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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Episode 9

by Rebecca Silverman,

As some of us suspected, this is the episode where the red-headed guy comes in and yes, he turns out to be the Welf Crozzo who smithed Bell's armor. Like Liliruca, Welf comes with his own baggage, most of which appears to stem from his past, and he's desperate for both a party and a friend. Luckily for him, after the events of last week, Bell's status has risen to Level 2, and he and Lili want to head for the middle floors of the dungeon, something that would go a lot better if there were more people in their party. When Bell sets out to buy new armor, he meets Welf, and the two strike a deal.

While the introduction of Welf into Bell's party is arguably the meat of the episode, the most important part is actually the fact that Bell is now Level 2. It's a meteoric rise to say the least: it took him roughly a month to jump levels, and when you consider that even Aiz didn't level up that quickly, it really says something about Bell as an adventurer. Part of what it reminds us is that he has an incredible will to succeed. His hidden skill, Realis Phrase, certainly helped propel him even if Hestia is keeping it a secret, and now with his new level he has acquired the “Argonaut” skill. It was mentioned last week, but with no explanation, so many viewers assumed that it was a reference to the mythical Jason and his Argonauts, indicating that the story exists in Bell's world and that those who witnessed the fight were comparing Bell to him. As it turns out, it is an actual ability that stems from a great desire to be a hero, allowing Bell to overcome almost any danger before him. As I mentioned last week, this is further evidence to support Bell's own strength of will and drive to succeed. While that may originate with his feelings for Aiz, his skills are at their best when he's actively trying to help a friend; Argonaut manifests when Lili is in danger, like how he achieved Level 2 while protecting Lili (and his reputation) from the minotaur.

There aren't any fights on the level of the one against the minotaur this time, but there are still some nice visuals. My personal favorites would be the initial manifestation of Argonaut, which the audience notices before Bell does because of our third-person perspective on the scene and the entire weaponsmithing sequence in Welf's workshop. While I cannot speak to its authenticity, having only seen farriers and blacksmiths making stove parts or horseshoes, it is still somehow fascinating. In part this is due to the concentration Welf exudes. Despite the fact that there's a voice-over about his views on weapons versus magical weapons, his attention never wavers from what he is doing, a level of seriousness we have only seen applied to fight scenes up till now. The steps he takes also add to the interest of the scene, as the show is careful to delineate multiple steps and to make sure we realize that we're seeing an abbreviated version of the process. It's a change of pace but no less intense than a major battle, reaffirming that this is a better looking show than you might at first suspect.

Although Hestia is not in much of this episode, continuing that trend as Bell makes more friends outside of the Familia, it has become very clear that she is busy in the background making sure that Bell is with the right people. Bell's naiveté hasn't really changed from episode one, and enough people realize that that he's always being looked out for. For Hestia, this means making his adventuring as smooth and safe as possible, voicing her reservations but ultimately trusting him to make his own decisions. Like with Lili, she tells Bell her worries about Welf, but stops short of making any sort of judgment call. This trust is what grounds their relationship and makes even our brief glimpses of them together so comfortable...even if she does have rotten taste in adventurer titles.

Even with all of these positive aspects, this episode simply doesn't flow as well as some of the others, jumbling together Welf's introduction with a meeting of the gods and Bell's new skill. Given that the episode count is swiftly running out, it is easy to understand why quantity of material might have been more important than perfect pacing, but it does still make this somewhat less satisfying than it might have been, which, given last week, is a shame.

Rating: B

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman is ANN's senior manga critic.


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