“Berbera – War Prostitutes”
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):
Bell and Mikoto are still trapped behind enemy lines within the Pleasure Quarters with many Amazons searching for the escapees, but Cranel is frozen by revulsion of how Aisha told him only a man can truly save someone. As he fights to come to terms with his cowardice, his companion excuses herself to scout the area and find a safe way to flee their situation. Left alone with this emotional trauma all Bell can remember is how Haruhime constantly berated herself by stating a prostitute is not worthy of being saved by a hero and he in his naiveté could not object to this conclusion, even knowing in the back of his mind this reasoning was grievously wrong. It is only after his right hand begins to pulsate with the power of Argonaut does his thinking change and informs Mikoto after she returns – they will be rescuing the renard no matter the consequences, even if it means their familias will risk going to war. With tears of gratitude trickling from her eyes his friend readily agrees and states they will both apologize to Hestia afterwards, leaving the pair with nothing to do but come up with a plan to storm a goddess’ home.
The team divides their rescue effort for the best chance of success: Bell will serve as distraction while Mikoto tries to find out where Haruhime is being held and attempt to save her friend from the cruel fate Ishtar has planned with the Killing Stone. As both go separate ways, Cranel has the more audacious assignment – to attract as much attention as possible so there was as little interference allowing Yamato to explore empty halls and surroundings. Charging forward with reckless abandon Little Rookie rushes the front entrance much to the surprise of all Amazons guarding it, but as they try to block his path they are cruelly greeted by a ferocious Firebolt fired point blank quickly clearing any opponents and allowing him to rush upstairs. This manner of destruction continued as the white rabbit blazed a path of chaos, only stopping to drink an elixir to restore lost Mind but all results quickly came to a halt when a mammoth mountain of flesh cried out in fury, signalled by a large battleaxe barely missing to cleave Bell in half. It was the disgusting captain of Ishtar Familia Phryne come to continue her game of Cat and Mouse, or more like Toad and Rabbit but now was no time to panic even as she merciless heaved deadly blades threatening to cut off anything which got in her way. Now forced into a large landing before an impressive stairway Cranel found himself surrounded by members of the Berbera with Aisha and Phryne ready to pounce upon their helpless prey until a sultry yet intimidating voice stopped all action … it was goddess Ishtar and when she commanded them to stop they had no choice by to obey, even the familia captain who did so with much reluctance. Now alone with this supreme being and her manservant there was no chance for escape for even now Bell could feel her divine charm oozing its way over his helpless innocence, with half naked body slowly advancing forward to bring an end to his last effort of resistance.
In Summary:
Although this episode was exciting it is supposed to lead into an epic confrontation between Ishtar and Hestia Familias, however events have been so sanitized it makes loyal readers of the light novel wonder what happened during the adaptation. While it is understandable for the studio to slice costs by cutting down violence against Cranel as he rushes up the tower, but there are essential informational moments which are ignored: planning out the rescue and Mikoto being too kind to be a ninja even if has the resolve to help others plus her sacrifice but more importantly is Phryne making Aisha come with her to hunt down Little Rookie; in the source material it is reiterated this toad punished the Amazon, beating her so much she barely clung to life for the last time she interfered with the Killing Stone ceremony and also reinforcing her position as captain and not vice versa. The memory reinforces all actions this subordinate takes in the upcoming clash and makes decisions more rationale, however now that it has been ignored I hope it is replayed before the final battle to make new viewers understand her actions and makes what she does all the more comprehensive in her overall scheme against Ishtar.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
