Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. So, I just found out that DanMachi has been delayed until the fall. I think a hole in my wall sums up my feelings about this news. Still, I think it was worth talking about some more, so why don’t we take a look at the movie. Before the second season began airing, DanMachi was given a movie in 2019. Done by J.C Staff, this movie was meant to build excitement for the second season. It was called the Arrow of the Orion and would be an original story that take the group out of the city and into the world. Was it any good? Let’s get set to go on an adventure, this is the Arrow of the Orion.
The movie begins with us seeing this group of adventurers getting killed in the dungeon (well that’s a tone setter). After that, we go to Bell heading towards the dungeon to meet up with his friends to earn some extra money for the Holy Moon Festival that’s happening later on. The Holy Moon Festival is a festival that dates back before the arrival of the gods and is basically everyone sending up prayers to the moon goddess for protection. While at the festival they see Hermes run a stand where adventurers try to pull a legendary spear out of a block of crystals (nice Sword in the Stone reference). Not only does the adventurer get a legendary weapon, but they’ll also win an all-expense paid trip around the world courtesy of the guild. Many adventurers try and fail, including Aiz (who is nicknamed the sword princess so why she’s doing this I have no idea). Bell finally takes his turn and succeeds in pulling out the spear (because of course he does). Hermes than introduces the sponsor of the trip, the goddess Artemis who was one of Hestia’s closest friends back in Heaven. Hestia goes to greet her, but Artemis runs pass her and goes to hug Bell calling him her Orion (scene here: https://youtu.be/PdrzBqCLi6A, just how high is Bell’s charm level?). This whole act confuses/anger Hestia as not only is another girl clinging to Bell (when he hits 18, his death will come not at the hands of a monster but rather snu-snu), but Artemis is one of the virginal goddesses who values purity and virtue above all else (in other words, she’s anti-romance). So Hermes explains that the world trip is actually a request from Artemis to help them defeat a monster outside of the city. The monster was discovered by the Artemis familia but they’re having a tough time defeated it and apparently that spear Bell pulled out is the key to victory. Since Bell is the only one who can use the spear he has to go and Hestia allows it, but she along with the others are going as well.
They head out early morning on dragons to the Ruins of Elsus which is where the monster is located (scene here: https://youtu.be/B-DSZQhLNGg). It’ll take 10 days to get there, but along the way the group fights against some strange scorpions that are different from the ones they fought in the dungeon (color swaps tend to do that) where Bell uses the spear which kills them all easily (scene here: https://youtu.be/ht0UDucTqzE). We also find out that Artemis is pretty naïve and absent-minded as opposed to her former self who was cool and strict (men loved being scolded by her). We also find out about the monster they’ll be facing, Antares, a monster that absorbs the life out of everything. Years ago Antares was sealed away within the ruins by the great spirits. However, it gradually started regaining power within the deepest parts of the ruins and broke the seal. Many adventurers were called in to fight it but they were all killed. The only way to defeat Antares is to use the legendary spear that Bell has. They finally arrive near the Ruins of Elsus where they reunite with Hermes’s familia as well as Ryu. As the girls are taking a bath, the men plot to peep on them only to fail horribly. Bell, not being a pervert, skipped the operation but winds up seeing Artemis naked just like Hermes planned as apparently the stronger the bond between Bell and Artemis, the stronger the spear becomes. Bell and Artemis chat where she hints that Hestia is in love with him but he finds that crazy since she’s a goddess (Bell, I know you put goddesses on a pedestal but even they have needs and apparently you’re the only one who can fulfill them). Atermis also seems to have fallen for Bell a little as they actually dance in the water (scene here: https://youtu.be/A-gsTJVjJi0, would have been more romantic if they danced on the water which it looks like they did. I guess the animators and I were thinking the same thing).
The next day they set their plan in motion to defeat Antares. The Hermes familia will act as decoys and keep the monsters busy while Artemis, Hestia, Hermes, Asfi, Ryu, Bell, Welf, and Lili go to defeat Antares. They enter a temple which has become the nest of Antares and make it down to the beast where we see that the monster has consumed Artemis. The Artemis that Bell and the others have been traveling with is just a fragment of Artemis that she transferred into the spear (she’s Artemis but at the same time not Artemis). Some time ago the real Artemis and her familia fought against Antares where her divine powers got consumed by the monster and was forced to watch as her children were killed one by one. With Artemis’s divine power, Antares can fire Arcanum the arrow of Heaven, a powerful spell that would spell doom for the world if it was fired (and it’ll create quite the light show). The spear is actually a divine arrow called Orion which has the power to kill gods. Bell must now use Orion to kill Artemis and stop Antares once and fall (wow, they’re actually forcing Bell to kill a goddess. When did the anime become God of War?). As you would imagine Bell can’t bring himself to kill Artemis but once Hestia and Artemis’s sprit tell him he has to do this (not every story has a happy ending kid), he picks up Orion, and throws it which immobilizes Antares. Bell then uses his knife to kill Artemis and she dies promising to reincarnate and meet Bell again (scene here: https://youtu.be/LH5-3jQoC_A?t=18). With Antares defeated, life returns to the forest, the world is saved, and everyone heads home.
Final Thoughts
Nothing much to say about this movie. It’s an alright movie. Nothing all that major, the fight scenes aren’t all that great, and the story for the most part is pretty cliché. However, there is one saving grace in this and that’s Artemis. She’s the most endearing character we’ve seen so far throughout the series and this movie is non-cannon. You will instantly fall in love with her and her relationship with Bell was cute and a highlight of the movie for me. Other than her the rest of the characters maintain their personality from the anime.
Final Score
The final score for Arrow of Orion is a 4.5/10. Not a spectacular movie that leaves no impact on the story whatsoever or gives anything new to the series. If you’re a fan of DanMachi feel free to check it out or skip over it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
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