Much like the previous two episodes, this is nearly a perfect adaptation of the novel, though with one altered scene and another skipped scene.
The altered scene is really, really minor, though I prefer the light novel version over this. In the novel, the scene where Hugo arrived to defend Franklin is nearly the same as the anime, except that him/her shouting “I’ll defend my sister!” happened as Hugo came charging in, in contrast to this episode where it became a little bland in execution since he said it after he arrived.
The skipped scene involved Fatum, the player who can control the earth. In the novel, his name was not even mentioned, but the anime adapted most of his scenes on point except for one showcasing more of his abilities. It is also pretty minor and would not affect the story much either way, so I’d say it’s not a total disappointment.
Overall, this episode may be a little bit anticlimactic of a finale, but neither it is a bad one considering the on-point adaptations of many scenes they did in the previous three episodes. Definitely a 7.5/10 for me.
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Now for my overall impressions of the season as a whole.
Infinite Dendrogram still worked best as a novel, though this adaptation is not really bad. The pacing is good, the characters were portrayed almost as true to the source material, and the plot itself remained unchanged.
The one problem in the adaptation, and the reason why it’s still better as a novel, was the worldbuilding. The anime skipped at least half of the expositions regarding the setting itself and focused more on getting to the next story arc. While this method worked on series like Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, and Overlord as they focused a lot on plot even in the light novels, Infinite Dendrogram’s anime lost its charm because of this; it goes the other way around. The game—the setting itself—is the focus of the plot. Why things happened in a certain way, how things behave inside the game, etc.
But the anime skipped most of that in favor of rushing through the arcs, cramming five volumes worth of content in just thirteen episodes. Danmachi’s first season, by comparison, did the same thing. But it worked because the actions were portrayed on point, which offsets the rushed exposition.
Animation-wise, Infinite Dendrogram is average at best. The quality itself is not something to be hated about, though it is not on par with anime like Bofuri either. The music is okay, but not that memorable. And the OPs and EDs seem a little generic.
Overall, Infinite Dendrogram is a good series to watch if you have any spare time, but do not expect a mind-blowing series like Overlord or SAO.
A solid 7/10 for me.