Episode 4 of Danmachi season 3 is here, and there are a lot of exciting developments and new information that were revealed. Though the episode itself is slow-paced and didn’t feature a notable fight scene, it is still a good adaptation. The scene with the monsters is almost a perfect copy of what was in the novel, which is why it took the majority of this episode’s runtime.
We finally learned a little more about the Xenos, and how all of them are in a cycle of death and rebirth similar to humans. Hence, why Wiene and Lyd remember things that their present lives haven’t experienced yet, like the sunset which Lyd yearns to see once more. Of course, not all monsters remember good things, and there is a faction led by the gargoyle, Gros, who strongly hates humans.
The revelation that Fels is an undead and was a former sage who unlocked the secret of immortality is as shocking as it sounds, as well as the involvement of the silly but influential Ganesha in the whole Xenos situation. However, it is already somewhat hinted back in season 1 since the Monsterphilia itself contradicts the Adventurers’ lifestyle of hunting monsters for profit.
The scenes after that feels somewhat rushed and lacking. Though Wiene’s separation from Bell is a sad scene in itself, it failed to convey the actual grief that both of them were feeling at the time. Then we have the journey of the Xenos toward the deeper levels, where we are introduced to a lot of new characters.
The camera angles, as well as the obvious time constraints, prevented us from knowing the characters, especially those that will die in the end. We never got the chance to actually know some of them; Orde, the War Shadow who was the first to die, was a cool character in the novel despite his minor role. But in this episode, he simply became cannon fodder.
Overall, episode 4 has a few hiccups in how it portrayed the scenes, but it is still good regardless since the majority of it is just the calm before the storm. Definitely a solid 7.5/10.