When I think about Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, I can’t help but feel that a lot of people have been tricked into thinking this is something that it’s not. This is honestly somewhat understandable, as that name, right away, sets the expectation for a lot of people at rock bottom. The first thought after seeing the title is often “skeevy protagonist in a fantasy world making a harem”, and a lot of the time potential viewers will also go “not for me”. It’s honestly a shame though, because Danmachi (the show’s more palatable name) at its core is honestly a fun, fairly wholesome watch – it’s not only about picking up girls, inside or outside of dungeons.
The plot centers around Bell Cranel, a 14-year-old just taking his first steps into the world of adventuring, and Hestia, his down-on-her-luck patron goddess. People who are a little more familiar with mythology might recognize that’s the same name as the Greek goddess of the hearth, and there is a reason for this. In the world of Danmachi, the gods from various myths are very real, and they more or less became bored of sitting around in heaven. One day they decide they will live among humanity, and while they don’t have access to their full suite of powers, they are still able to give their blessing to humans. Those who they bless become part of their “familia”, and typically use the associated boons to become adventurers and venture into “the dungeon”, a massive, dangerous cave system that people risk death to explore – all in exchange for the promise of power and treasure.
Bell didn’t travel to Orario, the city which houses the dungeon, because of any particular interest in power or treasure, however. His sole reason is that he wants to be a hero, like the ones in the tales he grew up listening to, and while he may have the spirit that doesn’t make him Hercules. New adventurers are a dime a dozen, and Bell is so unremarkable that the only god who was even willing to take a chance on him was Hestia, whose familia doesn’t even have any other members. Bell’s total inexperience is made clear within the first few minutes of the show, which features something that would have killed him if not for the timely intervention of another adventurer, Ais Wallenstein. This run in also is the trigger that sets the events of the story in motion, as Bell’s pursuit of Ais takes him on a journey that will lead him to new friends, while at the same time garnering the attention of potentially sinister forces.
What gives Danmachi’s plot the spice it needs to have such strong appeal isn’t just the tale of Bell and his journey to becoming a hero, which is engaging but nothing particularly special on its own. The world-building is what elevates the rest of the story. Watching Hestia and a gender-bent Loki go at it is funnier than I initially expected it would be, and the world being inhabited by gods, some of whom have some very idiosyncratic tendencies, going about their day-to-day life with humans is fun in silly kind of way. While there is an argument that it can feel lazy when the world-building is essentially just drawing from mythology that has been floating around for thousands of years, that’s also not the only part that works quite well. The power system of Danmachi is very intuitive and easy to grasp, with progression for characters being dictated by achieving certain milestones as opposed to killing an arbitrary number of monsters. The dungeon is dangerous, and the audience also knows that they aren’t going to see Bell make serious progress by going into the easy portions and killing a million R.O.U.S.s or goblins or whatever; he’s going to have to really challenge himself and overcome obstacles in order to grow. This also means that when Bell does end up taking another major step on his road to becoming a hero, there is a tangible reward. Seeing Bell struggle, win by the skin of his teeth, and then literally level up is just a really effective way to reinforce the impact big moments have.
Because of how he acts in both big and small moments, it's hard to imagine a more fitting protagonist than Bell. At the start of the series, he is essentially a blank slate. Bell has all these ideas from various legends about what exactly it means to be a hero, but his lack of experience means that he doesn’t understand how naïve those views are. Adventuring is dangerous, and while there are good people in Orario, most explore the dungeon to either survive or because they’re essentially adrenaline junkies, not because they view themselves as heroes. It would be easy for a story like this to take a character like Bell in an “innocence lost” kind of direction, where they realize how the world really works and become a little more jaded, a little more “realistic”. That isn’t the case here – when Bell is confronted with how the world “really” works he doesn’t change anything about his worldview, he just focuses on being the hero from his stories. When he gets stabbed in the back he turns around and embraces his assailant, when confronted with his own inadequacies he jumps in headfirst, regardless of potential consequences. And best of all, the people around him notice. Those close to him see him doing the right thing time and time again, constantly hurling himself into danger, and follow suit instinctively. Bell inspires those around him to be better, which is utterly perfect for a story that is so heavily intwined with mythology that was originally intended to do the same thing.
Earlier I did say the show wasn’t just about picking up girls, but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t factor in at all. One thing common in a lot of mythology is heroes being interested in beautiful women. Orpheus and Eurydice, Perseus and Andromeda, the entire Trojan War being fought over Helen – if my bias towards Greek myths is showing I apologize, but in stories about heroes defying death, finding love while doing it is almost an expectation. Bell is no exception, and his eyes are set on Ais, who to her credit does have a decent amount going for her. She’s beautiful, strong, and saves Bell’s life numerous times. But she’s also stoic to the extreme, and doesn’t actually talk much at all – according to the Danmachi wiki she has 149 words of dialogue throughout the entirety of this season, and I’m inclined to believe that. Ultimately this means that Ais’ motivations are hard to understand and she’s hard to relate to, which are major issues for the character Bell spends all season chasing after; she is so underdeveloped that his infatuation with her begins to get exasperating as time goes on. It’s weird because I kind of like Ais on her own, it’s just that I don’t think she gets set up very well as a romantic interest for Bell.
I will also say, the production isn’t exactly mind blowing either. For what its worth, that doesn’t mean this show is hard to watch. Visually it’s quite clean, with character and monster designs being solid, albeit somewhat generic, and the big moments that need extra attention getting it. The previously mentioned times where Bell has a major obstacle to overcome are instances where the animation and storyboarding are both genuinely fantastic. But those moments don’t happen every episode, and a lot of the time things just look… okay. The music and sound design face a similar dilemma. During the big moments the orchestral score is fantastic, and the panging of metal clashing against metal or the labored panting of an exhausted fighter meshes with everything else perfectly. But the rest of the time the sound design is honestly rather bland. This isn’t a damning condemnation by any means, as ultimately Danmachi’s appeal rests more with the characters and story as opposed to the fights. But I do think it’s a little disappointing that the adaptation of such a popular light novel series couldn’t have a little bit more of a “wow” factor.
Those are honestly my only gripes though, and in general I’m very fond of Danmachi. It’s an underdog story that at times feels like a very well written fanfiction of millennia old myths, and that’s something I think a lot of people will find easy to enjoy. If I’m being honest, I also appreciate the fact that this is just a straight up fantasy story, and that there isn’t some fish-out-of-water isekai protagonist getting shoved down my throat. So, my advice is to ignore the title Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon, as it doesn’t really convey what the show is about (and is a bit of a mouthful anyway). Give the show a shot, and I think you might be pleasantly surprised with how much fun it is.
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