworm, it’s exciting to watch Myne continue maturing. The little five-year-old we met in Season 1 is worlds away from the Myne we follow in Season 2—a seven-year-old newly baptized child with money, mana, and a way to survive her illness.

Compared to most anime, Ascendance of a Bookworm is rather clean. However, the cleanliness is from an adult/teenage perspective. Ascendance of a Bookworm was not created for young kids.

Our Ascendance of a Bookworm Christian review will highlight themes, morals, characters, and content flags.

Ascendance of a Bookworm English Dub Cast

It’s a beautiful thing when voice actors return to voice their roles in another season, and thankfully, Ascendance of a Bookworm is very consistent in their voice acting. Reba Buhr (Tower of god*, Violet Evergarden) returns as Myne. She does such an amazing job as Myne and was cast very well. She actually read the first three light novels in audio book format; I highly recommend checking them out if you haven’t. I enjoyed the first two immensely and plan to listen to the third in the future.

Other returning voice actors from Season 1 include Jeannie Tirado (The Promised Neverland, Tower of god*) as Lutz, Xander Mobus (The Rising of the Shield Hero) as Benno, Armen Taylor as Ferdinand, and Lisa Reimold (Lycoris Recoil, The Rising of the Shield Hero) as Tuuli.

New characters introduced include Myne’s retainers. Chris Hackney (Tower of god, Link Click) voices Fran, Myne’s head retainer. Laura Stahl (The Promised Neverland) voices Gil, Lizzie Freeman voices Delia (Lycoris Recoil, The Promised Neverland, The Rising of the Shield Hero, In the Land of Leadale), Brianna Knickerbocker (The Rising of the Shield Hero) voices Rosina, and Erika Mendez (The Promised Neverland, The Rising of the Shield Hero) voices Wilma.

Other notable characters introduced in this season and their voice actors include J. Michael Tatum (Summer Wars, Steins;Gate, Assassination Classroom, Romeo x Juliet) as Shikikoza, Bill Butts (Horimiya) as Karstedt, and Christian La Monte (Cells at Work!) as Damuel.

For a full list of Ascendance of a Bookworm’s English dub cast, click here.

*I put Tower of god purposefully in lowercase to emphasize the difference between the title and the God of the Bible.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 Review: Season 1 Versus Season 2

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 introduces very different dynamics than the first season. The isekai anime’s first season focused on Myne as a commoner living in the city. She had to fight to survive the Devouring (a sickness caused by excess mana in commoners) and fight to make paper.

Despite her hardships, she was able to make paper with her best friend, Lutz, earn a good amount of money, and discover the cure for the Devouring—magic items that the nobility has control of. Once Myne realizes that the world’s church has a library, she decides to become an apprentice priestess.

Thankfully, the church has access to magical items that can help her with her Devouring, but unfortunately commoner apprentices are treated extremely poorly by the church’s noble clergy. The church is a class-based society, with blue robes reserved for the nobility. Everyone else has grey robes, and they are expected to serve the blue robes.

The end of Season 1 sees Myne and her family risking everything to ensure the best treatment for Myne at the cathedral so she isn’t subjected to the treatment of commoners, and thankfully, the Head Priest agrees to each of their demands.

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 picks up with Myne preparing to become an apprentice blue-robed priestess. For Myne to have blue robes as a commoner is completely unheard of, and this leads to resentment from both the blue robes and the grey robes.

The second season follows Myne’s new role in the church, introduces noble society, and continues her book-making journey.

Religion in Ascendance of a Bookworm

In the second season of the anime, religion becomes a central focus. Myne joins the church—a church whose practices vastly differ from Christianity.

The Clergy

The vast majority of the blue-robed clergy are selfish and focused on their own gain. The High Priest, known as the High Bishop or Bezewanst in the light novels, only cares about himself. He exploits and uses his power to harm, not heal. He does not care about the orphans and tries to make life difficult for Myne, even sending one of his own retainers to cause issues and spy on her.

The other blue-robed clergy look down upon Myne and treat her poorly as well.

It’s only Head Priest, known as the High Priest or Ferdinand in the light novels, who treats her like she’s a person. He cares more about “merit” than status, so they get along fairly well.

And thankfully, most of the grey robes treat her well, too.

The Belief System

As previously stated, their religion is polytheistic. They believe in and serve many gods at the church. This is, of course, contrary to Scripture. We have one God (Deuteronomy 4:35) in three persons.

Magic in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 *Potential Spoilers*

It’s important that we highlight the continuing prominence of magic in our Ascendance of a Bookworm Christian review.

In the context of the anime, praying to the gods can grant blessings, and mana can be used to bless others, too. After a trombe is killed, the land is so ravaged that it needs mana to fully heal it. Myne is able to do this “ritual” by praying and using her mana to heal the land.

Magic circles sometimes appear. They don’t resemble pentagrams, and seem to be invented specifically for the story.

Myne is also introduced to other magical concepts, like magical birds that bring messages, magical flying creatures, a magic “wand-like item that can be transformed into various objects, like weapons or shields, and used to cast spells” (called schtappe in the light novels), and potions that restore mana or assist in searching memories.

And, on that topic, the Head Priest uses a magic item to search Myne’s memories. He gives her a potion to drink and they both wear magical crowns.

Magic will continue to be a major part of the series. I’m not here to argue or teach about whether fantasy magic in a fictional context is sin or not; I know some Christians are unbothered by it, and others are strongly convicted about it.

Follow your convictions, and know that if the magic in Ascendance of a Bookworm bothers you now, it will likely bother you more in the future.

Caring for Orphans in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 *Minor Spoilers*

Myne becomes the orphanage director for the church after discovering the horrific conditions the unbaptized kids live in. She takes on the responsibility (which involves a financial burden) because she cannot focus on books. Although her reasoning is selfish, she does care about the children and improves their lives significantly. She does also get them to assist with her bookmaking.

The Bible calls us to care for the orphans and widows. James 1:27 (ESV) says:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Myne’s family and friends also join in her mission to help the orphans. Despite Myne’s questionable motivations, the positive impact she has on the children’s lives is unarguable.

Sexual Trauma and Desperation *Spoilers*

Ascendance of a Bookworm introduces a few new characters. One such character, Wilma, is a grey-robed priestess who becomes one of Myne’s retainers. We discover that Wilma is scared of men due to a past sexual assault.

Rosina, Wilma’s friend and another one of Myne’s retainers, tells us what happened to Wilma “A blue-robed priest made promises and tricked [her], forcing her to offer her flower to him.” Later, we see a brief flashback where a man appears to drag Wilma away, but nothing else is shown.

Thankfully, Wilma, despite struggling a lot in the beginning (she panics and has a flashback when one of the children in her care grabs onto her), she does start to heal.

Wilma’s story is a beautiful reminder that past trauma does not define us, and it is possible to overcome these trials, not necessarily right away, but progress is absolutely attainable. This is especially true for those of us with the Lord on our side.

Another notable character is Delia, one of Myne’s other retainers. Delia is 8 years old, and, like Wilma, has also experienced past trauma. She was an orphan kept in horrible conditions until she was taken in as a servant to the High Priest. Her goal is to become his concubine—yes, her plan parallels Frieda in Season 1.

Once she works for Myne (assigned as a spy by the High Priest Bezewanst), Delia tries to sit on Benno’s lap, assuming that’s what Myne wants her to do. It’s really sad that, at 8 years old, Delia already thinks and acts this way. Over time, she does experience character growth, but her story is a brutal reminder that we must protect the most innocent among us.

Growing into a New Role

Myne has a new job with new responsibilities, but at first, her mind is focused solely on books. She only joined the church because it had a library (and, potentially because of the magical items that can save her life) but she doesn’t take her job duties seriously and it hurts her retainers.

*Minor Spoilers* However, when she has a talk with Benno, she starts to realize that she needs to take things more seriously. She starts trying to become a better master for her retainers, and fulfill her apprentice duties. As a result, Myne starts to win over the hearts of the grey robes.

The Bible reminds us in Colossians 3:23 (NIV):

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Although Myne is not working for the Lord, she is starting to work hard not just for her sake, but for the sake of others, too.

FAQs for Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

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Conclusion: Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 Review

In our Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 review, we analyzed the second season from a Christian lens. The question is: can Christians watch Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2? With discernment, Christians may be able to watch Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2.

The anime does introduce some suggestive topics and past sexual/childhood trauma, but it’s not detailed. The other content flags are outlined in the parent guide below.

I hope you found my Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 review helpful.

Happy watching, and see you in our Ascendance of a Bookworm review for Season 3!

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Content Guide for Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

Sexual Content, Suggestive Comments and Nudity in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• In the intro, for a brief second you can see Lutz’s belly.
• Lutz and Myne touch hands on multiple occasions. Their sweet friendship continues in Season 2, and they hug as well.
• Corinna had cleavage in the first season. In season 2, there is little to none (maybe an occasion or two max, if that) because, after she’s become pregnant, she starts covering up a bit more. However, the recap episode with Lutz’s perspective shows her with cleavage once again.
• An eight-year-old girl says “My feminine charms aren’t gonna work on a girl” and wants to become a concubine for the High Priest. Her desire to become a concubine is brought up on at least one other occasion by Myne.
• In a few very cartoonish cutscenes, Benno and the head priest are shown shirtless in a boxing ring.
• A character uses a phrase comparing Myne to the goddess of water in Benno’s eyes. Sometimes, this phrase can mean a sweetheart/lover/paramour. Benno and Myne both push back on the idea that they’re lovers (they aren’t), even though the age gap is allegedly not unheard of. She’s called this because she “brings great change” for Benno’s business, not because of anything inappropriate.
• Myne puts on her robes in the Ferdinand’s room, causing him to give her her own room. Nothing sensitive is shown, and it’s not even clear if she even took anything off. Later, Delia suggests Myne could “ruin yourself as a woman” by doing that.
• Delia sits on Benno’s lap. She says “Surely you could use some womanly charms around here if you want to please your guests.” Allegedly “smiling and fawning over” the High Priest’s visitors was her job before. Of course Benno is not having it.
• Myne has a meeting with Ferdinand. For a moment, it looks like they will be talking “in bed” which shocks those present. However, it’s not a chat in bed; he is taking her to his hidden room where they can talk privately.
• A child is shown getting a bath.
• Delia tells us about the day she was chosen from the orphanage. She was cleaned and “transformed into a pretty lady…” Out of three girls, Delia was the one selected to serve the High Priest.
• People with mana must marry someone else with a similar level—or they cannot have children.
• Myne will be seen as a “convenient baby maker” when she comes of age unless she can conduct herself well in noble society.
• Myne thinks Ferdinand would cause women to fall for him by singing love songs.
• Episode 21: We discover that Wilma doesn’t like to be around men. Rosina says “a blue-robed priest made promises and tricked Wilma, forcing her to offer her flower to him. No other harm befell her, but she has been afraid of men since that day.”
• Ferdinand gives bedclothes to Myne, likely as an apology. He says not to mention it to anyone because this type of gift is usually from family/betrothed/paramour.
• Eps 22: A child grabs Wilma’s hand. She has a flashback to a traumatic past experience where she was dragged by a blue-robed priest and starts to panic. 
• Myne hugs the head priest. She forces him to hug her.
• Season 1 Recap: Myne shown naked shoulder up.
• Season 1 Recap: Lutz was “surprised by how pretty Myne looked” at their baptism.
• Season 1 Recap: End credits at the end of the first recap episode are the same as season one’s end credits, which shows a naked silhouetted female character.

Language in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• Gil, one of Myne’s retainers, doesn’t give a great first impression. He uses frequent insults in the first few episodes of this season; however, once he and Myne’s relationship improves, he speaks a lot nicer. Other characters insult Myne, too. Insults/phrases used include words such as: stupid, idiot, baby, dumb, clueless, moron, runt, etc.
• “No way in hell.” / “What the hell x4” /Give you hell/ the hell is that /who the hell/hell of a job
• “Damn it.”/”You damn fool.”/”You’re damn right.”
• What the heck/the heck/where the heck x5.
• Crap x2.
• “Dirty commoner”
• You fool x4
• “More of a fool than I thought” x2, “Calling a fool a fool”/”You clumsy fool.”
• “This reeks of the stench of nobility.”
• Suggesting Myne has “rocks in [her] head.”
• “Annoying little wretch.” x2
• “That she devil isn’t good for anything else.” / She-devil/ That little devil.
• “Plebeian” said multiple times. “Pea brain plebeian kid,” “Lowly plebeian,” and “Resident plebeian” used as well.
• Geez.
• “Religious nuts.”
• “Diminutive nitwit.”
• “Loose cannon.”
• “You stupid jerk”/ “Snobby blue jerk face”/”That stupid jerk.”
• Brat x2, cursed brat
• “Thank goodness.”
• “That stinks.”
• Blockhead. x2
• “Stupid noble pride.”
• “Dumb commoner runt.”
• “What in the world did you do?”
• “Whiney coward.”
• Dummy.
• “You little punk.”
• “That stupid instrument of hers.”
• “Uppity peasant. “
• “Street rat.”
• Worm.
• Imbeciles.
• “For heaven sake.”
• “That stupid commoner.”
• “You cad.” x2
• Simpleton.

Violence/Gore in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• A character shakes another character’s head roughly. They say oww. Characters also pinch and stretch someone’s cheeks.
• A highly cartoonish group of cutscenes Benno and Ferdinand in a boxing ring. In some, they are actually boxing.
• Gil grabs Myne and makes her fall. In response, Lutz starts attacking Gil.
• Characters attack a dangerous plant.
• A father shoves and yells at his son. He also hits his son on the back, causing him to say oww.
• A boy tries to take his brother home by grabbing him. This boy is thrown out of a store.
• Myne wants to hold a bloody carnival as revenge for someone messing up the library. She’s shown with blood. She also has a spiked ball weapon, a whip, and candles on her head. She wants to get the guillotine ready.
• People chase a pig with weapons and later it’s shown hanging upside down.
• Flashback to chopping a trombe.
• The knight order has to chop “that cursed plant” (trombe) and take it out. It’s big and dangerous, and the knight order attacks it and has to kill it. They have weapons: arrows and axes.
• Myne is wounded and bleeds.
• A character punches Myne’s retainer, grabs her by the hair, and throws her down. He threatens to gouge her eyes out with his knife.
• Season 1 Recap: Myne’s mana goes berserk. Fighting the priests. Myne nearly kills the High Priest, and makes the Head Priest bleed.
• Season 2 Recap: Not necessary to mention as it recaps what already happened in Season 2, and this is the parent guide for Season 2.

Frightening Scenes in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• Flashback to Myne (with a creepy appearance) attacking the High Priest.
• Myne becomes creepy and threatening with her mana when her retainers bother her while she is reading.
• The orphanage shown in a terrible state. A child is passed out, and the children appear in bad shape. Myne passes out.
• The orphanage state shown in a flashback.
• Myne looks creepy when she plans to do a bloody carnival. She has red eyes, razor teeth, & skulls.
• Myne is taken to the battlefield to help restore the soil once a trombe is taken out. She is in danger and attacked.
• Myne is attacked by a plant.
• Myne becomes very emotional and upset when she thinks about her Japanese mother. Might be intense for some viewers or those who have dealt with the loss of a parent.
• Season 1 Recap: The recap episodes show events that have happened already in the first two seasons, including Myne collapsing.
• Season 1 Recap: Trombe fight.
• Season 1 Recap: Lutz gets mad at Myne and shakes her.
• Season 1 Recap: Myne knocked back from the magic barrier protecting the library.
• Season 1 Recap: Myne’s mana goes berserk. The high priest turns purple and foams at the mouth and she hurts the head priest, too.
• Season 2 Recap: Not necessary to mention as it recaps what already happened in Season 2, and this is the parent guide for Season 2.
  

Substances in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• Gunther and Otto shown at the tavern drinking.
• Potions used on a couple of occasions.
• A character drinks something unknown out of a goblet.

Spiritual Concerns/Magic in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• This is the season in which Myne joins the church.
• Frequent use of religious language like “servant of the gods.”
• The religion is polytheistic, and they have colors that symbolize different seasons.
• Myne takes an oath and repeats religious phrases and vows to serve the world’s gods.
• Spiritual language and prayers used throughout the show. Characters cross their arms over their chest; it’s some sort of common gesture among members of the church. They also do a pose that involves standing on one leg.
• The head priest uses incense in the vow taking ceremony.
• “Our thanks to winter.”
• Magic circles appear on occasion.
• Prayers and mana dedication. Bringing the shield, she gives mana and imagines sending mana into it, a magic circle shows up but its not a pentagramic one. Fantasy coded.
• Oath taking ceremony. Ferdinand has incense and waves it or something….he says religious language and talks about colors and seasons. They cross their arms over their chest, kneel, and she repeats after Ferdinand. Talking about the gods. You can always skip this part. “Gods of gods” vowing to/praising them etc. She gets her blue-robes. 
• Lucky/best of luck/luckily/good luck used.
• “Paradise on God’s green earth.”
• Greeting with spiritual language. Benno gets a blessing with mana.
• Magic contract shown.
• “Alms of the gods” mentioned.
• Ferdinand takes Myne to his hidden room. Only those people with a certain level of mana can enter.
• Characters look up to someone as their “personal messiah.”
• Myne touches a fruit and it glows and absorbs her mana.
• Magical item for preventing eavesdropping used. 
• Myne’s “trial by fire” is to learn the harspiel.
• Myne decides to make a kid version of their holy book.
• Gutenberg=godlike in Myne’s eyes.
• Harvest festival is a ritual where they collect tributes for the gods via taxes and produce.
• Myne discovers magic books. We see a tome with a regular star on it; Myne looks like a wizard with a staff and there is lightening.
• According to Ferdinand, magic (its foundations) is “all about observing and understanding nature.” However, magic items are different, and only nobles get to study magic. They need to be able to “channel the power of magic.”
• Dedicating mana to the objects at the cathedral is what keeps Myne alive.
• Myne needs to memorize the prayers she will need when she’s required to perform a ritual.
• The holy eve of a specific goddess mentioned.
• Magic bird messenger says they need a priest to perform a ritual. Ferdinand says “Ordinance,” taps and then sends a message back. 
• Myne is born in the summer. She gets to borrow a magic ring that changes to her size. 
• Opening a door. Magic circle.
• Magical animal sculptures.
• Characters ride on magical flying animals.
• Myne prays for protection and gives a blessing. Something absorbs her mana.
• “Your holiness.”
• A god’s blessing helps in battle.
• Characters say a prayer. Weapons divinely protected.
• Someone says “for mesa” and turns their wand into a knife.
• A character bleeds and it causes a plant to grow.
• Characters say a prayer to get their weapon to work. It’s a blessing.
• A ring sends a message to Lutz magically.
• A character is able to say something that causes their weapon to turn into a wand. They use it to heal.
• Myne is given a potion to drink.
• A character says a prayer. A staff glows and he starts to heal the damaged earth.
• Myne says a prayer and heals the land.
• Ferdinand uses a magic device to search Myne’s memories and gives her a potion.
• Recap Episode: Recap Episode: Flashback to contract magic, guild cards, and blood.
• Season 1 Recap Episode: Baptism & book with magic circle shown.
• Season 1 Recap Episode: A magical artifact glows when Myne touches it.
• Season 1 Recap Episode: Benno wants Myne to make a magic contract.
• Season 2 Recap: Not necessary to mention as it recaps what already happened in Season 2, and this is the parent guide for Season 2.

Other Concerns in Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2

• Myne keeps her job as a priestess a secret from her neighbors who don’t like the church. They tell people (to hide the truth) she’s working at the gate and helping out at home.
• Ferdinand claims he doesn’t have enough mana to do a ritual, but Myne thinks he’s lying.

Cover Photo Credit: Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 2 trailer screenshot from Crunchyroll YouTube. Under fair use for review/commentary/education/criticism. All rights retained by owners.