The (Fake) Power of Friendship

Overall, I thought Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 11 was a good conclusion to Season 4. But, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first part of the episode.

Ryuu seeing her friends again in the afterlife and having them tell her to go back and save Bell was fine. It was probably supposed to be more emotional than I thought it was. This is a trope I’m not the biggest fan of. And, I saw it pretty recently when I watched Ranking of Kings a few weeks ago (review coming tomorrow).

But, in my mind, the worst part of the episode is what came after Ryuu “reunited” with her Familia Members. She rejoins the battle against the Juggernaut alongside Bell. And when she does so, she uses the power of friendship to take the monster down.

To be clear, Ryuu didn’t really use the power of friendship here. A real example of the power of friendship at work is when Welf crafted his indestructible sword. In Episode 5, he was able to make the world’s first indestructible sword by thinking about his friends.

That’s not quite what happened here. Instead, Ryuu used her own magic to take down the Juggernaut. But, she was pretending like the ghosts of her friends were fighting alongside her. They were not. Everything we saw Ryuu do, she did with her own power.

Still, that doesn’t mean I can’t say I thought it was cheesy. Even though it wasn’t actually the power of friendship, framing it that way is kind of lame. But, I completely understand why it was done that way. It makes sense for Ryuu’s character arc throughout the season.

Xenos to the Rescue!

Let’s talk about the Xenos for a bit. They’re really the heroes of this entire rescue operation. If it wasn’t for the Xenos, Bell and Ryuu might not have made it out of the Dungeon alive. Well, actually, we know for a fact that it was only thanks to them that Bell survived.

Specifically, Marie was the MVP of the season. When the Juggernaut broke Bell’s neck, who was it who healed him? It was Marie. And at the end of this episode when Wiene located Bell and Ryuu, whose blood healed their wounds? Again, it was Marie’s.

Earlier in the season, I predicted that Marie’s healing ability would come up again. Initially, I figured she’d heal Mikoto’s wounds after the fight against the Floor Boss. But, this works too. It actually makes even more sense because it’s what saved Bell in the end.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Marie was also the one who let everyone else know that Bell and Ryuu were most likely in the deep floors. Without that information, the rescue party may not have made it down there until it was too late.

But, Marie isn’t the only Xenos who deserves praise. Lyd, Gros, Wiene, and Let played important roles, as well. Lyd and Gros led the charge into the deep floors to rescue bell. Wiene used her super senses to locate Bell. And Let served as the go-between for the Xenos and Bell’s party during the search.

Unfortunately for the Xenos, they don’t get any of the glory. They don’t get any reward for saving Bell and Ryuu. Though, from their perspective, they were paying Bell back for when he saved them. I hope that someday they get the recognition they deserve.

Ryuu’s New Life as Best Girl

As I expected, Ryuu Lion survived the arc. At the very start, I wasn’t sure — it could have gone either way. But, once we started getting Ryuu’s backstory and a bunch of death flags for her, I knew she’d survive. It was too obvious for it not to be bait.

Also, while DanMachi can certainly be violent, as we’ve seen, it’s a positive series as a whole. The whole point is that Bell is a hero who always manages to save his friends. And for that to be true, he had to save Ryuu, too.

But, things are looking good for Ryuu beyond the simple fact that she’s alive. Her true identity as the assassin Gale Wind didn’t come to light. And, rumor has it that Gale Wind died as a hero in the deep floors.

So, why does this matter? First, Gale Wind isn’t seen as a terrorist anymore. That’s a good thing because she was the last survivor of the Astraea Familia. If she died a villain and terrorist, that would reflect poorly on the Familia as a whole. She wouldn’t want to harm her friends’ reputations like that.

Second, it means that Ryuu can live a life of peace from now on. I believe the Rudra Familia is completely gone at this point. So, she doesn’t have to track them down anymore. And, since Gale Wind is dead, she doesn’t have to worry about bounty hunters coming for her.

Now, one thing I thought could have happened was Ryuu joining the Hestia Familia. But, after seeing this episode, it makes more sense for her not to. Mama Mia’s is her home. The Hestia Familia isn’t Ryuu’s new family. She already has a family to return to.

Conclusion

What do you think about DanMachi IV Part 2 Episode 11? Did you like the scene of Ryuu seeing her friends in the afterlife? Would you have liked to see the Xenos play more of an active role in this season? And now that the season is over, do you agree with me that Ryuu is the best girl? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

It’s Always Right to Try to Pick Up Elves in a Dungeon

DanMachi IV Part 2 Episode 10 is a huge episode for Bell’s character development. He’s finally become petite-green-haired-elf-girl-pilled. It’s just unfortunate that I know Ryuu will never actually be the female lead of the series.

Ais will always be the true female lead despite not being relevant since Season 1. It’s kind of like the Asuna situation in Sword Art Online. Asuna hasn’t been relevant since Season 1 and yet she’s still considered the female lead. There are so many better girls to choose from.

Anyway, back to petite, green-haired elf-girls. Ryuu has always been the best girl in DanMachi. And High Elf Archer has always been the best girl in Goblin Slayer. It’s about time more people wake up to petite, green-haired elf-girl supremacy. And before anyone tries to say Ryuu’s hair is yellow, it has a slight green tint to it.

Moving on, I do want to say that the romance stuff between Bell and Ryuu was cringe. Ryuu even pointed out how this isn’t the time to be embarrassed. And yet, we saw them both getting flustered over having to strip out of wet clothes and huddle for warmth.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like seeing Ryuu get all embarrassed when she’s with Bell in the dungeon. She’s supposed to be the more experienced adventurer here. And they’re in a life-or-death situation. I want to see her taking the lead and making level-headed decisions.

We saw some of that in this episode. But, most of the time, even when Ryuu was making the right decisions, the way she acted made it awkward. Was stripping the right decision? Yes. Was huddling together correct? Also yes. All she has to do is stop making it weird.

The Floor 37 Oasis

Let’s talk about the oasis Bell and Ryuu found on the 37th floor. This is kind of a big deal. With the exception of the Juggernaut, the monsters in the dungeon follow rules. They spawn in certain spots, have set ranges, and even have predictable respawn times.

What that means is that a safe area will always be a safe area. Well, unless there are external forces at play. You know, like if a group of adventurers intentionally herded monsters into a safe area. Okay, and there are sometimes aberrant monsters like the moss golem from earlier in Season 4.

But, still, the rules about where monsters spawn and where they go are pretty constant. So, since Bell and Ryuu verified that no monsters spawn in the oasis they found, that’s important. It means future adventurer parties that go down to the 37th floor can rest there.

Of course, this oasis isn’t the same as the true safe zones. Nobody’s going to build a town there. But, adventurers could still use it as a rest stop or staging site in the future. You could store supplies there if you’re planning to go deeper into the dungeon.

Now, does this mean the oasis on the 37th floor is going to be important for the series going forward? I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know how much more of the series there is after this point. But, I have a feeling we’re not going to revisit the oasis.

Or, if we do, it will only be briefly when the rescue party reunites with Bell and Ryuu. They could use it as a spot to rest up and plan for their fight against the Juggernaut. Or, what’s more likely is that we’re never actually going back there.

Juggernaut 2.0

From what we saw in Episode 10, the Juggernaut is a highly intelligent monster. For starters, it was able to heal its wounds by eating other monsters. After eating them, it incorporated parts of their bodies into its own, making up for what it lost.

Due to its injuries, the Juggernaut can’t move in the same way it used to. It’s not nearly as fast as it was before. But, thanks to the monsters it ate, it now sports a variety of dangerous, new abilities. And not all of these abilities come from normal monsters.

It would be bad enough for Bell and Ryuu if the Juggernaut had normal monster abilities. For example, the Skull Sheep’s ability to shoot bone spikes is difficult to avoid. But, it turns out that the Juggernaut also has an ability from a Floor Boss.

According to Ryuu, the ability to create a fissure with spikes jutting out of it is a Floor Boss’ ability. Specifically, that ability belongs to the Floor Boss Udaeus. We don’t know what floor Udaeus is the boss of, but the implication is that it’s Floor 37’s boss.

Now, think back to how much trouble Bell’s party had fighting the Floor 27 (or was it 26?) boss. What Bell and Ryuu are up against is the most dangerous monster to ever spawn in the dungeon. And it now has an ability from a Floor Boss from 10 floors deeper than what Bell’s party fought.

At the end of the episode, we see Bell preparing to fight the Juggernaut on his own. At least, that’s how it seemed, to me. But, I’ll be a bit surprised if he actually defeats it solo. I’d rather see everyone else show up for the fight.

Conclusion

What do you think of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 10? Are you petite-green-haired-elf-girl-pilled? Do you think we’ll ever go back to the Floor 37 oasis? And would you rather see Bell defeat the Juggernaut solo or with his Familia? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 11 is available now.

Astraea vs. Rudra

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 9 finally gave us what we’ve all been wanting. At last, we got to see the final moments of the Astraea Familia. And for that fact alone, this was a very good episode.

Of course, we already knew how the Astraea Familia members died. The Juggernaut killed them (and most of the Rudra Familia) after the Rudra Familia lured them into a trap. But, it was cool to get more context surrounding the event.

Something we need to remember is that the plan was never to summon the Juggernaut. The Rudra Familia didn’t know the Juggernaut existed before this. And even the gods weren’t aware of the Juggernaut’s existence. The Rudra Familia’s original plan was just to kill the Astraea Familia with a large explosion.

After the explosion fails to kill the Astraea Familia, we got a cool scene of Alise confronting Jura. The Astraea Familia is the Familia of justice. And since the Rudra Familia is associated with Evilus, they’re effectively the opposite. I don’t know much about Rudra. But, this series paints him as a villainous god.

Anyway, when Astraea confronts Jura, he takes a step back out of fear and this is what sealed everyone’s fate. As we know, the dungeon summons the Juggernaut when it sustains too much damage. Basically, the Juggernaut’s role is to kill who- or whatever is damaging the dungeon.

According to what we saw, the damage from the explosions wasn’t enough to trigger it. But, when Jura stepped back, he stepped on and broke a stick. That little action is what pushed the damage to the dungeon over the edge. If that hadn’t happened, the Astraea Familia might still exist.

Lay Down Your Lives

After the initial Juggernaut attack, only 4 members of the Astraea Familia remained. These were Ryuu, Alise, Lyra, and Kaguya. All 4 had severe injuries. But, none of these injuries were necessarily fatal. The problem was that with those injuries, escaping the Juggernaut would be impossible.

Ryuu had some internal injuries, likely broken bones, and was in shock. Alise had a large stab wound through the side of her abdomen. Lyra was blind thanks to the deflection of a magic attack. And Kaguya lost her right arm.

In terms of severity, Alise’s injury seems to be the worst. Obviously, Kaguya was losing a lot of blood from her arm. But, it would be easier to stop that bleeding than Alise’s bleeding from her abdomen. Ryuu and Lyra had relatively minor injuries, all things considered. And I’d say Lyra’s were the least severe.

But, Alise knew that only 1 of them would be able to make it out alive. So, she chose Ryuu to be that person and asked Lyra and Kaguya to lay down their lives. Neither complained about sacrificing themself. Though, Kaguya did question why Alise wasn’t the one who should survive.

What I liked most about this scene was how Lyra and Kaguya understood the situation. As soon as Alise told them to die fighting, they didn’t try to come up with excuses. Lyra’s only injury is that she’s blind. She could very well have survived.

But, Lyra lies and says that now that she’s blind, she won’t be of much use anymore. This was her way of cutting off any argument from Ryuu about who should be the one to survive. Once Alise decided Ryuu was going to survive, there was no changing the minds of her, Lyra, and Kaguya.

The End of Justice

I was wondering what happened to the goddess Astraea. We now know that Ryuu asked her to leave Orario, and she did. Ryuu asked this because she didn’t want Astraea to be around to witness the things Ryuu was about to do.

As Astraea was leaving, though, she told Ryuu to give up on justice. This is a pretty interesting statement coming from the goddess of justice. And Ryuu took it to mean that Astraea was excommunicating her from the Familia. I also thought this is what Astraea meant at first. But, I’m no longer so sure.

I’m thinking that Astraea was trying to tell Ryuu to go down the path of vengeance. That might seem strange coming from Astraea. But, we need to consider who Ryuu is getting revenge on. She’s getting revenge on Evilus, a terrorist organization. The terrorist organization responsible for wiping out the Astraea Familia, in fact.

It could be that even Astraea realized that there are times when justice fails. There are times when vengeance is the best way to solve a problem. And if Ryuu’s vengeance can eradicate Evilus from Orario, then she should give up on justice.

I also feel like this is reinforced by what Bell says to Ryuu later in the episode. He says that the Ryuu he knows is the embodiment of justice. And he says that the way she’s always saving him, his friends, and others couldn’t be anything but justice.

Astraea probably believed that Ryuu would eventually become an agent of justice again. And Alise believed the same thing. That’s why she chose Ryuu to be the one to survive. She believed in Ryuu’s sense of justice. Even if Ryuu goes through hard times, she’s going to end up on the path of justice.

Conclusion

What do you think of DanMachi IV Part 2 Episode 9? Did you like seeing how the Astraea Familia met its end? Did this episode make you want an Astraea Familia spin-off anime? And, what do you think Astraea meant when she told Ryuu to give up on justice? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.

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.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 9 is available now.

Reinforcements Arrive

Two sets of reinforcements arrive to help Bell’s party in DanMachi IV Part 2 Episode 7. First, the Xenos appeared. Among their ranks were Wiene, Lyd, and Gros — and others who aren’t important enough for me to look up the names of.

If the Xenos were the only reinforcements, that would have been enough. They’re strong and there are quite a few of them. But, the issue with the Xenos is that they’re monsters. Not everyone in Bell’s party knows the Xenos exist. So, to them, it’s unclear what these armed monsters are doing.

We know the Hestia Familia members of Bell’s party are aware of the Xenos. However, those outside the Hestia Familia don’t. That includes Aisha (I believe), Cassandra, Daphne, Chigusa, Ouka, and Bors. I don’t remember why these adventurers can’t be told about the Xenos. But, they can’t, for some reason.

The second set of reinforcements is Tsubaki’s party. Anya, Chloe, and Runoa are all level 4, which is the same as Aisha. And we know Aisha is strong, so having them there is great for Bell’s party. Tsubaki’s level wasn’t mentioned, so I’m assuming she’s not the same level.

Based on what we saw of her in action, and the fact she’s the party leader, I’ll assume she’s level 5. Also, she’s the captain of the Hephaestus Familia. I’d expect a Familia captain to be a higher level. So, again, even if these were the only reinforcements, they’d probably be enough.

But, as with the Xenos, there’s a reason why they weren’t the only reinforcements. They’re coming into this situation blind. The Xenos, however, have a vast information network. It’s only thanks to the Xenos (Marie) that the party has any idea Bell and Ryuu are in the deep floors.

Grinding Levels in the Deep Floors

Meanwhile, in the deep floors, Bell and Ryuu are fighting for their lives. But, things aren’t looking as bad as they were only an episode ago. Thanks to Ryuu’s instruction, Bell is quickly learning to fight more efficiently. He’s not wasting as much energy with his movements.

In a lot of ways, the fighting we saw Bell doing in this episode was more like a training arc. He’s going to come out of this battle with a better understanding of how to fight strong monsters. And it looks like he’s going to put that knowledge to the test next week.

With all this training in mind, it wouldn’t surprise me if Bell levels up in the deep floors. We know he has a special ability that allows him to level up faster than normal. I don’t remember what the multiplier is, so let’s say he levels up twice as fast.

Something else I don’t remember is who knows about his leveling ability. Hestia does, obviously. But, I don’t remember if any of the other Hestia Familia members do. If he levels up in the deep floors, Ryuu could be the first non-god to learn of his secret.

And even if the other Hestia Familia members know about it, Ryuu could be the first outsider. This would be interesting because of the relationship Bell and Ryuu are developing. As Bell said in one of the previous episodes, it’s like Ryuu is Bell’s master and Bell is Ryuu’s apprentice.

Assuming this relationship persists, it would make sense for her to know his secret. That could make training him easier. Also, if she was training him, she’d likely start to notice that he gains experience faster than others. In fact, she’s already starting to notice that here.

Escape Through the Colosseum

At the end of the episode, we see Bell and Ryuu make their way to the standard route. That means Ryuu now knows where they are and they can begin moving up the dungeon floors. But, there’s something called the Colosseum in their way.

So, what is the Colosseum? I don’t know.

But, we have some context clues to go on, so let me lay out a theory for you. The first clue is that we know the adventurers who got stuck on this floor turned away from the Colosseum. So, whatever it is, we can assume they couldn’t get passed/through.

Initially, Ryuu was wondering what could have caused them to turn back from this path. But, since she’s familiar with the Colosseum, we have to assume she now knows. So, the next question is, does she think she and Bell can make it through?

If the answer is yes (which I assume it will be), then we’ll see them take on the Colosseum. If the answer is no, then they’ll have to come up with another plan to escape the deep floors. Considering we just got a little training episode for Bell, I’m going to guess they can do it.

So, let’s go back to the original question. What is the Colosseum? This may be a bold assumption, but I don’t think it’s an actual Colosseum. It could be. And Bell and Ryuu might have to fight through rounds of battles to make it through.

However, I’m thinking that the Colosseum is only a name given to this section of the floor by adventurers. With that in mind, it’s likely somewhere with a lot of strong monsters. It might be a monster nest. At the very least, it’s going to involve a lot of fighting.

Conclusion

What do you think of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV Part 2 Episode 7? Would you rather have the Xenos or Tsubaki’s party come to your rescue? Do you think Ryuu is going to learn Bell’s secret? And what do you think the Colosseum is? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 8 is available now.