Anime Review: DanMachi & Sword Oratoria

Common Name: DanMachi / Danmachi Sword Oratoria

Alternative Names: Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? / Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka Gaiden: Sword Oratoria, Sword Oratoria: Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side

Score: 8/10, 5/5

Length: 1 Season of 13 Episodes, 1 OVA / 1 Season of 12 Episodes

Genre: Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Magic

Summary: Long ago, the gods descended from their respective heavens to live among their human worshipers in the dungeon city of Orario. To preserve peace and foster kinship among the people, the gods created guilds in their names that called adventurers to delve into the great dungeon of Orario and slay the monsters that call the abyss their home. Just because the gods walk among the people doesn't mean everything is safe in this bustling city of adventurers though. Though no one seems to know why, the dungeon of Orario is a cruel and unforgiving place that'll gladly crush young and seasoned adventurers alike if they take it lightly. Bell Cranel is one such young adventurer, seeking to challenge himself and win favor for his little-known goddess. Ais Wallenstein, however, has already won her fame time and again as the Loki Familia's "Sword Princess." Though fame still dogs at her heels, Ais is more concerned with the secrets of the dungeon itself.

Review: While I'll admit it might have been more practical for me to have two separate for these two series, considering how different they are, I believe that together the two shows offer more as a whole than they do separately. On their own, they are solid stories in their own right, with a lot of good things going for them, but it wasn't until Sword Oratoria ended that I felt like I had something I could sink my teeth into. On its own, Season 1 of DanMachi is little more than the standard shounen hero story with a pathetic, but likable main character who is growing into a proper adventurer in spite of the odds against him. On the other hand, Sword Oratoria comes across as a kind of supernatural action mystery show that is built upon the premise of Season 1, albeit through the eyes of a different character. When used as two parts of a whole, however, the world of Orario and the story of mankind and their gods come fully into frame, turning these frankly lackluster stories into a unified whole far greater than the sum of its parts.

Man, just imagine if these shows weren't propped up on ecchi and Sapphic nonsense and

a rivalry that only exists to idolize "The Sword Princess" as the show's "Best Girl."

To elaborate my meaning, let's take a look at each season on their own. As I mentioned before, the original DanMachi is something of a standard shounen anime centered on the young adventurer, Bell Cranel. As something of a recent arrival to the dungeon city of Orario, drawn to the allure of being a heroic adventurer like so many before him, Bell's story is something of a springboard for the world that paints its story in broad strokes. Through his eyes, we learn about the the live of the average adventurer and a little detail into the city's structure around the "Familia Myth" (a term only mentioned in a subtitle for the show's English translation and is likely meant to be a story categorizing term similar to "Sword Oratoria" that makes it distinctly separate from any other DanMachi story). This "myth" in question being the familial connections between the titular god of each Familia (Loki Familia, Ganesha Familia, etc.) and those adventurers who have sworn loyalty to that god. From these "familial" ties are born a kind of social standing in the city of Orario based on the size and power of the Familia the adventurer in question is tied to.

Despite the clear value of a community centered "Familia" system in a place where things can get dangerous fast, it is made blatantly clear that there are some flaws in this system. For example, there's the obvious issue that this system doesn't support younger, weaker, and generally inexperienced adventurers. Rather, it has a way of weeding out those who just aren't cut out for adventuring. If an adventurer can't gain the attention of the gods or their followers, then there's little chance they'll even end up in a good Familia. Not to mention, if an adventurer is accepted into a smaller, less powerful Familia, the adventurer will have fewer resources, fewer companions, and significantly smaller chances of serving in the dungeon. This harsh inequality is highlighted particularly well in Bell's story since he is the sole follower in the little-known Hestia Familia. Where bigger Familias can host feasts and parties with their vast stores of wealth, Bell is forced to scrape by on his own in the dungeon just to earn enough money to feed himself and his patron goddess, Hestia.

To be fair though, who wouldn't risk their life day after day for such an adorable goddess?

Since this is a standard shounen title, however, Bell doesn't stay a solo act for too long. After being saved in the dungeon by none other than "The Sword Princess" Ais, Bell grows determined to make himself stronger for the sake of his goddess's future--turning him into a kind and weak but determined adventurer who will do whatever he can to be stronger. That triple threat of character attributes is ultimately what becomes Bell's greatest tools over the course of the show. His weakness is a boon in that it makes him kinda cute in the "I must protect him" kind of way, aka he set's off girls' maternal instinct. Determination because it get's him into loads of trouble but always keeps him on his feet and gives him the strength to push on. In other words, "damn that boy is manly!" Lastly, his kindness is easily his greatest strength because being selfless to the point of self-harm is all it takes to get yourself a good team of misfits in the world of anime. With all these weapons, along with some roguish knives and a freaking Ultra Greatsword at one point, Bell is solidly put on the path to grow into a pretty decent adventurer.

More accurately, there's a pretty solid chance he'll reach the same level of overpowered bullshitery

as his savior, role model, and love interest, "The Sword Princess" Ais Wallenstein.

While it is true that Sword Oratoria, aka Ais's story, features much of the same plot movements and motivations of the first season--i.e. lots of action sequences and characters willing to put themselves in harms way for the sake of either growing stronger or protecting others--it is worth noting that it seems to be far more interested in mystery and conspiracy than the usual shounen hijinx. Perhaps that is due mainly to the fact that the cast of Sword Oratoria is mainly female, making it kinda impossible to be a shounen show. It's far more interesting and accurate, however, to acknowledge the fact that Ais's story isn't really one of growth so much as it is one of discovery. Of course, the only way to find the answers she needs though involves delving into the truth behind the dungeon and the gods that watch over it. Through her eyes, we learn about the puckish attitudes and whims of the gods that watch over the city as well as the existence of various factious organizations who have different ideals for the world. We learn a little more about the god's secrets and how Ais and her past are possibly tied to them all while she works to keep the peace in Orario--killing monsters running wild in the street and apprehending a savage murderer who seems to know Ais.

Yeah, reaching a high level kinda has a way of attracting massive kill counts and people who are

similarly overpowered. It's kinda like a Musou game now that I think about it.

Unfortunately, Ais's story alone doesn't have enough going on in it to warrant a full season. So, to amend that little problem, Ais's story gets paired up with the story of Lefiya Viridis--or as I like to call her "other Bell." Though the comparison between the two characters isn't exact, considering Lefiya is an elf mage and Bell is a human rogue, it's hard to ignore the fact that they share very similar motivations and character arcs. Where Bell wishes to grow stronger, serve his goddess, and one day become Ais's equal, Lefiya wishes to grow stronger so she can always remain at Ais's side without being a burden. Where Bell seeks "The Sword Princess" Ais's personal tutelage to grow stronger swordsman, Lefiya finds an equivalent in "The Banshee" Filvis Challia, another elf mage. Where Bell sees Ais as a role model and love interest, Lefiya seems to see Ais as an idol figure and love interest (I'll admit it's hard for me to solidly back up this one though, since the line between "role model" or "idol" and "love interest" is frequently nonexistent in anime). In pretty much every way, including those strengths I listed with Bell, the two of them are basically identical. While this choice wasn't wholly offensive or inappropriate (since Lefiya does show up as an extra in the first episode of Season 1) I can't help but feel that it turns what is otherwise a fascinating and engaging story into something lackluster.

So, as I said before, these two stories on their own have a few problems and are far from perfect. DanMachi Season 1 had a problem where it relied too heavily on the standard shounen plot devices and tried to push the harem and "best girl" concepts way too far. Sword Oratoria similarly suffered because it needlessly repeated the character arcs and motivations that were seen in DanMachi (just with a Sapphic filter over it this time) that only served to distract from the intrigue and mystery that was distinctly lacking in the previous season. However, when the two of these shows are put together, they form a more whole and compelling narrative. In DanMachi we got a pretty solid painting of the big picture. It focused on the big strokes--the nature of the dungeon, the social inequality of the Familia system, and the struggle for any new adventurer. With the first season, we got a great narrative that was focused on a single focal point, Bell, and got the amount of detail we could reasonably expect from his perspective. In Sword Oratoria though, we got to see more of the intricacies, the finer details of the world--the true roles of the gods, the sociopolitical games the gods play for their amusement, and some of the mythology behind the dungeon. Through Ais, we see the details that were left out of DanMachi because she is a character of a far higher rank and skill than Bell. While his story is compelling in that he is constantly fighting for his life, it doesn't lend itself to the investigative mystery in Ais's story. However, since Ais is renowned among the gods and no longer needs to eke out a living in the city, she can afford to search, investigate, and ask questions only the gods can answer. So, together, we're given a far more detailed but no less compelling image of the home for these two adventurers, the dungeon city of Orario, and a world where the gods have decided to live among humanity at the cost of their own power.

Whether the "blessings" of the gods offer are wholly good or not remains to be seen though.

So, in the end, I have to say I actually recommend the DanMachi franchise. While the two series are lackluster on their own, their parallel narratives piece together a pretty well thought-out puzzle. The characters, while a tad generic, offer enough uniqueness and development to deserve some attention and praise. The music was both appropriate to each scene and engaging enough to grab the viewer's attention when necessary. The animation had a few hiccups here and there in the first season, but the action sequences of the first and whole of the second certainly made up for those few flaws in the long run. The only major issue I can level against the series is a fairly poorly maintained pace across both seasons that made it easy to grow bored or uninterested in the show's slower moments. That might be less of an issue, however, if the show is binge-watched rather than watched slowly, on a weekly basis. So, all things considered, I'd say this pretty generic action series is well worth the watch.

#Review #Action #Adventure #Supernatural #Magic