English Dub Review: An Adventurer’s Daily Grind at Age 29 “Decisive Battle in the Dungeon Attack!”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Veronica invites Hajime and Rirui to the city of Yanago to help her with some business trouble.

Our Take:
As seen in the previous episode, Veronica receives terrible news that her shop has gone out of business.  However, it wasn’t due to the lack of sales, but rather that a dragon destroyed her shop.  But that didn’t stop her from accusing her rival, Jessie, of sabotaging her hard work.  Honestly, I would be upset too if that happened to me, but not to the point of pointing fingers.  As a result, Hajime and Rirui are caught in the dungeon contest between the business rivals, where Rirui unexpectedly gains a magic staff to dominate the competition.  Since her water magic hasn’t been all that impressive since she first got it from the Millenian, I would count this as a huge win for the up-and-coming adventurer.
Before watching the episode, I thought the continuation of the previous episode would be the entire premise of “Decisive Battle in the Dungeon Attack”.  But that isn’t the case, as this venture only lasted for the episode’s first half.  Afterwards, we get a small detour to the slums where Hajime grew up, and plenty of brief shenanigans ensued, such as the thief stealing Dragon and rat fishing.  The second half does seem like filler at first glance, regarding those silly encounters Hajime and Rirui come across.  However, it also has its share of heartfelt moments, including Hajime reconnecting with his childhood, particularly by reuniting with his old friends and visiting the community gravestone.  The show can be pretty goofy and even subtle in its approach to the traditional adventurer formula, but it’s moments like those in the episode’s second half that remind viewers why they enjoyed laid back anime amidst the exciting ones.