Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. You know ever since SAO aired on TV everyone has been trying desperately to copy its success and as a result we’re getting a lot of animes with similar concepts and ideas to SAO. To be fair some of these animes are actually better than the SAO. Okay, almost all of them but there are some animes that people are on the fence about. Case in point Danmachi. Officially called “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?”, to which the answer is no, if anything that’s the best time to pick them up. Something about being in a situation of life and death turns them on.
*A kunai brushes pass Nitsuj’s face as a falls back in his seat*
(Nitsuj): What the hell Yin-Yang are you trying to kill me!?
(Yin-Yang): No. I’m here to stop you like you asked?
(Nitsuj): What are you talking about?
(Isis): I see you already forgotten your new year’s resolution master.
(Nitsuj): What resolution?
(Yin-Yang): Your resolution that in the year 2016 you would try to cut back on the sex jokes.
(Nitsuj): Oh, that. What you ask for is impossible ladies. You can’t turn a dog into cat and you can’t turn a cat into a dog. My point being you can’t have me not tell sex jokes especially for an anime like this.
(Isis): Well that’s why we’re here. If you start to get off track we’ll stop you.
(Yin-Yang): And as a bonus we’ll help you review the anime.
(Nitsuj): Or you could both leave and let me do it myself.
*Isis points her AI pistol at Nitsuj*
(Isis): Perhaps we weren’t clear earlier. We are going to review this anime with you and you will watch your sex jokes. It will be a fun and enjoyable review for everyone. Is that clear, master?
(Nitsuj): Yes ma’am.
(Isis): Good. Now continue laying out exposition about the show.
(Nitsuj): The series is based off a light novel written by Fujino Ōmori in 2013 and still ongoing to this day with a number of mangas and a second light novel as well. The main story is about a young adventurer trying to prove himself in the world and gain the affection of the girl he likes and looks up to with the help of his goddess who loves him. In 2015 the anime studio J.C.Staff (Hidan no Aria and Zero no Tsukaima) took the series and turned it into an anime making it one of their four biggest animes to come out in 2015. Is this anime a better alternative to SAO? Well let’s find out and take a look at Danmachi.
Opening and Ending theme
(Yin-Yang): The opening is “Hey World” by Yuka Iguchi. It’s happy, upbeat, and the singer is good but it really doesn’t get you pumped up for the anime. It just sounds basic like there’s nothing in it that makes it stand out from other anime openings. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me but I was expecting something more from the opening. (Isis): The ending is “RIGHT LIGHT RISE” by Kanon Wakeshima. Once again another upbeat and happy song that in all honesty has a little more hype in it than the opening. Now that I think about it, this could work as the opening for a slice of life/magical anime. The only downfall of this song is that it’s a little hard to make out what the singer is saying at some parts as she does sing a little low at some parts. But other than that it’s a good song.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): So the anime starts by telling us how the gods came down from the heavens to the world to help adventurers explore a large dungeon smacked dab in the middle of a town (Isis: I guess Heaven was boring for them). They sealed away their divine power in order to live life like a normal human and created houses where the members of the house receive the blessings of a god/goddess which allows them to enter the dungeon and fight monsters. We then focus on our main adventurer Bell voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Kirito from SAO), a new adventurer who is at level 1 journeying through a level 5 area (Yin-Yang: Well he’s dead). Our first meeting doesn’t go so well as we see him cowering in a corner crying like a baby as a minotaur closes in on him (dude why are you being a weakling? I watched SAO you can beat this guy with both hands tied behind your back while blind folded and doing my taxes). Just when it seems like the minotaur is about to kill him he gets saved by Aiz a female adventurer voiced by Saori Ōnishi (La Folia from Strike the Blood), known as the Sword Princess and a level 5 adventurer who is one of the strongest in town (Isis: Ha! Level 5. I’m already at level 10. (Nitsuj): The max level is 5. (Isis): Not for me). He gets blood splattered all over him and runs away amazed at what he saw. Bell quickly falls for Aiz and goes to his adviser Eina to learn more about her. He finds out that Aiz belongs to the Loki Familia which puts him in a tight spot seeing as how he belongs to a different familia and dating someone from a different familia (especially one stronger than you) is not a good idea. But Eina tells him that girls like strong guys so if he keeps training hard enough he’ll capture her heart easily. He then goes to his familia which is located at an old chapel and we find out that Bell is the only member of the familia which is run by a goddess named Hestia known as the loli boob goddess (oh boy I’m going to jail. (Isis: Don’t worry, we’ll be sure to testify against you. (Yin-Yang): I call his room)? She’s voiced by Inori Minase. Because a lot of people don’t know the goddess Hestia everyone doesn’t wanna join her familia but she’s okay with that because she has Bell who she has a crush on. After eating she checks his stats (which are written on his back and include the basic stats you see in all RPG games. Strength, Defense, Utility, Agility, and Magic. You know basic stuff) where she discovers he finally has a special skill called Single-Minded-Pursuit (Isis: SMP for short) which accelerates his growth as long as he has strong feelings that don’t waver (Yin-Yang: That is some overpowered BS right there folks. How do I get it?). She keeps this a secret from him because she’s jealous that Bell is getting stronger by thinking of Aiz instead of her (if it’s any consolation your boobs are way better than hers. (Yin-Yang): If you don’t tone down on the sexual talk I will- (Nitsuj): I know I know but can you blame me. She looks nothing like a loli). The next day Bell does some more training in the dungeon this time at a level 1 area where we see he’s quite strong and skilled able to hold his own and fight off against strong monsters (and because of SMP his growth goes up big time). That night he goes out to a pub to eat where he sees the Loki familia (with Loki this time around being a flat chested woman interested in other girls. Particularly their butts. I can respect that. More of a breast guy myself. (Yin-Yang): You get a pass) and Aiz. One of the members Bete talks about Bell and how weak he is because he couldn’t defeat the minotaur and cried like a baby (Isis: He talks a big game but just wait. Bell will have you hearing bells in your head. (Yin-Yang): Leave the puns to me Isis). Rather than get up and punch the guy in the face for saying all those hurtful things, Bell just runs out of the pub crying softly and goes to the dungeon to train some more (normally I be mad at something like this but no they covered their bases here. Bell knows and recognizes how weak he is and realizes he’s not nearly at the same level as Aiz and the other members of the Loki familia. He even admits he’s weak. In his mind he realizes he can’t face Aiz or even think about defending himself unless he gets stronger and that’s exactly what he does. So far we’ve seen him only fight small fry enemies instead of the big enemies so he does have a long way to go). After a night of dungeon crawling (haven’t done those in a while) he returns home to Hestia where he tells her he wants to get stronger (and she wants to make you bigger. *Isis points an AI pistol at Nitsuj’s head* Just let me have that! Just let me have that).
At the start of episode 2 we find out that Bell’s stats have gone up big time (Yin-Yang: You’re breaking the game Bell). After that we focus on Hestia who goes to the banquet of the Gods where she and Loki get into a fight over breast (my money on the loli with the big breast. (Yin-Yang): One more time and I swear you’re getting a buzzsaw kick to the head). After their argument (which ends in Hestia’s victory) Hestia talks to her dear friend Hephaestus whose familia is famous for crafting weapons (of the personal kind) however they’re expensive. Hestia wants her to make a personal weapon for Bell however Hephaestus says no. But Hestia refuses to give up as she’s determined to help Bell even though she knows Bell’s feelings are for someone else she’s determined to help Bell out no matter what. Even going as far as bowing her head and everything to get Hephaestus’ help. After seeing Hestia’s determination Hephaestus agrees to make Bell a weapon (Nitsuj, Isis, and Yin-Yang: Huzzah). Back in the city everyone is celebrating Monsterphilia a huge festival run by the Ganesha familia who rent out the coliseum and tame wild monsters in front of the audience (Isis: People pay to see this? We do this all the time in the system. Well The Reaper does). As the festival is going on Bell gets asked by the waitresses at the pub to find Syr a waitress who works at the pub who has a crush on Bell as she makes him a box lunch whenever he walks by (Yin-Yang: Well he is kind of cute. What with his girly innocent face). Syr forgot her wallet so now Bell has been tasked with finding Syr and giving it to her (and the reward? (Isis): A pat on the head. (Nitsuj): . . .and the reward?). As he’s searching for Syr he runs into Hestia where she forces him to go on a date (scene here: //youtu.be/ZKg51iBpHbQ, I. . .believe I should notify the proper authorities on what’s going on). While on their date a cloak figure releases one of the monsters which is a wild gorilla who sets his sights on Hestia (he’s a pervert. (Isis): Said the pot to the kettle. (Nitsuj): And the second kettle to the pot). Bell tries to fight it off but he’s not strong enough to beat it and gets his knife broken in the process (Yin-Yang: Give him the new knife). Realizing that he and Hestia are doomed Bell stays behind to hold the monster off long enough for Hestia to escape (now that is a man).
Episode 3 starts off with the reveal of Bell’s past. Before becoming an adventurer Bell lived in the country with his grandpa (the parents are on sabbatical. (Isis): Speaking of sabbatical do I get any paid leave master? (Nitsuj): Not until the 5th year and in order to be eligible for it you have to wear a bunny outfit for 1 year straight. It’s all in your contract. (Yin-Yang): Haha. (Nitsuj): It’s in your contract too Yin-Yang except you have to wear a miniskirt maid outfit. (Yin-Yang): Fuck~). One day his grandpa got attacked in the woods by a monster and died because the place he was attacked at can’t be reached by the villagers (what kind of lame excuse is that?). Feeling sad about his lost and wanting to become stronger so that he never loses anybody close to him again (Isis: Some determination, everyone you know is dead) Bell left for the city to become an adventurer. When he arrives at the city all the familias turn him down because he looks weak (Isis: Clearly they haven’t seen his resume). When he’s about ready to give up he comes across Hestia who welcomed him into her familia (loli wants a lollipop. *Yin-Yang buzzsaw kicks Nitsuj upside the head and he falls to the ground* Worth it). We return back to the present day where Hestia has reunited with Bell and finally gives him his new knife (about time. This should have been done last episode. If this was Ghost and Goblins he would have been dead by now). The knife is called Hestia’s Knife (Yin-Yang: A bit conceited don’t you think? (Isis): Said the wolf who names her knives after her) and its skill and power level are equal to that of the person wielding it (basically meaning it’s a knife that will continue to get stronger as long as the wielder gets stronger). Bell receives the knife and goes to fight the gorilla monster where he’s able to kill it with ease (scene here: //youtu.be/xbM80vQ49qY, our first successful boss battle). After the fight Hestia collapses from exhaustion so Bell takes her to a room in the pub to rest where Syr tells Bell she fell in love with him (Isis: I don’t trust that girl. (Yin-Yang): Yeah she’s too nice and sweet. (Nitsuj): You guys are being too paranoid. (Isis): You’re just saying that because she’s a girl. (Nitsuj): No. I say that because she’s a sweet and pretty girl. I trust girls who are sweet and pretty. That’s why I trust you guys so much *Isis and Yin-Yang blush*).
In episode 4 Bell wants to go up (or down not really sure about the layout of the dungeon) to level 7 (oh yeah, moving up the food chain). Eina is against this but once she sees his stats she says it’s alright however he’s going to need stronger armor so the next day the two go shopping together (man Bell is just catching all the cute girls’ attention. (Isis): It’s because he has a cute girly looking face. He’s like a teddy bear you just wanna cuddle him). They enter the Hephaestus familia’s shop where we see Hestia is working part time to pay off her debt to Hephaestus (and looking so cute in her uniform). They then go to an indie shop where the prices are cheaper and within Bell’s range (plus it’s always good to support the little guys). Bell finds some good armor and receives a new gauntlet courtesy of Eina who just wants to keep him safe (aww she’s so nice. Best adviser ever). She also tells Bell to think about getting a supporter, someone who goes into the dungeon with an adventurer and helps transport gems and drop items. Bell says he’ll think about it and as he’s going home he helps protect an animal girl from an adventurer who seems mighty pissed at her (protect the animal ears. (Yin-Yang): I can protect myself fine thank you). The next day as Bell is about to enter the tower he runs into the animal girl from yesterday named Lili voiced by Maaya Uchida (Irina from Highschool DxD) a prum who’s a supporter from the Soma familia whose interest is exploring dungeons. She offers to be Bell’s supporter for the day which he happily accepts and they go into the dungeon and get quite a haul where Lili steals Bell’s knife from under his nose (Yin-Yang: Little bitch. Well the jokes on her, that knife only works for Bell. To anybody else it’s useless). Luckily Bell discovers his knife is missing and Syr along with another maid from the pub named Ryu find Lili and get the knife from her but they don’t sell her out to Bell. Once again Bell goes into the dungeon with Lili as his supporter where they rank in a big haul of 26,000 valis and Bell splits the loot with her 50/50 shocking Lili quite a bit (scene here: //youtu.be/zZNbCgC1c2I). After the credits we get a funny scene where Hestia is getting off from work and spots Bell with Lili.
Episodes 5-9
(Isis): So after finding out that Bell has a new loli hanging around Hestia drowns her sorrows by drinking (scene here: //youtu.be/k69WKnRDp88). After that Bell wants to take Hestia on a date as a way to thank her for everything she’s done for him however the other goddesses find out about their date and follow Hestia to see her man where they all fond over him (Nitsuj: Man even the goddesses want him. What lucky star was he born under?) and ruin his date with Hestia. However despite them not having time to enjoy themselves on the date they get a nice view of the town at night and promise to go on a real date next time (scene here: //youtu.be/Zgb-R5AflpY). After that the rest of the episode is pretty normal. We see that Lili still plans on stealing Bell’s knife (Yin-Yang: We’ve been through this already. The knife only works for Bell, for you and anyone else it’s useless. You be better off catching a bug and turning it in for money). We do learn that the Soma familia is suffering quite a bit because it’s members don’t worship their god but instead wine. Apparently they created an amazing wine that’s out of this world and once you have a sip of it you want more of it (they finally did it. They managed to combine weed with wine and make it legal). However, the wine causes a lot of money so the Soma familia members do whatever it takes to make money even if that means robbing others, leaving them for dead, or even turning on each other. In another part of the episode Syr accidently gives Bell a grimoire where Bell reads it and gains the power to shoot firebolts from his hand (if only his hair changed color I would make a Megaman joke). Bell goes into the dungeon to test it out where he goes wild with it and passes out due to MP down which happens when you use magic too many times (scene here: //youtu.be/XtUcMh2UvAM, make fun of him all you want but if you found out you could shoot fire from your hands you would do the same thing he did. (Nitsuj): So true). He gets rescued luckily by Aiz who stays with him until he regains consciousness. When he regains consciousness realizing he’s not dreaming this (Nitsuj: Of course not. If he was there be two of her and they would both be naked *Isis shoots Nitsuj with her AI pistol*. Hey that was an improvement. In the past I would have said 3) he rolls out unable to talk to her (scene here: //youtu.be/kvAo54gq5eQ). At the end of the episode Bell sees Lili talking to some adventurer who mugged her earlier in the episode and goes to investigate it but before he can reach them he gets stopped by another adventurer who asks Bell if he wants to team up with him to steal all of Lili’s money (punch him. Punch him please). Bell of course says no and tells him to leave (Yin-Yang): No! Screw that! Punch him). Lili sees Bell talking to him and gets the idea in her head that Bell plans to betray her so she makes plans to get him before he gets her.
Episode 6 starts off with a little backstory on Lili and her hatred for adventurers. Much like her, her parents were also supporters looking to earn money but an adventurer used them as sacrifices to get away from monsters. Because of this Lili gained a huge hatred for adventurers and it didn’t help that when she became one she was constantly beaten up and given little or no money at all. Even when she tried desperately to have a regular life adventurers came and ruined it for her (scene here: //youtu.be/qBua8OplbMQ, I feel so sorry for her. (Yin-Yang): Well one of us has to be. Right master? *Sees Nitsuj crying for Lili* I don’t even know you anymore). Hestia talks to Bell about Lili saying that she’s shady and that Bell shouldn’t hangout with her anymore (Nitsuj: This anime isn’t big enough for two lolis and since Hestia has the bigger boobs she earns the right to stay). But Bell says he doesn’t care about Lili’s past and if she’s in trouble Bell will help her no matter what (Yin-Yang: He’s too nice for his own good. But. . .*blushes* that’s not a bad thing I guess). Lili convinces Bell to go to the 10th floor of the dungeon where she plans to leave him for dead. She does this by giving Bell a sword that draws monsters to him (who in their right mind equips a weapon that draws monsters to them?) and soon enough Bell becomes surrounded by giant orcs as Lili takes this chance to steal Bell’s knife (Yin-Yang: We have been over this Lili) and escapes leaving him for dead. As Lili is escaping she runs into that adventurer Bell was talking to last episode where he beats her up a little and soon a few members of the Soma familia working with him show up with killer ants. They’ve double crossed him (no honor among thieves) and force Lili to hand over a key to where she’s keeping all of her treasure. They then leave her for the killer ants while the adventurer gets killed by them trying to escape. As Lili just lays on the ground about to accept her fate Bell comes in to save her (Nitsuj: Here I come~ to save the day~). Thanks to Aiz, Bell was able to make it safely away from the orcs and make it in time to save Lili (Yin-Yang: That’s the third time she’s saved him. (Nitsuj): Yeah anymore and we’re gonna need a counter. (Isis): Already working on one). After Lili is saved she goes on a rant talking about all of her misdeeds to Bell and wanting to know why Bell saved her after everything she did? Bell simply responds by saying he rescued her because she’s her (scene here: //youtu.be/IcpuAHlQDHA). The two hug (Nitsuj: Perhaps you should do this in a place where there aren’t any monsters trying to kill you) and the next day when Lili is waiting for someone to hire her as a supporter Bell comes up and asks her to be his supporter again (scene here: //youtu.be/v6EQAM4VKYs, that was sweet).
In episode 7 Lili (who now has a crush on Bell) joins Hestia’s familia. At first she seems okay with this but Hestia makes it clear to Lili that Bell is hers and no else’s but Lili has no intention of backing down from anyone when it comes to Bell (scene here: //youtu.be/awE7KhSmxlw, (Nitsuj): His harem continues to grow). After that Bell goes to the guild office where he sees Eina talking to Aiz (Nitsuj: Please try talking to her this time. (Isis): Try using syllables and sentences). Rather than walk away this time (Yin-Yang: Although he tried) he actually starts a conversation with her, thanks her for everything she’s done for him, and even gets her to train him in combat (Yin-Yang: Senpai finally notices you). The two train in the morning and afternoon (Yin-Yang: Lesson one! Dodge!) where we discover Aiz is an airhead (Nitsuj: Strong and brave but an airhead. Sort of like Yin-Yang. (Yin-Yang): German suplex! *Yin-Yang grabs Nitsuj and German suplexes him*. You didn’t dodge). Bell keeps constantly getting beat up by her but he keeps getting back up determined to get stronger and not live in fear (he even earns the praise of Aiz a little bit because of his). They decide to take a break and nap where Bell has a mental battle about what he wants to do to Aiz while she’s asleep (Nitsuj: You want to kiss the girl. (Isis and Yin-Yang): Woah woah! (Nitsuj): Sha la la la la la don’t be scared. You got the mood prepare, go on and kiss the girl. (Isis and Yin-Yang): Woah woah! (Nitsuj): Sha la la la la la don’t stop now. Don’t try to hide it now, you want to kiss the girl. (Isis and Yin-Yang: Woah woah!). Sure enough he fights off the urge to attack her in her sleep (scene here: //youtu.be/DROSWNm3A9M, (Yin-Yang): Chances are she would of broke his neck by accident in her sleep) and she wakes up where they go get something to eat at one of the stands Hestia is working at (Nitsuj: And that’s when all hell broke loose). As you might imagine she’s not really happy seeing Bell with another girl (Nitsuj: He’s got one for everyday of the week) especially since it’s the girl Bell likes the most. Bell is able to explain the situation and she begrudgingly allows the training to continue since it’s only for a few more days. While that’s going on in the dungeon we see a very strong adventurer train a minotaur to fight (Yin-Yang: Honestly speaking, if I was the minotaur I be pretty pissed). This adventurer is a member of the Freya familia a very powerful familia run by the goddess Freya who has become interested in Bell and wants him.
(Yin-Yang): Episode 8 is Bell’s moment of badass. His week of training with Aiz is up (Nitsuj: Aww, they never got to do the trampoline) and Aiz is set to go on an expedition into the dungeon with a bunch of other adventurers. Their goal, to reach the 59th floor (Isis: Okay, I got to ask, are we set in an alternate world of SAO? Tell me you don’t see it?). While that’s going on Bell and Lili are adventuring on the 9th floor where they get attacked by the minotaur who went through the Rocky training in episode 7 (//youtu.be/o0CXUv-xxtY?t=2s). Bell is frozen with fear (past trauma) and gets saved by Lili who gets injured saving him. After seeing Lili hurt Bell snaps out of it and uses himself as bait to lure the minotaur away from Lili. He then fights the minotaur all by himself telling Lili to run for it (Nitsuj: The loli must live). The minotaur seems to overpower Bell and even pierces his arm with it’s horn. As Bell is lying on the ground Aiz and a few of the other adventurers come in with Aiz ready to fight the minotaur in Bell’s place. So Bell just sits there and let’s Aiz take care of this. Hell no! He gets back and fights the minotaur himself. He goes complete badass on us dodging the minotaurs attacks and countering them with ease. Bell even steals the minotaur’s sword and breaks its arm (Nitsuj: Holy shit you are just all kinds of badass today. (Isis): He’s so cool. (Yin-Yang): I know right. I mean they’ve been building up Bell’s skills all season and we’ve never got the chance to see him go all out. But now here he is going all out and it’s freakin’ awesome). In the final act of badassery Bell manages to drive his knife and hand into the minotaur’s stomach and uses his firebolt to blow the thing up (Isis: He’s got the spirit of Kirito). He even faints like a badass by passing out while still standing (Nitsuj: *Bowing* We are not worthy. Not worthy). As he stands there passed out the other adventurers are amazed at how a level 1 player was able to defeat a minotaur. They take a peek at his stats and we find out they’re all ranked S (Nitsuj: Too low. Needs to be SSS. Scene here: //youtu.be/U7eTw7ePtvg).
In episode 9 Bell has been promoted to Level 2 and has earned the title Little Rookie (Nitsuj: You sure it’s not Little Pimp? (Isis): Or A Pimp named Bell?). He also has a new skill called Argonaut (what does it do? You’ll find out soon). Bell and Lili go to celebrate Bell’s new title and ranking at the pub where Ryu tells Bell that he should think about forming a party since he’ll now be adventuring in the middle levels which have stronger and smarter enemies. A group of thugs say they’ll join him but Ryu doesn’t like them and says they’re unworthy to be in Bell’s presence (you sure you have no feelings for Bell because it kind of sounds like you like him?). After that Bell goes back to the shop where he got his armor at hoping to find more of that armor since he liked it so much. While he doesn’t find the armor he instead finds something even better. The blacksmith of said armor Welf Crozzo voiced by Yoshimasa Hosoya (Kojou from Strike the Blood), a member of the Hephastus family and a little older than Bell. The two hit it off right away as Welf is glad to find someone who likes his armor as much as he does. In fact he likes Bell so much that he decides to make a direct contract with Bell where he’ll create armor and weapons for Bell only (wow, his own personal blacksmith. (Nitsuj): Only level 2 for one day and he’s already got a blacksmith). His only condition is that Bell makes him a part of his party (a party that consist of only Bell, a traitorous prum, and now a shady blacksmith) and Bell agrees to it. The next day they go into the lower level of the dungeon where they test out there teamwork (Nitsuj: Smart move). Despite Lili not trusting Welf all that much because of his last name she puts up with him and we see that he can hold his own in a fight. We also see that Bell’s skills have become a lot stronger since leveling up. As Lili is collecting dropped items a baby dragon appears to attack them and Bell’s hand begins to glow a bluish white and he unleashes a firebolt on the dragon which kills the dragon in one shot (Nitsuj, Isis, and Yin-Yang: O_O. (Nitsuj): Best magic skill ever). Actually that was his new skill Argonaut a skill which gives its wielder the power of a hero and can take down any foe no matter how strong they are with one hit (scene here: //youtu.be/rxq27-lQRzk, again, that’s some overpowered BS right there). Later on Bell goes to Welf’s workshop and he comes clean about his past. In the past the Crozzo family was very well-known for crafting strong and powerful magic items. Welf can also craft these magic items and is very good at crafting them but he refuses to do it because everybody relies on the magic item to win their battles for them. Welf doesn’t like that, he believes that the wielder should give power to the weapon, not vice-versa. In the end Welf believes that magic weapons’ powers waste a human’s talent. This line of thinking and his refusal to make magic weapons caused him a lot of customers in the past but with Bell he seems to really trust and like him so he decides to use Bell’s minotaur horn that he’s been keeping as a tool to craft Bell a new weapon one that he says is his best weapon yet. After the weapon is complete Welf asks Bell to treat him more like a companion from now on which Bell agrees to do.
In episode 10 Bell and his friends enter the mid-levels of the dungeon. There first day doesn’t go as well as they would have liked (Nitsuj: Sounds like my first run through of the mid-levels in Tartarus from Persona 3). For starters they are constantly attacked and surrounded by monsters (Isis: Comes with the job), other adventurers pass them and leave them to be attacked by more monsters (assholes), and then an earthquake occurs which causes the group to fall down two levels with Welf injured and they get stranded (Nitsuj: Wow this really is a bad day. Thank God, The Reaper doesn’t show up in this dungeon. Or does he?). Hestia becomes worried and makes a request asking people to find Bell and his group. Her request is answered by the god who’s children abandoned Bell and the others, a few close friends of Hestia, and a new character named Hermes who has taken an interest in Bell and wants to see him up close. His plan is to go into the dungeon with his ace Asfi (Isis: I’m guessing the author wasn’t sure whether to name her Ashley or Fi). Asfi is against this because gods can’t go into the dungeon (says who?) but he says it’ll be okay as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid and Hestia says she’s going with them as well. Because of this Hermes decides to call in reinforcements, Ryu. Back with Bell and the others Lili suggest they keep going down and head to level 18 since it’s a safe zone (I can’t believe this show doesn’t have emergency escape crystals. That’s pretty hardcore). They continue downward using holes to get to the lower levels all while staying quiet and avoiding monsters until they finally come across a pack of minotaurs (Nitsuj: These guys just won’t leave Bell alone). The episode ends with Bell taking on the minotaurs himself (minotaurs are his trigger) and beating them all (scene here: //youtu.be/SnP9vK4NMLk. (Isis): I think the correct term is destroying them all because Bell just went off on them).
In episode 11 Welf and Lili has reached their limits and pass out forcing Bell to carry them (leave them! (Nitsuj): Alright, it was nice knowing you! (Isis): GET BACK HERE BOTH OF YOU). He falls down a hole to the 17th floor where he has to run pass the floor boss the Goliath who has respawned after his fight with the Loki familia (Isis: Oddly enough resembling a titan from Attack on Titan. (Nitsuj): You think every monster resembles a titan. (Isis): Well it’s true). Bell manages to run pass the boss and escape to the safe zone where he passes out right in front of Aiz and the Loki familia. They use their healing spells on Bell and the others saving their lives and we get a tour of the floor which surprisingly has sunlight coming through and they actually take time to explain how that’s possible (that is so rare in shows like these). We also see that Bell has a few admirers (Nitsuj: Just add them to the list of Bell’s growing harem). When it’s dark we see that Hestia and the others make it to the floor and reunite with the others where Hestia is happy to see Bell but not so happy to see Aiz is with him. The group that left Bell and the others for dead apologize for what they did but their captain says that he doesn’t regret their decision and to be fair this is a good scene that they show. He knows that what he did was wrong but he did it to save his comrades something I’m sure anyone would have done if their comrades were in danger as well. Bell even admits that he probably would have done the same thing if he was in his shoes. Yes, the act was wrong but at the same time it was an act to save those close to him. They decide to rest the next day and leave after the Loki familia leaves and as Bell is admiring the crystals he gets approached by Aiz who tells him there’s a town on the floor and she wants to show it to Bell (Nitsuj: Date time~) but Hestia overhears their conversation, interrupts, and tells Aiz that she’s going with them tomorrow (scene here: //youtu.be/4VWt9Gcd3Y0). At the end of the episode we see Welf receive a gift from Hephaestus.
Episode 12 opens up with the group going to that town Aiz was talking about (Nitsuj: It’s a crap shack). The town was created by heroes and everything in it is expensive. After checking out the town the girls go to bathe where Hermes and Bell go to spy on them (Nitsuj: Now this is my kind of adventure. (Isis): Well I guess it’s an improvement over what you would normally say). Bell falls in, sees everyone naked, and runs away where he runs into Ryu bathe in another area (scene here: //youtu.be/Xv8cvwKwCnA, he sure is getting around the block today). Ryu hears his story about what happened and shows Bell the grave of her familia. We find out that Ryu used to belong to a familia in the past but they were killed by members of a rival familia (Isis: No evidence no consequences). Ryu was the only member who survived so she planned revenge by killing off the other familia single-handedly becoming blacklisted by the Guild meaning she can never join a familia again (really, that was it? She openly admitted to killing an entire familia and the only thing you do is blacklist her from joining a familia? Does prison or jail not exist in this world?). As she laid in an alleyway having gotten her revenge and ready to die she gets saved by Syr. After that scene we cut to a bar where we see a few other adventurers jealous of Bell and want to teach him a lesson. That’s when their leader Maldo is approached by Hermes who gives him the Hade’s Head a magical item that grants the user invisibility. Using this item Maldo kidnaps Hestia and forces Bell into a fight to embarrass him in front of everyone. At first Maldo’s plan seems to be working but soon Bell learns how to sense Maldo’s presence much to the surprise of Hermes and the fight becomes even again. A fight soon breaks out between Maldo’s group and Bell’s group (scene here: //youtu.be/m0sXGKhyQek). Lili manages to free Hestia and she unleashes her divine powers to stop the fighting (nobody messes with Hestia’s favorite child. Nobody. Scene here: //youtu.be/f0XNFHrFn3s). This stops the fighting and soon the ground begins to shake signaling something bad is on the way.
(Isis): In the final episode a floor boss comes crashing through the ceiling and onto the floor (oh well that’s lovely). And this floor boss is no ordinary floor boss this is a Level 5 floor boss and to make matters worse they can’t run away because the entrance has been blocked off completely by the monster’s crash landing (so we have no way out, no means to communicate with other adventurers, the Loki familia is gone and we’re trap on a floor with a boss who’s clearly overpowered and stronger than the current adventurers. They’re gonna die. (Nitsuj): Probably). With no escape everyone has no choice but to band together and destroy the floor boss. To the anime’s credit the fight is rather intense and even though the adventurers aren’t use to teaming up with each other they all seem to understand their roles in the fight and come up with a good strategy however for a majority of the fight we really don’t get to see that many special moves as you would have liked to see and a lot of their attacks don’t seem to hurting it at all. The only people who do any amount of damage are Bell, Ryu, Asfi, and the mages (everyone else might as well be dead weight). After the mages finally charge their attacks and fire on the boss they wind up damaging it greatly however it doesn’t matter as the thing can regenerate from its injuries quickly (Nitsuj: That’s what you get on level 5). Eventually Bell gets knocked out and we get are cliché setup for the main character to save the day and take all the glory. First, Bell gets knocked out (as I said before). Second, he has dreams of what it means to be a hero while everyone else is fighting the boss. Third, Bell slowly gets back up with a little blood running down his face and gets a power up as everyone looks in awe and covers him unleashing a barrage of special moves on the boss. Finally, after powering up Bell unleashes his attack on the boss which doesn’t destroy him but destroys enough of his body for Bell to run screaming his head off and attack its main weak point killing the boss. Everyone cheers in triumph and Bell gets all the glory (Nitsuj: And the ladies). We end the anime with everyone celebrating their victory at the bar and end with Bell resting peacefully on Hestia’s lap (scene here: //youtu.be/vet13lvZF2E).
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): So that was Danmachi and I enjoyed the anime. Okay, it’s not perfect nor does it bring anything new to anime or the genre but I still found myself enjoying every episode. I do like how Bell isn’t too strong but he’s not too weak at the beginning of the anime. He’s down the middle and as time goes on steadily starts to get stronger. As a character he can be a bit naïve and innocent but he’s just starting off plus you can’t help but cheer for the guy because he’s so nice, sweet, and you can tell he’s giving it his all. Every episode he keeps progressing and getting stronger. It’s sort of like playing a game. The more you play it the better you get. Now let’s talk about Hestia, she was one of the most iconic characters in 2015. Is she worth the hype? Well yes and no. I like her, she’s cute, funny, can be wise and godly at times and I do like the lengths she’s willing to go for Bell even though he has feelings for someone else but still looks after him like a mother or sister would but at the same time she’s not that great of a character as you would expect. She has a lot of cliché characteristics and she’s not really all that interesting as a character. Truth be told, I found myself more interested in Aiz as she comes across as an airhead but at the same time a character who has quite a story and is striving for a goal. Even Lili, Welf, and Ryu are more interesting characters than Hestia and characters I wish we had more time to explore.
The animation is pretty normal. Nothing spectacular just basic. The music does fit well with the anime as it makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a fantasy world. If you like folklore music and fantasy-like animes/games than I think you’ll like the music. The fights scenes are also great. I wasn’t expecting the fights to be this great in an anime like this but they’re done well. They’re intense, you’re on the edge of your seat whenever you watch them and you don’t feel bored watching them. The last fight scene was a cliché and probably my least favorite fight out of all of them but I can’t help but find it enjoyable to watch. Other than that the rest of the fighting was still good. What do you ladies think of the anime?
(Isis): I found it enjoyable. I do like Bell as well as the rest of the characters however I do feel that the anime doesn’t do a good job explaining the setting of its world. Where does this dungeon come from and why are they so determined to explore it? Was it created by the gods? Why did they come down from Heaven and how does having their blessings work? Do they get like a special power or ability by joining a god? The fights scenes like you said master were good and I must admit I think the ending to this anime could have been done a little better.
(Yin-Yang): I wasn’t all too fond of this anime. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I hate it but I really didn’t get into like a lot of other people did. Bell is cute but other than that there’s not much to him as a character. Hestia has a lot of anime tropes that make her a cliché character and some of the characters can be forgetful at times because of the lack of screen time they get. I was hoping this anime would add something new to the RPG-like animes but it really doesn’t add anything new and instead follows the tropes of anime. Also, the comedy at some parts could have been done a lot better and the fanservice felt unneeded a majority of the time. Hestia’s breast in particular were a bit disgusting to me. Don’t hate this anime but not really a fan of it.
Final Score
(Nitsuj): Alright. My final score for this anime is a 6.5/10.
(Isis): I’m going with a 6/10.
(Yin-Yang): Sorry but I’m giving it a 4.5/10.
(Nitsuj): Adding that all together we get 17/30 and taking the average of this score we get a 5.7/10 and going by my system it rounds out, making the final score a 6/10. It’s an okay anime. It has faults and I wish it added something new to the genre but I still think you’ll enjoy watching it. Is it a rip-off of SAO? Yes. But if I had to choose which anime to watch I would easily choose Danmachi over SAO any day of the week. This series in my eyes has more potential and I’m interested in seeing what happens next for Bell and his friends. Where he’ll go from here, what new challenges await him in the future, and how his character will develop as the series goes on.
(Isis): Until then, thanks for reading.
(Yin-Yang): And we’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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