DANMACHI SEASON 4 EPISODE 15 REVIEW – Forging Ahead

At this point, it is no longer surprising that every episode will feature a fight scene; being in the Dungeon, and the Middle Floors and Deep Floors at that, is synonymous to never-ending battles.

And that is the case here for both Bell and Ryu, and their comrades above. It seems that no one will ever find rest at all, and while the worst has passed for now, everyone is still not out of danger.

A Brief Rest, A Long Nightmare

Once again, Bell and Ryu’s side of the episode was short. But it was filled with the beginning of a backstory and a tiny sprinkle of worldbuilding. It’s Bell’s turn to guard Ryu this time, and he actually managed to avoid combat by scaring off a Skull Sheep.

The past three seasons showed monsters attacking mindlessly, with the sole exception of the Xenos, so it was refreshing seeing a monster retreat out of a sense of self-preservation after Bell scared it off. Of course, this isn’t exactly permanent, as the dangers of the Deep Floors are still very much present.

But while Bell stood guard, Ryu was off down a trip to memory lane. Or in her case, the nightmare street. We are finally introduced to the ill-fated members of the Astrea Familia, which oddly comprised of females.

This version of Ryu is less stiff than the older one, and also more easily embarrassed. But the sad thing about her brief scene of interacting with her familia is the fact that this would have been the Ryu that Bell could have met, and their whole relationship would be totally different. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Astrea familia constantly tease her about the boy in white hair, and we could see that happening based on their personalities and attitudes.

Unfortunately, we knew what happened to them. Indeed, Ryu’s dream was the beginning of her worst nightmare as Alise prepared to investigate an incident involving their archenemy, the Rudra Familia—also known as Evilus.

Welf’s Burning Resolve

The majority of this episode, as expected, focused on the side of Bell’s party. And this time, we got some nice character development for a certain blacksmith.

Ever since Amphisbaena’s defeat, things haven’t been going well for everyone. Though they have escaped a gruesome fate, the dangers of the Dungeon still hounded them. Monsters constantly attacked them, even those not usually seen in the Middle Floors, leaving them without rest. Indeed, even Ouka noticed that the Dungeon seemed eager to kill them.

But of course, their mission is to find Bell, and it’s not as if they could return to the surface as the Dungeon is still healing. Thankfully, encountering and saving Bors gave them enough information to formulate a concrete plan.

Their reactions upon hearing Bell’s apparent demise is understandable, especially with how everything was already going wrong for them ever since the entire incident with the Juggernaut started. In fact, Lili took the news so easily.

And this is where Aisha took over the spotlight again, interrogating Bors about the very specifics of Bell’s fate. This may be grasping for straws, a fool’s hope, that their leader might still be alive. But as others have said, Bell is a lucky adventurer and wouldn’t go down easily. Moreover, Bors didn’t see any corpse, which only strengthened their hope that Bell is alive.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to find him in a monster-filled floor. Supplies are dwindling, and even their stock of magic swords are spent.

But that’s why they have a blacksmith.

Throughout Bell’s adventures, Welf has been an integral part of the Hestia familia’s survival and countless victories. As a blacksmith, he’s the one who always made sure that they can fight at their best. And it is no different now when weapons are one of the few things that could save their lives.

So far, Welf’s character development and growth are few and not as constant as Bell’s. But every time it happened, it makes Welf’s more likable than he already is. And in this episode, we saw how he grew into a resourceful character by using what’s available to him in an attempt to create weapons right inside the Dungeon.

Conclusion

Yet another epic episode filled with suspense and action, episode 15 focused on backstory and character development. And thing is, Danmachi has been doing this since season 1, making it stand out from the other fantasy series out there.

Episode score:  8/10