DanMachi

In my opinion, this is a very good fantasy anime series with a relatively simple narrative and a classic "from zero to hero" style storyline, albeit with absolutely brilliant execution. As I mentioned in the comments section, the level system and the whole dungeon thing, in general, is something so close to the heart of a fantasy RPG aficionado that they have no choice but to like it. At the same time, the concept of "Familias" and the idea of gods as the companions and patrons of the adventurers in this show is more than interesting in my opinion. I found the narrative quite enjoyable, even though a lot of things were quite predictable, and as for the characters, I found I really liked Hestia after only a short timeI It was a joy to watch her and I found her quite endearing (which is strange, because a lot of people referred to her as "irritating" in various reviews and on forums), although it is true that I found Liliruca much cuter and she is my favorite of the girls in the show. There were a few other interesting girls, and even though I have read a lot of fawning praise for Ais, who I did quite like, I still preferred Ryuu, because I found her somehow more mysterious and more intriguing... However, that is quite enough about the women (although going by the title it should obviously be all about girls), and onto the male characters. I would say that Werf the blacksmith, who appeared last, in my opinion was a nice guy and of all the gentlemen he was probably the most relatable for me... So, how about the main male protagonist then? Unfortunately, out of all the characters, Bell himself is probably the weakest character and maybe the weakest point of the whole anime series. His emotional histrionics often got on my nerves and somehow, I am just not a huge fan, although I guess I had gotten used to him by the end. All things considered, I can safely say that I generally enjoyed this show, however, I still feel that something was missing, which stopped it from being perfect, and there was nothing during the entire season that would make me go "wow" even just once... 7.5/10. (09.03.2020)

I found the second season of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? much weaker than the first, and it took me a few episodes to get into the groove of it even just a bit. I could not really get into it until about the end of the "War Game" arc with the Apollo Familia. That feeling of relaxing entertainment it gave me only lasted a few episodes, though, because the whole "Entertainment District" arc was almost painful to watch in places - or rather, the main male protagonist Bell Cranel himself was many things in that installment, just not very entertaining or admirable. His efforts to protect his integrity were tragicomic, although unfortunately when I remembered it, I had more of a sad feeling like if all men were like Bell, the human race would have all died out by now... I found this section very uncomfortable and disconcerting, and I do not want to deal with things like an attempted reverse rape of a man by a woman who resembles a frog. The last two episodes were just full of lightweight narration, which was about nothing really, and the only thing that probably mattered was the considerations of the romances between gods and mortals, which I would have personally tackled practically straight away with just one sentence - If you love them, there is nothing to think about! So for me all this analysis about how gods and humans have different life span etc., seems kind of pointless, similarly to the “problem” - I am a girl and he is a vampire... As a result, I was not too crazy about this second season, I only felt like I was entertained occasionally, and so I am just not able to award it more than 5/10. (09.03.2020)

This season largely renewed my appetite for watching Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sure, the storyline is very formulaic, and the screenwriters' attempt to stir up the audience’s emotions by sacrificing the poor little cute Wiene is a pretty typical move, however, I think it works. They managed to pull it off, the moments that were supposed to move me moved me, there was suspense at the right time, and the whole controversy about the possibility of monsters integrating into society - well, let us just say it is an interesting subject matter, to say the least. I not only appreciated Bell, the main male protagonist, and also many other characters, including the mostly indecipherable Ais... I was equally intrigued by the new characters, like Fels, and also some of the monsters. Actually, Bell was actually pretty watchable this season! After last season’s brothel fiasco, this part of the story is a nice reminder that I sometimes actually find DanMachi entertaining. 7/10. (20.12.2020)

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)