Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 11

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 11

Vouivre Hunt

Something I mentioned last week was that I didn’t think we would actually get very good fights in this episode despite them being set up nicely. That turned out to be the case, which I’m obviously not surprised about. Sure, we got Bell vs. Ais, which I’ll talk about later, but aside from that, the other fights were lacking.

Starting off with Welf and Mikoto vs. Gareth, this is what I would consider the bare minimum for a fight in a series in which fights actually matter. For DanMachi though, this is almost as good as a fight gets. There was some jumping around, some long-range attacks happened, and then the fight was finished (suspended) in one shot.

It’s a bit disappointing when you have two swordsmen fighting someone with a battle-ax, and instead of real fight choreography, they just shoot each other with magic attacks at range. The reason I love swordsmen in anime so much is that I want to see the fight choreography they often require.

Tiona talking to Wiene from the anime series DanMachi III
Tiona talking to Wiene

Bete is another character who’s perfect for highly-choreographed fight scenes. However, we didn’t get that. His fight against Aisha was simply done off-screen and we just got to see the setup and aftermath. And the same is true for Ais vs. Ryuu. As you’ll notice, skipping over fights is a common occurrence in this series.

There was also a potential fight involving Tiona that we didn’t get as well. The difference here is that the fight simply didn’t happen at all, not just off-screen. I figured we might get a brief fight between her and Bell over Wiene. But in the end, I don’t mind that this one was skipped because I think it was handled well.

Ultra Soul | Decisive Battle

As far as DanMachi fights go, Bell vs. Ais is as good as it gets. I’m not saying that this is one of the best fights across different series, but in DanMachi it’s probably near the top. And as I’ve said before and demonstrated through the first part of this review, DanMachi doesn’t really focus on fights very often.

One thing this fight reminded me of is that we haven’t heard anything about adventurer levels in a long time. Sure, there’s Haruhime’s ability that grants a level boost to her allies. But I don’t believe a single adventurer’s level has been stated throughout this entire season.

Why do I bring this up? Because adventurer levels were quite a big deal for the first (and maybe second, I forget) season(s). I believe Ais was level 6, which made her the highest leveled adventurer in Orario without level boosts taken into account. So, she should theoretically have no problem defeating Bell.

Ais Wallenstein from the anime series DanMachi III
Ais Wallenstein

Bell is the main character, so you may think that he has some special skill that allows him to defeat Ais. However, while he does have a special skill, it doesn’t work like that. Bell’s skill just lets him gain experience at a faster rate than most people. He’s still a lower level than Ais, and therefore should be no match for her alone.

I’m not normally one for power levels of any kind in action anime. But considering that the level system has been in place in this series from the start, and wasn’t used in an arbitrary way, it’s a bit odd for it to suddenly disappear.

Is the author attempting to move away from this level system for some reason? Have they decided that it’s too rigid to allow for meaningful character development? Or is it just a coincidence that it hasn’t been brought up recently?

A Change of Heart

I’m sure we all expected Ais to have a change of heart about the Xenos in the end. However, I can safely say that I didn’t expect it to happen as it did. I was prepared to see her and Bell continue fighting into the final episode of the season, with Ais only having a change of heart after witnessing Bell’s continued determination.

Even once Wiene expressed that she didn’t want to leave Bell behind and escape on her own, I didn’t expect what was going to happen. I figured Hestia was about to talk her into escaping by telling her that Bell will be able to fight with everything he has if he knows Wiene has gotten away.

But no. Wiene goes back to the square in which Bell and Ais are fighting (somehow without exiting through the gated passageway) and saves the day. Maybe “saves the day” is a bit of a hyperbole, but she saves Bell from getting somewhat injured and probably saves herself in the process.

Wiene protecting Bell from Ais from the anime series DanMachi III
Wiene protecting Bell from Ais

I quite liked this scene of Wiene confronting Ais. Sure, the fact that she was able to rip her own wing off is a bit much, but aside from that, I thought it was good. I will admit that I don’t really have another solution to her getting rid of her wing though. She could have used one of Bell’s knives, I guess.

However, I think this is also a scene that’s a bit ruined by Ais’ kuudere personality. I don’t like Ais as a character. I get that she’s based on a specific character archetype. But I just don’t find her being emotionless all the time to be interesting. And in emotional scenes such as this one, even though she does show some emotion, it still feels off.

Conclusion

What do you think of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III episode 11? Are you fine with the series skipping over the majority of side character fights? Do you think the level system should make a return? And how do you feel about Ais’ character? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the final episode of the season is available here.

2 Replies to “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 11”

  1. In terrms of the fights I guess there is only so much time in an episode so choicces have to be made what is focused on. The key parts was Bell defying Ais and then Weine asserting her “humanity”. Throw in more fight scenes and those key elements get cut. We’ve seen Bete, Ryuu, and Aisha fight before so we know what to expect from them so those fights arent going to tell us anything new – (though I would have liked to see Ais and Ryuu, as both are masters with the sword and magic).

    As for the levels while its not stated, its clear Bell, even with boosted levels, doesnt stand a chance, in the same way Welf and Mikoto is no match for Gareth without magic swords. I think too Freya’s captain is level 7 or 8. He is the strongest in Orario.

    1. While I would certainly like to see more side character fights, my main point was to illustrate how fights aren’t the focus of DanMachi. It focuses much more heavily on the characters and story, which isn’t something you’d expect from a series like this at first glance.

      I also don’t really have an issue with the lack of level stating at this point. I just thought it was interesting that they haven’t been mentioned all season considering how much of a big deal levels were earlier in the season.

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