Never underestimate Loki Familia … especially Tiona and Tione.
Creative Staff:
Illustrations By: Takashi Yagi
Original Story: Fujino Omori
Character Design: Haimura Kiyotaka & Yasuda Suzuhito
Translation: Andrew Gaippe
Lettering: Barri Sheager
What They Say:
Locked in heated battles, Tiona and Tione face off against remnants of their poisonous past … with Aiz’s hands full opposing Ishtar Familia’s captain and Lefiya held hostage, he situation seems dire.
But as Loki unravels the behind-the-scenes workings of Port Meren’s monster infestation, reinforcements arrive – Finn and the rest of the boys are itching for a tussle and ready to show Kali Familia just who they are messing with!
Content (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
As Loki enters the dimly lit underground cavern filled with abandoned cages, she coldly confronts the captain of Njördr Familia, a young boy named Rod who without hesitation confesses he is the one behind the viola attacks upon Port Meren, and yet the red headed goddess brusquely brushes aside the bold admission, knowing the true culprit is hiding in the shadows and calls out to him. The hesitant bare chested god steps out and asks how she found this place, pointing out the animal person who had trailed them, but even as he attempts to pry more answers, the mischievous deity states the deception is over for even now her girls are at the local Guild headquarters and the house of the Murdock family, interrogating everyone in question and confirming all three groups were behind the harm which has come to this harbor town. And yet as Loki throws down a bag of the magic powder which is supposed to keep the monsters away, the confused leader is still unsure of his god’s involvement, that is until the crimson detective disdainfully asks how he is connected with the Evils. With each distasteful statement this rude guest continues to bombard Njördr with more accusations as to how he could sacrifice his followers to keep the monstrous flowers at bay, even as her own people had exterminated these foul creatures within Orario long ago, but the cornered god will not say a word, until she pushes him too far by declaring their children are nothing but toys. With his contained anger finally exploding outwards, the fisherman god will not allow such untrue words to be spoken, taking Loki by the collar and boldly proclaiming he would never tolerate such callous actions to be taken, even as she herself confesses of being from the same mindset, thus attesting to his innocence.
And yet even after Njördr calms down and confesses of his self made crimes, all to keep monsters out of the bay in order to restore the fragile ecosystem, he admits these futile efforts were for naught as his children were constantly in danger every time they went out to claim the ocean’s bounties, even with his blessing. Only after an incident six years ago did their fortunes change when one of those flower monsters burst out of Lolog Lake, and thanks to some passing adventurers they were able to defeat the creature, but then he became curious of its origin. After tracing its path back to a nearby sewer grate, it was there where he met a sickly human who seemed to have not seen the sun in years, then offered a chance to control the monsters with the magic dust if Njördr allowed his people to set up a smuggling route through Meren, only afterwards realizing the man was probably part of the Evils. However while Murdock understood this arrangement was for the good of the town, they had to bribe Rubart of the Guild since he was the only means to secure magic stones to turn into the necessary powder. But it was only with more prodding did the gullible god finally divulge the one detail which Loki wanted to hear, the intermediary who handled things with the strange man and destroyed any violas that got out of hand, using merchant guild routes to sneak out Orario – Ishtar Familia. While the red headed deity stated she would tell no one about this scheme, it was then when she realized Kali must also be in the area, with Njördr revealing the goddess of beauty has an arrangement with the patron of the Amazons, and thus permitting her to come to the conclusion that Lefiya and the twins should be here too. Alerting her attendants to spread the news as to the whereabouts of their missing comrades, one of them asked if they should only tell Aiz and Riveria’s groups, but with a sly grin Loki contradicted the worried girl and reiterated they should notify everyone within the family.
In Summary:
While this is one of my favorite character arcs within the series, and Omori-sensei’s repercussive story is vividly adapted with stunning detail thanks to mangaka Yagi-sensei’s immersive illustrations, for those familiar with the original source material, it appears as if certain parts of the narrative are given precedence over others for dramatic effect, allowing for the emotional fervor of the Hyrute sisters’ struggle to take on a secondary role as compared to the story as a whole when concerning Ishtar’s selfish ambitions. Although the unraveling of the magic powder scheme does help to enlighten readers for later events and the destruction of the goddess of beauty’s invading forces is exhilarating, the clash between Amazonian twins is not as fervently stirring as described within the light novel, with exceptional events sorrowfully reduced to make room for an elaborate closing. The entirety of this epic saga feels as it has been visually rushed, condensing moving moments so that readers can be quickly escorted through the trauma of Tiona and Tione, ignoring that this story arc is supposed be a telling of how they suffered within Telskyura, all with the hope we will not recognize this central story point thanks to being inundated by a barrage of incidental factors.
Yet while we try to adjust to this graphical bombardment, there are periods of excitement which are unfortunately swallowed up due to the overzealousness of Yagi-sensei’s emphatic action scenes, with too much being portrayed within the limited space to make sense and made even worse due to the black and white color scheme. The principle conflict between Loki Familia and Ishtar Familia’s captain is understated due to these limitations, for while she is described as being toad like within the light novel due to exaggerated facial features and short stature, these notable details are sorrowfully dulled down by instead depicting her amphibian characteristics upon her formidable plate, with the prominent bulges on her helmet supposedly those signature eyes which are unnoticeable unless the viewer knows what to look delineate within the dynamic panels; but even more disappointing is the exclusion of the nauseating crimson color of her gear which allows Phryne to stand out within the arena, and yet this jarring element is of course eliminated due to the limitations of the medium, which would have made her humiliating defeat and the crushing of the armor all the more satisfying to see it shattered like blood splatters on the battlefield. Even with this minor distraction, what stands out most in what should be a frantic frenzy between competing sisters is the need to tone down the spontaneity so as to allow visual clarity within busy panels, making each exchange crisp and delineated instead of a display of feverish blows. But even as find pleasure from the shining smile which Tiona flashes during harrowing combat and the heartfelt joy when we the sisters reunite, the final insult to the proud Amazons comes when we witness Argana dressed in a sailor uniform, perhaps denoting newly found submissiveness to a stronger opponent, but at the same time turning her and the other failures in nothing more than wanton women.
This volume of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria is a scintillating unfolding of the trials and tribulations which the Hyrute sisters must face to separate themselves from their violent past, but while we are enveloped within this nonstop exhilaration, it is the visual side of the manga which suffers due to needed sacrifices to tone down the spontaneous action of the narrative. With necessary exposition sprinkled throughout the volume, the battles themselves are too dynamic to grasp a clear understanding due to the medium’s limited scope, and with the duo color scheme working against itself to mute the effectiveness of stunning descriptions from the light novels, we are left with a book that is stripped down to only the necessary moments within a control environment. And while this does create a much needed focus to streamline the frenetic excitement, at the same time to those familiar with the source materials, it also sadly strips away needed tension within these battles to the death, promoting a sterilized version of events even as we are left with a comical representation of the once proud Amazons.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: A-
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: Older Teen
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: February 02, 2021
MSRP: $13.00
