DanMachi: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?

I absolutely loved this show, I can not tell you how bummed I am that I have to wait patiently for another season, I am definitely chomping at the bit! I will mention I did get annoyed by Hestia quite often though. Other than that it is a fun adventure!

Despite the title, the anime is quite serious. Like several modern anime series, this one is also plagued by some tropes. As of July 2022, the main character is a generic anime protagonist. I don't dislike that but I'd prefer if future titles would add something unique to their protagonists. For instance, they could have gotten a voice actor with a unique voice for Bell whiles still keeping his kindness and naivety. That would have made him stand out in comparison with the cliché shy protagonists in numerous anime shows. I have nothing against Bell because he works well for the plot. However, after watching countless anime, Bell is just a shade of the several generic protagonists I've seen. As a result, he's forgettable.

The side characters, in contrast to the main protagonist, are rather complex. I enjoyed their moments. My only problem is some of the female characters. They don't all have to fall in love with the main protagonist. If you've watched lots of anime like I have, this forced harem gets too old and cliché. Look at Avatar the Last Air bender or Attack on Titan. The females in those shows are simply human. Not all of them exist just to fall in love with the main character.

The strongest point this series offers is its plot. In the first season, it felt like your typical plot where the low ranked protagonist climbs up the ladder and becomes powerful. From there the show becomes complex. It explores its world setting and introduces engaging arcs that are perfect to binge watch. The show isn't perfect or top tier. However, its plot makes a good argument.

When I initially started watching this, I was expecting just a dumb fun ecchi harem series, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually good. After episode one, the fan service almost vanishes and the writing vastly improves (though there are a few minor plot contrivances). The characters are all interesting with their own motivations, and the main character isn't ridiculously overpowered (I mean he is powerful in the end, but it makes sense, it isn't just because he is the protagonist, and he actually does go through an arc).

I'm not saying that this show is amazing, but it is pretty well-written with fun characters and a fun story. The animation/sound design/voice acting is way better than I was expecting to a point where it is actually pretty good. For the most part the fight choreography is well done.

There are so many points where I thought this show was going to fall into annoying and predictable cliches, and for the most part this show avoids them all.

I would definitely recommend this show, but be warned, episode one has a lot of annoying fan service and clunky exposition.

The story starts a bit slow during the first two seasons. The main character has weak emotional strength and socializing issues, he doesn't know how to manage mature situations, some people may find this annoying, but we can't blame him, he's 14. The story is decent but not very exciting, though, there are some pretty exciting moments in the first season. I still found the show pretty entertaining with these "issues". However, since season 3, this show has kept me continuosly hyped and tense during a lot of scenes. The story arc is much stronger (for now) and it just keeps getting more and more exciting. The animation is also top notch, the fights are a pleasure to watch (especially season 4, for now), looks like the animation just gets better and better. Also, Bell's character growth is much more present since the third season, Bell risks his reputation for doing the correct choices and starts learning from his mistakes. Right now i'm really hyped for the next season 4 episodes. The show's current state while writing this review is just after the fifth episode of season 4 got aired. Give this anime a chance, wait until season 3 :)

Give it three or four episodes before it can really make an impression and honestly think it's worth it.

This is a nice and fairly fresh take on many figures in classic mythology and how they interact with their human "followers" and worshipers.

However It is, like almost every Anime at this point, filled with tropes but "generally" it seems to handle them fairly well, avoiding wearing them out.

The first season is better than the second (as seems to be often true) otherwise it would get a 8/10, but there is Hope the 3rd season will pull it all back together maybe make the previous season make a little more sense.

Pro's: -Consistent animation quality. -Colorful characters. -Fresh take on classic mythology. -Good English Dubbing. -Additional seasons and OVA's.

Con's: -Trope heavy. -Predictable at times.