Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, also known as DanMachi for short (from the Japanese title ‘Dungeon ni deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka’) is a light novel series that won the grand prize at the 4th GA Bunko novel contest and has so far been published as 13 paperback volumes. The English translation of the 11th volume will be released by Yen Press on 24 April 2018. The series has sold more than 9 million copies in total and has received adaptations in a variety of media including manga, anime, and games. A second season of the anime and an original anime film written by the novel’s author, Fujino Oomori, were also announced this year.

DanMachi to Get Season 2 and Original Movie

The first season of DanMachi aired in 2015 over one cour, and the spin-off anime DanMachi: Sword Oratoria aired for one cour in 2017. Additionally, it was rerun on Japanese streaming platform Nico Nico Douga quite recently, where the number of the total viewers exceeded 100,000 and it received more than 90% positive reviews as a result. It is quite a record to have this result, considering that it was already the 6th time to rerun this series. It means that many people love this series and have been waiting for a sequel.

The DanMachi series has all the popular elements of a modern light novel series while keeping the classic, straightforward passion and heat you need for a shonen manga to win the fans’ hearts. Let’s look back at the first season of the anime series to prepare for the upcoming second season!

DanMachi 101

The story takes place in the fictional labyrinth city of Orario. The main feature of the city is the huge underground labyrinth called the Dungeon, and various deities have lived in the city along with the city residents for their own entertainment for more than a thousand years. The people who are blessed by a resident deity to fight monsters are called ‘adventurers’, and they join groups called Familia to train their abilities in the dungeon for the deity who blessed them.

The story’s protagonist, Bell Cranel, wanted to be an adventurer and came to Orario. He couldn’t find a Familia to join and was lost for a while but was finally recruited by a resident deity named Hestia. Although this made Bell a legitimate adventurer, he was actually the only member of the Hestia Familia, as Hestia herself had failed to recruit anyone else into her group. Bell explores the dungeon alone every day and works very hard to improve and make ends meet.

One day, Bell is exploring the dungeon as usual and gets attacked by a deadly Minotaur who usually resides in a middle layer of the dungeon. He wasn’t experienced enough to beat it and was in real danger. Just as he was about to be killed, an adventurer of the Loki Familia named Ais Wallenstein arrived, chasing after the Minotaur, and she easily defeated it to save him. Bell was confused and ran away, but he fell in love with Ais at first sight. He decided to become strong enough to stand beside her as an adventurer.

We can’t wait for the upcoming season! Summary of the highlights of the first season

The first season of the DanMachi anime series has 13 episodes in total, covering the first 5 volumes of the light novels. Let’s look at the major highlights.

Bell’s growth

Bell started as a Level 1 novice adventurer and improves himself through various events. What’s amazing about him is how fast he develops. Thanks to him gaining a unique skill called ‘Liaris Freese’ on the day he fell in love with Ais, the speed of his growth increases as long as his feelings last, and the strength of the effects is related to the strength of his feelings. Bell innocently enjoys the growth of his status, while Hestia feels jealous and starts seeing Ais as her love rival. (From Episode 1, ‘Adventurer’)

Bell’s weapon is a pair of daggers. He carries the Hestia Knife, a special knife created by the goddess Hephaestus, a master blacksmith and Hestia’s friend. Hestia begged Hephaestus to create it because she wanted to be of help to Bell somehow. Bell started his adventurer career with just a short sword, but later he learned the fast magic ‘Firebolt’, which he unintentionally developed after reading a grimoire. (From Episode 2, ‘Monster Festival’, and Episode 5 ‘Grimoire’)

Blessed with skills and good friends, Bell becomes famous as he quickly grows from Level 1 to Level 2 in just a month and a half. However, it draws envy from others, and they take their anger out on him. Hestia is taken as a hostage and Bell gets beaten up one-sidedly. What does he think when he faces such vicious adventurers who come at him with malice instead of aggressive monsters who just want to kill him? (From Episode 12, ‘Malice’)

Encounters with friends

The story starts when Bell meets Hestia and it develops as he meets Ais. Bell only had a romantic notion of adventurers as a boy, but he has now set out to fight with a strong will, and improves himself for his goals. Other adventurers become influenced by Bell’s attitude. Their fateful encounters help Bell grow dramatically, resulting in giving other adventurers in Orario a small opportunity to look back on themselves and make a change somehow. (From Episode 1 ‘Adventurer’)

As Bell explores the dungeon alone, Lilliluka Arde appears in a robe with a huge backpack. The two of them decide to team up as a party along the way. Lilliuka is very good at supporting the trip, and Bell starts to trust her. She helps him with a friendly smile, but she actually hates adventurers and has a secret plan to use Bell for a certain purpose. (From Episode 4 ‘The Weak’)

After teaming up with Lilliluka and the training with Ais, Bell achieved the next level in record speed. He was getting prepared to explore a more difficult level of the dungeon when Welf Crozzo of the Hephaestus Familia asked him to join his party. Welf is a descendant from a smithing family which creates magic swords and is himself very skilled, but he’s known as an odd one because he refuses any smithing offers. (From Episode 9 ‘Blacksmith’)

Fierce Battles

During the monster festival called Monsterphilia, monsters which are brought from the dungeon for taming, end up escaping. One of them runs into town and attacks Bell and Hestia. Bell, who was only Level 1 at the time, knew he couldn’t beat it and tried to save time for Hestia to escape from there as a decoy, but he got cornered. (From Episode 3 ‘The Blade of a God’)

‘I want to be stronger’ – Hearing the brilliant adventures of Ais, Bell was frustrated about his own growth. As he explored the dungeon with Lilliluka, he ran across a deadly Minotaur who rarely resided in the part of the dungeon where they were. He couldn’t move at all out of fear and saw flashbacks of his past. Lilliluka, from whom Bell had parted earlier, came back with a group of adventurers of the Loki Familia when Bell was about to get killed. Ais asked Bell ‘Shall I help you?,’ and his answer was unexpected… (From Episode 8 ‘Wanting To Be A Hero’)

With new friends in the party, Bell prepares himself fully to step into the middle layer of the dungeon for the first time.
They meet stronger monsters and the battles get harsher, and they help one another to continue exploring the dungeon. However, a group of adventurers belonging to another Familia finds them and uses them as a decoy to save themselves. Bell and his friends are injured and too tired to go back to the major exit, which is blocked by a pack of monsters, and decide to advance deeper into the dungeon to find a safe area which is believed to be in the bottom layer of the dungeon. (From Episode 11 ‘Procession of Monsters’)

The new hero story! The Spin-off Series

To better understand the series, you can’t miss the spin-off series Sword Oratoria and Familia Chronicle.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Sword Oratoria was adapted into an anime series in 2017 with Ais as the protagonist. It depicts what happened before and after she met Bell, what was up with the adventurers of the Loki Familia, and what she thought about Bell, who reached Level 2 amazingly quickly, to help us see the main story from a different perspective. This spin-off series also features Lefiya of the Loki Familia as the main character. She is a gifted mage, as strong as the top members of the Loki Familia, but she is not brave enough to fight. It is very interesting to compare her growth with the growth of the strong-willed Bell. It’s also interesting to see how she deals with Ais.

Another spin-off series, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Familia Chronicle features a different character as the main for each volume and depicts their background. The first chapter is ‘Episode Ryuu’ and talks about Ryuu’s past struggles, experiences as an ex-adventurer, and about the staff members of the Hostess of Fertility. The timeline of the series is from the 6th and 7th volumes of the original novel, so it might be a good idea for you to read them to prepare before the second season starts. The first volume will be released by Yen Press in English this June.

What to expect from the second anime season of DanMachi

The first season of the DanMachi anime series is an adaptation of the first five volumes of the light novels with some fast-forwarded parts time to time. The second season is likely to start with the ‘War Game’ from the 6th volume of the light novels. This part is about a battle between Familias after the amorous deity, Apollo, has his eye on Bell and decides to make cunning moves. It’s the first time that the story focuses on battles between Familias instead of between individuals. I’m looking forward to seeing how it gets adapted into anime.

The second season will include the final clash with the Soma Familia and new encounters with new friends, and much more. Give the first season a rewatch and pick up some of the light novels in preparation for the upcoming anime!