JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – DANMACHI – SEASON 3 – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Is it Wrong to try to pick up girls in a Dungeon? – Season 3

Genre: Fantasy

Studio: J.C. Staff

Hello my friends.

Welcomt to another anime review.

I am taking a little break from my blog entries related to Inuyasha, to talk about one small gem that has become one of my favourite series, and also that intrigues me more than I can ever tell. I will try to explain later.

I bring you…

But first, I must ask you the question:

Are you guys happy? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am very happy.

Now, let’s go with Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka, or simply Danmachi – season 3.

PREMISE

Based on the light novels written by Fujino Omori, and illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda, the third season of Danmachi takes place shortly after the events of season 2; Haruhime is now part of the Hestia Familia, Ishtar has been defeated, and the other Familias have reconciled. Nevertheless, in this new adventure, Bell Cranel, beautifully played again by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, has meet a mysterious monster girl which has dragon features, or a vouivre. She looks innocent and confused, so Bell takes her to the mansion, despite the risks of the Hestia Familia and their reputation.

Yet, in his quality of a noble adventurer, Bell will do anything to protect her and prove that monsters and humans can co-exist; unbeknownst to him, many other monster can that communicate will appear, as well as another Familia led by an unnerving God, Ikelos.

The third season was supposed to be released in July, but that did not happen due to this damn COVID-19 pandemic, but now, we can start enjoying once more this amazing series, which has become one of my favourite. And despite being two episodes as of October 11th, 2020, the third season of DanMachi has hooked me. I still need to see season two though, as well as Sword Oratoria, as well as the movie Arrow of Orion. And with the ending of episode 2, you know that things are gonna be difficult for the Hestia Familia, especially because of the following picture from the opening.

Having Ais Wallenstein pointing at Bell with her sword is not a small thing, especially for those Danmachi fans such as myself.

STORY

Right now, I am going to do something a little bit different, and instead of simply talking about the positive elements from DanMachi, I will also try to express some of my feelings regarding the first season, and DanMachi in general. Again, I am still watching the second season, but you guys can assume that it is part of my judgment. Anyway. I will simply say that DanMachi has become one of my favourite fantasy series. But where to start on my opinion? You see. Overall, DanMachi takes its time to explore and construct all of its world, from the concept of dungeons to the Gods descending to Earth and living with humans, guiding them toward their adventures, all among a beautiful animation from J.C. Staff, one of my favourite anime studio.

Just check to the greatest superhero of history.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Take that… Homelander.

Don’t look at me like that

And of course…

The cutest electromaster of history

Now that I am mentioning A Certain Scientific Railgun, just look at the still. The colour palettes, the lightning, the expression of the characters, and the simplicity of the lights. I am not sure whether this is digital colouring that it gives a lot of life and cleanliness to the image.

Well. That is exactly what happens to DanMachi.

• 

• 

All this animation has a great balance between character and background. You see the faces of both Bell Cranel and Ais Wallenstein, and you immediately remember them because the colour and aesthetic strengths their identities. Furthermore, the colour is an excellent reminder of the tone of what is going on at the moment. Sometimes comedy… sometimes danger.

In other words, the storytelling gives you time to understand what is happening, and know our characters better.

Speaking of which…

CHARACTERS

Again, our beloved characters return in their best shape possible. This is another of the strengths of DanMachi, you can’t wait to see more about the characters, including Freya and Loki. In fact, Bell Cranel is one of the best characters Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, has ever voiced, along with Yukihira Soma, Inosuke Hashibara and Betelgeuse,. And… to be honest… I prefer Bell Cranel more than Kirito pre-Alicization.

• 

• 

This is only my opinion, because while Bell Cranel has an organic evolution, he fails a lot, he stands up, he becomes stronger, and he proves that he earns his reputation; Kirito, at least until Alicization, tries to act cool for no apparent reason, and expects us to fall for him because… Yes.

Anyway!

Hestia, on the other hand, has proven to be a very likeable and charming character. Aside from her… assets, her personality, her love for Bell, and her powers has made a really popular characters, and the chemistry she has with Bell is flawless. Every time I see them together, you get hooked of how cute they are.

Tell me if you do want to cuddle them.

And how we can forget Liliruca? Welf? Haruhime? Ais? Ryuu? And the rest of the Familias? I wish I could talk all of them, because they have great personalities, and I am ready to see them in this new season.

One of the greatest Familias in anime.

CONCLUSION

I have always understood why Danmachi is one of the most popular anime nowadays. Their stories, their characters, the world, the animation, and the art from the illustrator from Durarara!!! (At least from the light novels). And now, since the cycle of Sword Art Online: Alicization has come to an end, we can sit back, and enjoy how Bell and the Hestia Familia will face the challenge to bring happiness to Wiene.

And I hope I am there. Or maybe not, because…

Homelander is lasering me as revenge…

Remember, don’t compare Saitama with Homelander, or else…

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – One-Punch Man Season 2 – Episode 1 – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Before starting with this review, I just want to let you know, guys, that the bold texts contain spoilers, so please be careful with that. 

With that said, let’s continue.

PROLOGUE

HELLO MY FRIENDS. How are you today? I hope that you guys are ok. And I apologise for not updating my blog in almost two months. I was busy at work, and I have other projects that took most of my time. But during these days, I watched a lot of new anime, and I am back in action.

One of them… Well… The title says it all.

When I saw that the first episode of the second season of this fantastic epic anime was released, I literally said…

«HOLY COW! I NEED TO WATCH IT BEFORE I DIE!»

I did… AND I LOVED IT.

And now I am happy to bring you this review.

SAITAMA MEETS… ALL MIGHT? 

In this episode, we start with Good Ol’ Saitama, and his apprentice, the cyborg Genos, going back to their «normal» lives, and getting groceries, but suddenly Saitama sees a figurine of King, a.k.a. The Strongest Man on Earth. Coincidentally, both meet King in the streets, fighting two super-villains; one of them surrenders after witnessing King’s «aura», which is seen in his facial expression, and that I will call calm, cool and imposing; as well as his «strong heartbeats», a.k.a., the King Engine. But when the other one, a giant robot created by The Organization, arrives to wreak havoc, King suddenly disappears.

As expected, Genos fights the giant robot, along with Saitama… Oh wait… He also disappears!! If not, the robot will be dead by now.

I will be honest. Up to this point, I was really looking forward to see what’s going to happen. I wanted to be surprised by King himself, not because he is «The Strongest Man on Earth», but because there are so many cool heroes in One-Punch Man, just like in My Hero Academia; in fact, King reminded me All Might in a way; however, two of the strongest pillars of the comedy of One Punch Man are the creativity and the power to amaze the fans, or at least in my case.

Having said that, this is not the exception.

The episode later reveals that King is…

«An unemployed, 29-year-old, otaku loser!»

And yes. King reveals this to us. He only happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, with «someone else» killing the foes King encounters. Anyway, he runs away, gets home, and meets Saitama. Both play the newest release of Doki Doki Sisters, until King is forced to confess Saitama he’s been lying. Also, he discovers that Saitama is not only the same hero that King encountered in the past, but also the one who saved the latter’s life after getting his scar. 

Finally, the episode ends with Genos claiming victory over the robot, and Saitama sharing some pearls of wisdom to King:

«Then why don’t you just get strong?»

Then we have some hints about Genos’s past and the return of some fan-favourite characters… Fubuki and Sonic.

MY THOUGHTS

Just like in the first season, the combination between comedy and action is brilliant, something you can always expect from the same creator of Mob Psycho 100. I couldn’t stop laughing at the comedic moments, especially when it comes to the presence of Saitama, whose calmness in the direst situations is hysterical. Moreover, witnessing how Genos has become stronger is so satisfying, proving again that he is one of the greatest characters of One Punch Man. Both Genos and Saitama have an amazing chemistry together in this episode, and King himself leaves an ever-lasting impression, to the point that, on behalf of all the fans of One Punch Man, I would say that you want to see more of him. And we will indeed. Somehow, I compare the first episode of season 2 with the very first episode of One Punch Man, because the story and the pacing are very synchronised, and you get to understand all the main leads for the first moment.

And if the second season follows the rhythm and narrative of its predecessor, then fans will not get disappointed. The only problem is that perhaps newcomers of One Punch Man will be forced to see season one from the beginning in order to understand what it’s going on.

Moreover, I would say that One Punch Man s2 will be that good, but it is impossible to forget that, while the first season was produced by Madhouse (Boogiebop and Others, Card Captor Sakura), and directed by Shingo Natsume, J.C. Staff (Date a Live, Food Wars!) and Chikara Sakurai are in charge of this season 2. Additionally, the op, Seijaku no Apostle, is performed by JAM Project, who also sang the already classic «The Hero!! Set Fire to the Furious Fist» of season 1. It was a great song, but it will never reach the perfect epicness of its predecessor.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the first episode of One Punch Man, season 2 is a great start for a second season that took almost four years to see the world, and I would say that it was worth the wait. But like I said, is still too soon to compare both seasons, but for now, this is an anime I am more than willing to watch from the beginning to the end.

And let’s not forget Mob Psycho 100, whose first season I really enjoyed as much as I enjoyed One Punch Man.

STORY – 7.5/10

CHARACTERS – 7.5/10

ANIMATION – 7.5/10

MUSIC – 7/10