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

Loki Familia Action

Usually, I think episodes of DanMachi are alright or pretty good. However, I have to admit that episode 8 was a really good episode. There was plenty of well-animated action, there were emotional moments, there was lore, and there was some great use of music as well.

The action in this episode was mainly centered on the Loki Familia. This makes sense considering the Loki Familia contains the strongest adventurers we know of. So if there are monsters rampaging in Orario, these are the adventurers who will be able to stop them.

It’s just unfortunate that the DanMachi spin-off that follows the Loki Familia is the worst DanMachi anime series. When you see episodes like this, you’d think that Sword Oratoria would be good. But you’d be mistaken.

I would have liked to see Gros put up more of a fight against Bete. But at the same time, the easy defeat of someone like Gros just served to showcase how strong Bete really is. And the same is true for Tiona’s “fight” against Fels’ golem. This was supposedly Fels’ secret weapon, and yet Tiona took it down in one shot.

Tione was the one of the three who I think had the best showcase of her fighting abilities, despite being the only one not to take down a strong opponent. Seeing her go up against Asterius with her bare hands was pretty great. I just wish that fight lasted longer.

Also, I’d just like to say that the Loki Familia is so much cooler than any of the others in this entire series. They’re the only one that feels like a true fantasy adventurers group. And all of their character designs (except Ais, to be honest) are great.

Asterius

Asterius deserves his own section because there’s a lot to say about him. First of all, his name is obviously a reference to the Minotaur of Greek mythology. I don’t believe any of the other Xenos have names like that. So, does this mean that Asterius is different from the rest of them somehow?

Is Asterius perhaps the original Minotaur? There may be more to that theory than it seems at first. After all, Daedalus, the ancestor of Dix, was the one who created the labyrinth that Asterius resided within in Greek mythology. So for Asterius to be the one to kill Dix in this episode was fitting.

We also know that Asterius is the strongest of the Xenos, so perhaps that’s a clue as well. Perhaps his strength comes in part from him being the original one of his kind in the dungeon.

There’s also the fact that Asterius is the most heavily equipped of all the Xenos. On one end of the spectrum, we have Gros, who doesn’t use human weapons and armor. In the middle, there’s Lyd, who uses some. And on the other end, we have Asterius, who’s decked out with armor and multiple weapons, including a powerful magic one.

And finally, we can’t ignore that multiple adventurers seem to recognize Asterius from somewhere. I don’t remember which episode it was for, but in one of my reviews, I mentioned the idea of the minotaur that attacked Bell at the start of the series coming up again in the context of the Xenos.

I feel like that minotaur was slain by Ais, but maybe it escaped. I don’t remember because it was so long ago. But even if that minotaur was killed, it must have been connected to Asterius in some way.

Death and Rebirth

Wiene’s death was definitely something I wasn’t expecting to happen. But, I thought that it was done well. It was an emotional end for her and Bell, and that’s all you could really ask for. Well, except for the fact that it wasn’t really the end for them.

I’m sure there are a few people who disliked that Wiene was revived after her body disintegrated away. Normally, I would be one of those people too. However, I actually didn’t mind it in this situation, mainly because even her revival was done exceptionally well. I mean, how could you dislike that scene once the music started?

Yes, it’s a bit “cheap” for Wiene to simply be revived after her emotional death. But to be honest, did you really think she was going to stay dead? Considering that there was no way that was going to happen, I think the only problem with her revival was one, little detail regarding how Fels made it happen.

We know that Fels is the ancient alchemist who discovered the philosopher’s stone and gained immortality. That much has already been established, and I’m completely fine with it. But I think that being able to use that power to then also revive other people is a bit much.

When Fels started using the resurrection spell, I figured that he was going to be trading his own life to revive Wiene. After all, giving up an immortal life seems like a fair trade for bringing someone back from the dead temporarily. That isn’t how it worked, though.

Fels is still alive, and this resurrection magic is apparently something he can use again if needed. He did say that he’s never gotten it to successfully work before, so there’s the excuse for it never being used again. But if he was able to do it this time, there’s really no reason why he couldn’t do it again.

I just think Fels should have died there. It would have been a good way to bring Wiene back while also ending Fels’ 800-year curse. It would have wrapped multiple things up nicely. Maybe the caveat could have been that the magic worked this time because he was using it for someone else’s sake, not as a means to end his own suffering.

Conclusion

What do you think of DanMachi III episode 8? Do you want to see more of the Loki Familia in action? I know I do. What do you think is the deal with Asterius? And, how do you feel about Wiene’s revival? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.