Dungeon ni deai o motomeru no wa mačigatteiru no daró ka? - Familia Myth IV

After a fairly mediocre second season, and a downright substandard spin-off which almost made me drop the whole Danmachi thing, I didn’t think I would ever want to give this a five-star rating. But I do. Season four is the best I've seen of the Danmachi universe so far, and I especially enjoyed the second half about the survival in the Dungeon, the Juggernaut, and overcoming all the hardship. I looked forward to each new episode. This is what I had hoped for from the series and what I enjoyed in Season 1 and Season 3, i.e. discovering secrets hidden in the depths, the struggle for survival, interesting environments, a bit of drama, and the development of my favorite characters. This series is just my taste in terms of the protagonists. Most of the characters I didn’t like are gone, while those I’d grown fond of in the past seasons are the focus of the story. I enjoyed finding out about Ryuu's past, I enjoyed the found confidence and development of not only the main character but also Welf the blacksmith, Lili the supporter, and Mikoto the warrior. Haruhime and Aisha didn’t even get on my nerves this time. The drama, the suspense, and the emotions all worked for me. On the other hand, there are some compelling arguments against giving this season a five-star rating. It is clearly the top by Danmachi standards so far, but when I compare it to Made in Abyss, the ultimate fantasy series about suffering and discovering the splendor and horrors of an unexplored abyss, then suddenly every aspect of it fades in comparison, be it animation, sound, drama, suspense, interesting locations, story, characters, monsters... Even the interweaving of the past and present had a much more powerful effect on me in Made in Abyss. On the one hand, the show has its strong moments, thrilling fights, and interesting monsters, on the other hand, the CG floor boss (a two-headed water snake) is far from impressive. The critic in me screams that I have to be objective, in which case I shouldn’t give it five stars. The anime fan in me disagrees and vehemently tries to remind me of everything I enjoyed about it that is worthy of my appreciation. And then there's the skeptic in me who thinks that this is as good as it gets when it comes to Danmachi, and the next season will probably be about completely different characters (ones I don't like) and that I may never enjoy Danmachi like this again... 8.5/10 (17.03.2023)