- SYNOPSIS
When Bell was little his Grandpa would often tell him tales about heroes and how they always saved the girl from a monster. Bell kept the tales about Argonaut told by his Grandpa close to his heart. When he was old enough he became an adventurer, not only to become strong but to pick up girls in the dungeon. However, he came across a Minotaur which resulted into being saved by a beautiful girl with golden hair and golden eyes called Aiz Wallenstein. His current goal now is to catch up to his saviour and be as strong as the person that he admires.
- THEME
- Action
- Adventure
- Comedy
- Fantasy
- Game
- Harem[1]
- EPISODE THOUGHTS
- REVIEW
WARNING: I MAY GIVE SPOILERS AWAY
I look for certain things in an anime. When I look for slice of life stories with no drama I find stories like Non Non Biyori and Locodol. When I look for humorous comedy I find D-Frag and Sabagebu: Survival Game Club. When I look for good fantasy stories that involve beautiful ladies and chess pieces I find High School DxD. When I look for battles or games that don’t involve physical fighting I find No Game No Life and Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma.
Now, another requirement has been crossed off my list. I have looked for an anime that is based on a roleplaying game like Final Fantasy online but it’s more of a story than an online game. I find that aspect in the form of this anime, Dungeon Girls.[2]
It covers many aspects of online gaming when it comes to conquering certain levels of the dungeon. The adventurers come from all kinds of races from human, to elves, to animal people and so on. They can also buy armour, collect dropped items from the monsters and have weapons and armours made for them by blacksmiths. The biggest shout out to the game aspect is the levelling up. Instead of being part of link groups the adventurers are part of Familias but they can still form their own parties with other adventurers.
I pretty much like everything about this show really, especially the characters and the fights. Bell had a great growth as a character and it wasn’t all down to his Realis Phrase ability. There were times where I wanted him to get a grip but I then remind myself that he’s only fifteen years old. He’s still a young man so it’s natural that he won’t be the bravest dude in the dungeon as he’s still learning about life and the nastiness in the dungeons. However, his growth grew at a tremendous rate as he delved into the dungeon. It was literally thanks for Aiz. Because of Aiz saving him it made him strive to become stronger. He literally went from strength to strength and grew at a quick rate thanks to his ability, Realis Phrase.
His ability made it awkward for Hestia so she hid that fact from him, both to protect him for himself and from other Goddesses who might be watching in secret. She is always severely jealous of the fact that Aiz is the reason why he’s getting stronger, not her. She’s still happy for him by all means but she probably is resentful of the fact that Aiz is the cause of his growth.
I feel that Aiz isn’t the sole reason for his growth. Everyone played their parts really well. Aiz not only gave him a reason to get stronger but she also physically trained him and his combat skills improved as a result. Hestia gave him a reason to protect someone precious and one of his important people is Hestia. Not only does he see Hestia as a Goddess but he sees her as family.
Everyone at the Mistress of Abundance, Syr, Mia and Ryu all played their part by encouraging Bell and being good friends. Eina helped by introducing him to a good shop of armours which led Bell to finding an armour outfit crafted by Welf Crozzo. Lili helped by becoming his supporter, without her, he wouldn’t be able to collect so many stones. Without Welf, whom he eventually meets, he wouldn’t go down to the lower floors to fight the stronger monsters. Welf also crafted him the Ushiwakamaru weapon which was moulded from a Minotaur’s horn.
Freya played her part strongly, albeit, indirectly… if it wasn’t for her, Bell would never have learned the Firebolt move, and if it wasn’t for her, he would never have faced and beat that Minotaur. She was also the reason he overcame his fear of Minotaurs. As a result he also gained the Argonaut special manoeuvre. Freya is a wicked Goddess, yet, she probably is among the characters of this show who contributed the most to Bell’s growth. I really do like that aspect of the story. A villain who is helping a hero get stronger I think is really unique. Is it really for her own gain? Or, does she genuinely want to see him get stronger? It’s no secret that she desires him but it seems as though she’s willing to be patient, until she can get what she wants. I think Bell can feel her gaze from a distance, but he doesn’t necessarily know that she’s the source. Does he know that she exists? It will be interesting to see what happens if or when Bell meets Freya.
Freya is doing good deeds for Bell, but not necessarily for the right reason…
Apart from the nasty men who picked on Bell I do actually like all the characters from this show. I really like Hestia as she’s both cute and very, very funny. I especially enjoy the moments when she gets jealous of the other girls who come into contact with Bell. However, she’s serious when she needs to be. I also find it touching whenever she embraces Bell through comfort and relief. I think she’s the perfect Goddess for Bell. I also really enjoyed when she activated her Arcanum divine power to stop the fighting in episode 12. That was a really cool moment.
I think developing relationship with girls on all levels is the underlining theme of this show as the title is about picking up girls. Haha. Bell’s Grandpa told Bell that he can be a hero and protect girls and I think that really stuck with Bell when he grew up. I think at this moment Bell really does have a pick from all the girls in this anime.
All the ladies are really nice in their own way. Hestia is great. Syr is just really cute and innocent and has a lovely personality. Eina is very considerate but is probably a little awkward at times. The Amazon Twins, Tione and Tiona are really cool and they have really cool Amazonian looks about them. Demeter is a beauty and it’s a shame that she didn’t appear more often. Aiz is strong but very, very innocent in nature. Riveria is really cool and I like her green hair as it gives her that nature look. Ryu is awesome both in appearance and in combat. Mikoto is cute but I can’t help but wonder why she looks sad all the time. Lili was not very nice at first but she eventually came around to be a good supporter for Bell. I even somewhat like Freya… she’s beautiful and all but I do think she has a little bit of a crazy side about her and I think I’m actually intrigued by that crazy side. Haha.
If there’s one thing that I probably didn’t enjoy so much it was the way that Bell screamed every time Aiz or another girl touched him affectionately. Never mind potions or an antidote I think what Bell really needs is a throat lozenge. With the amount of screaming that he does he’s bound to get a sore throat one of these days. In all seriousness, I think it will do him good if he didn’t overreact as much as he already made Aiz sad when he ran away from her. Then again, he is fifteen so will it be expected for a boy to run away?
I think the more girls flirt with him, the more he will get accustom to it and take it in his stride. If a girl wants to show her affection towards you, you should let them.^^/
The fights were pretty awesome too. My favourite ones included the time when Bell beat that monkey to protect Hestia, to beat that Minotaur to show his growth and when he beat that Monster Rex along with Ryu, Welf, Asufi and Mikoto. They were all really intense and in my opinion they showed Bell’s growth as a person and as an adventurer.
I would have like to see Naza more and I definitely would have liked to hear her speak. She sounded like a really interesting person and I enjoyed visualising her voice when reading the Light Novel books. Sadly, the anime didn’t show her as much as I would have liked.
- CONCLUSION
Two Thumbs-Up.^^/ (My Rating System) (My Anime Rankings)
THANKS FOR READING
In all honesty, I could talk about this forever but I feel that it would be wise if I to make it as concise as I could.
What I would really like to see is a special episode or an OVA about the time when Bell and Hestia first met. I read the epilogue in the first LN[3] book and I really, really enjoyed it. I really hope that that small chapter gets animated someday. =)
Thanks for Reading. =)
Sayonara.^^/
Ryan
[1] In this manga all the ladies are gunning after one man and/or lady.
[2] The correct abbreviation of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is DanMachi. However, I prefer to call it Dungeon Girls. =D
[3] Light Novel.
Ryan's World 