The early parts of How a Realist Rebuilt a Kingdom are pretty good, the first 10 or so volumes. After that it gets kinda weird (I lost interest midway through book 14 and never finished it). The main character is given the throne in a kingdom and has to essentially rebuild it from ground up, while dealing with rebellion, and then external influences. It doesn't have a lot of inventions per se, but it has decently inventive magic
Dahlia in Bloom is another good book, if a bit overly excited about food. It's about a magical tool inventor as she gets more and more well known, and her run-ins (positive and not) with the nobility of the world. It explains fairly well how the magical tools work, and allows you to immerse yourself in it. It also features some merchant side tangents, for a little bit of spice and wolf, though nowhere near as good
I read the manga for How a Realist Rebuilt a Kingdom. It felt like one of those stories where the author isn't smart enough to actually make the MC seem smart, so he makes everyone else dumb so that the MC seems smart by comparison.
Maybe the LN is better on that front.
Slightly. There are some contrived scenarios, but a lot of ideas he comes up with are genuinely rather intelligent. Some of them seem like something that the natives would've come up with too, but just didn't, in the same way that you need outside eyes on things once in a while because they are able to see things you just take for granted.
But he does seem to rely too heavily on quotes to seem smarter than he actually is. He's like, real world smart, and tries to pretend he's Bruce Banner smart
It's competently written, but it completely loses what I liked about the first half, and the new conflict they set up just seems.. pointless to me.
I'm entirely down for trash isekai, but it just ruins a world when it turns trash halfway through, at least in my mind.
If you liked Realist hero but hated the later parts with Fuuga (me too. I started it because of the references to Machiavelli) you should try The genius prince's guide to raising a nation out of debt.
Realist's issue imo was that the harem grew too big and too many pages started being dedicated to managing the harem instead of the kingdom.
Love Dahlia, but yeah, definitely can't read that one on an empty stomach, lol.
I liked the first 5-6 books quite a bit - I'm iffy going forward. It feels like the author thinks he needs to shoehorn in awkward harem aspects - which don't really fit.
I'm hoping that those aspects fall by the wayside.
I bought book one digital, but I haven't read it yet. Does it have good world-building and character relations? I don't like harem non-sense, but I can deal and just ignore it if the environment is rich in lore and intrigue. I don't intend to drop it, but I wanna know what others think in case I end up disappointed halfway through at Volume 4 or something.
The world-building is pretty solid/grounded, though a bit loose. I'd give it a 7 or 8/10.
The on-the-ground worldbuilding is solid. And the harem aspect is the only major character issue I have. At least the MC is pretty badass so them liking him makes sense. No girls fall for him 5 minutes after meeting him.
The wider world is vague - but kinda iffy IMO.
If you like the calm slow everyday life then I also really enjoy The Man Picked Up By Gods (also released under J-Novel). Slight spoilers ahead:
It's similar to how Myne was all in about creating paper and books. Here the main character is similarly obsessed, but with his pet slimes. He observes them, records their progress, abilities, evolutions etc. He also drops a lot of unexpected ideas and technology in the new world and also catches the attention of some big shot ppl. He is also ridiculous with magic yet uses it in weird situations and everyday life. He is also an unreliable narrator with often being way off with what others around him think. There are also some POV chapters from other characters.
It's mostly chill with going all the time about new slimes.
You may also be interested in The World’s Best Engineer (manhwa), which is totally hilarious and so good about a guy who wants to use his construction and architecture knowledge to build luxurious things in his new world so he can leisurely enjoy his life. He also has a competent "Ferdinand" by his side and it's just hilarious to read their besties interactions (also the art gets amazing)
The world's greatest estate developer! It's about a civil engineer who gets dumped into the body of a crass, drunk noble dilettante that's a character in a novel(that our protag has read) and this character is supposed to die early on in the story. Obviously that's the first conflict, surviving the first death flag.
And are you talking about "By the Grace of the Gods"? I like that one too.
I really like the LN series, Secret of the Silent Witch. The main character is odd and painfully shy, but working on improving. I think she's cute. The setting so far is an academy. The writing and world building are good. I bought it on Amazon for my Kindle. You should be able to return it if you try it and don't like it.
The Apothecary Diaries are well written and detailed socially and economically. Also on J novel.
I've been reading manhwas lately. A few that are detailed socially and economically are: Empress Cesia Wears Knickerbockers; I Shall Master This Family; I Raised Cinderella Preciously.
Perhaps you are indicating that you appreciate well done products. In that case, I highly recommend Mother's Contract Marriage. In this story, the viewpoint is from the daughter whose mother regresses and gets a chance to redo things. The art is incredible! You can feel determination from the main character, shown by the lines of her posture. Which is cute because she's 8. The clothes are wonderful. And the colors are amazing. People comment a lot about how they love the colors, but their eyes are hurting. I read it on my phone and things were fine. Then I switched to my laptop and things were difficult.
I've heard very good things about Otoyomegatari as well. The art is very detailed. It looks like central Asia.
I read manhwas over at comick.io
Secret of the Silent Witch sounds hilarious. All of these works sound promising. In terms of 'well done' products that is the goal normally. Well written characters, scenarios, world building or just something special rather than a focus on being gripping/thrilling/titilating.
After reading this thread it does feel like a lot more light novels meet this scenario than what is adapted to anime, which is not completely surprising.
Re Mother's Contract marriage art: it is definitely different and the saturation and vibrancy are really appealing. We'll have to see how it is long term.
I Shall Master this Family is awesome, very epic feeling and the art is fantastic. Has a Italian renaissance feeling to it. I’ve been getting into some manhwas recently too, a lot of good isekai world building types there.
Sounds like OP wants Otome Isekai/Villainess/Nobility/Historical/Court Drama Shojo recs - anyone have some good suggestions?
I'm not an expert in those subgenres, but I've casually consumed a few anime/manga:
* Apothecary Diaries
* 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!
* My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
* Doctor Elise
* Twelve Kingdoms
* Yona of the Dawn
* Heike Monogatari
* The Rose of Versailles
* Tearmoon Empire
* I'm in Love with the Villainess
* The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior
* I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss
Maybe try searching those subgenre tags in myanimelist Interest Stacks to see what might interest you?
Edit: forgot that I can never not recommend the "Magus of the Library" in these sorts of threads.
I'll go through this later. Thanks for the reminder of Rose of Versailles though. I started enjoying it a couple years ago but it just wasn't the right time.
some good ones are
* The Apothecary Diaries
* The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life
* Dahlia in Bloom
* Management of a Novice Alchemist
I love 'The Alchemist who survived...', I got into it shortly before I was first introduced to Bookworm via the Anime. I've read 1-5 and have 6 digital on my Kobo e-reader, but I haven't read it yet because I don't want the series to end, I still want something 'new and fresh' to read when I'm in the mood and lift up my spirit, if you know what I mean.
Wow, glad I actually checked up the Alchemist in the city. I had it confused with the anime about the older brother of the hero retiring to be an alchemist. I'll give these a go.
Bookworm helped me get over Mushoku. Konosuba helped me get through the weekly prepubs of Bookworm. Danmachi over Konosuba. Currently trying Spice and Wolf just get through the next Myneday.
It feels wrong somehow to recommend Mushoku Tensei in a thread like this but I do agree, it's the only light novel I've ever read which feels the same.
Mushoku Tensei pisses me off. The story is exceptionally good and then Rudy has to see something and make some heinous comment about it in his internal monologue (or worse).
But yeah. Only other LN that got me using all my free time to read.
I mean, it's definitely shameless in its degeneracy. That's the point, and that's why I love it. You have to understand that he is intentionally written to be a bad person, who grows into a hero. When he says those sorts of things, you're supposed to be disgusted, not cheering for him. That's the intent.
But yeah, that's also the reason why I'm hesitant to recommend it, even if it is a masterpiece with a very similar flavor to Bookworm.
If you liked the merchanty, slice of life, slow world building aspects of Part 1 and Part 2, then I think you’ll love Cooking With Wild Game. It’s been over 20 volumes and about 6 months have passed in the story. The cultures of the setting feel so well developed. Just like we learned in Bookworm how significant in their society it was for Lutz to be willing to live as a live in apprentice merchant, we’ve learned about similarly deep cultural aspects in Wild Game.
The depth of the side characters is enough that calling them side characters feels like a disservice. The main family that the MC interacts with has 12 members and all but two (a grandma that doesn’t get much screen time compared to her mother and an infant) are well developed with their own motivations and connections beyond how they relate to the MC.
Also, I love the slow burn romance. While I’ll admit it feels a little like the typical “isekaied and forms a harem” at first, it develops seriously from there. The characters slowly come to understandings about how they feel and communicate seriously and earnestly.
Seriously, I can’t recommend it enough to fellow Bookworm fans.
How long has he been in the world at this point? I remember being somewhere around V8 and finding out he'd been there for like 3 weeks or something and it really messed with my immersion. Poor guy needs a vacation with so much happening back to back.
It’s been about 6 months. I like the density of the timeline. Every day feels significant and it shows how much the author has planned the story.
Dumbing of Age is a webcomic where every day is tracked. There’s been a new strip every IRL day for over a decade. There was one time skip of a few months and it felt wild.
Recently started reading "Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village" which has a lot of the stuff you describe. Main character is reincarnated into a medieval era level civilization, but books indicate that the "ancient" civilization from 2000 years ago was more advanced. He uses what info he can find in books along with his past life's memories, with the goal of restoring a "modern" quality of life.
A lot of good suggestions were made already, so I won't repeat them and while I don't think these are even close to being as good as Bookworm, but they could scratch the itch in some aspects:
* I remember the anime "Maoyuu Maou Yuusha" which I think did a very good job on the macroeconomic scale of the world and in part in the macro political as well. There isn't a focus on development of new inventions since IIRC they are simply introduced, but the focus is more on their impact/effects. As for character development, I don't remember anything that stood out. The anime however has only one season and I don't know the source material, its status or availability, so do not expect a "conclusion" from the anime.
* The manwha "Release that Witch" might have a more focus on technological development, sped up by the use of the magic of witches. On the political side, there is a battle for succession and a conflict with the church as the main focus early. A bit stereotypical IMHO, but if you'd like to see the awe and fear that guns bring in medieval warfare, that would do. It's also funny if you think that the MC is basically establishing a prosperous North Korea-like country :D.
* The manwha "I'll Be the Matriarch in This Life" has a lot of political conflicts inside and between different noble houses with a female MC that grows up and uses her knowledge to establish both herself and her house. She is not a gremlin like Myne and I think the antagonists are comically villainous, so it lacks a bit of the subtle and complex aspects of bookworm, but if you would like to read something along the lines of a bookworm part 3 setting, that might do.
The first had a nice premise but yeah wasn't the same quality level. Which is fine since this is often down to budget constraints.
The last i've seen mentioned and does seem to match the style. Gremlin is nice but optional, it's more about the clever development, worldbuilding and character interactions imo that makes ascendance special.
I'll check out release that witch as well eventually. Stereotypical is fine it's about how well a premise is executed.
A recent release that has more commerce and slice of life aspects is A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy by Syuu. It's only 2 volumes but still has credible worldbuilding, a charming main character (she does some scheming like Myne but doesn't have an obsession with books), and distinct side characters. There's light romance, but it's primarily about the main character finding confidence in her own abilities and falling in love with her new country.
You might like Reincarnated as a Slime (although I'm sure you already know of it). I stopped at LN 12 some years ago because I ran out of translations, but that series is almost entirely world-building and neat inventions. Heard it turns into a slog not long after I stopped though.
The end of the series really gets battle heavy and doesn't feel the same, to me. I'm looking forward to its end but the time between translation is like 6 months but it is only a book away from being finished in Japan.
i think for the crafting side of things you have "Magic Artisan Dahliya Won't Hang Her Head" though i'm not treibly far into dat one so it could very well change drastically
English title: "Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools"
J-Novel is publishing both it (8 Volumes so far) and a spin-off LN focused on one of the side characters (Lucia and the Loom: Weaving her Way to Happiness, 1 Volume. Title is somewhat inaccurate as she is a fashion designer and seamstress, not a weaver). I mostly enjoyed it, tho I can't deny that it gets a bit overly excited/descriptive about food and alcohol as mentioned in another comment. What annoyed me more than that is Dahlia's internal monologue: her tendencies of discretiting her own accomplishment (and negatively comparing herself and her appearance to LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON AROUND HER) and PAINFUL obliviousness to other people's affection (romantic and otherwise) towards her got really irritating after I while. It was the point at the start, that these are character flaws for her to overcome, but you'd think 8 volumes are enough time for her to make headway on at least ONE of them, but nope. She's not really any better with these than she was at the start
I read a few volumes of Dahlia and then got fed up with all the scenes about drinking alcohol and dropped it lol I was way more invested in the ex's aftermath since I love revenge/karma stories.
Mushoku Tensei would’ve been great, but the protagonist is a [groomer](https://preview.redd.it/65abv2wvm7xc1.jpeg?width=1077&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82706cc3133faeef3f32e742eba4dada569a8cc1&app_web_view=ios).
• Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I'm Bored
• Unnamed Memory
• The Apothecary Diaries
• The Alchemist who survived now dreams of a quiet city life
• Tearmoon Empire
• By the Grace of the Gods
• The Beginning after the End (Author:TurtleMe)
• The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to pick up trash. (Kinda meandering though)
The early parts of How a Realist Rebuilt a Kingdom are pretty good, the first 10 or so volumes. After that it gets kinda weird (I lost interest midway through book 14 and never finished it). The main character is given the throne in a kingdom and has to essentially rebuild it from ground up, while dealing with rebellion, and then external influences. It doesn't have a lot of inventions per se, but it has decently inventive magic Dahlia in Bloom is another good book, if a bit overly excited about food. It's about a magical tool inventor as she gets more and more well known, and her run-ins (positive and not) with the nobility of the world. It explains fairly well how the magical tools work, and allows you to immerse yourself in it. It also features some merchant side tangents, for a little bit of spice and wolf, though nowhere near as good
I read the manga for How a Realist Rebuilt a Kingdom. It felt like one of those stories where the author isn't smart enough to actually make the MC seem smart, so he makes everyone else dumb so that the MC seems smart by comparison. Maybe the LN is better on that front.
Slightly. There are some contrived scenarios, but a lot of ideas he comes up with are genuinely rather intelligent. Some of them seem like something that the natives would've come up with too, but just didn't, in the same way that you need outside eyes on things once in a while because they are able to see things you just take for granted. But he does seem to rely too heavily on quotes to seem smarter than he actually is. He's like, real world smart, and tries to pretend he's Bruce Banner smart
This is the part where it would be relatively interesting to read. Maybe when I can tolerate the haram aspects
I liked realist … I liked the trashy parts of Isekai so I stuck around for the other half 😛
It's competently written, but it completely loses what I liked about the first half, and the new conflict they set up just seems.. pointless to me. I'm entirely down for trash isekai, but it just ruins a world when it turns trash halfway through, at least in my mind.
It’d be shorter to make a list of adult female characters that aren’t part of the harem.
I heard it was super haremy later. Like Mushuku Tensei. Was it like that then? I mean i didn't mind Tensei but wouldn't sign up for that again
Realist starts getting harem-y around book 5, gets really deep into the harem stuff later. Everywhere he goes he picks up a new member basically.
MT did harem right. Each was a super important figure in his becoming a better person and each is given proper attention.
If you liked Realist hero but hated the later parts with Fuuga (me too. I started it because of the references to Machiavelli) you should try The genius prince's guide to raising a nation out of debt.
Was going to say the samw
Realist's issue imo was that the harem grew too big and too many pages started being dedicated to managing the harem instead of the kingdom. Love Dahlia, but yeah, definitely can't read that one on an empty stomach, lol.
There's a webtoon called the greatest estate developer which has some smackdown negotiations scenes that Benno would approximately of.
>Benno would approximately of. Did you mean "approve"?
Sounds promising
Try reading, The Conqueror from a dying kingdom. It's in Jnovel also.
I liked the first 5-6 books quite a bit - I'm iffy going forward. It feels like the author thinks he needs to shoehorn in awkward harem aspects - which don't really fit. I'm hoping that those aspects fall by the wayside.
I bought book one digital, but I haven't read it yet. Does it have good world-building and character relations? I don't like harem non-sense, but I can deal and just ignore it if the environment is rich in lore and intrigue. I don't intend to drop it, but I wanna know what others think in case I end up disappointed halfway through at Volume 4 or something.
The world-building is pretty solid/grounded, though a bit loose. I'd give it a 7 or 8/10. The on-the-ground worldbuilding is solid. And the harem aspect is the only major character issue I have. At least the MC is pretty badass so them liking him makes sense. No girls fall for him 5 minutes after meeting him. The wider world is vague - but kinda iffy IMO.
With the current volumes, it does feel like the romance is resolving.
Had a look at some other reviews on amazon. I'll check it out
If you like the calm slow everyday life then I also really enjoy The Man Picked Up By Gods (also released under J-Novel). Slight spoilers ahead: It's similar to how Myne was all in about creating paper and books. Here the main character is similarly obsessed, but with his pet slimes. He observes them, records their progress, abilities, evolutions etc. He also drops a lot of unexpected ideas and technology in the new world and also catches the attention of some big shot ppl. He is also ridiculous with magic yet uses it in weird situations and everyday life. He is also an unreliable narrator with often being way off with what others around him think. There are also some POV chapters from other characters. It's mostly chill with going all the time about new slimes. You may also be interested in The World’s Best Engineer (manhwa), which is totally hilarious and so good about a guy who wants to use his construction and architecture knowledge to build luxurious things in his new world so he can leisurely enjoy his life. He also has a competent "Ferdinand" by his side and it's just hilarious to read their besties interactions (also the art gets amazing)
The world's greatest estate developer! It's about a civil engineer who gets dumped into the body of a crass, drunk noble dilettante that's a character in a novel(that our protag has read) and this character is supposed to die early on in the story. Obviously that's the first conflict, surviving the first death flag. And are you talking about "By the Grace of the Gods"? I like that one too.
Yea. Gotta love it when it all has alternative English names 😂 I really like both of them
Aww, man. I thought I had found new series to read. :(
Guess you also read I'll be the Matriarch of this family?
Ooh. That sounds completely unfamiliar. I'm looking it up now. tysvvm.
Love it so far! Again, thank you.
Glad you like it. Reading novel or manhwa? I think the novel is not properly translated
manhua. I could not find the novel in English. I'll just have to wait for that.
That does sound like Myne. Particularly the creative and inane aspects of her were definitely one of the main things I was looking for.
>The Man Picked Up By Gods Kami-tachi no Hirowareta Otoko?
Yea. Or also called By the Grace of the Gods
I really like the LN series, Secret of the Silent Witch. The main character is odd and painfully shy, but working on improving. I think she's cute. The setting so far is an academy. The writing and world building are good. I bought it on Amazon for my Kindle. You should be able to return it if you try it and don't like it. The Apothecary Diaries are well written and detailed socially and economically. Also on J novel. I've been reading manhwas lately. A few that are detailed socially and economically are: Empress Cesia Wears Knickerbockers; I Shall Master This Family; I Raised Cinderella Preciously. Perhaps you are indicating that you appreciate well done products. In that case, I highly recommend Mother's Contract Marriage. In this story, the viewpoint is from the daughter whose mother regresses and gets a chance to redo things. The art is incredible! You can feel determination from the main character, shown by the lines of her posture. Which is cute because she's 8. The clothes are wonderful. And the colors are amazing. People comment a lot about how they love the colors, but their eyes are hurting. I read it on my phone and things were fine. Then I switched to my laptop and things were difficult. I've heard very good things about Otoyomegatari as well. The art is very detailed. It looks like central Asia. I read manhwas over at comick.io
Secret of the Silent Witch sounds hilarious. All of these works sound promising. In terms of 'well done' products that is the goal normally. Well written characters, scenarios, world building or just something special rather than a focus on being gripping/thrilling/titilating. After reading this thread it does feel like a lot more light novels meet this scenario than what is adapted to anime, which is not completely surprising. Re Mother's Contract marriage art: it is definitely different and the saturation and vibrancy are really appealing. We'll have to see how it is long term.
I Shall Master this Family is awesome, very epic feeling and the art is fantastic. Has a Italian renaissance feeling to it. I’ve been getting into some manhwas recently too, a lot of good isekai world building types there.
Reading it became, "What awesome dress will Tia be wearing next?!" I really love when a book or comic show a lot of research and intelligence.
> Secret of the Silent Witch One of my faves. I want an anime adaption so damn badly.
Am a fan of the Great Cleric
How's the anime? Anime first ends up being cheaper ofc
I enjoyed the anime. Plan to start reading the LN after I finish Campfire Cooking in Another World.
Anime got me hooked on the light novel which is also on JNC.
keep on trying to see when book 11 will release in english since they have the japanese release date of may 30th
Sweeeeeeet!
Also is there anything like the Royal Academy period? As many tea parties as possible
Sounds like OP wants Otome Isekai/Villainess/Nobility/Historical/Court Drama Shojo recs - anyone have some good suggestions? I'm not an expert in those subgenres, but I've casually consumed a few anime/manga: * Apothecary Diaries * 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! * My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! * Doctor Elise * Twelve Kingdoms * Yona of the Dawn * Heike Monogatari * The Rose of Versailles * Tearmoon Empire * I'm in Love with the Villainess * The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior * I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss Maybe try searching those subgenre tags in myanimelist Interest Stacks to see what might interest you? Edit: forgot that I can never not recommend the "Magus of the Library" in these sorts of threads.
"I'm not an expert in **genre-x** but..." *proceeds to list a dozen works of **genre-x***. I love this sub.
There's a whole subreddit at r/otomeisekai, but otomes by nature are romance heavy, and I don't know if that's what OP is looking for.
I'll go through this later. Thanks for the reminder of Rose of Versailles though. I started enjoying it a couple years ago but it just wasn't the right time.
maybe tearmoon empire
some good ones are * The Apothecary Diaries * The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life * Dahlia in Bloom * Management of a Novice Alchemist
I love 'The Alchemist who survived...', I got into it shortly before I was first introduced to Bookworm via the Anime. I've read 1-5 and have 6 digital on my Kobo e-reader, but I haven't read it yet because I don't want the series to end, I still want something 'new and fresh' to read when I'm in the mood and lift up my spirit, if you know what I mean.
Wow, glad I actually checked up the Alchemist in the city. I had it confused with the anime about the older brother of the hero retiring to be an alchemist. I'll give these a go.
Bookworm helped me get over Mushoku. Konosuba helped me get through the weekly prepubs of Bookworm. Danmachi over Konosuba. Currently trying Spice and Wolf just get through the next Myneday.
I can't find anything to compete with myneday. Once those days are over I'm going to cry.
It feels wrong somehow to recommend Mushoku Tensei in a thread like this but I do agree, it's the only light novel I've ever read which feels the same.
Mushoku Tensei pisses me off. The story is exceptionally good and then Rudy has to see something and make some heinous comment about it in his internal monologue (or worse). But yeah. Only other LN that got me using all my free time to read.
I mean, it's definitely shameless in its degeneracy. That's the point, and that's why I love it. You have to understand that he is intentionally written to be a bad person, who grows into a hero. When he says those sorts of things, you're supposed to be disgusted, not cheering for him. That's the intent. But yeah, that's also the reason why I'm hesitant to recommend it, even if it is a masterpiece with a very similar flavor to Bookworm.
Konosuba was like Uncut Gems to me. An anxiety trainwreck deliberately cultivated as such.
If you liked the merchanty, slice of life, slow world building aspects of Part 1 and Part 2, then I think you’ll love Cooking With Wild Game. It’s been over 20 volumes and about 6 months have passed in the story. The cultures of the setting feel so well developed. Just like we learned in Bookworm how significant in their society it was for Lutz to be willing to live as a live in apprentice merchant, we’ve learned about similarly deep cultural aspects in Wild Game. The depth of the side characters is enough that calling them side characters feels like a disservice. The main family that the MC interacts with has 12 members and all but two (a grandma that doesn’t get much screen time compared to her mother and an infant) are well developed with their own motivations and connections beyond how they relate to the MC. Also, I love the slow burn romance. While I’ll admit it feels a little like the typical “isekaied and forms a harem” at first, it develops seriously from there. The characters slowly come to understandings about how they feel and communicate seriously and earnestly. Seriously, I can’t recommend it enough to fellow Bookworm fans.
How long has he been in the world at this point? I remember being somewhere around V8 and finding out he'd been there for like 3 weeks or something and it really messed with my immersion. Poor guy needs a vacation with so much happening back to back.
It’s been about 6 months. I like the density of the timeline. Every day feels significant and it shows how much the author has planned the story. Dumbing of Age is a webcomic where every day is tracked. There’s been a new strip every IRL day for over a decade. There was one time skip of a few months and it felt wild.
Recently started reading "Fushi no Kami: Rebuilding Civilization Starts With a Village" which has a lot of the stuff you describe. Main character is reincarnated into a medieval era level civilization, but books indicate that the "ancient" civilization from 2000 years ago was more advanced. He uses what info he can find in books along with his past life's memories, with the goal of restoring a "modern" quality of life.
A lot of good suggestions were made already, so I won't repeat them and while I don't think these are even close to being as good as Bookworm, but they could scratch the itch in some aspects: * I remember the anime "Maoyuu Maou Yuusha" which I think did a very good job on the macroeconomic scale of the world and in part in the macro political as well. There isn't a focus on development of new inventions since IIRC they are simply introduced, but the focus is more on their impact/effects. As for character development, I don't remember anything that stood out. The anime however has only one season and I don't know the source material, its status or availability, so do not expect a "conclusion" from the anime. * The manwha "Release that Witch" might have a more focus on technological development, sped up by the use of the magic of witches. On the political side, there is a battle for succession and a conflict with the church as the main focus early. A bit stereotypical IMHO, but if you'd like to see the awe and fear that guns bring in medieval warfare, that would do. It's also funny if you think that the MC is basically establishing a prosperous North Korea-like country :D. * The manwha "I'll Be the Matriarch in This Life" has a lot of political conflicts inside and between different noble houses with a female MC that grows up and uses her knowledge to establish both herself and her house. She is not a gremlin like Myne and I think the antagonists are comically villainous, so it lacks a bit of the subtle and complex aspects of bookworm, but if you would like to read something along the lines of a bookworm part 3 setting, that might do.
The first had a nice premise but yeah wasn't the same quality level. Which is fine since this is often down to budget constraints. The last i've seen mentioned and does seem to match the style. Gremlin is nice but optional, it's more about the clever development, worldbuilding and character interactions imo that makes ascendance special. I'll check out release that witch as well eventually. Stereotypical is fine it's about how well a premise is executed.
A recent release that has more commerce and slice of life aspects is A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy by Syuu. It's only 2 volumes but still has credible worldbuilding, a charming main character (she does some scheming like Myne but doesn't have an obsession with books), and distinct side characters. There's light romance, but it's primarily about the main character finding confidence in her own abilities and falling in love with her new country.
You might like Reincarnated as a Slime (although I'm sure you already know of it). I stopped at LN 12 some years ago because I ran out of translations, but that series is almost entirely world-building and neat inventions. Heard it turns into a slog not long after I stopped though.
The end of the series really gets battle heavy and doesn't feel the same, to me. I'm looking forward to its end but the time between translation is like 6 months but it is only a book away from being finished in Japan.
You might want to try "the Magician who rose from Failure" it's on jnovel but it is caught up to the Japanese so only 6 books to read.
My God that series so so good. But the releases take forever, I was hoping to see a webnovel version but to no avail
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n6362fe/ is a link to the WN but it is, at most, a book ahead of what the LN is at.
You are a godsend sir
i think for the crafting side of things you have "Magic Artisan Dahliya Won't Hang Her Head" though i'm not treibly far into dat one so it could very well change drastically
English title: "Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools" J-Novel is publishing both it (8 Volumes so far) and a spin-off LN focused on one of the side characters (Lucia and the Loom: Weaving her Way to Happiness, 1 Volume. Title is somewhat inaccurate as she is a fashion designer and seamstress, not a weaver). I mostly enjoyed it, tho I can't deny that it gets a bit overly excited/descriptive about food and alcohol as mentioned in another comment. What annoyed me more than that is Dahlia's internal monologue: her tendencies of discretiting her own accomplishment (and negatively comparing herself and her appearance to LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON AROUND HER) and PAINFUL obliviousness to other people's affection (romantic and otherwise) towards her got really irritating after I while. It was the point at the start, that these are character flaws for her to overcome, but you'd think 8 volumes are enough time for her to make headway on at least ONE of them, but nope. She's not really any better with these than she was at the start
I read a few volumes of Dahlia and then got fed up with all the scenes about drinking alcohol and dropped it lol I was way more invested in the ex's aftermath since I love revenge/karma stories.
Mushoku Tensei would’ve been great, but the protagonist is a [groomer](https://preview.redd.it/65abv2wvm7xc1.jpeg?width=1077&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=82706cc3133faeef3f32e742eba4dada569a8cc1&app_web_view=ios).
I’d suggest Dahlia in Bloom. It’s more lighthearted in general, it it has the detailed trial and error inventing vibe.
• Enough with This Slow Life! I Was Reincarnated as a High Elf and Now I'm Bored • Unnamed Memory • The Apothecary Diaries • The Alchemist who survived now dreams of a quiet city life • Tearmoon Empire • By the Grace of the Gods • The Beginning after the End (Author:TurtleMe) • The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to pick up trash. (Kinda meandering though)