I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this episode which isn’t overly surprising given how I felt about this particular story in the light novels. It felt bloated and the danger felt fairly farcical compared to some of the situations Bell had been in. That said, I have been curious about how the anime was going to handle this sequence. How did you find the episode Irina?
To me it was harmless filler. I liked that they manage to get their does of fanservice in while making it plot relevant. I would call that a plus but otherwise, you’re right. It was just a little aimless and there didn’t seem to be much point to it given everything else that’s already going on.
Starting at the beginning I actually kind of liked the introduction Ishtar was given. She actually came across as kind of god like when you compare her to someone like Hestia. Then again, maybe I just liked Ishtar’s introduction because later in the episode she gets one up on Hermes and to be honest it was nice seeing that not everything goes his way every time. Then again, I’m wondering what we’re supposed to imagine Ishtar did given the reaction we get is Hermes curled up and crying. it is kind of baffling.
Like most love goddesses, Ishtar doesn’t have the best reputation for worrying about her partnership feelings. This said, they made it pretty clear what she did to him, in my opinion. Hermes was a touch embarrassed and I’m proud of him for actually caring!
This is also a clear moment of Lily and Welf dropping the ball. They are normally fairly reliable characters and yet despite being worried about bringing Bell into the pleasure quarter they promptly get distracted and leave him behind. Then they don’t notice he’s missing until after Mikoto has explained the whole story giving him plenty of time to be completely lost. Lily is normally far more on top of things and it just seemed convenient that this is the one time they both seem to suck.
Yeah, the entire set up was pretty contrived. I haven’t read the books so I don’t know if this is actually the case but as I said, to me it read like filler so that’s how I watched it. I didn’t worry too much about character consistency or event logic, to be honest.
Though Haruhime’s introduction was fairly interesting. There’s so many tones going on as she tries to be all seductive, ends up fainting, then Bell and Haruhime end up sharing stories about heroes that they are both clearly fans of. There’s something really cute about their interactions here and even though it is pretty obvious (even if you haven’t read the books) that Mikoto’s story line about wanting to find a friend and Bell running into this random character from the far-east are going to collide, I kind of enjoyed this section of the episode.
I like fox girls. I wonder if she faints every time? Maybe some people have fainting girl fetishes and that’s how she makes her money. The hooker with a heart of gold is one of the oldest and most common archetypes in fiction. I’m looking forward to seeing how DanMachi uses it.
But, by far my least favourite part of the episode was Aisha and Phryne and the Amazons chasing Bell. It didn’t feel quite as overblown as it did when reading it but it isn’t the last time we’re going to play tag with these characters. Honestly, Phryne’s description was bad enough to read but seeing her character realised in anime just makes her look more ridiculous and Aisha is all over the place in terms of being able to figure out what she actually wants.
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I guess I just didn’t give it as much thought really. I had no issue with either character personally. Aisha was a lot like all the gods that just want Bell and are all fickle about it and Phryne was a basic comic relief character. I guess it could get annoying if we end up seeing a lot more of her since she seems a little like a one trick pony.
Then or course we have Bell himself. We discussed last week his dreams of being surrounded by maids being a little silly given Bell’s reaction to actually getting female attention. This week he’s getting a lot of female attention and he’s acting like somehow his is worse than being attacked by monsters. While I’ll admit the sight of Phryne would probably make a lot characters run away, his general reaction to all of the girls is incredibly exaggerated and seems a little overblown given some of the things Bell has managed to get through.
As I said when I reviewed the book, this wasn’t my favourite part but there are still some good moments in it and it leads on to bigger and better stories later as it does some needed world building. Still, by itself, this episode certainly wasn’t great.
I agree, you shouldn’t judge the series by this episode. It was a bit disorganized and aimless but it wasn’t downright bad or anything. An okay distraction for fans of the show.
Thanks for Reading From
Irina and Karandi
Want more discussions of DanMachi Season 2 from Irina and Karandi?
Images from: DanMachi 2nd Season. Dir. T Hideki. J.C. Staff. 2019.
Honestly this was the first time since I started watching this show, that I didn’t really enjoy the episode😔 But your words that this is going to lead to bigger and better stories, are really encouraging, so that’s good to hear 😊
The question is whether or not the anime picks up from this point. I always knew this arc would be a little rough in anime form but it is kind of needed so it wasn’t like they could just skip over it because nothing after would ever make sense. Keeping my fingers crossed that the characters manage to remain charming and the story picks up.
To be honest though, given that the pacing seems to be on course for the next six episodes to be spent on this arc, and if anything, the next volume has even more fillers mixed in with semi-relevant developments that haven’t yet amounted to anything 8 volumes later, the entire season might as well be a series of filler.
Keep in mind: this isn’t an isolated episode. This isn’t a one off scenario, in a way most Fillers are supposed to be – just so stories that literally have no consequences for the greater story. This is Chapter 2 of an entire arc that’s supposed to clearly be a continuation of the consequences of the rivalries of the gods on Bell Carnel. The episode set up four things that I think makes the impression that this episode is filleris… well an indictment of the adaptation.
1. Mikoto is seeking to find her childhood friend. Two guesses who it is.
2. Bell has made contact with someone that arouses his sympathies. Given Bell’s Chronic Hero syndrome, consistent throughout the whole show, it’s obvious where this is heading to.
3. Ishtar’s aim is to cast down the “Queen at the top of Orario” Given the said queen is one of the goddesses interested in Bell, it’s obvious who Ishtar is aiming at. I am bemused that people actually think (elsewhere) it’s Hestia, but it may well be because the adaptation has done a shit job at really showing the sheer hatred Ishtar has for Freya.
4. Hermes has put Bell in Ishtar’s crosshairs, as one of the ways Ishtar can get at Freya.
If a premise establishing episode is being perceived as filler and fails to get the audience to ask questions about the various plot-hooks in play, and makes the audience even question the existence of plot-hooks, then this season is basically a write off. The whole arc collapses on itself if the plot hooks and premise of the arc cannot be sold to an anime-only audience.
JC Staff has claimed another scalp in their relentless quest to butcher anime adaptations in the most exquisite fashion possible.
This may be due to watching the episode on a really exhausted mind which is why I was too lazy to consider larger implications. The set up just seemed like such a good excuse for slightly titillating fun so I may have jumped to unwarranted conclusions…
Or the story does just get better as it goes and the introduction in the written form was every bit as rough as this episode ended up being in terms of just feeling not so great compared to the rest of the series.