Episode Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa [Animation Supervisor alongside Kanta Kamei and Masaki Yamada on Samurai Champloo episode 15 / Storyboards on Mushishi episodes 5 and 15 / Key Animator on Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin]

Storyboards: Katsushi Sakurabi [Director on Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru no Daro ka? opening sequence / Episode Director and Key Animator on Selector Infected Wixoss episodes 4, 8 and 12 / Animation Layout Supervisor on Prison School episodes 6, 7, 8, 10 and Episode Director and Key Animator on Episode 11]

Script: Hideki Shirane [Series Composition on Yumekui Merry / Script Writer on Cross Game episode 3 / Series Composition on Isekai no Seikishi Monogatari OVA / Screenplay Writer for Phantom: ~Requiem for the Phantom~ episode 5]

This series has a ton of promise.  A story about a novice adventurer wanting to become stronger in order to impress Aiz Wallenstein.  The show uses true elements of RPGs–magically leveling up after defeating enemies, sometimes there are health bars and the weapons play a large factor in winning or losing.  Hestia plays the role in supporting Bell–he cheers him on and this episode she gives him a ridiculously powerful and according to other fighters a questionable weapon.  This is perhaps the coolest episode of this series in that it really shows how courageous Bell can be. The visuals were fantastic especially in the fight with the gorilla monster!  This episode was all about Bell finding the strength to protect the people he cares about–the entire fight is inside a village that isn’t supposed to have battles in!  Plus, he believe in his Goddess and at that moment receives a weapon that helps him become far stronger than he was even towards the beginning of this episode.

What detracts away from this show from being a full on adventure series is the harem genre that shows up.  Bell manages to impress not just Hestia and Aiz but Eina Tulle and bar hostess Syr Flova after defeating the giant monster.  Hestia threw her own power into the knife’s power it seems, considering how she falls unconscious after the battle.  Somehow I can’t help but keep thinking of Sword Art Online and even Accel World after watching this.  The ending part with the supporter in the cave is probably going to be another harem girl.  Considering the main focus of this series is Bell picking up girls in a dungeon I would like [at least once] to see a fantasy game anime series be more mature focused instead of moe.  I guess that’s what we get for a light novel adaptation.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 7/10

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Anyone that has been following my blog can tell I’m a huge fan of the inner workings of an anime series.  As much as I like Manglobe and their works on Michiko e Hatchin and Ergo Proxy I must say they look like they might have lost a few of their key animators and background artists in the process of not having any work for a full year.  GANGSTA has quite a few distorted faces and lack of detail in their background art for a few scenes.

J.C. Staff is on a roll this year.  Once this year winds up they will have produced six animated works total.  Two shows per season not including their key animators working with other production studios throughout the year!  I’d like to see them do an original work because they’ve got potential when it comes to fluid animation and character designs staying consistent.  I really enjoyed the idea behind this show–it dissolves any idea that there is a player out there controlling Bell Cranel.  DanMachi, umps ship by making this into a truthful full-fledged series with role-playing game elements.  Bell’s mysterious leveling up is straight out of a classic game of Dungeons and Dragons!  Freya and Hestia tackle Norse mythology as its clearly seen with this episode we’ve got competition between Gods.  In this case, Familia represent Norse Gods–  Hestia is the Goddess of Fire and Hephaestus means forging.  This show has a ton of potential to be a harem series as the title suggests.  Honestly, I believe it works for this show because Bell’s true goal is to win the affections of Aiz Wallenstein after his life is saved by her from a minotaur.

Hestia’s relationship with Bell is comical because we see that Bell is constantly uncomfortable of Hestia’s romantic advances.  This episode allows their relationship to become more interesting when Freya puts Bell into a dangerous situation. I’m really glad the creators didn’t dive into the heart of the story with this 2nd episode because we get two full episodes now of world-building and character development.

OP: “Hey World” by Yuka Iguchi

Generic J-POP but it works for this videogame-esque fantasy show.

ED: “RIGHT LIGHT RISE” by Kanon Wakeshima

Wow. This song was actually pretty decent coming from Kanon.  She actually knows how to sing which is a surprise considering how horrible her songs have been the last few years.  The instrumentals are slow-moving and the visuals are really good. Watercolor art backgrounds with kawaii designs of the main cast.  For a show to have a focus around the main character winning girls’ hearts by leveling up this definitely works.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 6/10

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