Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Last time on DanMachi, Bell and his friends were given the mission of exploring the lower levels. They encounter a smart moss monster that tries to turn others into plants. Bell adds a mermaid to his ever-growing harem. Bell defeats the moss monster and decides to head home. However, there’s a murder a foot and Ryu is the prime suspect. A manhunt for Ryu begins where Bell finds out she’s innocent. The dungeon gets severely damaged and unleashes the juggernaut to kill everyone. Bell and Ryu fight the juggernaut and get dragged into no man’s land. Meanwhile, everyone has to fight the floor boss. Can Bell and his friends survive this predicament? Let’s find out in the second half of DanMachi S4.
Opening and Ending Theme
The second half’s opening is “Shikou” by Saori Hayami. This song goes pretty hard. I like it and once again matches the tone of the second half. There’s chaos all around them. So many things are being thrown at them and they have to stay in what little control they have or they’re dead. It’s a song that lets you know the characters will be pushed to their limits and if they want to achieve their goals they’ll have to survive.
Our second ending is “Kirikizu” by sajou no hana. A beautiful song with a great melody that captures the sadness and pain of Ryu but also the hope that Bell offers to her to move forward and walk in the light.
Episodes 12-14
The second half begins with Bell’s party mostly fighting against the floor boss which is a two-headed sea dragon (not gonna lie that’s a pretty good design for a boss). At first everyone is scared but Welf is the one who encourages everyone to fight and they go on the attack giving it their all. Even Cassandra (Ms. Despair) helps the team out (if the dungeon wants to kill them then it’s gonna have to try a lot harder than this). Meanwhile, Bell can hear The Juggernaut coming and has to make choice. Does he stand in fight or retreat to another area where monsters are most likely waiting for him (monsters that he is too injured and under-leveled to fight). Bell chooses the latter and makes a run for it with Ryu but he doesn’t get far as The Juggernaut finds him.
In episode 13 the situation becomes dire on everyone’s side. Bell and Ryu manage to escape the Juggernaut by causing a cave-in. Bell then has his first encounter with the monsters on the deeper levels (which look like death itself). The monster is fast and vicious, but Bell manages to beat it and continues on through the level hoping to work his way back up. They get attacked by three more monsters, but Bell causes another cave-in to buy him and Ryu some time. Bell has a slight panic attack where he says they’re going to die, but Ryu slaps him back to reality (man up boy! You’re either a scared little rabbit who just got lucky breaks or you’re an adventurer who will survive no matter what). They take a 5-minute rest to restore their energy. Meanwhile, the others continue to fight the floor where it seems like the tide is slowly drifting in their favor. Unfortunately, the floor boss knows how to adapt to situations like this and quickly turns the tide in its favor. The floor boss swims up the waterfall and jumps off it causing a big wave which throws Mikoto into the water where she’s attacked by monsters and Haruhime gets hit by a fire blast which almost killed her.
Not much happens in episode 14. We focus on the group fighting against the floor. We see Haruhime is all right as she absorbed the fire (didn’t know she could that. Awesome) and Mikoto comes in with the clutch as she uses her gravity magic to keep the floor boss in one place allowing Aisha and Ouka to slice the heads off the floor boss to kill it (scene here: https://youtu.be/O8t6Yu3JltM?si=ZAsUDbye8SGetlXN. Look at you guys. Bell must be rubbing off you). They don’t get a chance to rest for a second as they’re still in danger. The floor seems to be collapsing and they have to make a choice. They can either try to climb up or go after Bell and Ryu. Daphne urges everyone to go up, but Cassandra says no they have to go after Bell. He’s their sun, without him they will die (she’s not wrong). Everyone decides to trust Cassandra and they head toward the 26th floor. Which was the right call, because if they tried to climbed up they would have fell and died on impact from the fall.
Episodes 15-18
Episode 15 continues to focus on Bell’s party as they fight their way through the levels as the dungeon seems hellbent on killing them (the dungeon is pissed). They come across another adventurer named Bors who was leading the group in finding Ryu. Bors says Bell is dead and at first Lili believes him, but Aisha proves she’s the MVP this episode by asking if he saw his corpse (no corpse no death. It’s that simple). He says no which means Bell is alive (he’s hanging by a thread. The same way Aisha’s bandages are hanging by a thread. Seriously, what are those bandages made out of?). They come to a dead end and rest for a little bit where Welf says he’s going to craft some new weapons with some of the ore he found on the floor. The only problem is the group will have to protect him until he’s finished. They decide to put their lives into Welf’s hands and protect him while he creates a new weapon for them.
In episode 16 we get two stories. The first one is Welf creating a new magic sword. At first, he struggles (a lot) and is almost ready to give up, but then he remembers who he’s making the weapon for, his friends (be like Ike, fight for your friends). This resolve gives him the strength to finally craft his new magic sword which is supposedly indestructible. Something no one has been able to do (which means Welf is nearing the level of a god. I knew he had it in him. Scene here: https://youtu.be/pkk4PZiEvkI?si=sMOWsPPEcJAQka43). The second story is Bell and Ryu. After getting enough rest they get ready to move out. They desecrate the corpses to find supplies (not a noble deed but desperate times call for desperate measures. Not to mention they won’t need them anymore). They then head out where their goal is to start heading back up instead of going down to the safe zone (now one thing they left off from the novel was that they buried the bodies).
Nothing much happens in episode 17. We see Bell and Ryu continue to traverse the deeper floor. Ryu takes on a mentor role keeping Bell calm, giving him advice, and strategies to use against the monsters of this floor. As they traverse the floor overcoming monsters and finding familiar landmarks, Bell’s confidence slowly rises and he starts to believe they can make it (don’t raise the death flag). As for the others, they make it down to another level well Welf’s new sword is coming in handy (too bad his body is exhausted and lacks the stamina to keep using it). When they get surrounded by monsters, they get saved by the members of Xenos (well this is a nice return).
Episode 18 picks up where we left off with Xenos fighting against the monsters and Weine reunited with Haruhime (I wish their reunion could have been under better circumstances, but this is nice). Maria tells Xenos about Bell falling to the deeper levels and they move out to clear a path for everyone (their homeboy’s in trouble, they’re going all out. Scene here: https://youtu.be/68hvINOSoeI?si=oLQdBogi89j9LrpL). We also see members of the Hephaestus familia show up. Sensing something was wrong, Hestia went to Hephaestus for backup and she sent four of her adventurers (three of them having a catgirl theme with the wordplay and everything). Each one is level 4, so Lily reorganizes the group and they get ready to head down to the deeper levels to rescue Bell and Ryu. Speaking of which, we see Bell is holding his own down in the deeper levels. He’s not just beating the monsters, he’s getting stronger. Hell, not even poison can stop this guy (he has to be level 5 when this is all over). After surviving another horde of monsters they reach some stairs which returns them to the normal path of the floor and toward the Colosseum (scene here: https://youtu.be/Xx81rBtkims?si=jfj7KQY1-O7c-QsG).
Episodes 19-22
We start episode 19 with Bell and Ryu overlooking the Colosseum. It’s a nest where monsters spawn endlessly (an experience hub). This place is so dangerous not even the Loki Familia go near it, and unfortunately Bell and Ryu will have to cut through to get on the right path (because it wouldn’t be fun if they didn’t cut through it). They mask their scent with monster cloth to pass through safely, but a monster grabs Bell and he’s forced to fight exposing himself and Ryu to all the monsters (fresh meat boys! Fresh meat). This aggros all the monsters who begin surrounding them and they have to fight their way through. They make it to the other side where Ryu sacrifices herself by destroying the bridge and allowing Bell to escape (goddamn it woman! You are both leaving this place alive. Without Bell you will die and without you he dies. Your knowledge and his strength will get you through this nightmare). Ryu returns to the Colosseum to fight off the monsters and face her death like an honorable warrior, but Bell returns to save her (because he’s a hero) and unleashes his biggest firebolt yet (scene here: https://youtu.be/akeQT6D4fVk?si=XjsnJwPtxO8Qbhcn).
A majority of episode 20 focuses on Ryu’s past. Throughout the season we’ve seen tiny moments of Ryu’s past with her familia the Astrea Familia (it was nothing too major. Just little moments of them interacting with each other). This familia were the ones who led the fight against Evilus. One day, when they had Evilus cornered they set off a bomb which caused major damage to the dungeon (and when that happens, shit goes down). Naturally, the dungeon retaliated and unleashed the Juggernaut which slaughtered everyone except for Ryu because the last of her familia sacrificed their life to save her (scene here: https://youtu.be/9x1UVc4XtZg?si=3BHpw5DDgZ5Vfo-w). When Ryu returned to the surface she didn’t return to Astrea because she had no idea how to face her. She was ashamed that she was the only one to survive (survivor’s guilt will do that to you). When her wounds healed up and she went back to give her friends a proper burial she found that the bodies were all gone. Vengeance and anger consumed her and she soon went on a one-person vendetta against the secret members of Evilus. Ryu was ex-communicated from the familia with Astrea leaving the city but not rescinding her blessing as a show of mercy. Ryu exacted her revenge on Evilus but she was still alive despite wanting to die so much as a way to pay for her sins. She soon met Syr who rescued her but a part of still wishes to be judged for her sins (scene here: https://youtu.be/FLmjPb2vJ0Q?si=xnEnc1an718uWfrw). Returning to the present, Ryu regains consciousness and sees a bloody Bell watching over her. They’re now under the Colosseum where they get attacked by a monster, but Bell manages to kill it. At the end of the episode, they come to a river and decide to rest there for the time being (scene here: https://youtu.be/_cAqOqL_kGI?si=UKRVsKA6mjZSINHd).
Nothing much happens in episode 21. In the first half of the episode Bell and Ryu warm each other up where for the first time ever Ryu is nervous (she’s starting to see him as a love interest). In the second half, they return to the dungeon and just when it seems like they’re going to make it The Juggernaut appears. After sustaining damage from the fall, it healed itself by eating other monsters and combining those monsters with its body. So while The Juggernaut has gotten slower it can now use the ability of multiple monsters to compensate that speed for better attacks (this thing is way too broken for the Dungeon). Bell gets injured and they retreat into a small cravat to escape the Juggernaut where Ryu is ready to accept that they’re going to die and passes out from exhaustion. Bell on the other hand man’s up and goes out to face the Juggernaut one last time (fuck it up Bell fuck it up).
So in the final episode, Bell goes out to face The Juggernaut (no more games. No more hiding. He’s either gonna beat this thing or die like a badass). While Bell is fighting for his life, Ryu comes close to crossing over to the other side but her friends stop her from coming over. They hold no grudge against her and know that she still carries justice in her heart. With tears in her eyes, Ryu returns to the world of the living and just in time to see Bell fighting for his (and her) life. Ryu joins the fight and together the two work together and manage to defeat The Juggernaut with Ryu doing most of the work (scene here: https://youtu.be/zJ5dhQkbsvQ?si=F7Y2aNFBkANS3AgD, retribution has been achieved). When the two pass out they get found by the members of Xenos who heal them and then take their leave as the search party shows up. A few days later and everyone is back on the surface where Ryu slept for three days, Bell had to get a whole arm made seeing as how the muscles were torn and bones completely shattered (that is going to be one hell of a medical bill). It also gets reported that Gale Wind died in the fight against The Juggernaut but is being hailed as a hero who protected everyone. Bell and Ryu get discharged on the same day and go on a date where it gets confirmed that Ryu has fallen for Bell (scene here: https://youtu.be/OW7cKG_7sAw?si=X2utVqH7DyptqlL3, no woman is safe from him).
Final Thoughts
This season did a good job making up for the lack of action we got in the third season. The first half of the season had a good story of everyone facing this smart monster and us seeing how the deeper they go the smarter and stronger the monsters get. This half was a good breakout moment for Bell as it shows just how much he’s grown and has slowly become a leader everyone depends on. The second half manages to do a good job of balancing out three stories. The first is Ryu’s story. Learning about her past, where she came from, her relationship with her familia, and how she lost everything she held dear. This is the shortest part in the second half and I’m glad they didn’t dwell on it so much. It’s a straightforward story that doesn’t require us to read into it as much. The second is the party’s story as they’re pushed to their breaking point. It was great seeing them get a moment to shine and not be labeled as dead weight. Just like Bell is striving to be the best so too are they and they don’t want to fall behind him. The final story is Bell and Ryu’s struggle for survival in the deeper floors. They’re injured, lost, exhausted, and have a dangerous creature coming after them yet it’s through grit, determination, and each other that they managed to make it out alive. I like how it’s not just one of them willing the other one on, but instead, both of them willing each other on. Bell is the body, Ryu is the mind, and together they form the spirit to keep moving forward and not give up. The final battle against The Juggernaut was a little anti-climactic. I wanted it to last longer and be more intense. Ryu doing most of the work and landing the killing blow instead of Bell was the right move. There’s a history between the two so Ryu defeating that thing and getting closure on that chapter in her life opens the door for a new chapter to begin for her.
The animation remains the same as the previous seasons, although I will say the sound effects have gotten better. The fights were good but could have been better. However, they did do a good job shining the spotlight on Bell and the others. As for the end with Ryu developing feelings for Bell, not surprising. I had a feeling it was going to happen sooner or later. I mean she shares more screen time with Bell than Syr. If anything, I’m surprised it took this long for her to develop feelings for him.
Final Score
Season 4 of Danmachi earns a 7/10. A good season that does a good job showcasing everyone from a physical standpoint and gets me excited to see what they’ll do next. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.