The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

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

Young adventurer Bell Cranel and his friend Ryuu Lion have survived their traumatic ordeal deep in the Dungeon's 37th floor. Now back in the city of Orario, home to gods and mortals alike, life returns to normal… meaning relentless romcom hijinks and jealous goddesses aplenty for poor, clueless Bell to contend with.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V is based on the Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? light novel series by Fujino Ōmori with illustrations by Suzuhito Yasuda. The anime series is streaming on HIDIVE on Thursdays.

It's time for another thrilling episode of Everybody Loves Bell! I don't know what it is about 14-year-old Bell Cranel that makes almost every single woman in his immediate (and not-so-immediate) vicinity appear to take leave of their senses. Where most guys are content with scented deodorant or musky aftershave, Bell seems to naturally exude the Concentrated Essence Of Man Sex from his pores. He is the grandson of Zeus, after all.

Last season was full of incredibly intense drama, with Bell and Ryu eventually bonding together (while naked!) Ryu, naturally, now feels incredibly self-aware around Bell as it's painfully clear she caught feelings during their prolonged, shared, near-death experience. After season 4 explored her character so deeply, Ryu's become my favorite DanMachi heroine, and it's gratifying to see that with the funny and tender scenes they share in this episode, the consequences of Bell's and Ryu's actions are prominently acknowledged, tying directly into the next main storyline.

That storyline seems to focus on the Freya familia. Now, I'm an anime-only DanMachi fan, so all I know about Freya is from the dark hints littered throughout the preceding seasons. She's a powerful (and extremely sensuous) love goddess with designs on Bell. Waitress Syr has some kind of close link with Freya, and when Syr formally asks Bell on a date (first asking for the reserved Ryu's permission, but was she ever going to refuse it?), to say she throws the cat amongst the pigeons would be an understatement.

For one, it's hilarious that Hestia has employed Lili to monitor the myriad girls orbiting Bell, reporting to her if they get too close. Intriguingly, Hestia has never met Syr in person despite her people-facing profession. Poor Bell's Harem Protagonist EX skill never stops getting him in trouble, especially as there's now a gaggle of Freya Familia out for his blood for some reason. It's no wonder they're all so entranced by their goddess – the rather, uh… intense ending sequence makes sure to fully advertise Freya's prodigious wares. Is it just me, or is it getting a little hot in here?

This episode has what I like to think of as a “reverse-twist”—i.e., the whole episode foreshadows one twist, only to subvert it at the last second. Let's look at what we find out over the course of this episode. First, we hear from her own thoughts that Syr is a goddess. Then, we have Syr send a letter with the Freya Familia seal, delivered by Frey's own top aid. And finally, we learn that Syr and Hestia have never met directly, despite Hestia's best efforts. This implies that not only is Syr able to detect and avoid the clingy goddess, but Hestia would recognize Syr if they did meet.

It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots here. It all points to the idea that Syr is Freya in disguise. Now, this would have crazy implications for the story—especially considering the events that Freya has been involved in. To twist things further, Syr's love for Bell seems genuine, which would significantly recontextualize Freya's past actions should Syr and Freya be one and the same.

But then we get the final scene between Syr and Freya. This is the reverse-twist of the episode—the proof that all the previous foreshadowing was nothing but a misdirection. After all, two different people can't possibly be the same person… or can they? With Freya's comments about Syr appearing “in that form” and alluding to her true identity, there is still just enough possibility for Syr and Freya to be one person that the idea can't be discounted entirely—despite the evidence to the contrary. Thus, we are left with our major mystery for this arc: “Who is Syr, and what is her connection to Freya?”

But, honestly, as good of a mystery as that is, I have a much less important question that I can't get out of my head—a question that reflects just how caught up in the world-building I am at this point. What happens when you don't level up when you have the chance? Is there some kind of bonus for doing this? Is it like Pokémon, where if you don't evolve, your stats are lower, but you learn skills at an accelerated rate? Well, I suppose I have no choice but to keep watching and find out.

At the risk of being obnoxious, allow me to again urge anime-only DanMachi fans to at least look up the events of the Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya novel because that's going to make this season a whole lot more interesting. Not that it won't be otherwise, but the risk of a large franchise is that there's this intention for people to need to consume all of its offshoots – novels, games, manga, anime, etc. – and in this case, that does make a difference. Some of why that is revealed in this episode is that the ties between Freya, Horn, and Syr are starting to come into the light. It's probably no coincidence that all three women have similar coloring, and Syr's internal monologue about the trials of goddesshood certainly hints at something more, even if seeing her and Freya together at the end of the episode would seem to put paid to the idea that they're the same person. But maybe it's worth remembering that Freya (or Freyja) is a goddess of many things – fertility and love, yes, as the show reminds us, but also sex, war, gold, and a particular prophetic magic known as “seiðr,” which involves influencing the future. We know original series author Fujino Ōmori does his research, so we shouldn't count those other pieces of her power out.

This episode itself is a slow burn. Although it might feel like an odd way to start the latest season, for the characters, it's basically moments after Bell and Ryu recovered from their sojourn in the Deep Levels, so something a little fluffy is absolutely called for. And really, it's only gentle on the surface – we might sneer at the harem aspects of the story, but Syr and Ryu are very serious in trying to figure out their feelings, even if Lili, Haruhime, and Hestia aren't simply because they're more in tune with their emotions. (Or have had more time to accept them.) Ryu's power makes her a major threat, something Syr seems fully cognizant of, and that may be why she's become so determined to act on her feelings for Bell. The more concerning question is why Freya Familia is also involved and what that involvement will mean for not just the other Bell-loving ladies but for Bell himself.

There's already a danger to Bell with the appearance of Hedin, one of Freya's elvan followers. The fight Hedin picks with Bell is in direct relation to the proposed date with Syr at the upcoming goddess festival, and while the elf doesn't say much after attacking him, he's clearly got a purpose in mind – and it's probably not killing him, since he shot down dark elf Hogni's suggestion of murder. It's interesting to note how different Familia meetings look between Freya and Hestia familias, which may have a bearing on things as well – Hestia is present and an active participant at Hearthstone, while the Freya Familia meeting is contentious and happens with only top members and no goddess. While there's certainly a size difference that plays a part, it also solidifies the idea that Freya Familia may operate more like a cult, something that's even starker when you look back at other familia meetings in earlier seasons. Bell may not have agreed to go on the date with Syr yet, but it looks like events have already been taken out of his hands. The rabbit is standing in the trap, and the jaws are about to spring shut.