Oh boy! The second episode of Danmachi season 3 is probably one of my favorites so far, not counting the entire first season.
This is simply a perfect adaptation, and the subtle changes the studio made to several scenes even made it better. I’ll go over that soon, so let’s breakdown the episode, shall we?
First, we are finally introduced to the main antagonists for this arc, the Ikelos Familia. And from the get-go, it is already obvious that this particular familia is suspicious and creepy. We have Dix, the spear-wielding leader who fits more as a crime syndicate boss than an actual Adventurer. And his equally suspicious and creepy god, Ikelos, whom he treats as part of the familia itself rather than a god to serve.
The thing about Ikelos was his altered portrayal from the real life greek myth. Ikelos was a god of dreams, nightmares, and it seemed that the author slightly tweaked it for his story. In Danmachi, Ikelos spreads nightmares by causing chaos due to his obsession with entertainment.
Next, we got some few returning faces. Bell once again recruited Ryu for a quest to secretly find clues about Wiene’s origin. And this time, Aisha showed up to join on the mission. We got pretty funny scene involving Aisha harassing Bell, and a scary Ryu who proved to be Syr’s wingman, trying to separate the Amazon from our innocent Little Rookie.
The fight scene in the dungeon is brief, but I can say it’s much better compared to most of season 2’s fight scenes. I think we are finally returning to the quality we saw back in season 1, and I’m really excited for the upcoming battles.
There are two things to note in this scene. First, they removed and glossed over two minor information. In the novel, it was revealed that Aisha is now Level Four after her training, which makes her even stronger compared to when she fought Bell. And as many must have noticed, Ryu’s attire was different. Instead of wearing a light green cloak and white tunic, she wears darker ones for this mission. This is because of her participation in the War Game, and she decided to hide her identity to avoid unnecessary attention. However, this bit was only in the novels and not explained in this episode.
One of the changes that I really liked was the monsters they fought. In the novels, they were merely those white rabbits we often see in the previous seasons. But in this adaptation, they changed it to Lamias that looked a lot like an older Wiene, which further enhanced Bell’s hesitation in killing them.
The scene in the 18th and 19th floors were almost the same as the novels, and we have a short fun scene with Lili and the other girls while Bell and Welf investigated the spot where Wiene was found. Their meeting with another one like Wiene is every bit a shock, especially when she can talk. Another thing that the anime did better again was adding the feathers, which hints at the identity of this mysterious figure.
Bell’s and Hermes’ meeting with Ikelos is a spot-on adaptation, and for the first time we have a little background of the past with the mention of an evil faction of gods, Evilus. At the moment, there is not much information about this organization, though I’m guessing that Ikelos is secretly a member.
The meeting with these two deities is quite odd from a certain perspective. On one side, you have Hermes. Charming, shady, mischievous, but in a good way. Ikelos is pretty much the same, but from the other side of the spectrum. He’s creepy, totally shady, and obviously not to be trusted. But they are friends, or so Hermes said, which makes their dynamic really interesting.
There is a brief and cute scene involving Wiene playing hide and seek with Haruhime, and once again it displays the Vouivre’s childish behavior. However, it is merely a calm before the storm until Wiene heard the conversation between Lili and the rest of the familia.
What follows is as heart-wrenching as the novel; for once ever since the abysmal season 2, the anime has perfectly portrayed the emotions and atmosphere of the scene. Wiene’s anguish over being showered with rocks was real, and I cannot help but pity the poor monster girl. Bell, in his moment of compassion once more, is about to go help her regardless of the consequences when a shocking character intervened: a disguised Lili.
It is just as surprising as in the novel, especially because Lili was against sheltering Wiene from the start. But her selfless action here, albeit with the added caution of a disguise, proves how much her character has grown. After all, she was once scorned for being just a supporter, a trash, until Bell saved her from that miserable fate. Seeing Wiene probably triggered those memories, though I’m also guessing that she did it to save her familia.
The last two scenes are sad and ominous. We finally see just how dangerous hiding Wiene could be now that the entire city knows of her existence, and the Hestia familia will be hard pressed to defend themselves. This is worst than the war with Apollo; now every familia will be hunting for Wiene. But hope is not lost. Ouranos seems to be scheming something, though whether this will help Bell and his familia, or actually destroy them, remains to be seen.
Overall, this is a great episode. Definitely a 9.5/10.