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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Episode 7

by Rebecca Silverman,

For an episode with Aiz Wallenstein's name in the title, we certainly don't expand upon her character very much. That's definitely disappointing, since if there's any character in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? who is need of character development, it's her. Sadly “beautiful,” “doesn't emote,” and “skilled with a sword” don't add up to someone we can form an attachment to, and while it's great to see Bell get to interact with his idol/crush, it doesn't bring us any closer to understanding if there's something beyond her skill and beauty that make him so devoted to her. Sadly this is a one-note episode for Hestia as well, who is in full-out jealousy mode this week. Her interactions with Lili, whom Bell invites over so his goddess can meet his supporter, are an interesting mix of authoritative and teen girl jealousy, which works well for the first three minutes. But when she's done being the head of the familia and starts resorting to pressing her breasts against Bell, which naturally results in Lili doing the exact same thing on his other side, she gets stuck and seems unable to return to the rounded character she previously has been. Lili, on the other hand, seems to have no problem showing her wit and resilience in other scenes, which saves the episode from totally wasting its female characters.

Speaking of rounded and female, this is a good episode for Hestia's boobs, which are in fanservice overtime as the animators present her from all angles and her breasts in various degrees of compression. While that's not what I'm watching for, I did appreciate the variety and that generally speaking all of the fanservice was physically plausible. There's also a small scene for those viewers who prefer muscular men to curvy women, as Bell runs into a barbarian in some sort of fur diaper at the Guild, right before he accidentally slams his head into Aiz's behind. (I promise it makes sense in context.) Yoshitsugu Matsuoka does a terrific job of shrieking in a high-pitched voice for an extended period of time during this scene in what is one of the episode's funniest moments. Later on, after Bell has accepted Aiz's offer to train him, he continues to prove that voice acting isn't just about delivering lines as he grunts and squeaks his way through kicks to the head. It works especially well given that Aiz is basically emotionless in her speech, forming a humorous contrast. It's much more entertaining than the other attempt at humor this week, which has Bell deliberating over whether or not to kiss the sleeping Aiz while his grandfather and Hestia play the roles of angel and devil on his shoulder. Let's just say that's a trope that worked better when Bugs Bunny did it.

Aiz isn't a total loss this week, despite what it might sound like. We do learn that she's mystified by Bell, and, more importantly, that she also has someone she wants to “catch up” to. Given that this episode has flashes to a brawny animal person who treats the dungeon monsters just a little differently than the other adventurers do, this could have some alarming implications, although nothing says that if he is the one she's talking about she knows what he's doing. Whoever he is, he seems to have a vendetta against the Soma Familia, as we very clearly see their familia crest (a goblet in a crescent moon) at the scene of a massacre at the hands of a familiar monster. Is he the “Ottarl” Freya was talking to in the opening scene? Is he the one Aiz is talking about? These questions are actually much more interesting than most of what happens this episode, which while it does bode well for the show's future, doesn't say much for this particular installment of it.

Not every episode of a show has to be excellent or thrilling, and this one, while still fun to watch and decently interesting, is also a bit shallow where plot is concerned. Hestia's initial interactions with Lili are good and show the balance of human and divine within her, and the mysterious animal man indicates some good future plotlines, but on the whole this is a fluffy episode rather than a great one. It's kind of nice after the intensity of last week, but it's also kind of a let-down, so I hope next week takes things just a little bit farther in terms of what's to come for our hero.

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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