Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 10

Rating: B+

As announced at the end of last episode, the trouble with Freya is going to be resolved the classic Orario way: with a War Game. Yes, we’ve seen this before in the DanMachi universe – when a god became obsessed enough with Bell to go after him aggressively – and I can’t fault viewers for seeing this as just a replay of the matter with Apollo. However, there are four important differences this time:

1. Last time it was just familia vs. familia. This time it’ll be Freya Familia against everyone else who wants to (and is allowed to) get involved.
2. Last time this was a private matter, just between Hestia and Apollo. This time, though, all of Orario is impacted, and way more people than just Hestia Familia’s closest allies have cause to want to fight Freya Familia over this. Some are existing allies, some are those who have taken a liking to Bell and/or feel they owe him, some are pissed that Freya was audacious enough to charm everyone, and some are just taking an opportunist approach; the rewards will be rich if they succeed and there’s glory to be had.
3. Apollo was a one-note, cartoonish villain motivated purely by lust. Freya is a much more complex character with more complicated and better-established motivations. (And that’s without factoring the still-comatose Horn into it.)
4. This time around bigger issues are in play. Loki Familia is itching for a fight, as they’ve had plenty of trouble with Freya Familia even within the bounds of the main series and many (including their patron) are irate over being charmed. But the Guild can’t risk having them get involved, as having both of the most powerful familias in Orario getting weakened at the same time would both hinder the quest to eventually defeat the Black Dragon and invite disaster; the last time this happened (i.e., after Zeus and Hera Familias were practically wiped out fighting the Black Dragon), Evilus arose and wreaked havoc for years.

The latter point is a disappointment, as all of the DanMachi fandom is likely aching to see a knock-down, drag-out fight between the elites of Loki and Freya Familias, especially after the events of this season; the only two previous battles (Ais vs. Ottarl in s1 ep 8 and Ais vs. Allen and the prum brothers in Sword Oratoria ep 6?) were brief skirmishes. Narratively speaking, though, allowing that would be a very bad idea, as that would a) put the fight on a more even field and b) make the conflict more about Loki vs. Freya, which would distract both from the everyone vs. Freya spirit and from Bell being at the center of things. Within the story, that’s avoided because Royman, the Guild leader, is less concerned about justice than he is about Orario fulfilling its role – i.e., to cap the Dungeon and foster the heroes necessary to defeat the Three Great Quests. That’s why he even goes as far as bribing Finn with information that Loki Familia’s leadership can’t overlook as additional insurance that they’ll behave. (And on that note, the anime falls woefully short of clarifying why that broken sword in the crystal is such a big deal: it’s a major clue to a mystery Loki Familia has been ardently pursuing for many years, but Royman was unwilling to reveal it before now because getting to its source would be costly even for Loki Familia.)

But even with the coalition behind them, Hestia Familia is still at a major disadvantage, and as Ganesha himself points out, the “Hide-and-Seek” concept isn’t enough of a handicap given the might Freya Familia has at its disposal. Quality trumps quantity in the DanMachi setting, and the Hestia coalition doesn’t have anyone on the level of Freya Familia’s elites. In essence, it’s practically the reverse problem Hestia Familia faced in the War Game against Apollo Familia. They do have some things in their favor; Crozzo magic swords and Haruhime’s abilities are not trivial factors, Finn formally training Lily is partially offset the tactical wizardry of Hedin, and Asfi’s items have certainly proven to be wild cards in the past. And there are going to be a sizable number of mid-range adventurers amongst the mob. The OP strongly suggests that Mia will eventually step in, too, and her one scene this episode could be taken as a set-up for that; Mia doesn’t tolerate foolishness, and her goddess has certainly been foolish. Anyone who’s enough of a powerhouse that even Allen is concerned about her could certainly be a difference-maker. Cassandra’s vision and Ryu’s promise before jumping off the wall both suggest that she’ll be back to be a difference-maker at a crucial point, too. Tsubaki also proved in Sword Oratoria that she can hold her own even among Loki Familia’s elite. Still, they’re going after a group with Orario’s strongest warrior, one of Orario’s best tacticians and mages, and a large membership composed of individuals well-tested in head-to-head battles with other adventurers and backed by top-rate healers. And they’re all united in purpose (in most cases to a fanatical degree) behind their goddess.

There are a couple of interesting side stories set up by this episode beyond just the bribe Royman gives to Finn, though. Where, exactly, is Ryu going at a time like this? Given the state of things and what was revealed during s4, only one destination makes any sense: wherever Astraea currently is. She’s got a lot to talk about with her patron and is years overdue for a status update, so methinks we’ll see a stronger Ryu join the fight at a later stage. The implication that Allen went to see Ahnya is also intriguing, as it’s hard to figure what Allen’s purpose would be for doing so. We haven’t seen the last of that, either. Then there’s also the matter of Horn. Is she deliberately remaining comatose to preserve Syr?

One other point also probably requires some explanation for anime-only watchers: why Aiz isn’t involved in training Bell this time, and why Freya had any pull to make that happen. That’s a result of events in Sword Oratoria a few novels beyond where the anime adaptation stopped. Without getting much into spoilers, Aiz independently sought training from Ottarl to help her prepare to deal with one of that spinoff’s main antagonists, and Freya allowed it in exchange for a later favor. This is Freya calling in that favor.

On other fronts, the animation effort this episode seemed much more limited compared to previous episodes this season, but given the major battles which are coming, that’s not a big surprise. And seeing Lily being such a commanding figure towards the end was a nice touch.

The way the anime is presenting the setting for the War Game is not what I pictured while reading the novel, so I’m especially curious to see how the backgrounds play out as we get into the thick of things next episode. Ultimately, this is the standard pre-main battle set-up episode, but it still has plenty enough angles going on to stay involving.