Opening Songs
OP 1 - Hey World (Yuka Iguchi)
Ending Songs
ED 1 - RIGHT LIGHT RISE (Kanon Wakeshima)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Episodes: 13
I've kind of had enough animes trying to rip of "SAO". I know its one of the greatest animes in recent years and the mainstream audience swallowed it up like an unhealthy McSpicy meal on a Friday afternoon, but this is seriously getting out of hand. Anyway, "Danmachi" is probably one of the most over rated, popular and well known shows of the year. Why? Because Hestia. I kid...but seriously, if you've SEEN how much love this big breasted, twin tailed loli got, you wouldn't even be able to keep up. Her outfit and string are revolutionary for character design, but in all honesty, I don't get how she's so popular, she doesn't even appear THAT much in the show, and IMO there are prettier girls in this anime. Doesn't matter though, "Danmachi" is a pretty short offering that takes the "SAO" formula and gives it a different spin. Does it hold up to the hype? I'll tell you straight up, not really.
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| Hestia....overload.....strikes again! |
The opening theme is "Hey World" by Yuka Iguchi, a seiyuu whose works I love quite a lot. Anyway, it instantly makes you feel like it belongs in a fantasy anime, because the song gives off exactly that kind of anisong feel. It's an alright song, at least its better than the ending theme, which is "RIGHT LIGHT RISE" by Kanon Wakeshima. Its...a happy go lucky song that's mostly there to keep the mood. At least its not a ballad...or something cutesy.
Rating: 7.5/10
There's a lot of praise going out for "Danmachi" for whatever reason. Sure, it looks good (I mean, it IS by JC Staff, after all), and it has that "SAO"/MMO feel going for it, which plenty of shows have done and experimented with nowadays, but that's pretty much it. There's guilds, leveling up, and dungeon floors, for f**ks sake, if that doesn't spell "SAO", then I don't know what does. Well...at least they aren't in some virtual game world. Anyway, the main character is wimpy, generic, and generally quite unlikable. The supporting characters are pretty meh-ish except for a few of them, and honestly in this meager 13 episode offering, the story really does not accomplish too much (though I can see it developing into something more interesting if it were longer). The harem elements aren't much to speak of, you've most probably seen most of it elsewhere in other shows. That leaves the action, which is...actually pretty good, so there's a plus. Most fight scenes against monsters look great, and the show's climax battle against the floor boss was spectacular. Then there's Hestia, I guess, though her appeal is mostly subjective depending on you.
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| Twin tail slaps! |
The anime stars Bell Cranel, a weak as balls adventurer who's known for his white hair. In a world where gods and goddesses have descended on to the human world to quell their boredom, they bestowed upon humans the power to grow and battle mythical creatures. All in a massive dungeon where they can earn spoils to keep on living. The humans do the fighting, the gods will help the humans grow, and the rule is that they will not be able to intervene in any of the fighting at all. Each god has their own guild worshiping them, and Bell's guild worships the goddess Hestia. Thing is, Hestia is one of the least well known goddesses around, and her only adventurer is poor Bell, who is, SO weak. One day, while adventuring, he is attacked by Minotaurs, monsters FAR above his level, and he is saved by a girl named Aiz. He falls in love with Aiz, but realizes that she is far above his level as well, and she belongs to one of the strongest guilds around. Determined to catch up to her, he swears to become stronger.
"Danmachi" is easy to like, but its also honestly nothing too extraordinary that warrants all this special attention. Its...quite a good show, but its just that. "SAO" is certainly leagues more interesting and emotional than this one, that's for sure, just because it FEELS like "SAO", that doesn't make it as good as OR better than it. If "Danmachi" gets a season 2, I feel like it has potential. Otherwise, its just one of those franchises that'll fall off into the distance and get forgotten. Soon enough, at least.
