Five episodes into Season 3 and DanMachi is looking good. Straightforward plot and good execution should be a motto more anime strive for. Straightforward doesn’t mean simple or boring here – DanMachi has managed a nuanced look at politics, diplomacy, and “fog of war”.
Episode Four, Aspiration, starts with a monster meet and greet. Color me surprised: DanMachi has consistently done a superb job of showing how afraid of monsters the adventurers are. Shaking hands with a race that you’ve killed many of – and you’ve almost been killed by – had surprising weight here. We also get some political maneuvering behind the scenes; however, the politics so far have been nice and tidy, unlike season two (which got complicated for no reason). I also thought the monsters taking away Wiene was well done – even if the slideshow animation felt a bit lazy.
Then comes “bum-bum-bum” – Ikelos familia’s trap.
The trap was well done, but the fight animation felt a little hit and miss. Strange combinations too – there was one scene with the typical anime running, but then there was another moving character in it. I can’t decide if I should be annoyed by the laziness or impressed by the adaptation. At any rate, I also liked the self-destructing spider and the fact that there was actual good guy casualties. I felt legitimately bad for the monsters – we just had a nice sit down with them.
One of my favorite things that modern shows (anime and live action) are exploring is “fog of war”. Simply explained, “fog of war” is where decisions that are very clear in hindsight or in narration are not clear at all when actually experienced. DanMachi demonstrates this well with the factions of Xenos breaking away and completely upending all the diplomatic efforts. The scrambling response of Uranus (yes, I’m spelling it the normal way) and the Guild are keeping me on the edge of my seat.
Also, I’m seeing some real trouble for the AisBell ship. I’m glad they chatted – but I feel like Ais is taking a hard (and understandable) line here. We’ll have to see how that goes – darn you, Wiene, upsetting ships everywhere!
One final note, I’m seeing the effects of Egg Firm here (especially notable in these kinds of scenes). I think JC Staff has done okay in their animation, but the backgrounds are worlds better this season. I’m going to give credit to Egg Firm, even if I’m not 100% sure on that. I think if the animation can remain passable, DanMachi has plenty of groundwork laid to see us bounce back from the previous sophomoric season.
