#ascendanceofabookworm — Public Fediverse posts

Recently added titles (July 2026)

Yamada checks his phone for messages from Nishi outside the Municipal Center and Library in an episode of the new season of You and I Are Polar Opposites

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of this year, and January, February, March, April, May, and June of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No films, animated series, or other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in webcomics and anime. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

Anime series recently added to this page

• I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day, “Friends” (s1 ep 3)
• I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day, “Accomplices” (s1 ep 4)
• Detective Conan aka Case Closed (s2 ep 22)
• You and I Are Polar Opposites, “Dilemma of a Winter’s Night” (s2 ep 2)
• You and I Are Polar Opposites, “New School Term” (s2 ep 4)

While Ascendance of a Bookworm continues into a second cour (with no more episodes with libraries or the protagonist Myne as a librarian), Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia (set in the 13th century) has the protagonist aiming to get back her book of Eucidlis from an arrogant imperialistic Mongolian princess, and Draw This, Then Die! has the protagonists cleaning the room of a manga book store on the second floor to become their club space, in the second episode of season 2 of You and I Are Polar Opposites, “Dilemma of a Winter’s Night”, Yamada meets Nishi in the middle of winter break as a pretext to see her. While he doesn’t confess his feelings, and nor does she, he wrongly thinks the library doesn’t have a “nice” atmosphere, even though it does. They choose between going to the study room where talking, food, and drink are forbidden, and a free space, with Yamada going with the latter.

Otherwise, in the episode, Nishi admits she comes to the library “quite a bit,” which Yamada finds commendable, and admits he can’t study at all, at home, as it is far too distracting. He admits that inviting her there was just a pretext by accident while she admits that she comes there every day, and has finished all her homework. He is shocked, she admits she wanted a pretext as well, and he stops himself from saying they should date, feeling it isn’t a right place. He ends up being quiet during their date-not-date while studying.

There’s another library scene in the episode “New School Term”. Even the description on Crunchyroll indicates this, saying, “Suzuki takes Yamada to the school library, with an ulterior motive in mind. Nishi is happy that Yamada came, but anxious that others might find out about their relationship.” Shenanigans ensue, while Nishi and Taira work as library for their student library duty. At one point, Taira even wants to process the book returns, while Nishi isn’t sure how to handle Yamada there, and Suzuki offers to help Yamada with reshelving books at another point. She also came to see Yamada. Funny enough, no one else comes into the library except them which seems strange (and they comment on this later, saying few people come there anymore), because this is the school library after all! I also like how Taira helps out Nishi and even gives Yamada a book recommendation, showing he is a true friend. I liked how Yamada and Suzuki enjoy reading books in the library, while showing the library duties, like checking in and out books in a way that seems relaxing, making it seems like something you do every day. There is a cute moment where Yamada and Nishi say each other’s full names.

Then there’s the awful news that Crunchyroll removed Black Lagoon, along with other series like Blood Blockade Battlefront and Grimgar, Ashes and Illusions, as has been reported elsewhere, without any warning. I have an account on that streaming service and the history (which shows what anime series I have watched) doesn’t even mention it at all! I mention this here because that series has a library scene as I noted in my post on here on July 2nd, in the episode “The Succession” (s1 ep 20), first saying that in the episode “Yukio is reading a book by Martin Heidegger as shown in the 20th episode (“Succession”) of the classic crime thriller anime Black Lagoon, which is replete with having girls with guns, particularly hothead Chinese-American Revy.” I went into further detail, saying:

…Yukio is reading a book by Martin Heidegger, as she tells her friend Maki, in the school library, calling the book philosophical and “very powerful.” In contrast, Maki says she likes skincare guides and modern horror books, with Yukio saying she remembered Maki saying she liked Anne Rice. They talk a bit more with Yukio saying she sometimes feels like she is caught inside of book worlds, and viewers see some of the library bookshelves. She says she doesn’t like Stephen King and Maki says she thought Yukio would like Edgar Allan Poe. She says she doesn’t like the ones that imagine the night, and she does not like the world as it makes her scared, that it is not romantic at all.

 

There is a second scene in the episode in the reading room where Yukio is thinking about the gang war between the Russian mafia and Japanese yakuza, and does not listen as much to what Maki tells her and decides to not tell her troubles. The reading room is shown briefly in the next episode, but not enough to mention it here. It is worth noting that Heidegger was directly involved with the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, and even banned from teaching after the war until 1949 (when the ban was lifted). He also never expressed remorse for being involved with the Nazis, which is funny because Hannah Arendt, who became known for her political theory against authoritarianism, including Nazism and fascism. I’m not sure why Heidegger was mentioned (in the manga as well), except to possibly indicate that Yukio was intellectual, nihilistic, and his existential philosophy was appealing. At the same time, I seriously doubt she was a Nazi as there was an earlier plot line in the series where the protagonists stole loot from a submarine filled by wannabe Nazis/neo-Nazis and killed a bunch of them, but rather a bit of a mob boss, if I have to guess. At the same time, during his life, Heidegger had intellectual contact with Japanese scholars like racist Hajime Tanabe (who later regretted defending claimed Japanese state and racial superiority) and pro-militarist Shūzō Kuki over the years, influencing his work, according to Reinhard May.

This all comes when I came across recently this video of an anime fan expressing anger it was removed (along with Crunchyroll locking their anime store behind a paywall effectively), along with this video on the fading, yet important, legacy of the series:

A late entry here is the third episode of I Want To Love You Till Your Dying Day. In that episode, Sheena Totsuki goes to the library of her school-of-sorts/orphanage/training institute, to study. She had wanted to go with Mimi Kagari, but she is unable to so because Mimi left to fight enemies. While there she meets her school friends, Lizzy Seiran and Ali Maud who are a couple themselves, and she reveals what Mimi’s guardian (Fran) told her. Later in the episode, however, Mimi reveals her secret to Sheena, shocking her beyond belief. In the scene itself, you see the wonder of the library which is well-used by students, and seems like a place to relax (and study), with wooden tables, and all the books you’d like to read.

Sheena, and other girls at the school, studying in the school library. Note the ornate tables and books on the bookshelves. Sorry for the blurriness.Sheena’s friends talk to her in the library. Sorry for the blurriness.Sheena shushes her friends because they are in the library, while other patrons look over at her her. Sorry for the blurriness.Sheena is reading a book when someone calls out to her. Sorry for the blurriness.

There was an additional library scene in the fourth episode of that same series, with flashbacks to Sheena thinking of Mimi, and a new scene of Mimi balancing books on her head, while Sheena is learning about resurrection magic, and is surprised by Airi and Seiran. One of my favorite parts (shown below) is when the bell rings and breaks Mimi’s concentration, annoying her, as she almost trying to show off a bit by balancing books on her head.

My favorite part of this episode, because Mimi is really showing off here

Last but least is episode 50 of Detective Conan (also known as Case Closed), “The Library Murder Case” / “The Book Without Pages”.  I have been looking forward to watching this episode for a long time, but I finally got to watch it this month, at long last, an episode which fulfills so many stereotypes when it comes to fictional librarians and libraries. I’ll write a whole post on this, but to give the quick and short version of this, Conan Edogawa, a kid detective (wasn’t always a kid) works with his school friends of sorts to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of a librarian, and soon suspect the library director. They learn that there are fake books in the children’s section where drugs were being stored, and this is why the director murdered that librarian. He even tries to kill all of them too, but they turn all the bookshelves into dominos so they fall on him, allowing the police to come in and arrest him, taking him away, while they find the body (which was on top of an elevator). It’s gory, but also feeds into many stereotypes, which, perhaps, is not at all a surprise for an episode that came out on March 1997. Some even put some parts of the episode as one of the top scariest moments in the series!

Comics recently added to this page

• The Burning Scheme, Issue 4
• Literary Link [issues 1 to 11]
• My Awkward Princess, “|CH 12| Library Hours“
• My Awkward Princess, “|CH 13| Routine“
• My Awkward Princess, “|CH 14| Almost Everyone“
• Pinky Promise, “Episode 15“
• Pinky Promise, “Episode 16“

In the fourth issue of The Burning Scheme, the protagonists, Vera at Sierra Verde Preparatory School, go to the library together, for a group project, with one of them, Calliope, saying the other (Vera) is “pretty.” Vera doesn’t like this closeness and leaves shortly thereafter, to the disappointment of Calliope.

In the episode “CH 12 | Library Hours” of My Awkward Princess, Alice Evelyn and Luna Charlotte do library service together, with Luna annoying Alice, and Luna getting “tamed” by someone else when they give her a lollipop. At one point, Luna catches Alice when she falls, to her annoyance, saying Luna just wanted to touch her, when in reality she just wanted to make sure she wasn’t hurt. And Alice thanks Luna. All this time she is giving instructions to the student vice-president who is relatively incompetent.

Otherwise, in the episode “|CH 13| Routine”, Alice is overworking herself in the library, feeling it will get better the next day and that there cannot be any distractions because the student council depends on her. She feels that she is almost perfect. One day, Luna is with her in the library, believes with Alice believing she should not slow down, and that she has keep working. She pushes it off, despite blood coming out of her nose, saying she isn’t her problem, telling her to stop distracting her, while Luna is deeply worried.

In the episode after this, “|CH 14| Almost Everyone,” Luna goes to the library to read, with Alice asking her why her section of the library isn’t organized yet, and starts bossing her around. Luna finds Alice, who she calls “puppy,” entertaining, and thinks back to when Alice thanked her for catching her, saying that doesn’t happen. Later, in the stairwell, Alice gives her cookies and tells her to show up the next day on time, making Luna blush because Alice gave her sweets (remembering that she likes them), and calls her “dangerous.”

The new version of Literary Link is finally out! That series focuses on libraries at its center, as noted in the series description: “Delinquent Faye Scott just wants to keep her head down and get through her latest sentencing — finish her community service and make it across the graduation stage as unscathed as possible — but her old enemies aren’t letting her go without a fight. However, a certain library volunteer might be the one to show Faye just the kindness she needs to change her life for the better.” I wrote a review about this series a while ago, saying:

Literary Link Review

I was going to add in some issues from Love and be Loved, but I had already added that into a posting I did on recently added titles in April, so I nixed that for this post:

Recently added titles (April 2026)

Lastly, there are two issues of Pinky Promise. In the first of these, the protagonist, Eva, tries to remind the school group to stay on task (picking books for their presentation), as they work together in the school library, and threatens to tell their teacher, Miss Cielo, that they are wasting time. Another classmate tells Hallie that Eva is too serious about school, asking her to convince Eva to not report them. Through it all, Eva is worried about Hallie and the group she is a part of, and when admiring her, she thinks back to a sexy dream she had, leading her to begin blushing. After her fellow classmate believes something may be wrong, Eva denies it, then gets up to find a book. Following this, Hallie gets up to follow Eva.

In the next of those issues, Eva thinks about her reaction and how embarrassing it was, while she starts to look for a book. Hallie comes behind her, startling her, when all she wants is to check in on her. Eva keeps blushing and denying that anything is up, saying she had been different since that morning, after Hallie spent the night at her place. She notices that Eva has been avoiding her, with Eva literally turning her head away, as she stands in front of a library bookshelf. She ends up admitting she can’t look her in the eyes because of a dream she had, where Hallie was touching and kissing her. Even after she says she is embarrassed and shouldn’t have dreamed about it, Hallie teases her about it, saying she is being “naughty,” with Eva saying it is only because she has been teasing her so much lately. Hallie gets close to her and says she is cute every time she teases her, something Eva thinks about later.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

None for this month. However, there was the recent news that…

• HIDIVE will be streaming The Dangers in My Heart: The Movie on July 14th [English dub]
• The Apothecary Diaries Anime Film’s Trailer Reveals Title, Cast, December 11 Opening

The first of these has libraries as central to the series itself, with library scenes in 16 episodes (“I Was Stolen Away” (s1 ep1), “I Died” (s1 ep 2), “I Want To Hug You” (s1 ep 3), “I Have A Problem” (s1 ep 4), “We Split Up” (s1 ep 5), “I Melted It” (s1 ep 6), “We Swapped Places” (s1 ep 7), “I Had A Dream” (s1 ep 8), “Karta 9: I Hate Yamada” (s1 ep 9), “Bonus Dangers” (s1 OVA), “We’re Searching” (s2 ep 1), “I’m growing up” (s2 ep 2), “Yamada Likes…” (s2 ep 4), “We’re Overflowing” (s2 ep 7), “I Want to Be Closer to Yamada” (s2, ep 10), “I, We, Fell in Love” (s2 ep 13, series finale)), as it is a key meeting place of the male and female protagonists, Kyotaro and Anna Yamada respectfully. As for second series, there’s one library scene I briefly described in a post last year:

In terms of a place of knowledge, consider the 10th episode of the drama/mystery/romance entitled The Apothecary Diaries. In the latter half of the show’s 10th episode, entitled “Honey,” Gaoshun, an assistant of Jinshi, tells Maomao that he will search the court library for information about past events in the rear palace. Later, an assistant behind the information desk helps him. He finds a relevant book and he gives it to Maomao. In it, she learns about events in the past, and that a baby was delivered by Doctor Luomen (her dad!), moving this story in an interesting direction!

© 2024-2026 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#AscendanceOfABookworm #BlackLagoon #BloodBlockadeBattlefront #books #CaseClosed #DetectiveConan #friendship #girlsLove #GrimgarAshesAndIllusions #IWantToLoveYouTillYourDyingDay #JaadugarAWitchInMongolia #libraryPatrons #lists #LiteraryLink #LoveAndBeLoved #MyAwkwardPrincess #orphans #PinkyPromise #reading #RecentlyAddedTitles #romance #shortBlogs #shushing #students #studying #sweets #TheApothecaryDiaries #TheBurningScheme #TheDangersInMyHeart #TheDangersInMyHeartTheMovie #YouAndIArePolarOpposites #yuri

Recently added titles (June 2026)

Yukio is reading a book by Martin Heidegger as shown in the 20th episode (“Succession”) of the classic crime thriller anime Black Lagoon, which is replete with having girls with guns, particularly hothead Chinese-American Revy

Building upon the titles listed for July/August, September, October,  November, and December 2021, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2022, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of 2023, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,  October, November, and December of 2024, and January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December of this year, and January, February, March, April, and May of this year, this post notes recent titles with libraries or librarians in popular culture which I’ve come across in the past month. Each of these has been watched or read during the past month. No films, animated series, or other entries with libraries (or librarians) to add for this past month, but I did come across some in webcomics. There may be spoilers for these series, so be aware.

Animated series recently added to this page

None for this month.

Anime series recently added to this page

• Ascendance of a Bookworm, “The Gathering of Gutenberg[s]” (s4 ep 11)
• Black Lagoon, “The Succession” (s1 ep 20)
• Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku, “Zing!” (s1 ep 11)
• A Hundred Scenes of Awajima, “Akiho Kashiwabara & Wakana Tabata” (s1 ep 9)

In the 20th episode of Black Lagoon, Yukio is reading a book by Martin Heidegger, as she tells her friend Maki, in the school library, calling the book philosophical and “very powerful.” In contrast, Maki says she likes skincare guides and modern horror books, with Yukio saying she remembered Maki saying she liked Anne Rice. They talk a bit more with Yukio saying she sometimes feels like she is caught inside of book worlds, and viewers see some of the library bookshelves. She says she doesn’t like Stephen King and Maki says she thought Yukio would like Edgar Allan Poe. She says she doesn’t like the ones that imagine the night, and she does not like the world as it makes her scared, that it is not romantic at all.

There is a second scene in the episode in the reading room where Yukio is thinking about the gang war between the Russian mafia and Japanese yakuza, and does not listen as much to what Maki tells her and decides to not tell her troubles. The reading room is shown briefly in the next episode, but not enough to mention it here. It is worth noting that Heidegger was directly involved with the Nazis from 1933 to 1945, and even banned from teaching after the war until 1949 (when the ban was lifted). He also never expressed remorse for being involved with the Nazis, which is funny because Hannah Arendt, who became known for her political theory against authoritarianism, including Nazism and fascism. I’m not sure why Heidegger was mentioned (in the manga as well), except to possibly indicate that Yukio was intellectual, nihilistic, and his existential philosophy was appealing. At the same time, I seriously doubt she was a Nazi as there was an earlier plot line in the series where the protagonists stole loot from a submarine filled by wannabe Nazis/neo-Nazis and killed a bunch of them, but rather a bit of a mob boss, if I have to guess. At the same time, during his life, Heidegger had intellectual contact with Japanese scholars like racist Hajime Tanabe (who later regretted defending claimed Japanese state and racial superiority) and pro-militarist Shūzō Kuki over the years, influencing his work, according to Reinhard May.

Otherwise, in the ninth episode of A Hundred Scenes of Awajima, there is a brief library scene of the students studying on the library together, learning about people at the school and searching on the local computers, even reading newspaper articles.

Lastly there’s an episode of Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku, the 11th episode. Previously, in episode three (noted later), there was a library scene. In this episode, to relax from the festival and feeling he is taking up the time of Kotoko Ijichi and Amane, Takuya Seo (otherwise known as Otaku-kun) hangs out in the school library. While there he hears the rumor that the Mister and Misses from the contest begins dating, with mention of Amane and Ijichi, and some other kids dating them. After they find the book they want and leave, Takuya looks through his phone and sees images of him with Amane and Ijichi, and thinks they may have better matches than him, and he feels anxious about the idea of other people dating them. It seems he is starting to say that he would make the next move, somehow, although it isn’t clear what that would be.

A sign that indicates the library scene is going to begin: the sign outside the library says that word in JapaneseA screenshot of the school library in the episode. Sorry for the blurriness. This library is full of books!The first shot in the episode that shows Takuya sitting at a table by himself in the library, where he wanted to get away from the festival.The camera moves to focus on Takuya, who is happily reading a book and enjoying himself, getting away from the hustle and bustle of the school festival.

Before this, there have been other episodes in this series with library scenes. In April, I noted that in the third episode of the series, saying that “Ijichi helps the two other protagonists…Takuya…and Amane) study in the school library for midterms but Takuya admires the two gyaru gals in front of him. Some of the books in the school library are shown. Despite Kotoko saying they should keep studying, instead Takuya and Amane have an art battle over their favorite characters of Glittermon in the library.”

Takuya reads a book in the library during the 11th episode. He starts to feel he made the right decision to go there to the library himself (later his view of this changes, of course). Sorry for the blurriness.

Last but not least, Ascendance of a Bookworm FINALLY had an episode with a library, which has been an utter crime for a while, despite the focus of the series on books and the fact that the protagonist was a librarian in her former life. According to my records, the last episode with a library scene, “Re: Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 2”, a recap episode, was in late March 2022! There were no library scenes, at all, in season 3. Entitled “The Gathering of Gutenberg[s],” Myne finds a key to the rare books shelf of the cathedral library, which she happily checks out. She goes to the cabinet with rare books, unlocks it with a key (another barrier to entry). Her attendant, Fran, tells her that these “books” are not actually books. Instead, they are letters on parchment, inside of a box, which were addressed to the former High Bishop. She even agrees, after Fran says she can read the letters as she is now the High Bishop, and report the contents to the Head Priest (Ferdinand).

The letters are filled with bitter grievances about their bad position in life, revealing bribery, and deep ties between the viscount (Gerlach) and the former High Bishop (Bezewanst). She later describes these letters, to Ferdinand as “filled with wicked schemes and evidence of…wrongdoings” by Gerlach. The letter end up being helpful to Ferdinand in his schemes. It is also revealed that one of those mentioned in the letters, Veronica, was the mother of Ferdinand and his brother Sylvester, and charged with forging official documents and acting as an accomplice to Bezewanst. Apart from Myne later looking at the existing printing press and bringing together different tradespeople (a carpenter and smither) to create an improved printing press in this episode, with Myne buying the blueprint, among other plot points, Fran says her conduct as a noble is fine, “as long as it doesn’t involve books.” Then there’s a short scene of her laughing while reading a book, with Ferdinand saying it is best to keep her away from books (not good!). In the post-credits scene, one of the priests says he told Myne a story, to get over her drowsiness: the size of the collection, the types of books, names and ages of the librarians, and sealed archives at the Royal Academy. While the priest thought this was boring, Myne comes onto the scene saying the information was entertaining and useful. The ending credit illustration by Somchira Katsu has Myne smiling happily as she grabs one of the books in the church library.

Myne is back in the library again, during this episode.

Comics recently added to this page

None for this month.

Films recently added to this page

None for this month.

Other entries recently added to this page

I was reminded of Love Live! songs this month and came across, again, a song by Shioriko, entitled “Emotion” behind a library backdrop in  an episode of Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, which I wrote about back in August 2024. In that post I said:

Let me start with Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club, a series which ran from 2020 to 2022. In the episode “The Memory of Dreams,” of aforementioned idol music series, a library is featured. At the end of the episode, Shioriko sings a musical ballad which features her going through a library, touching the spines of books, and walking down stairs in the library. This might be indicating how academic she is, as a person. She also, during the song, changes outfits in the library and finds a key… within a book. The song isn’t about libraries at all as a translation of the lyrics makes abundantly clear.

Here’s the related video:

© 2024-2026 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

#AHundredScenesOfAwajima #AscendanceOfABookworm #BlackLagoon #GalsCanTBeKindToOtaku #JapanesePatrons #JapaneseWomen #lists #LoveLiveNijigasakiHighSchoolIdolClub #music #Nazis #newspapers #rareBooks #readingRoom #RecentlyAddedTitles #shortBlogs #songs #students

Barcodes, library slips, bookworms, and book deliveries in “Whisper of the Heart”

Shizuku’s father is a librarian in this film. He later says that he would like the card catalogs to stay too, like her.

When I watched Whisper of the Heart, a romantic drama anime film which came out over 29 years ago (on July 15, 1995), on Max, I never expected that libraries, and librarians would be such a central part of the film! I was aware that the film was listed on Jennifer Snoek-Brown’s list of “Foreign-Language Films” on Reel Librarians. The latter list notes films reportedly with librarians and/or archivists alphabetically by title”. She warns that she can’t confirm that “every film on this list actually includes a librarian and/or archivist” as her primary focus is on examining English-language films. While that is a laudable goal, I don’t limit myself in that way, personally, and happily cover anime on this blog time and again. In fact, I have written about over 70 anime series, four films, and various manga, with my first post in August 2020. [1] This review will focus on the role of libraries, and librarians like the protagonist’s father, in the story, while relating it to other fictional examples and real-life library concepts.

One of the first conversations in the film is between the 14-year-old protagonist Shizuku Tsukishima, living in the Tokyo suburb of Tama New Town, who learns the local library is going to the bar code system, and her father. She tells him that she likes the library slips instead. He actually agrees with her, but decides to go with the library’s change anyhow. Thanks to the library slip, she learns that one man’s name is in common on all the books she has checked out: Seiji Amasawa. This piques her interest. This major plot point is mentioned in many summaries and reviews of the film, noting that Seiji is on every single one of these checkout slips and how she is slowly drawn to him as the film goes forward, with their feelings growing. Shizuku is also drawn toward these books because she loves fantasy books, and meets Seiji at an old antique shop somewhere in town. Other reviewers have noted that the checkout cards are an interesting narrative device, which “lends itself well to romantic daydreaming.” It is worth noting that Shizuku is spending his summer vacation, last one she has at Mukaihara Junior High School, translating and reading “popular foreign music into Japanese” like John Denver’s Country Road. [2]

At one point, Shizuku checks a book out of the library, which was never checked out before, and even though she somewhat ends up disturbing the job of the librarian (or the teacher standing in as a librarian), she comes across Seiji. Then, not longer after, he is curiously reading the book she checked out and she takes it from him, surprised to see him. And he even knows her name from the book. So much for reader’s privacy! Although some may see a sense of relief and kinship at seeing these library check-out cards, looking at these cards would run afoul of existing ethics, as outlined by the ALA. Those ethics state that libraries will “protect each library user’s right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.”

Such cards are sometimes known as borrowing cards. They had/have an equivalent inside the library: a circulation card. Such cards may include the name of who borrowed the book and name of the book. There are also slips/cards which remain in a book only listing the date a book is due to be returned, known as date due slips. I’m not sure why I haven’t gone into this much detail on this before, but better late than never. In the case of this film, it would be a borrowing card, rather than a date due slip, which was stuck in the back of book, and then the book would be shelved, a way to record who borrowed a book before computer systems supplanted this system. Paper can still be used in today’s libraries, even to write down call numbers for books. The latter has also been shown in the films Dangerous Minds and Regarding Henry.

I am reminded of a scene in All the President’s Men, in which Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein go to the Library of Congress, and a Black male librarian gives them the slips for who checked out certain books, as opposed to an interaction with a White female librarian. I described this all in a post on this very blog in February of last year:

…In the classic 1976 political thriller, All the President’s Men, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein travel to the Library of Congress after their research seems to be stalled and having a librarian have a strange conversation with one them. They go to one librarian, who declares that the records they want are confidential, and that he can’t fulfill their request of library card checkout slips since July 1971. The other, the image of which is shown above, fulfills their request. Voiced by Jaye Stewart, he tells them “I’m not sure you want ’em, but I’ve got ’em.” Woodward and Bernstein proceed to go through perhaps thousands of check-out slips in the Reading Room of the Library of Congress. Unfortunately, the work is for naught, as it doesn’t confirm if a White House staffer checked out books on Ted Kennedy…Snoek-Brown…[said] hat it is not ethical to “give out checkout slips or records without a court order” as librarians have an “obligation to protect the privacy rights of our patrons.” I agree with Snoek-Brown entirely on that point

Coming back to the film, I would think that such borrowing cards would weaken the commitment of the library to reader confidentiality.  As it presently stands, almost every U.S. state has laws “protecting the confidentiality of library records”. The Japan Library Association in a statement published in 1980, states that librarians should respect the privacy of each library user, and should not “divulge his/her name or details of books or other library materials used to third parties”. A more recent statement notes library privacy and confidentiality, among other virtues, as important. This film came out before the economic downturn in Japan, in 1997, which unfortunately lead to privatization of libraries through “outsourcing of staff to reduce costs and provide a flexible workforce”, with privacy of user information is at stake because private management companies are “not obligated to protect users’ privacy and routinely gather their data”. [3]

Shizuku says card catalogs are better than digital records

Moving on from that, and back to the film, Shizuku soon follows a cat to an antique shop and is drawn to a cat statue named Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, with the shop’s owner, Nishi, telling her about him. She barely makes it to the library in time, is annoyed by Seiji, and is embarrassed in the process, as he delivers “her” lunch for her, with the fat cat (she had followed to the shop) riding on the back of the bike. The lunch is actually for her dad, who works in the library! This library is a fictional place created for the film itself, as no such library exists at that location (Irohazaka Sakura Park). [4]

This fantastical nature of the library is not unique. However, this library is more akin to something that exists in reality, rather than in a magical realm by itself. This makes the series unique. Surely, there are public libraries akin to those in real-life in Josee the Tiger and the Fish or I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, to give two examples, apart from the many within school buildings that I’ve often written about. This library is clearly a place of knowledge, but it is not a place or refuge. Rather, it is a place of learning and development.

As the movie goes on, Shizuku learns who donated a book at the library:  the father of Seiji. She is later called a “bookworm”, which she accepts happily. After all, she often goes to the library, a fantasy reportedly depicted in The Cat Returns, a 2002 film. She takes out books in the public library, so she can learn more for her story. At one point, she remains one of the last people there, writing away, and Seiji visits her in the library, while she writes her story. As a writer, she becomes more than a bookworm, and Seiji is more than a novice violin maker. Both characters are not exceptional, but have proven that they have what it takes to ensure their work can become “exceptional”, with their romance blossoming by the film’s end, even without a kiss. [5]

There is much more to this film than what I’ve noted so far and ending the article here would be selling it short, to say the least. For Shizuku to be called a bookworm as an insult, and turning it into a positive, is not limited to this film. There is an entire series entitled Ascendance of a Bookworm, which focuses on Myne and her quest to provide free books to the populace, building her previous life as a college librarian. In his quest, she even becomes a church librarian with some magical powers. The series has even been cited as an example of when an outsider from another world “usher systematic change in their adopted one.” The term was even alluded to in the series Bibliophile Princess, as a bibliophile, someone who frequently reads or collects books, and loves books, is also known as a bookworm. Bibliophile appears more “positive.”

Otherwise, there was a British comic from 1978-1985 entitled Bookworm about a young boy who always has a book and his parents tell him to do more “boyish” things, but it results in disaster. There’s also an 1850 painting entitled The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg. A variation of this piece was even named The Librarian! Pu Songling published a romantic short story, in about 1740, entitled The Bookworm, while there are characters known as bookworms in Tiny Toon Adventures and most infamously in the campy 1960s Batman series. There are many other bookworms in fiction, like in Wonder Man (1945), Navy Blues (1937), and even Wong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to an extent.

There is also the Association internationale de bibliophilie, which is called International Association of Bibliophiles or AIB in English. It is dedicated to bibliophiles. Russia has its National Union of Bibliophiles (formed in 2010), while there are is a book club in Detroit, a former group for female bibliophiles (Hroswitha Club), and the Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles. There is even a 15-minute film, which I haven’t seen, entitled The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, about a man who is writing his memoir, but is blown off a balcony, writing out of a library,and even becomes a librarian with the city suffering from impact of a storm. There’s also books such as The Great Book-Collectors about book-collecting practices of the British Library, Bodleian Library, and Ashmolean Museum, along with a physical archive named Library of the Printed Web dedicated to “web-to-print artists’ books, zines and other printout matter.”

All of this is related to the concept of tsundoku, which means acquiring reading materials but letting them pile up in your home without actually reading them. It can refer to books ready for reading later, as well, when those books are on a bookshelf. It is related to what A. Edward Newton wrote about in 1921, and stands in opposition to the term antilibrary. The latter, coined by Lebanese-American author Nassim Nicholas Taleb means a “collection of unread books”, which make people curious and humble. [6] He further stated that the older someone gets, the more they know, the larger is their “accumulation of unread books” and those who focus on such unread books are antischolars, i.e. those who do not “care about how much you know, but how much you don’t know” and how to find information you need.

When it comes to libraries, I would think people would side more with idea of antilibrary than the idea of tsundoku, as the latter seems to imply that having unread books is “bad.” Having books you haven’t read should not be seen as a negative. It is inevitable there will be books you haven’t read in your lifetime, no matter what. And libraries hold the books so they can be read by others, and shared, to spread knowledge, and understanding. This doesn’t mean that every book is right, immutable, or correct. Rather, the books can help you understand more about the world, at their best, and at their worst, promote misinformation. The latter can be prevented with careful weeding to ensure that patrons have the best information available.

Shizuku is studying in the library with a stack of books sitting on the table next to her. The man she likes is across the table from her, I believe.

As I’ve noted on this blog various times, libraries serve many important functions in society. One of those is providing a place to study. This is shown clearly, as indicated in the above screenshot. You don’t have to be a bibliophile/bookworm for that. In fact, not all bookworms are librarians, and not all librarians are bookworms. Some are, but due to the many tasks during the work-day, often librarians don’t have time to read a book on the job, as some people might think.

When it comes to Japan, I’ve noted this before on here, but there are over 3,000 public libraries in this island nation, and remain an important part of the country’s society. In fact, there is even an entire Wikipedia page listing them, entitled “List of libraries in Japan” (not to be confused with the page “List of archives in Japan“). Some probably still have card catalogs. These libraries, known as toshokan in Japanese, are centered by the National Diet Library. The only series, I know, to date to directly feature this library is 26-episode early 2000s R.O.D. the TV anime series, which features characters from the Read or Die light novels, manga, and OVA, and the Read or Dream manga.

Academics have noted that information commons/learning commons which provide various materials, facilities, and services, in one place, originally appearing in North America, has also appeared in Japanese universities and college. Such spaces are reportedly in an ” the early stage of development”, and there is a need for such spaces to rebuild their own services because of student needs. Furthermore, many libraries in pre-modern Japan were arguably private and have been called bunko, meaning “storehouses of books.” Currently, most have been subsumed into larger national, prefectural, university, or research library institutions. Some have even covered this in books such as Youth-Serving Libraries in Japan, Russia, and the United States.

It is also said that Japanese academic libraries are well-resourced and support the country’s research capacity, while reflecting the country’s “strong bureaucratic culture.” I’m not sure if this is also the case for the country’s public libraries as well, to be perfectly honest. I can say, with certainty, that libraries are an important part of the country, especially considering that the Imperial Library (forerunner to the National Diet Library) was established in the latter 19th century, and in 1947, the National Library Act created Japan’s sole national library (National Diet Library). This was followed by the landmark 1950 Library Act. The law states, in part, that the country’s libraries are aimed to promoting “sound development…[and] the enhancement of the education and culture of the nation”. It goes onto say:

…libraries shall endeavor to accomplish…[collection of] nooks, archives, audio-visual materials and other necessary data and materials…with suitable attention paid to the acquisition of local materials, art works, materials on local administration, gramophone records and films…library materials shall be properly classified and processed…efforts shall be made to ensure that library personnel acquire sufficient knowledge of library matters…close communication and cooperation shall be maintained by…inter-library loans between libraries…reading circles, seminars, appreciation groups, film showings and exhibits of data…shall be sponsored and encouraged…close contact and cooperation shall be maintained with schools, museums, community centers and research institutes, etc….professional personnel of libraries shall be called librarians and assistant librarians.

And that’s only part of Chapter 1! There is no comparison to this in U.S. law. The legislation, which passed the U.S. Congress in April 1800 (see page 56), only mentioned that the purchase of books “as may be necessary for the use of Congress at the said city of Washington, and for fitting up a suitable apartment for containing them and for placing them therein, the sum of five thousand dollars shall be…appropriated.” That same law went onto say that a library catalogue shall be furnished by a joint congressional committee, with books “placed in one suitable apartment in the capitol in the said city, for the use of both…houses of Congress and the members thereof”. That is it. It wasn’t until 1802 that a law defined the functions and role of this library, the Library of Congress (LOC), and even made the appointment of the Librarian of Congress a “presidential responsibility”! Still, this was nothing like the Library Law in Japan, which was much more extensive.

Such a law in the U.S, would be unthinkable, even at this current time, despite the fact it could have extreme value in ensuring the institution’s mission and objectives. On the other hand, LOC has broadly defined that on its own, and has a bit of autonomy, as it is only the de facto national library. This makes it different from the many across the world, coupled with any state-established libraries serving as preeminent information repositories for specific regions.

When I watched Whisper of the Heart on Max, with my mom and dad, I never expected libraries to be as big of a part of the film from the get-go. I am truly grateful that I came across this film, and would surely watch it again if I get a chance. That;s all for this post. Until next week! As always, comments are welcome.

Shizuku looks at library slips and finding out some man checked the SAME book out before her

© 2023-2024 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

Notes

[1] Since then, I’ve written about (I don’t recommend you watch all of these, though, and some of the following I would not watch again) over 80 anime series: Revolutionary Girl Utena, Wandering Son, Ice, Kuttsukiboshi, Paradise Kiss, Macross Frontier, Classroom of the Elite, Gargantia, Kandagawa Jet Girls, El-Hazard, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, Ascendance of a Bookworm, R.O.D. the TV, B Gata H Kei, Bloom Into You, Little Witch Academia, Yamibou, Whispered Words, Aoi Hana / Sweet Blue Flowers, Strawberry Panic!, My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Manaria Friends, Kampfer, Lapis Re:Lights, Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches, Blue Drop, The Mystic Archives of Dantalian, Cardcaptor Sakura, Venus vs. Virus, Otherside Picnic, My-Hime, Simoun, Riddle Story of Devil, Ms. Vampire who lives in my neighborhood, Dear Brother, Library War, Girl Friend Beta, Kokoro Library, Attack on Titan, Let’s Make a Mug Too, Tatakau Shisho: The Book of Bantorra, Bernard-jou Iwaku a.k.a. Miss Bernard said, Komi Can’t Communicate, The Ancient Magus Bride: Those Awaiting a Star, Gosick, Laid-Back Camp, As Miss Beelzebub Likes, Bibliophile Princess, Love Live! Sunshine!!, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, My Roommate is a Cat, Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, Kin-iro Mosaic, Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, Makura no Danshi, Azumanga Daioh, Oresuki, Seitokai Yakuindomo, Gabriel DropOut, Spy x Family, A Couple of Cuckoos, Märchen Mädchen, Healer Girl, Smile of the Arsnotoria the Animation, Smile Pretty Cure!/Glitter Force, A Good Librarian Like a Good Shepard, A Place Further Than The Universe, Teasing Master Takagi-san, Myself ; Yourself, Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War, Stars Align, Tokyo Mew Mew New, Skip and Loafer, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Violet Evergarden, Somali and the Forest Spirit, Aharen-San wa Hakarenai, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, Chitose Got You, Clannad, Cue!, Encouragement to Climb: Next Summit, Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro, Gabriel Drop Out, Kin-iro Mosaic, K-On!, Noir, Otherside Picnic, The Rising of the Shield Hero, and Re:Zero, and four films: I Want To Eat Your Pancreas, Calamity of a Zombie Girl, Your Name, and Josee, the Tiger and the Fish. Later posts this year will focus on series such as Ouran High School Host Club, Is the Order a Rabbit?, Kiss Him, Not Me, The Demon Girl Next Door, The Executioner and Her Way of Life, YuruYuri, Library War, Maria Watches Over Us, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka, and Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu (Haruka Nogizaka’s Secret), to name a few.

[2] “Whisper of the Heart,” IFC Center, accessed Jun. 6, 2023; Russo, Lee. “How Whisper of the Heart Explores the Fear of Failure,” CBR, Jun. 13, 2020; Graeme. “The Best Films I’ve Ever Seen: Whisper of the Heart,” Film School Rejects, Jun. 15, 2018; “Whisper of the Heart,” Studio Ghibli, accessed Jun. 6, 2023; Faith. “Whisper of the Heart,” Studio Ghibli Movies, Nov. 28, 2014; Toole, Michael. “Whisper of the Heart Blu-Ray + DVD Review,” Anime News Network, Nov. 29, 2014; Osmond, Andrew. “Whisper of the Heart Review,” Anime News Network, Jan. 11, 2012; Mindus, Jay. “Why Studio Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart Is the Perfect Movie for Young Artists,” CBR, May 12, 2022; “Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba),” Harvard Film Archive, accessed Jun. 6, 2023; Cyrenne, Randall. “Whisper Of The Heart,” Animated Views, Mar. 7, 2006.

[3] Alix, Francis A. “The History and Current Challenges of Libraries in Japan,” SLIS Connectings 10(1): 10.

[4] Graeme, “The Best Films I’ve Ever Seen: Whisper of the Heart,” 2018; Toole, “Whisper of the Heart Blu-Ray + DVD Review,” 2014; Osmond, “Whisper of the Heart Review,” 2012; “Tracing Shizuku’s Steps: Visit ‘Whisper of the Heart’ Locations in Real Life,” tsunagu Japan, accessed Jun. 7, 2023; “Visiting ‘Whisper of the Heart’ Movie Location,” justa-fangirl, 2014.

[5] “Whisper of the Heart,” Ghibli Wiki, accessed Jun. 7, 2023; Cyrenne, “Whisper Of The Heart,” 2006; “Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba,” Harvard Film Archive; Mindus, “Why Studio Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart Is the Perfect Movie for Young Artists,” 2022; Pineda, Rafael Antonio. “Live-Action Whisper of the Heart Sequel Film Delayed Due to COVID-19,” Anime News Network, Apr. 20, 2020. The live-action sequel, also named Whisper of the Heart came out in October 2022 in Japan, but it was received badly if the reviews from Japan Times and Crunchyroll listed on the “Whisper of the Heart (2022 film)” Wikipedia page are any indication. Apparently, there is even a library scene in the film. I haven’t watched the film, so I can’t confirm that completely, however.

[6] Brooks, Katherine. “There’s A Japanese Word For People Who Buy More Books Than They Can Actually Read,” HuffPost, Apr. 19, 2017; Tobar, Hector, “Are you a book hoarder? There’s a word for that,” Los Angeles Times, Jul. 24, 2014; “Tsundoku: The art of buying books and never reading them,” BBC News, Jul. 29, 2018; Crow, Jonathan. “‘Tsundoku,’ the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language,” Open Culture, Jul. 24, 2014; “A QUOTE ON BIBLIOMANIA,” Language Hat, Feb. 7, 2008; Popova, Maria. “Umberto Eco’s Antilibrary: Why Unread Books Are More Valuable to Our Lives than Read Ones,” The Marginalian, Mar. 24, 2015; Stillman, Jessica. “Why You Should Surround Yourself With More Books Than You’ll Ever Have Time to Read,” Inc., Dec. 5, 2017; McDonough, Lauren Smith. “Everyone Is Obsessed With the Trend of Antilibraries Right Now,” House Beautiful, Dec. 19, 2017; Boyd, Rebecca Lowry. “The book trend everyone is talking about right now,” Better Homes & Gardens, accessed Jun. 27, 2023.

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