「進軍(ラキア)」 (Shingun (Rakia))
“Army’s Advance (Rakia)”

Chotto matte. That wasn’t the final episode! No matter, because having more Danmachi is definitely a good thing. You won’t catch me complaining about that!

Though I have to say, the revelation of Haruhime’s preserved virginity reeked of editorial meddling from above. For some, this is a happy outcome. Fair enough sweet summer children. But I must disagree if we consider the narrative as a whole. While it’s true, that it doesn’t change the fact both Bell and Haruhime fully believed that she was a tainted prostitute who was still worthy of saving, I can’t help but feel it’s something of a cop-out which takes away from the weight and meaning of an already rushed story arc. It weakens the impact of their character development, even if their feelings hold true, because there was no truth in the matter they actually strived towards. The cup had always been empty from the start. Nevertheless we quickly shift onto the next arc – in which Hestia (aka Bestia) is now our main focus for once.

Bell does have a point. The relationship between a god/goddess and a human does seem complicated to me – even if Wilf and Mikoto seem enamoured with Hephaestus and Takemikazuchi respectively. They live forever. They can’t have kids. They’ll get sad when you die. But as it happens, just because you’re right doesn’t mean you’re correct – as Micah and Hephaestus point out. Don’t mind my Hestia bias here, I’m not at all salty that so many people rejoiced at how badly she got shot down. Okay, maybe a little bit. So I’ll try to explain what I meant by that. You have a goddess love you. She is happy to give you her time of day, she’s bubbly wholesome and cared about you when no one did before you became special, she’s spunky and has physics-defying boobies. Kids are a bother anyway. Not to mention, when you grow older and more decrepit, she will continue to look after you and stay young throughout. HOW CAN ANY SANE AND RATIONAL BEING SAY NO TO THAT?!? Ais is robotic, she’s going to grow old eventually, her assets are lacking and there’s no guarantee she would have developed any interest in him if he remained a small fry. Unlike Hestia’s unconditional love, might I add. One is infinitely better than the other, in my humble opinion. On the flipside, I guess Ais did save his life and he has that mythical status which crystallizes his love and devotion towards her, an unconditional love that trumps divine magic. And I’ll begrudgingly admit that her ability to shatter the sword of a war god no less is extremely cool. Stupid Omori (authour of the series), making everything too consistent. Why couldn’t it be crystallised love and devotion towards the one and only Bestia who gave him a chance? *insert pout*

Yet the show must go on, and we are also introduced to one eccentric Ares. The series is full of charming and unique personalities, so throwing a new god into the mix shouldn’t be anything new. But I find myself absolutely endeared. Far from being an intimidating and aggressive god, like I would have imagined him to be, he’s something of a lighthearted doofus who happens to love fighting. His unpredictable idiot routine makes for high value entertainment, especially with the exasperated Marius trying to make sure he doesn’t do something overly stupid. For me, the highlights of this episode were their boke and tsukkomi routine – especially their attempts to sneak into Orario. The way these two garnered further suspicion by loudly arguing about the infiltration, instead of keeping a low profile, made me laugh so hard. I was sure they would get busted. Dumb luck prevails though, as Hestia happens to exit the city at just the right time – allowing Ares to make off with his prize without having to conduct what probably would have been a disastrous reconnaissance into Orario. But in the ensuing fracas, Hestia slips into a ravine and Bell immediately jumps in to protect her without a second thought – followed by the sword princess herself. What a cliffhanger to end on – figuratively AND literally. This time, there surely has to be only one episode left, and I have no clue whatsoever as to how the series will be looking to wrap things off. That said I sure hope that JC Staff don’t rush and pull out an entertaining plus satisfactory conclusion – possibly a tall ask given their track record, but one can still hope. Anyways, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading my post. See you next week for what I assume should be the real finale!

20 Comments

  1. I’m just amazed at how entertaining this show is. It just keeps getting better.

    Another thing about the Haruhime thing is even if she passes out (at the sight of a collarbone no less) wouldn’t someone still be able to have their way with her? Maybe all the guys are just too polite.

    sealouse
  2. This episode is covering Vol 8 of the LN.

    Apparently 8’s structured as a vignette piece, showcasing the daily lives of the main cast in Orario amidst Ares’ invasion. Bell and Hestia’s events are just one part of the piece.

    The question is if the last episode will showcase the vignette of Show Spoiler ▼

    zztop
  3. https://randomc.net/image/Dungeon%20ni%20Deai%20o%20Motomeru%20no%20wa%20Machigatte%20Iru%20Darouka/Danmachi%20II%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
    Would be nice if she joined Bell’s familia.
    Anyway, remind me again about Danmachi logic, now that Ishtar is gone then her entire familia had leveled down to level zero? Or They didn’t level down but are unable to level up? I imagine there must be some reason an adventurer needs to join a familia.
    Either way, I hope that toad doesn’t join another familia. If she is alive then no surprise, some anime characters have ridiculous plot armor, but it would be shocking if a familia accepts her; it shows the familia likely didn’t do a proper history check.

    https://randomc.net/image/Dungeon%20ni%20Deai%20o%20Motomeru%20no%20wa%20Machigatte%20Iru%20Darouka/Danmachi%20II%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
    Hope freya doesn’t do anything to that cute loli goddess. As for our cute fox ear haruhime, I have to admit, all the guys she met were TOO NICE! Even if she passed out, with a man, it is not like the said men wouldn’t do anything to her while she is asleep. Notably, after seeing Cop Craft Episode 11, we know prostitution isn’t considered a pleasant job.

    https://randomc.net/image/Dungeon%20ni%20Deai%20o%20Motomeru%20no%20wa%20Machigatte%20Iru%20Darouka/Danmachi%20II%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
    “god of war” ? Even Hephaestus was able to still be good in smithing despite being in the lower world. Not a Kratos with a two sword style, Ares’s combat his POOR. Anyway, from what I have seen, Ares is mischievous and stupid at worst but he isn’t as bad as Ishtar from my view. What is Ares trying to do anyway?

    Greed
      1. Oh good. I may be giving him too much credit, but I think even Ares is smart enough to refuse to give that Toad any invitation. Only a god of madness would want that Toad. So, to sum it up, that Toad can be easily killed if Bell had the proper justifications, such as him being a target of rape again.

        Honestly don’t see what that disgusting toad can do at this point.

        Greed
  4. The editors likely insisted on preserving Haruhime’s virginity to prevent pissing off that segment of otaku with the purity complex; worst case scenario would be them boycotting the LNs so it gets cancelled.

    I heard of a case where a WN author tried to introduce a later plot twist of having one of his leading ladies be a non-virgin due to being sexually assaulted in her past, in one of their works. The readers were so incensed by the development they boycotted the WN and the author had to remove their story.

    zztop
    1. I suppose when the East and West differ in opinions or views, that’s when it becomes clear that the editors will invariably prioritise their local audience, because that’s where the stable fanbase and money is at.

    2. As the comment above says, it’s a cop out. But while I get the general pandering objective, it’s a complete fail when applied to a prostitute, especially one as clueless as the foxgirl. She had a certain pathos when she first appeared but really, she’s just an idiot. The writer was probably wondering just how stupid the readers were.

      Mockman
    1. They probably will cover it in only two episodes, since they’ve previously covered an entire novel in a single episode.

      Also, Volumes 9 through 11 comprise of a single arc and would need an entire cour dedicated to it, though that arc deserved two cours because it is even better than the previous volumes, IMHO.

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