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



Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうか, Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka, literally "Is It Wrong to Try to Meet Someone New in a Dungeon?"), also known as DanMachi (ダンまち), is a light novel series that started in 2013, being adapted into an anime series starting in 2015. The anime consists of two TV series (with a third being delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic), two OAVs (one after each TV series), and the 2019 movie Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion.

Once upon a time, the gods descended to the "Lower World" where the mortals live, in search of entertainment. They agreed to give up their godly powers in exchange for living with mortals. The one power that they keep is the ability to gift mortals with the ability to become adventurers, able to descend into the local Dungeon to slay monsters. The people who accept this gift become part of the "Familia" of that god or goddess.

The main story is about Bell Cranel, an idealistic -- one might say naive -- young man who is (at the beginning of the story) the only member of the Hestia Familia. He has just begun to adventure... and at the beginning is saved from peril by the swordswoman Ais Wallenstein. This leaves him with a desire to catch up to her level of ability. In his journey to becoming a hero, he meets and befriends many people: Eina Tulle, his advisor in the Guild of adventurers; Syr Flover and Ryū Lion, waitresses at a local inn, one of whom is much more than she seems; Liliruca ("Lili") Arde, the Supporter who carries his supplies; Welf Crozzo, the smith/adventurer; and others who help him in his self-imposed task.

''Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria'' is a side-story in the same universe with many of the same characters. Ais Wallenstein is the protagonist of this story of the adventurers of the Loki Familia... and she has somebody to catch up to, as well.


 * Big Breasts, Big Deal: Hestia, possessor of the second-largest set in the entire series, is in the "When you've got it, you should flaunt it!" camp. Her in-universe nickname is "rori kyonyū" ("Loli Big-Boobs").
 * Fictional Document: a fairy tale called "Argonaut", which is about a boy who grows up to become a hero. It's a favorite story of both Bell Cranel and Tiona Hiryute (one of the supporting characters of the "Sword Oratoria" arc).
 * Fire-Forged Friends:
 * Bell and Lili - despite the fact that she was using him to become rich enough to and then left him to die in the dungeon, he was willing to risk his own life for her when she was near death. She never willingly left him after that.
 * Bell, Lili, and Welf - strangers to each other when they formed their Party of adventurers (with Lili and Welf not getting along with each other very well), friends after surviving the journey forced upon them to level 18 of the Dungeon..
 * Hero of Another Story: Ais Wallenstein in the main story, Bell Cranel in Sword Oratoria.
 * Outdoor Bath Peeping: While at a "safe" (and to all appearances outdoor) level in the Dungeon, Bell is tricked into going to a spot where he could see all of the female cast members present bathing in a stream. The women notice, and react in various different ways depending on their own personalities.
 * Rule 63: Loki and Hephaistios are female in this setting.
 * Save Your Deity: Bell has to rescue Hestia twice during the first season: once from a rampaging monster (which involved a Bridal Carry), and later from a kidnapping.
 * Sobriquet: Every adventurer gets one upon becoming a Level 2 adventurer. Bell is "Little Rookie", Ais is "Kenki" (Sword Princess).