Anime
Episode 23 – Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke
©Miya Kazuki,TO Books./Ascendance of a Bookworm Project 2026
In hindsight, by this episode’s end, it’s a little funny that it begins with Rosemyne dealing with some relatively rote, day-to-day issues. It’s in line with the typical goings-on of Ascendance of a Bookworm—Charlotte’s baptism ceremony is coming up, so Rosemyne needs to learn to properly bestow the blessing, while also mixing up the magical mana smoothie she needs and preparing for the big snooze she’ll take upon ingesting it. “Overwhelmingly busy,” she describes herself as the episode montages over all her tasks as it has before. It’s all proper preparation for upcoming stages of the story, as the writing has primed audiences for.
So the big day arrives and the typical points are updated within. Rosemyne gets flashbanged with pangs of family love upon seeing her previous parents, and she successfully pulls off the blessing for her current family in Charlotte. And Sylvester deigns to update the whole congregation on what went down with Wilfried, setting up the status quo and ostensibly going on the offensive against the other factions and their plans. It’s progress, but it’s not in a rush. Business as usual for Bookworm.
But the treatment of it all up through these points stands out. The animated flourishes of the characters moving, acting, doing their part in the baptism are all just a bit smoother and livelier here. It’s a big deal, yes, and one becomes aware that the end of the season is coming up, so a little extra sauce goes well with it. And there are nice touches along the storytelling too, highlighting the post-baptism banquet and Rosemyne needing to speak in thinly veiled codes with varying flavors of scheming viziers. It layers on the storytelling that brought the series to this point—and not for nothing, subtly highlighting how Rosemyne technically having an older intellect in her reincarnated body gives her a leg up in these sorts of situations.
It’s all sharp and structured and solidly enjoyable enough, and seeded with just a few seconds of suspicion before it pays off when a bunch of friggin’ ninjas burst through the window to attack Rosemyne and pals! It’s not just the episode upping its aesthetics as it gets close to the finish line; Wit Studio has an explosive climax they’re rendering, and it’s going to look slick. Even after all the instances of feybeast fighting in this season, the flourishes of magically powered human-on-human battling at this point in the series are still a sight to behold. The crowded chaos of the combat brings the show to life around amusing interlocking elements like Rosemyne frantically Tokyo drifting her funky little car-creature in the midst of it all.
Similarly, the chase to catch the captured Charlotte gives way to some lovely layers of action that let characters from this season really show off at last. I knew I liked Angelica, and she makes a terrific showing in the interior fight, then gets magically flung to catch Charlotte at the critical moment. There’s dramatic intensity to the layers of the rescue. The continuing brawl inside adds other elements that bump Bookworm way higher than it regularly hits. Rosemyne’s grandpa flings himself into helping out and winds up punching a guy so hard he explodes! It’s great!
Said guys exploding, alongside other points, seeks to feed into nominally foreshadowing the scheming of it all around this attack. But I don’t know that it super comes through or even matters at this point. Obviously, with everything that circled this season, viewers can presume this plot is at the hands of one of the succession factions the characters have been keeping an eye on. And the finishing cliffhanger suggests that the whole plan with attempting to take Charlotte was more designed around poisoning and abducting Rosemyne herself. So the reveal will likely be next week, with all the schemes and surprises setting this up mostly window dressing to make the explosive action seem more complex—to come off like A Lot was happening. Fair play, it works as a shot in the arm Bookworm could use, barreling toward a big finish for the season.
It’s fun to watch the first half and cotton onto the bump in production quality before grasping why it got that bump. Bookworm has always been a deliberate show, after all. As it switches subgenres on the fly based on where everyone’s schemes are, it shows surprising strengths audiences don’t always get to enjoy. It’s a nice little treat toward the end that audiences get to enjoy the sights like Angelica flying around fighting with her magic talking sword or Rosemyne going Super Saiyan as she takes off to rescue Charlotte. It makes the trip more worth it, and I look forward to the last stop for the season.
Rating:
Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke is currently streaming on
Crunchyroll.
Chris is back to hit the books. You can see him posting about anime, transforming robots, and other quality reading material over on his BlueSky.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Anime News Network, its employees, owners, or sponsors.
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Viz Media announced on Monday that the Naruto franchise will have a new television anime “limited” series. The “NARUTO: What’s Next?” panel at New York Comic Con will announce details about the new anime on October 10 at 5:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. PDT or October 11 at 6:00 a.m. JST) . The panel will have a live stream worldwide at the below YouTube link:
Junko Takeuchi and Noriaki Sugiyama, the voice of Naruto and Sasuke in the anime, will appear at the panel, along with Pierrot Films executive producer Yoshihiro Tominaga.
Kishimoto launched the Naruto ninja manga in Shueisha‘s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 1999, and ended the series in November 2014. The manga has spawned the Naruto and Naruto Shippūden television anime series, original video anime (OVA) projects, several anime films, spinoff manga, the Boruto sequel manga and anime series, a series of novels, stage plays, and video games.
Lionsgate is producing a Hollywood live-action film adaptation of the manga. The official website for the Naruto franchise announced on July 10 that the live-action film project had begun a global casting search for the main characters Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, with casting for other characters to come at a later date. Charles Melton (Riverdale, Beef) is “in final negotiations” to play the mentoring ninja Kakashi Hatake in the film. Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Spider-Man: Brand New Day) is directing the film, and is also producing the film through his company Hisako alongside Jeyun Munford. Arad Productions‘ Avi Arad, Ari Arad, and Emmy Yu as well as Jeremy Latcham are listed as producers.
Source: Press release
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© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation
The last episode of the anime for this year aired on Fuji TV on Sunday, with the anime continuing next year. The Dragon Ball Super: Beerus anime will take over One Piece‘s Sunday 11:15 p.m. timeslot on Fuji TV, starting on October 11.
The Elbaph arc of the One Piece anime debuted in Japan on April 5. Crunchyroll is streaming the arc.
Toei Animation and One Piece anime producer Ryūta Koike announced in October 2025 that the anime was reducing its annual episode output to a maximum of 26 episodes moving forward starting in 2026. Following the conclusion of the Egghead arc last year, the anime took a three-month production hiatus from January-March 2026. The anime returned in April 2026 for the first of two cours (quarters of a year) with the start of the new Elbaph arc.
According to Toei Animation, the new schedule allows episodes to “incorporate more content, tempo, and pacing of the manga while continuing to leverage the unique storytelling that is only possible with animation.” Historically, with only few exceptions, the anime has aired most weeks since its premiere in 1999. However, the pace has slowed considerably over the years.
© BIRD STUDIO/SHUEISHA, TOEI ANIMATION
Dragon Ball franchise executive producer Akio Iyoku stated that work on the Dragon Ball Super: Beerus television anime series started a few years ago and is an “enhanced” edition of the Dragon Ball Super anime that features a reconstruction of the story, and includes new and redrawn cuts.
The official announcement of the anime stated:
The project features extensive new cuts, revisions to existing scenes, a complete re-rendering of all footage, newly recorded dubbing with added score and sound effects, and a full reconstruction of the story. Living up to the name ENHANCED, this edition employs the latest visual expression to deliver greater power and immersion across all scenes, especially the battle sequences. The result is an ENHANCED edition that expresses Akira Toriyama‘s original idea and worldbuilding more accurately, that will be broadcasted with highly satisfying quality.
The staff describes the story:
Several years have passed since the fierce battle against Majin Buu, and Earth has finally regained a brief moment of peace. At the same time, Beerus, the God of Destruction, awakens from his long, deep sleep. Even Kai and Supreme Kai, aware of Beerus’s overwhelming power to destroy entire planets, watch his awakening with great fear… Meanwhile, Beerus hears rumors of a Saiyan who defeated Frieza—and suddenly appears before Goku.Targeted by Beerus, the strongest being in the universe, Earth is in grave danger. Thus begins an Earth-shattering cosmic battle between the God of Destruction and Goku and his allies—a conflict that will shake the entire universe.
Dragon Ball Super premiered in July 2015 and aired for 131 episodes until March 2018. Funimation and Crunchyroll streamed the series as it aired, and Funimation released the series on home video. Funimation debuted the English dub to its streaming service in December 2016. The English dub premiered on Adult Swim‘s Toonami block in January 2017.
Sources: One Piece anime’s X/Twitter account, Oricon News
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Will the horse girls achieve Most Speaking Characters in a Short-form Animation Series Based on a Video Game?
The Uma Musume Pretty Derby franchise boldly announced on Sunday that it is going for the Guinness World Record for the “Most Speaking Characters in a Short-form Animation Series Based on a Video Game” with the new short anime series Umayuru Full Gate! The staff said that Guinness World Records will reveal if Umayuru Full Gate! has broken the record in March 2027.
© Cygames, Inc.
Umayuru Full Gate! is the sequel to 2022’s Uma Yuru. The anime premiered on the franchise‘s YouTube channel on Friday. Episodes follow broadcasts of PakaLive TV.
The Uma Yuru anime series premiered in October 2022.
The Uma Musume Pretty Derby mobile game inspired both Uma Yuru and Uma Yuru: Full Gate! The Uma Musume Pretty Derby game launched in February 2021 for iOS and Android. The game was originally slated for a release in winter 2018, and was delayed in order to raise the game’s quality. The game launched on PC via DMM Games in March 2021.
Uma Musume Pretty Derby‘s English version launched for iOS and Android devices in June 2025. The game won Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards 2025.
The game’s concept begins with Uma Musume (Horse Girls), girls endowed with excellent running capability, and who aim to become top idols and compete in the national sports entertainment show “Twinkle Series.” Players take the role of both teacher and trainer for the girls in the Nihon Uma Musume Training Center Gakuen (Japan Horse Girls Training Center Academy) and help them make their debut.
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray, the latest anime of the franchise, aired for two cours (quarters of a year) with a break in between from April to December 2025.
Sources: Uma Musume: Pretty Derby’s X/Twitter account
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