Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 2 Episode 4 Review: War Game

The moment we were waiting for has arrived: War Game is finally here! I assure you, you’re gonna adore this episode. But enough with the intro. Let’s take a closer look to these epic events.

Plot

Episode 4 was legendary and it was worth all the hype. It had, however, a crucial weak spot: it needed to be more than just one episode because it left me begging for more! I was hoping to get at least two episodes about War Game, with more information about Familia’s strategies and additional details about God’s conspiracies and the heroes’ powers. I can’t complain since it had everything I was hoping for!

We watched Ryu’s legendary entrance with her crazy fire swords (I can’t recall how and when she joined Hestia Familia) and we got a chance to see Mikoto enter her super-Saiyan mode while Lily was trolling the enemies with her disguises and Welf was dealing with the high-class security. I’m glad that all the secondary characters got the screen time they deserved and proved that their powers are equally worthy. Meanwhile, Bell made a dramatic entrance to Yakinthos’ throne room, but their fight didn’t amaze me. It felt rushed and the only parts that got me excited were Cassandra’s interventions and when Bell lost his necklace and he had to rely solely on his own talent. The ending was kinda predictable, yet Apollo’s facial expression made my day.

Episode Highlights

Mikoto’s big moment: Mikoto is one of my favorite characters and I’m pretty glad that we’ll see more of her, since she joined Hestia Familia. She’s like a ninja and her determination makes her irresistible. I can’t help but mention that her battle scenes were by far the most impressive.

Cassandra: Cassandra is making my heart melt. She’s too sweet for this barbarian Familia and I hope to see her joining the main character’s team sooner or later. Apollo’s curse (no one believes her true prophecies) is decisive for the story and I’m curious to see her part in the plot after this arc.

Ganesha: Ganesha is by far the most… brilliant God! I think that even if you ask him the time, he’ll simply answer ‘I’m Ganesha’.

Themes & Trivia

Trojan Horse: At some point, Cassandra mentioned that the Trojan Horse has arrived. It’s a metaphor, and it refers to Lily, whose disguise fooled the guards into considering her one of their own, giving her the power to open the gates for Bell. The real story of the Trojan Horse is not too different: The Trojan Horse is a story from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the independent city of Troy and win the war. In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse, and hid a select force of men inside, including Odysseus. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of night. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war. Pretty much what Hestia Familia did!

Ganesha: Ganesha is an Indian God. He is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honored at the start of rites and ceremonies. That’s probably why we see him announcing War Game’s beginning and finale. Damn, sometimes DanMachi is more historically accurate than it seems.

Comments

Even though the War Game was rushed, I enjoyed this episode. Hestia’s reaction by the end, when she didn’t hold back and vanished Apollo immediately, made me cheer! Her drawing skills, however, suck.

I do have a question: Ryu and Mikoto were supposed to fight with 50 people each, but we only saw 5, max 10. Where were the rest? If they were there, the battles would surely have been more intense. Plus, I hope to learn more of Freya’s part in the happenings. She’s extremely important and I think that we’ll get all our answers in the end.

‘We won…’

War Games occurred and the results were positive for our beloved heroes. I’m sure everyone wanted to see a little more of this arc. What did you think about this episode? Are you satisfied with the battle? Can’t wait to read your own opinion here, in MANGA.TOKYO!