Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 5

Rating: A- Hermes has not always been completely on top of situations, but he rolls with the punches better than anyone, so seeing Hermes look this alarmed is the first indication that the situation this episode is even more dire than it appeared to be at first – and that’s saying something, because a dedicatedContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 5”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 4

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 layersContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 4”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3

Rating: B+ One point that often gets underemphasized in discussions and analyses about this franchise is how much the structure and nature of familias can vary. Some (like Hestia Familia) function like a true family, while others function like businesses (Ishtar and Dian Cecht), fraternal organizations (arguably Loki Familia), spy groups (Hermes Familia), civic groupsContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 3”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2

Rating: B+ I have seen some claims that this installment is only supposed to be 15 episodes long instead of two full cours. If true, that means a much faster-paced adaptation than the previous story arc, as volumes 16-18 are collectively at least 100 pages longer than volumes 12-14. (And that’s without factoring in theContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 2”

Oshi no Ko episode 24 (season finale)

Rating: A The titles for episodes of this series are always carefully-chosen single words which pack layered meaning and significance, and the second season’s finale is no exception. “Wish” is, indeed, an apt summary of the episode, as the particular scene it references starkly shows the devastating transformation of the episode’s focal point character. ComingContinue reading “Oshi no Ko episode 24 (season finale)”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1

Rating: B+ NOTE: For anime-only readers, I strongly recommend either reading the novel Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya or watching the compilation of the Memoria Freese version of it before getting too deep into this season. Certain parts of this season (especially its middle arc) will make more sense if you have the background for Freya’sContinue reading “Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V episode 1”

Summer 2024 Wrap-Up

With the last handful of titles for the Summer 2024 season having now aired, let’s take a summative look at what worked well and what didn’t this season. Because of the high volume of titles I followed this season, covering every one of them here would make this post cumbersome. Hence I am only coveringContinue reading “Summer 2024 Wrap-Up”