Friday, August 14, 2020

FIF#115-Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?


In a world where the Gods walk among the humans, becoming a dungeon crawling adventurer is the dream of many.  One such hopeful soul is Bell Cranel.  When the beginner is almost killed by a monster in dungeon, he is saved by the woman of his dreams, The Sword Princess Aiz Wallenstein.  Little does Bell know, he has a special skill that boosts his abilities and experience gathering so long as he keeps his mind focused on one goal: winning the heart of the Sword Princess herself.  Creatures of the darkness and the deepest dungeons beware: Bell is coming for all of them and nothing will stop him from finding love in a Dungeon.

As Issekai continues to dominate the world of Anime, its hard to forget that there are still straight up fantasy Anime set in fantastical worlds of swords and sorcery.  Besides it’s rather long title, Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon seems like harmless fun from its first episode, though it’s the little things about the world where it set that intrigue me the most.

Yes, beyond the action, the hefty amount of fanservice and ok humor, I’m most interested in the “stats gathering” of this world.  It is kind of unique to see Bell and other adventures gaining XP and points for all kinds of skills and abilities across the board.  It’s as if we were watching a Dungeons and Dragons campaign play out without cutting back to the actual people playing the game.  I’ll admit, I was kind of waiting for that other shoe to drop as such a concept seems like it belongs right there with Issekai shows like Sword Art Online or That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.  If I were going to press on with this series, I’d be curious to see if Bell unlocked any other skills through his trials and adventures.  Oh and he can also pick up items dropped by monsters that he slays…are we sure this isn’t taking place in a video game?

Other than that, not much grabs me about Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon.  I mean it’s good to see this fantasy adventure being played for laughs rather than the super serious Re: Zero or Berserk.  I’m just not feeling Bell’s quest, or his character really.   Probably the most interesting character is the Goddess Hestia.  No, it’s not because she’s wearing the least amount of clothing (so much she’s basically a giant sign for Bell to sleep with her ASAP).  It’s more because she is a Goddess who falls in love with a human (God only knows why) and is a kind of insight as to how deities might interact with normal humans since they decided to come off their high perch to live among them.  And she isn’t a bad girl herself…but it wouldn’t be a series like this if Bell just pledged his love to her and forgot about the cute blonde who saved his life, so force romantic tension ensues.  Everything else is standard fare imho.  Unattainable Goddess of a Warrior? Check.  Drunken Upper Classmen who belittle the main character? Check.  One sided romantic entanglements? Double Check.  It kind of just makes me shrug.

Still, for what it was, Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon was a decent half hour of time to kill.  Details about leveling up and the all powerful Gods living among humans were far more fascinating than Bell trying to complete the titles namesake.  This show definitely has it’s fans and not just because the title is long and memorable.  It is a breath of fresh air for an otherwise serious genre.  I still might give this one a pass, other titles need my attention atm.

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