Sword Oratoria Episode 4 Review: The Murder and the Jewel

Hello everyone and welcome back to our review of the latest episode of Sword Oratoria. The past couple of episodes were quite heartwarming, so you may have forgotten that Danmachi can be cruel at times, very grotesque and dark. To be honest, I am fond of dark stories, and this is making me love Danmachi quite a bit. In other words, so far I am very content with the second season. The fact that it was going to be Gaiden series was putting me off at first, because normally Gaiden series don’t really last very long, and that’s the whole point of them: to be a short prequel, a side story.

However, Sword Oratoria is gradually taking a turn, which will basically lead us to find out more about the main events, even if there is no Hestia or Bell whatsoever. On the other hand, the lack of the two main characters is helping us get to know some of the side characters and grow to love them. And let’s be honest, Loki Familia is cool and awesome, plus you can never really have enough of Aiz!

But that’s enough of small talk, let’s get right down to business!

Japanese Original Episode Title: 殺人と宝玉

Plot

This episode was filled with so many events. It was fast-paced, interesting, and most importantly, properly balanced. We did get a couple of answers to a couple of questions, but they just brought up more questions in the end!

The thing that I found most interesting about the episode was that we got to see the city in the dungeon once again. The life there is not the same as outside, it looks worse. It’s not exactly a place where you’d like to stay for a long time, yet everything is extraordinarily expensive. Yet, getting to see a murder in Rivira is a rare sight. It worries people, it makes them anxious and nervous. And what more, it’s not just a simple murder case: the guy who was murdered is a Level 4 adventurer from Ganesh Familia and the murderer is supposedly a female with whom he spent the previous night. Everybody is freaking out because the murderer must be of a tremendous power to pull up such a deed.

While everybody is going crazy in the dungeon and tries to figure out who the murderer is, Loki and Bete are exploring the underground of the city. As a result, they do find some interesting things, of course have a big fight with some monsters, and at the end of the day run into Dionysus.

I personally had some suspicions about Dionysus, since he was acting a bit fishy, but after he gave a proper explanation to Loki why he was doing the things he did, everything kind of fell into their place. Of course, the question remains: why are monsters being released into the city?

Thanks to Sword Oratoria, we got to learn more about many other characters, and that is exactly what provides you with affection for the characters. Though still many motives are unclear, and there is a lot of explanations that need to be done. Pretty sure, we’re gonna need a couple more season!

Episode Highlights

The highlight of the episode for me is one of the very first scenes in the anime. Seeing cute little Aiz, in the arms of probably her mother, smiling, happy and carefree. Then something happens and she is left behind by her mother and by another person, a man. My guess is it was probably either her teacher, or somebody she used to fight side by side with many moons ago. This is my guess, basically because Aiz once told Bell that there is somebody to whom she wants to catch up, and that is why she has to get stronger and stronger. Aiz doesn’t really have many expressions, and she is somewhat of an airhead, but little Aiz didn’t give off such a vibe. I guess what went wrong, and when everything went wrong. Hopefully, we get some more of a backstory on Aiz sometime soon.

Themes & Trivia

Can’t say that there was a specific theme behind this episode, but the thing that sort of stood out was the level of closeness of the Loki Familia. They always have meals together, they always hang out together, and even on their days off they go to Dungeon just to let some steam off together. Even the team leaders like Finn or Riveria, who are high class adventurers don’t mind tagging along with their underlings, there is nothing fake or forced in their relationship. I daresay this is exactly why the Loki Familia is the strongest, most respected and most famous family in the world of Danmachi.

Loki Familia is Awesome

Well folks, this is the end of the review! Hope you enjoyed the episode. It was filled with so many emotions, there was so much going on, so many questions, and yet not enough answers, but just enough to keep you satisfied. I think this season is going to be a success. What do you think? Do let us know! thank you for visiting us here on MANGA.TOKYO to read our Spring 2017 reviews!

Have a great week and see you soon!

NEXT TIME: The Red-Head and the Lone Ruler, 赤髪と弧王 (Akagami to Koou)