IS IT WRONG TO TRY TO PICK UP GIRLS IN A DUNGEON III
I’ve watched and reviewed all of the previous seasons of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon, and while I did enjoy the first season way more than most people, I absolutely did not want my time with season 2. There was a semblance of character development in the first two seasons, which never did much by the last episode.
This was a series that was consistently being put down due to its plot revolving around a wacky hero who is being harassed by women and wants to help anyone on his quest to become the best adventurer. So, with the release of Season 3, what happened? Well, everything from the first two seasons was brought in to make the peak Danmachi experience! There were moments of greatness, but they often lasted too short.
The story kicks off after the events of the Familia Arc, where Bell encounters a young Wyvern girl in the dungeon. Wyverns are a type of bat monster who is not intelligent. However, this Wyvern was named Wiene, and she possessed intelligence. Now, of course, Bell is a friendly and polite young boy who would help anyone that needed it, so he saves Wiene and protects her from the dungeon monsters, bringing it home with him.
However, the people of the megacity Orario are not too keen on having Wiene be part of their society due to the monsters being a group that has killed hundreds of thousands of citizens from Orario for centuries. Now, with nothing much else to do, Bell and Hestia swear to protect Wiene from any and all danger.
This particular chapter of Danmachi is probably the best that it has ever been, with a sentimental story focusing on Bell’s growth and Hestia’s kindness. It is, in particular, the fact that this season chooses to be much more serious and consists of way darker overtones which makes it unique from its predecessors.
However, that doesn’t mean that all the fun fan service, comedy, and megatons of action are gone from the series; in fact, it’s made even better than ever before. Season 3 of Danmachi combines the best elements from its previous seasons, including the production level from season 2, while the story, theme, and character design from the first season.
This leads us to the overall characters and their design, and it is increasingly better with every episode in Season 3. Bell is much more mature when compared to last time; he’s way more caring in a nurturing sort of way and is very passionate about the things he wants to do. He is very protective of Wiene, who is an entertaining character to watch as well. She’s essentially a child-like monster who switches between her monster personality and her cute loli personality.
Hestia is back; however, she doesn’t have as much screen time in this season as she did previously. She also acts like a big sister to Wiene and is very protective of her in her own right. They still get up to fun shenanigans in Orario and the Dungeon, which is always fun when done right, and it is done perfectly here! This brings a unique dynamic to their relationship, as he’s almost like a big brother.
In terms of the overall artistic direction, this season is by far the highest upgrade we’ve seen. The characters are just as crisp as they were in season 2, and the fights are just as exciting and high-tension as they were in season 1. It’s a culmination of the two most essential features in their animation put together here. It’s better than in the earlier seasons and ever-present as the fights are numerous and the backgrounds are ever-changing.
The best part about this series is by far its way of handling the fight scenes; the choreography is just so precise that you can’t stop gawking at the screen. The art still needs some improvements, though, as crisp as it is; it still lacks a lot of color variety, not to mention the background panels are recycled a lot.
The soundtrack, on the other hand, is pretty below average when compared to the previous seasons. You’d expect the most emotional arc of the series to have the most versatile tunes; however, it doesn’t. The opening song is pretty good, but not as good as it was in season 2.
The music is a bit of a bummer. It takes away from the show’s quality, however, not as much to hinder my experience.
In conclusion, I feel that JC Staff does get something right in every single season of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon. This was the closest they have gotten to greatness and barely miss the mark due to some aesthetic-based decisions and some below-average sound work overall. I see a vast improvement in character and story writing, with characters being much more developed and defined than ever before.
The world feels alive, and intensities are higher than they were in the previous seasons. All in all, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon III is by far the most potent part of JC Staff’s comedic MMORPG dungeon crawler saga.
