Irina, did I mention I really like this story? And the characters? I mean they are so cool in the dorkiest way imaginable with friendship saving the day and being the answer to everything and yet I find it utterly charming instead of eye-roll worthy. Episode 3 brings all their silly charm to the surface and I have to admit, I was loving every minute. Your somewhat more measured thoughts?
Wait you’re a fan of DanMachi? Why have you never mentioned it? Your reviews are so neutral, no one would have guessed. This was an episode about a lot of drunk people, I quite liked it!
While we’ve met gods before, other than Hestia and Loki we haven’t really had a good idea of what goes on behind the scenes in their familia. Episode 3 of DanMachi Season 2 takes us inside the Soma family and we see very clearly that Soma is not the same kind of god that Hestia is. He takes no interest in his ‘children’ and leaves the running of the family to a guy who is clearly not exactly a benevolent ruler.
I will admit, I was a little disappointed here because while we got the gist of the story, there seemed a lot more weight behind it when I read it and it felt like there was more going on in the Soma family than just Lily’s crisis. Still, what we got of the story was nicely done and I loved that Lily got to play an active role in the rescue rather than just waiting in her cell. I think it is a very solid moment for her character.
First, I would like to say that Hestia seemed like a new character and much closer to the one I remembered. A little spoiled, a little short tempered but capable and not leaving everything up to others. This is a character I want to know more about.
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I have always enjoyed Lily and I’m very happy she took front and centre. This was a great bit of development. What’s more, seeing the inner workings of a completely different family was interesting. Soma rather grabbed my interest but I don’t see the logistics behind his family. I get that once you taste his wine you become desperately devoted and that’s why he has followers but how did he get his first ones when he basically ignores everyone. That’s the part I wish we would have seen. I figure he has a devoted follower that gives his wine to others but he needs that first one.
You mentioned in the last review that there were complexities in leaving a familia but this week it was implied that all that was needed was money? You can’t join another familia unless the god removes their seal but it seems you can just run away and not do their bidding if you don’t want to. Is that right?
P.S. Is it weird that Hestia never learned Lily’s name?
Yeah, they kind of skipped over a lot about Soma. Soma, the god, is apparently obsessed with his family making money because it takes a lot of money for him to make his wine and that’s literally the only thing he cares about. Other gods aren’t interested in money that way so leaving their familia isn’t quite the same. As for running away, in the case of a god who doesn’t care about individuals, that’s all well and good, but Lily was incapable of levelling up without seeing her god so was never going to get any stronger. I really didn’t love that the anime has barely skimmed the surface of all of this.
But this episode really did seem like it was trying to get anime viewers to see the gods we’d met more clearly. We had a meeting of the gods where Apollo was annoyed that Hestia hadn’t shown up and saw the two gods Hestia is friends with defending her (Takemikazuchi and Miach). Tragically these two characters were incredibly sidelined in the first season of DanMachi but it is nice that they are sitting on the front row here and have Hestia’s back.
Freya as well reminds us of her interest in Bell, though in this case it works in Hestia’s favour as Freya’s words force Apollo to make a concession in the set up for the coming war game.
Though I have to ask who thought Hermes was the right person to draw the type of battle out of the box. When Apollo claimed Hermes was neutral and trustworthy I nearly choked. Anyone can see Hermes is up to his own schemes, whatever they may be, and he’s also taken an interest in Bell previously. It seemed like there were dozens of other gods who could have served as the person to draw from the box and Hermes strikes me as a weird choice.
I quite like Hermes. Any involvement he has in the story is a-o.k. by me. You know I was under the impression that Hestia was somewhat poorly considered by the other gods. For having a single follower and for events that happened before the start of the first season but I was surprised to see that pretty much all the gods were on her side. Sure some had their own reasons but she ended up with a lot of support there.
Bell, alas, gets very little screen time this week. We see him training with Ais on the wall again but these moments are brief and just enough to remind us that he’s gearing up for a fight. One thing I did like about the sequence at the end is how far Bell has come since secretly training with Ais in season one. Then he could barely keep up with her at all and he spent a great deal of time blushing and hesitating. Now, he still admires and respects her, but he’s all business and there’s no hesitation as he trains.
I don’t know how it is in the books but Bell desperately needs some character development in the anime beyond being cute, a really nice guy and good at everything. He is a very pleasant character with a lot of potential but it seems like a lot of side characters have more complexity while he’s at risk of becoming a nice guy Harem protagonist archetype this season.
This said they fixed up Hestia really quickly so I’m not too worried.
But it would be remiss of me to not mention that Bell’s friends are not just fair whether friends. The going has gotten very tough with Hestia familia on the edge of annihilation and yet rather than wishing Bell luck his friends are gearing up to give it their all. Lily has already transferred into Hestia familia and we see both Welf and Mikoto speaking with their gods, meanwhile Hermes is seeking the outside helper that Bell has been allowed. Bell’s days of solo adventuring are definitely coming to a close and it is so great to see this little family growing.
Seems the Hestia familia quadrupled in size overnight. Hermes was also running around to get help for them so they really do have tons of support. It was quite sweet to see them all coming through for their friend, all determined and stuff. All in all a cute episode. I look forward to seeing them storm the castle.
This episode was definitely set up, but I had a lot of fun with it. There were a few moments that I wished had been given more time or greater weight, but overall, DanMachi remains a really great viewing experience and I can’t wait for Hestia to wipe the smirk off of Apollo’s face.
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.
I think it’s nice that they seem to take their time to flesh out everhting.
I vastly prefer them moving a bit to slow, and having a few characters have a “flat” part in their personal arc. Mostly in Shounen chars have either a fully flat arc, or constantly imrpove which makes them one dimensional. I think the best development is you starting to want it and THEN getting the pay off.
This one seems to be trying to have it’s cake and eat it too. We’re not getting things fleshed out quite enough but they are making an effort to before we get into the war game, and I’m not sure they’ve quite got the balance right.
Yes: now that I am finally caught up, I can finally join in for real when talking about this!😊 I am really enjoying this second season so far. As much fun as the first one was, this season is just a lot better, especially storywise. I’m liking how the characters are developing. But you are so right though: Hermes trustworthy? I nearly choked on my drink when that line was said lol😂 Yes, this was a set up episode, but it didn’t feel like it at all. I really enjoyed it, and can’t wait for the next one!
I know, right. Who actually thinks Hermes is trustworthy? Serving his own interests, almost definitely, but not trustworthy.
Yes, this second season has been really fun so far. It is different than when I watched season one though. Having read the books and knowing what has been left out and where the story is going has changed how I view the anime whether I want it to or not. That said, the anime is still super fun and I absolutely love seeing Bell and Hestia back.
Lol…well, I most certainly don’t think that 😂😂 He IS a pretty great character though I do have to admit that (even though he is also a bit of a perv especially in season 1).
I haven’t read the books…is the anime much different from them?
I really am enjoying this season 2…I don’t think I have ever watched this much anime in so short a time. But, glad I caught up with everything so I can now talk about it with everyone again 😊
The anime is just skipping over things so some of the supporting characters aren’t as developed as they should be. Also, we missed a whole bunch about the Soma familia that kind of makes it a little more tragic Eina from the guild was supposed to play a role in it… that said, the anime didn’t do too bad a job even if it wasn’t the same. I think the biggest problem are characters like Mikoto who are really important going forward but haven’t had much presence so far in the story. As far as adaptations go, DanMachi is doing pretty good at keeping the spirit of the story even if it isn’t slavishly reproducing it word for word.
Okay…well, maybe once the anime is finished I will go read the books to see what I have missed out on😊Not that I am enjoying the anime so much, I don’t want to spoil it yet by reading those, but once it’s finished I might check them out.
It’s good to hear that the anime is doing a good job though! 😊
Honestly I only started the books because I wanted to know what was going to happen after season one, given it seemed we weren’t going to get a season 2. If I’d known the anime would continue, I probably wouldn’t have read them.
Lots of setup, for sure. I liked seeing all his friends coming to his side. It’s going to be fun seeing how Bell reacts when he finds out they’re part of his Familia. I would have liked a little more development on Mikoto wanting to join. It doesn’t feel as naturally obvious as Welf and Lily joining. It’s great that she wants to join, I just wanted to see it being setup a bit more.
Good point about Mikoto. Of course when you have so many characters AND so much plot to set up it’s difficult to really flesh out everything without going over your time. I think we may never get that particular bit of backstory but that’s ok.
It’s a small quibble at best. Really I just want more episodes so we can cover everything.
Yes, it feels like Mikoto’s familia, other than leading the pass parade toward Bell and then going into the dungeon after them, have really been sidelined in terms of set up. Still, it will be nice getting to know anime Mikoto from here on out.