English Dub Season Review: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season Four

Overview:

Intrepid adventurer Bell Cranel has leveled up, but he can’t rest on his dungeoneering laurels just yet. The Hestia Familia still has a long way to go before it can stand toe-to-toe with the other Familias of Orario — but before Bell can set out on his next mission, reports of a brutal murder rock the adventuring community! One of Bell’s trusted allies stands accused of the horrible crime, and it’s up to Bell and his friends to clear their name and uncover a nefarious plot brewing in the dungeon’s dark depths.

Our Take:

This is going to be a tough anime season to review because on one hand, it was basically nonstop action and good animation but that isn’t what I personally watch this anime for. I liked this show because the hilarious title dragged me in and what I got was anime with solid action but also a pretty sweet romance. But what bothers me is that the source of Bell’s inspiration and why he’s grown so fast in such a short amount of time, Ais Wallenstein, wasn’t even in this season. I used to call this anime a “harem lite” because while it has all the elements of a harem Bell only had eyes for one woman. While I would say that is still technically true, they keep introducing woman after woman to fall in love with Bell.

I feel a little bit like a hypocrite because one of the women I wanted to like Bell was the enigmatic Ryu. She treasured him as a person and friend sure but not what I would call romantic love. Well, after the events of this season, I would say that she too has fallen for Bell’s boyish charms.

Before the last couple of seasons of this anime, I would have said the top three most important characters of this series would be Bell, Ais, and Hestia. Well, this season had a surprising lack of both Ais and Hestia. It’s not necessarily a problem just something that I’ve noticed that because of my expectations has caused me to enjoy it a little less.

Not only that but usually I would say the best way to describe this series is “hopeful”. Bell’s entire character is based on being the embodiment of hope and not giving up. But this season was trying to ground that hope into the ground. Bell and his friends were constantly beaten down and I was worried that a good portion of them would not make it out.

I love this series and when all is said and done I think that a season like this might end up being necessary but it just wasn’t my cup of tea in comparison to other seasons. Luckily, with the popularity this series has gained, I think we can look forward to a fifth season. Nothing has been announced as of yet, however. I will say that if there is a fifth season I am very intrigued to see how the fallout of what happened this season is handled.