×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Episode 8

by Rebecca Silverman,

Even when you know something is coming it can still take your breath away. That's the case for this week's major battle in Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? – we've known that Bell's skills have been improving rapidly thanks to his special skill, and we've certainly seen him perform impressive feats before this week. Heck, we even saw him training with Aiz (and, more importantly, land a hit on her at the beginning of this week's episode), so we knew that his swordplay was evolving along with his more arcane strengths. But somehow none of that quite counts as preparation for his fight against the rogue minotaur. Despite the fact that most of the episode is devoted to the battle, it doesn't feel over-long or artificially drawn out. Like the members of the Loki Familia who watch it happen, it's hard not to be both astounded and impressed, to say nothing of a little tense, while it's going on. The choreography, animation, and soundtrack all work to enhance it as well, making this one of the tensest and most impressive episodes thus far. (The battle against the gorilla is a close second in terms of all things coming together.) Bell's determination is definitely paying off.

Also impressive is where he gets his strength from. Bell doesn't quite fit the shounen hero mold of “I want to get stronger so I can be stronger” or even necessarily “I want to get stronger to protect _____,” although I would argue that that is a motivating factor, whether or not he's aware of it. He seems to simply want to catch up with Aiz, but not because he likes her (although again, that's probably a factor) but because he doesn't want to feel inferior. Bell likes being trustworthy, someone others can rely on, and when Bete belittled him for being saved by Aiz way back in the first episode, he made him feel like he was less somehow, and his thoughtless teasing again here once more motivates Bell to take on the monster himself. If he can do this, he can protect Lili, be worthy of Hestia, and get closer to Aiz, all while making him feel like a better person. So while all of the usual shounen hero reasons do apply, it's the combination of them that helps Bell to stand out. It gives him a chance to seem like a bit more of a real person rather than a collection of character tropes, and I think that's part of what makes this show more engaging than it otherwise might have been.

The unfortunate side effect of Bell's battle to be the best adventurer he can be is that we see far less of Hestia in each episode, and therefore less of their interactions. The end of this week's is an exception that reminds me of why I miss seeing them together so much – the love they have for each other (however you want to see it, be that familial or romantic) is so clear that it's a shame not to be able to see it more often. Its lack also takes the emotional dimension out of the show; while seeing Bell's determination is still good, it also isn't quite enough to build a full story on, especially not when we've seen what else the show can do. And speaking of what it can do, what is going on with Freya? She's clearly behind the minotaur and just as obviously getting some sort of (sexual?) pleasure from Bell's adventures, but what is her actual deal? Mystery is good and all, but this feels like it's taking a bit long to develop, especially since we're over half-way through now.

Those issues aside, this really is an exciting installment in the show, and watching Bell improve before our eyes is impressive, to say the least. Plus I suspect that the redhead from the credits is coming in next episode (possibly just because Bell's armor has gone the way of the dodo). Hopefully he'll add a new element that will keep the story moving in its current positive direction.

Rating: A-

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.


discuss this in the forum (126 posts) |
bookmark/share with: short url

back to Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?
Episode Review homepage / archives