Rating: A
DanMachi may not always be the best-looking or most flawlessly-animated series, but it has rarely fallen short on dramatic presentation and does better than most when it comes to delivering on its biggest moments. That is no less true for this season finale, which brings to a conclusion the anime’s adaptation of novels 16-18.
And it delivers on not one but two featured action components to round out the War Games. The first is, of course, the final confrontation against Ottarl, with Haruhime’s Uchide no Kozuki boosting all of the challengers, effectively giving the allies three level 7s and and a level 6 against Ottarl. This is a fantastic battle sequence well worth multiple rewatches over time and being considered among the series’s finest action sequences – and given the great efforts this franchise has shown in the past, that’s saying something. The sense of movement and the choreography are both elite-status, allowing viewers to fully be able to follow every move even while marveling at how dynamic it all is. And though Bell is the star here and gets the final blow (sort of), he certainly doesn’t do this on his own, with each of Mia, Ryu, and Hedin playing crucial parts. But no character here has a more important role that Ottarl himself. He is utterly convincing as a powerhouse on all fronts, one who has the battle instincts to match his strength and the fierce determination to fend off all foes that is no less than Bell’s, and yet without feeling over-the-top. And even at the end, he’s more acknowledging that Bell is worthy than fully defeated. Rarely has a DanMachi character more proven his second name – King – than Ottarl does here, for a goddess can’t be saved if the king who guards her can’t be overcome.
The chase scene between Bell and Allen isn’t lacking for tension or impact, either, even if it is quite a bit shorter. This is also nicely choreographed, and again, I love that Bell didn’t do this on his own. Clearly he benefited from some sort of familia synchronization from Lily (this isn’t explained in the novel, either), but Welf getting in the final strike to clear Bell’s path was very satisfying, especially after Welf was thrashed and berated by Allen a few episodes earlier.
For all the action, though, the scene at the top of the tower is nearly as important in a dramatic sense. This is essentially Freya’s last stand as a goddess, and the melancholy musical selection perfectly reinforces how this is as much a defeat of Freya’s crush on Bell as it is a defeat of Freya Familia as a whole. Letting the War Game end on that note, rather than with raucous celebration, was also a perfect choice.
Let’s not understated the important of Freya’s epilogue, either. Who is the real Freya? Even she’s not sure, and she still has a final reckoning with both herself and the denizens of Hostess of Fertility. Again, the musical choices here – a piano version of the opener and the closer – suit the emotional scene perfectly. This arc would not be complete and fully satisfying without this ending – without Freya choosing to continue as Syr under Bell’s watchful eye. (Technically speaking, she’s actually under Hestia’s supervision according to the novels, but that’s a trivial detail.) And that both Hedin and Horn acknowledged this as a positive result in the end is also necessary.
The arc concludes here with some issues left floating; what is to become of the very powerful adventurers in the now-disbanded Freya Familia? Lower-tier members could easily get absorbed into other familias, but what will the top-tier members do? Also, Haruhime really put herself out there with an open display of her Uchide no Kozuki, and there’s no way that won’t draw attention. There’s also the little matter of Ryu openly declaring her love for Bell, too. But all those are issues which can be pushed back into the next novel. (Indeed, novel 19 does, to a degree, address them all.) This arc has ended at least as well as any of the others, and let’s enjoy that for now.
USA Anime 