What They Say:
Based off a light novel of the same name written by Fujino Omori and illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda, Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is set in the world of Orario, where adventurers band together and look for treasure in the underground labyrinth known as Dungeon. However, for Bell Cranel, fame and riches are secondary to what he wants to find the most: girls. He soon finds out though, that anything can happen in Dungeon, and winds up being the damsel in distress instead!
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After recalling the self-righteous declaration of Apollo at the Banquet of the Gods, Bell and Hestia try to come to terms with the true meaning of a War Game between familias: the winner lays claim to all property of the loser – wealth, land and followers. The twin-tailed goddess is infuriated by how deep her fellow deity’s greed can sink, with a need to set up a situation by which Cranel had no option than to retaliate and allow him to create a false conflict by which the duel between gods was the only means for false moral satisfaction. However as the two leave for the Dungeon and work, they agree to meet up early so as to further discuss what to do next, however, they are surprisingly met by a cruel sight bathed within a blinding sunrise as the pair leave their home … a staunch team of Apollo Familia members ready to launch a surprise attack and bombard the entryway with an explosive greeting.
Barely able to leap to safety with his goddess in his arms, Bell escapes through a side passageway and the panicked pair flee down alleyways with the single-minded followers chasing them with a single goal – to capture the white-haired rabbit for their master. Although Hestia thinks the Guild can protect them and thus instructs Cranel to run toward that destination, these fanatical members have no intentions to allow them a moment of safety even as her single child easily fends off all attacks. However when they retreat to the rooftops for a breather, Bell once again meets the two messengers he met in the Parthenon, Daphne and Cassandra who offer a chance for surrender for they know all too well the obsession Apollo can have when he wants a child, and yet Cranel turns it down. Withdrawing from a dangerous position into the relative safety of the side streets, their trail is picked up once again but this time another familiar symbol is emblazoned upon the pursuers’ clothes – a crescent moon with silver chalice displayed in the foreground. As Hestia mentally questions why they would help another family and they flee from these new hunters, the only person Bell did not wish to confront now appeared before them, the standard of Apollo Familia now bearing a deep crimson flamberge at his belt, level three adventurer Hyakinthos. With the memory of his severe beating still fresh in his mind Bell hesitates and yet he knows this man standing before them is their only chance for freedom, but is he a match for this masochistic menace or will this confrontation end as it did before … a complete failure?
In Summary:
This episode brings back the intensity I remember from the light novel and starts the epic event which will forever change the destiny of Hestia Familia – the War Game. Although the studio once again cut a few minor conflicts from the show to cohere the action into a more decisive flow, they did not forget to show the different viewpoints which help to reflect the repercussions of Apollo Familia’s actions upon Orario, especially the hesitation of the Guild and Loki Familia from interfering within a private matter. However the one event which should be monumentally important for the episode is Lili’s confrontation with Zanis, especially considering how his manipulations play such an essential part in why the supporter has such a frightened reaction to his appearance; within the light novel this first meeting outlines their relationship and yet the studio glances over it with a few passing words which is unsettling since it particularly leaves a lasting impression on Welf when the usually loyal prum leaves without any hard explanation as to her abandonment of the battle. Perhaps a future episode will flesh out this moment, but for loyal fans this exclusion leaves us questioning these decisions and hoping the full story of Lili’s connections with Soma Familia will come to the forefront within this grand first act.
Grade: A
Streamed By: Crunchyroll