Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 8

Searching for a Place to Die

This week, let’s go over DanMachi IV Part 2 Episode 8 a little out of order. I want to start by discussing Ryuu’s plan to sacrifice herself to save Bell. And, I want to point out that her plan wasn’t actually much of a sacrifice.

You see, nothing Ryuu did in this episode actually saved Bell at her own expense. Sure, she used her wind magic to carry Bell across the bridge to safety. And she blew up the bridge behind him so the monsters couldn’t chase him. But, she didn’t have to sacrifice herself to do that.

Can she not use her wind magic to blow herself across the bridge, as well? Could she not have gone around the long way as Bell did when he returned to save her? The answer seems pretty obvious. Ryuu didn’t need to sacrifice herself here. She wanted to.

At this point in her life, Ryuu doesn’t feel like she has much reason to live. She was living for revenge ever since the rest of her Familia died. But, now, she doesn’t really have a purpose. Though, to be fair, I don’t actually remember what became of Jura.

If Jura is still alive, you could argue she still has revenge as a reason to live. But that’s not much of a concern for Ryuu right now. All she cares about is finding a place to die so she can finally be with her friends again.

And because Ryuu is raising all these death flags for herself, I’,m still convinced she isn’t going to die. Yes, I know the subtitle of the next episode is “Heroic Death.” But, that’s not going to refer to Ryuu. Or, if it is, it’s going to be a symbolic death.

What Is the Dungeon Cooking?

Before Bell went into the dungeon on his most recent excursion, he spoke to Eina from the guild. She told him of reports from the deep floors about monsters infinitely respawning. According to her, these rumors came from the Zeus and Hera Familias.

Now, one thing I noticed here is that Eina said “they aren’t around anymore.” It’s unclear to me if she’s referring to the adventurers who made the reports or the Familias. I can’t remember the Zeus and Hera Familias being around in the present story. So, it could be that these Familias no longer exist.

If that’s the case, what happened to them? We know what happened to the Astraea Familia. So, could these other strong Familias have also been wiped out by the Juggernaut? Or, did something else in the deep floors get to them?

Anyway, what happened to those Familias doesn’t matter right now. What matters now is that Eina mentioned that it seemed like the dungeon was running tests. Why else would there be a spot where monsters infinitely respawn and fight? It’s not normal behavior elsewhere in the dungeon. So, what’s going on here?

Bell considers what it is the dungeon could be testing. Could it be testing adventurers? It’s possible. But, if that were the case, there would be no need for the monsters to be fighting 24/7. So, he then considers if it’s the monsters who are the ones the dungeon is testing.

To me, this seems like the more likely scenario. What if the point of these 24/7 battles is to produce stronger monsters? You may recall that the moss monster from Part 1 came from deeper floors than where Bell encountered it. Could this monster have been a product of the Colosseum?

Those Are the People We Call Heroes

At the end of Episode 8, Bell returns to the Colosseum to rescue Ryuu. And, as always happens when Bell goes into hero mode, we hear a bell ringing. Also, I’m pretty sure it was established that those he’s saving can hear this bell.

Anyway, Bell coming back to save the day is exactly what I thought would happen. In my Episode 6 review, I said that Bell would show Ryuu that she was right to believe there could be justice for all. He’s going to save her from the Colosseum and her despair.

As we saw, Bell saving the day also ties back in to what Alise told Ryuu in the past. The people who strive for justice for everyone and achieve it are the ones we call heroes. Wow! Who could have guessed Bell would be such a hero?

The question I have now is, how are Bell and Ryuu going to make it out of the Colosseum? We can assume they can’t escape over the bridge they first attempted to escape over. Ryuu blew that one up and I don’t think she has it in her to get over the gap now.

That seems to leave the side path Bell took to return to Ryuu as the only option left. Well, it’s that or they can turn around and head back the way they came. But, now that they don’t have their disguise anymore, that doesn’t seem like a viable option, either.

So, what is it about the side path that made Ryuu choose not to use it, to begin with? We saw Bell made his way through just fine. Is it a path that can only be traversed in one direction? Or, does Ryuu know something else about it?

Conclusion

What do you think about Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 8? Do you think Ryuu has some special attachment to the Colosseum, which is why she wants to die there? What do you think the dungeon is cooking in the Colosseum? And how do you think Bell and Ryuu will escape? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 9 is available now.