Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?
- Genre : Adventure, Fantasy
- Episodes: 13
- Studio: J.C.Staff
Poor Hestia, things are looking rough. She’s not exactly the most renown goddess around. Her shrine is in disrepair, other goddesses snicker behind her back and her familia is down to a single member. But that’s ok because that member is Bell Cranel and although he may just be a novice adventurer now, Bell has infinite growth potential and Hestia is just the goddess to help guide him on his path and mebbe a little more if you know what I mean. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? is a great title. I freakin love that title. To answer the question: I would say no it’s not, but you should probably be paying attention to your surroundings, you are in a dungeon and all. And also you may want to consider what the girl is doing in the dungeon in the first place…I would totally go for a dungeon girl – they seem like fun.
I recently compared this anime to KonoSuba in that the setting and rpg elements are extremely similar. I stand by that but otherwise these are two quite different experiences. For one thing Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? is one good-lookin’ anime. Not exactly striking but attractive and well-drawn. The proportions are a bit exaggerated – tuned for maximum fanservice! But they remain balanced and consistent from scene to scene. Backgrounds are detailed and thanks to the dungeon premise, we are treated to a number of very visually distinct settings all of which are fully rendered. Voice acting and sound direction is adequate and manages to not be obstructive or annoying in any way. Did I mention equal opportunity fanservice? Yeah baby! I understand why this became such a popular cosplay show.
The story is in the vein of a lot of the popular fantasy animes that have come out lately. KanoSuba – as I’ve mentioned non freakin stop – with all the rpg class and leveling dynamics – they even talk about dungeon levels and having to get more xp before entering certain floors. Also reminiscent of Fairy Tail with the emphasis of competing guilds (or familias – what’s the deal with that name anyways?) and a dash of Magi with the mysterious dungeons popping up n all… All the individual elements are pretty decent and have potential for an interesting storyline but Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? tries way to hard to please everyone.
The show seems to go out of its way to ensure there is something for every single anime fan. There is a dash of comedy, some drama, a fair amount of sword fighting and adventuring, some ingenious strategies, a bit of romance and not fully developed harem elements all thrown into the traditional hero’s journey questing narrative. As a result everything seems *lite*. Sure it’s faservicy but not in the gleefully unabashed pervy way of something like No Game No Life. It has some punchlines but I wouldn’t call it a comedy and some tragic backstories but I wouldn’t call it a drama. The action is not present enough to get your adrenaline up and the romance is too superficial to get whatever else up.
The more unique elements, like the weird reimagining of the Parthenon with earthbound goddesses jockeying for the devotion of mortal heroes or the enormous dungeons enclosing their own ecosystems and cultures, isolated from the rest of the world, are too underdeveloped in the anime to really sustain your interest (this is different in the light novels… I’m a moron, I’ve made my peace with it, so can someone please tell me what the difference between a manga and a light novel is? Which one is better? Will I get bullied for liking one instead of the other?)
Fact is Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? does everything well. It’s a decent jack of all trades but it is definitely not a master. I’m pretty sure that if it wasn’t for that awesome title, I would have forgotten this show all together. I’m not saying every single series has to be a masterpiece but with so many options out there being an ok show just doesn’t seem like enough.
Favorite character: Lilliluka Erde and Welf Crozzo (both underdeveloped in the anime)
What this anime taught me: Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? is a great title
Listen, I’m not an alcoholic, alcoholics go to meetings. I’m a drunk, we go to parties.
Suggested drink: Hestia’s Love Potion – ok so it’s a smoothie but c’mon – that name! just pour some rum in it – actually that sounds delicious I’ll be right back…
- Every time Hestia is jealous – take a sip
- Every time Hestia fanservice – careful, don’t choke
- Every time Bell levels – take a sip
- Every time Lili is tsun to Hestia – take a sip
- Every time Loki flirts -take a sip
- if it’s with Aiz – take a gulp
- Every time Bell is a goshdurn hero – raise your glass
- Every time someone falls for Bell – ake a sip
- Every time Aiz is adorably shy – take a sip
- Every time you wish Welf had a bigger role – take a gulp
- Every time Hestia wants to do something nice for Bell – awww
