Rating: A
DanMachi has always tended to emphasize its action elements, character interactions, and dramatic presentations, so I may not actually be saying much by labeling this as maybe the single most plot-dense episode in the entire franchise. But that’s still exactly what this is. No other episode has more big twists or more layers and diversity of meaning to it than this one does, and it tops off by ending on the final scene of volume 16 of the source novels, a scene that original author Fujino Omori has referred to as a “plot bomb” since merely labeling it a twist doesn’t do justice to the potential impact it’s going to have on the overall story. This is DanMachi at its most serious in a non-action sense, and its events will drive the rest of the season.
So let’s look at what all this episode spills out for important details:
- The catperson waitress Ahnya is the younger sister of Freya Familia elite Allen Fromel and, based on her title, either a current (inactive) or former member of Freya Familia herself. This wasn’t a new revelation to novel readers at this point, as this detail was either suggested or outright revealed before this point, but it’s the first time the anime version has even hinted at it. And they’re not on good terms, at least from Allen’s standpoint.
- Ahnya’s catty speech pattern is apparently an affectation rather than a standard catperson thing. (Notably, Allen has never used it himself in his brief previous appearances.)
- Given Hestia’s immediate reaction to seeing Syr for the first time, that means that Hermes has either known or suspected the truth about Syr for a long time, or else the transformation was just so good that even he couldn’t be sure. But that would tend to suggest that other gods should have picked up on that too, right? (The novel is dodgy on this point.)
- Based on what’s shown in this episode, the Syr that we’ve seen in the series is essentially an amalgamation of the human Horn and the goddess Freya. Syr was Horn’s original human name, and through the use of some special power, Freya was apparently able to borrow Horn’s humanity in order to become the human girl Syr. (The episode’s title, “Seidr,” is a reference to an old Norse form of magic that Freyja was particularly adept at, so that’s probably the name of Horn’s unique power.)
- Horn can also assume the form of Syr (presumably because she’s the original) and thus was the Syr we saw speaking to Freya back in episode 1. But that would also mean that she can assume the form of Freya when Freya is posing as Syr, hence explaining the Freya we see in episode 2. Horn’s reference to sharing the psyche of Freya means that there’s at least a partial mind-meld going on here, too.
- Based on their efforts to hunt Horn down the next day, most of the Freya Familia elite weren’t privy to the bargain Horn struck with Freya back in episode 1. Ottar clearly knew, and it’s safe to assume that Hedin either knew or had a strong suspicion, since he stayed out of the Syr/Horn hunt and stood guard over Syr/Freya.
- Ryu is referred to as being precious to Syr, but does that necessarily mean that she’s precious to Freya?
- Bell is definitely not above being affected by a sexy situation, but his self-control is impressive. And yes, he’s just as immune to Freya’s direct charm as he was to Ishtar’s.
- Mia has to know everything that’s going on with Syr and Freya.
Whew! That’s a lot.
While Bell has always been skittish when it comes to anything even remotely sexual, this episode suggests better than any previous one that it’s not just typical anime male lead skittishness or purity. As the franchise has progressed, Bell is giving the impression that he’s the type who has to be won over gradually when it comes to romance. He’s not going to respond well to an aggressive approach, whether that aggression is physical (as in the Ishtar arc in season 2) or seductive. And Syr/Freya, after delighting in her date with Bell over the previous episode and a half and confirming to herself that she really does love Bell, is definitely getting seductively aggressive here, almost to the point of desperation. The Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya novel explores this much more thoroughly, but Freya is so venerated – and gets what she wants so easily – that she can’t have the relationships that a normal woman does and doesn’t seem to know what to do when someone doesn’t automatically fall into her grasp. That has to be both thrilling and terrifying.
The other important point here is that, because of her unique connection with Freya, Horn can sense this better than anyone, and so she’s choosing to act; probably from the time she delivered the message from Syr to Hestia Familia, her plan may have been to take out the person who was throwing her goddess so off-balance. And isn’t it conspicuous that the Freya elite stop trying to kill her for her transgression when she lays out her (nearly-psychotic) fanatical reasoning? Allen calls her a “zealot,” but he also seems to understand that he’s the pot calling the kettle black here, which is why Horn gets to walk away from this.
The waitresses certainly aren’t getting off so easily, though! None of them seemed to be fatally injured (perhaps because they were Syr’s compatriots), but they were certainly all hurt bad enough that they wouldn’t be able to interfere further. And this was a group with members capable of surviving on, and traversing to, level 36 of the Dungeon.
But for all the (relatively mild) sex appeal, all the deft action, and serious relationship moments, and all the twists, the final scene of an episode which atypically plays through both the opening and ending credits shakes the setting to its core every bit as much as Weine’s debut did. Bell unknowingly held his ground against Freya, dealing her the first true defeat she’s faced on any level in this franchise, and that’s not something she can tolerate. Ottar even conspicuously asks if that’s really what she wants (which I think may be a first for him in the anime version), because as devoted as he is to Freya, even he understands the extent of the action she’s undertaking. Big things are coming next episode.
USA Anime 