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Adventurer becomes the damsel in distress he seeks to save

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

37 Episodes + 1 Movie

2015 (FAMILIA MYTH)

2017 (Sword Oratoria)

2019 (Arrow of the Orion & FAMILIA MYTH II)

Alternate Titles

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka

DanMachi

Series Order

Please note that this entry does not cover the “Arrow of the Orion” Movie or the second season as neither are available on hardcopy yet.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? FAMILIA MYTH (Season 1)
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Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side (Spin-off Companion Story)

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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion (Side Story Movie)

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Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? FAMILIA MYTH II (Season 2)

Genre

Action; Fantasy; Supernatural; Magic; Comedy; Drama

Synopsis

In a fantasy world where the Gods have descended to the earth to endure the inconveniences of human lives, Bell Cranel is the sole member of Hestia’s familia. Spurred on by his grandpa’s words of wisdom, Bell struggles through the great dungeon of Orario alone in an attempt to save and fall in love with a damsel in distress. However, one day, he is backed into a corner (literally!) by a Minotaur and all seems lost. That is, until famed adventurer, Aiz Wallenstein, saves his life and he falls in love with her. There’s not so much an age gap between them as there is a humongous ability gap, but he seems determined to close that. And with his first skill and a custom-made knife, it might just be possible! Now if only he can stop being the damsel in distress and start doing the saving…

Bell points happily at his stats, while Hestia pouts and turns her back to him

Content Advisory

This is not a comprehensive list of every individual use of strong content, merely a guide to show you how extreme it gets and how strong it tends to be. Also, the tags I’ve given each segment (e.g. Very Strong Language) is based on my own system and does not necessarily reflect the tags the BBFC (or other national equivalent) use. According to my system, the ‘Mild’, ‘Moderate’, ‘Strong’ and ‘Very Strong’ adjectives are based on strength, not on volume. Now, obviously, the strength of any type of content is subjective; what I consider strong might just be a relaxing weekend for you. Hence, I have added an explanation for my decision to allow you to make your own informed decision.

Please also note that the ‘colourful’ language I am referring to here is based on sentai FILMWORKS’ English Dub. The Japanese Dub may (and probably does) differ.

Moderate Sex References

The usual references one might expect from an anime with a little fan-service (i.e. a few references to Loki attempting to put the moves on Aiz and references to Hermes being a pervert).

Moderate Gore

I struggled a lot to decide whether I would consider this ‘strong’ or ‘moderate’. In the end, I decided that the show’s fun-factor made these scenes less gruesome than they could have been.

Throughout the series, the spines of some monsters can be seen after they have been killed.

Some characters are hit by acid and their melted skin is shown.

One character blows apart a monster from the inside. The scene isn’t as bloody as it could have been, but it’s still there.

Mild Sexualised Nudity

Some breast nudity is present in the show, including a few bathing scenes. However, no nipple detail is ever shown as it’s covered or censored by the environment.

Strong Bloody Violence

A fair number of action scenes where characters tear through monster flesh. Blood is in plentiful supply, with a few characters getting covered in it or splattered by it.

One scene in Sword Oratoria depicts the remains of a character whose head has been crushed. Although it should be noted that the scene only contains blood and no organs or rotting flesh.

Strong Language

Some uses of the word ‘shit’ and some milder terms.

Mild Horror

Some of the monsters can be a little intimidating, namely the second Minotaur and some creatures in Sword Oratoria. This is pretty mild, but I figured that some may still consider it frightening imagery.

Aiz stands valiently as a few drops of blood fly in front of her

Reasons to Watch

This is the difficult part. I don’t want you to see this entry as an oversized ‘DON’T WATCH THIS’ post. Equally, I don’t want to influence your opinion with a biased review – there’s a reason this website is called ‘Anime Insights’ and not ‘Anime Reviews’! In this section, I’m going to try to convey to you some of the reasons (in no particular order) that I’ve seen this show’s fans give for enjoying it!

Fun adventure series that genuinely has the fun-factor (that being said, maybe that’s something you should decide for yourself!)

Surprisingly high production values (i.e. great animation and artwork).

A good helping of world-building.

Sword Oratoria gives reasons for Aiz’s party being where they are when they are. It’s not just passed off as plot convenience!

Barrier of Entry

Those interested in learning more about Aiz in Sword Oratoria may be disappointed to see that she’s neither the main character nor as focused on as one might hope. The series is mostly focused on Lefiya, a magic user who is in love with Aiz and struggling to become strong enough for the Loki Familia.

I’ve been reading that there are inconsistencies present between FAMILIA MYTH and Sword Oratoria’s tellings of the story.

Bell, his face bloody, wishes to become stronger

Music

Opening Themes

Hey World by Yuka Iguchi (FAMILIA MYTH Ep. 2-13)

RE-ILLUSION by Yuka Iguchi (Sword Oratoria Ep. 2-12)

Ending Themes

Hey World by Yuka Iguchi (FAMILIA MYTH Ep. 1)

RIGHT LIGHT RISE by Kanon Wakeshima (FAMILIA MYTH Ep. 2-5, 7-13)

REALIZE ~Hajimari no Toki~ by Maaya Uchida (FAMILIA MYTH Ep. 6)

day by day by Kano (Sword Oratoria Ep. 1-12)

Hardcopy Notes

MVM’s UK Collector’s Edition of Sword Oratoria features only art cards and a booklet, whereas sentai FILMWORKS’ US Collector’s Edition contains that, plus a two-disc soundtrack.

Staff List

Animation Production: J.C. STAFF

Directors: Yoshiki Yamakawa (FAMILIA MYTH) & Yōhei Suzuki (Sword Oratoria)

ADR Director: Kyle Jones

Series Composition: Hideki Shirane

ADR Script: Kyle Jones & Katelyn Barr

Music: Keiji Inai

Original Creator: Fujino Ōmori

Original Character Designers: Suzuhito Yasuda (FAMILIA MYTH & Sword Oratoria) & Kiyotaka Haimura (Sword Oratoria)

Animation Character Design: Shigeki Kimoto

Chief Animation Directors: Shigeki Kimoto (FAMILIA MYTH & Sword Oratoria) & Hiroshi Tomioka (Sword Oratoria Ep. 2)

Art Director: Toshiharu Mizutani

Lead Voice Actors

Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as Bell Cranel

Inori Minase as Hestia

Ai Kayano as Aiz Wallenstein

Juri Kimura as Lefiya Viridis

Lead Voice Actors (sentai FILMWORKS)

Bryson Baugus as Bell Cranel

Luci Christian as Hestia

Shelley Calene-Black as Aiz Wallenstein

Kelley Peters as Lefiya Viridis

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