Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 7: Bell Takes on Wiene and the World

DanMachi III Episode 7

DanMachi III Episode 7, “Dix Perdix | The Dreams of Beasts,” did something I didn’t think the series would be able to do. It made me dislike Dix Perdix even more! I really wouldn’t mind trading in this villain for another. Especially in 2020, his brand of intolerance is hitting waaaay too close to home. Watching him, I feel like I’m reading the Facebook commentary on current events from some of the people I grew up with.

But before I get too far into the weeds, hi, Irina (from I Drink and Watch Anime)! I hope your week has gone well. Are you and the rest of Canada as concerned as I am about how close our little social experiment here in the USA (i.e., the whole democracy thing) has come to imploding?

We actually are. You guys have a lot of guns. But seriously, the idea that the politics and decisions of one country only affects its citizens is fairly outdated. Especially with a country that has as much influence as the US. So I’m sure everyone cares.

I also really hope you get a handle on the second wave. With a bit of luck having someone who wants to do something about in power will help. 

This said, I won’t lie to you, most of our outlets were predicting violence if Trump lost. So it’s really great that so far it seems the response has been fundraising and court battles. It’s not great but I’ll take that over riots any day.

Man, this got so serious and on such a touchy subject right off the bat. Let’s get back to some slightly lighter things. Like potential all out species based war…

Irina will be in bold type; I’ll be in standard type; and there will be spoilers. 

Any opening comments on DanMachi III Episode 7, Irina?

Opening Thoughts on DanMachi III Episode 7

IIWTTTPUGIADIII is a pretty great show to watch on Friday nights. It’s pretty light, it’s very clear and to the point and the character models are cute. I hope it doesn’t get all heavy and serious on us. 

There were a few really cool hero moments this week. Let’s talk about them.

We can break DanMachi III Episode 7 down into three main parts: We learn Dix’s backstory and the reasons he’s become such a Dix. Bell gets the living daylights beat out of him, but rallies because of the Power of Friendship and changes the tide of battle (that’s a lot of spoilage in a single sentence, isn’t it?). And finally, Bell declares war on the world. And Ais. He declares war on her, too. 

I have made my thoughts on Ais clear. I am o.k. with this. And is that what Bell was doing? Declaring war? I thought he was begging for peace. Man, I fail at watching anime.

I just said “declares war” because it was all dramatic and stuff. Your statement was closer. He really was closer to begging than declaring.

Dix’s So Sad Back Story

Dix Tried to Sell It…

Dix was convincing. I think he really believes what he’s saying. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

As we saw at the end of the previous episode, Bell had attacked Dix, despite there being a considerable difference in their levels. The good news? Dix had to take a huge performance hit for the curse he put on the Xenos to make them fight one another. The bad news? He still pummeled Bell.

So, what’s the deal with Dix? Turns out his Daedalus blood basically commands him to keep building the labyrinth. He doesn’t want to, and he said it’s like a torture for him. He apparently thought Bell should feel sorry for him. I was about to break out the world’s tiniest violin when Dix delivered the punchline.

The only release he found was in torturing the monsters who could talk. Boy, I loved Bell’s outraged expression when he said that Dix had caused so much pain “for something that stupid.” 

Irina, what was your take?

But We’re More Interested in the Implications

Bad man is bad!

See, this is what I like about this show. Even though in a dispassionate, technical way, Dix is right about a lot of things: both the surface society and Bell in particular have been built on the slaughter of countless monsters. The only difference is these ones can speak. Actually it’s even more laughable, the only difference is that they can speak a language the adventurers understand. We don’t really have any proof that regular monsters don’t communicate. The moral high ground here is barely a tenth of an inch. 

And there is a pretty big unbalance of power in the average monster and the average citizen. And I mean citizen rather than adventurer. There is some merit in a cautious approach.

If an adventurer as powerful as Ryuu falls before some of these monsters, it makes perfect sense that normal citizens would be profoundly cautious. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

But then he is presented in such a way that none of that matters. Dix is the bad guy and that’s all I need to know. And I really think it’s making me enjoy the series more. I do enjoy a nicely nuanced villain. A tortured bad guy or something. But only when they’re done right. And that’s not super frequent. Otherwise, I find a simple evil works best.

Bell and the Power of Friendship

Dix Turns Wiene against Bell

I’m going to blame 2020 for my reaction to what happened next. Just to tick off Bell and to show him how stupid it was for him to stick up for sentient monster rights, he led Bell to another room. First, I’m like “Bell, dude, what you following him for?” But it was a Plot Thing, so I let it go. Dix had Wiene chained in the other room. In a fit of cruelty that frankly made me sick (gut clenching and everything), he ripped off the red gemstone in Wiene’s forehead. 

She immediately evolved into a full grown Vouivre. In a fit of mindless rage, she attacked the closest human. Which was Bell.

Why did she age? I get why she lost her senses but I don’t understand how she became older.

Good question. I don’t remember anything being foreshadowed; I can’t even remember any other Xenos with the head-gems (though, TBH, Ray’s feather bangs cover her forehead). So the only thing I can figure is For Reasons of Plot. 

Dix used the opportunity to live up to his name. He berated Bell for trying to support a monster like what Wiene had become. Never mind Dix had pushed her into it. He acted as if he held the moral high ground.

I think the point was that the “non sentient” monsters are just one little gem away from becoming sentient. Yet the world thinks it’s o.k. To kill them. I get your point but I just wrote that moral high ground thing like two paragraphs above and I gotta stay consistent. But yeah, he’s a jerk.  

Bell’s Solution is Uniquely Bell

Ah! I was looking at it the other way around — the Xenos were just one gem away from being mindless monsters. But yeah — about a tenth of an inch seems right.

Then Bell did what Bell does best. He summoned the Power of Friendship. Quietly, in an unthreatened way, he approached the crazed (and gigantic) Wiene. Three times she swatted him aside with her tail. Three times he walked back towards her. Until finally, in a creaking voice, she said his name. The next time she touched him, it was with her hand. I was afraid she’d shatter his shoulder (he was pretty beat up by now), but he’d gotten through to her. She started to calm.

I’ll give Bell this: He’s a brave little guy. Makes for a great moment, doesn’t it? Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

A small victory is still a victory. What’d you think of this development, Irina?

I was going to write a smartass reply. Something like Good Bell is Good. Look, it’s hyper cheesy but it’s the type of cheesy I happen to love. I was all like, yay, you go Bell, although my favourite moment is a bit later. 

I thought it was cute and I really liked it. 

It was very wholesome, just like Bell.

Dix is Nothing if not Persistent

Dix wasn’t done, of course. First of all, he still tried to berate Bell. “Saving monsters? Where’s the value, the honor, the duty in that?” Dix raged as he attacked again. This time, Bell’s Mighty Blade of Hestia (it’s a knife, actually, but it’s really handy!) sliced Dix’s spear head in half.

There’s probably a joke in there somewhere…

Bell said that “If they’re asking for help, that’s more than enough,” and his strong emotion got through to the other Xenos, especially Lyd, who moved to fight by Bell’s side. Together, they pushed Dix back until Bell used his Argonaut ability to push Dix into and almost through a stone wall.

Gotta say, that was a satisfying punch. Could have been harder. What’d you think, Irina?

Dix Taps into Something Primal

To me Dix’s speech sounded a bit like a patriotic or military mindset. You know. Like the Monsters are the Enemy. It’s what he, and frankly everyone else including Bell have been taught from birth. They are the enemy and if you don’t take them down they will pose a threat not only to you but also to all those around you. I watch a lot of war movies. It sounded like one of those speeches. 

Dix sounded like General George S. Patton berating a cowardly soldier. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

And Bell is the conscientious objectors, or from Dix’s point of view, the traitor. One that is willing to risk human lives for the sake of monsters that will likely turn on him.

I’m probably giving Dix way too much credit here. He’s probably just thinking duhdoy, monsters ungly, me don’t likey.

Ok so forget all that but it wouldn’t be impossible for a more sensible character to see it that way. Especially an adventurer that has lost countless friends or family to monsters. They might not care that much that they managed to learn Japanese. Although learning Japanese is super impressive. 

I think you just articulated Ais’ position on the matter from episode 5.

Bell Against the World

The Situation Spirals

In the end, though, all this did was setup the need for Bell to stand against the world. At the last second, Dix recalled his curse on Xenos, which meant his power returned. He was a full level 5 again, and even Bell’s best wasn’t enough.

Dix cast a spell on Weine so that no matter where she looked, she’d see a smiling and beckoning Bell. Dix opened doors so that the path led straight to the surface.

You can probably see where this is heading.

Oh wait, you skipped my favourite moment. So the gem thing that Wiene had on her forehead. It’s important. Obviously, it was keeping Wiene sane somehow. The gem is also mentioned later on by the Loki familia. Crow’s gonna mention it, this time I read ahead. 

Dix had a clue about the importance of the gem because to get Bell and Lyd off him, he threw it over an edge. At this point Bell did this awesome hero slide jump to catch it at the last minute and of course Lyd had to catch him as he vaulted over the edge. It was a classic action hero moment and I got a great screenshot out of it. I loved it!  

Bell dove after the gem, even as it flew over the edge of the pit, with complete faith that Lyd could catch him. That’s real trust! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

It was the Power of Friendship with an added dose of Teamwork! 

Wiene Arrives on the Surface

Wiene raged straight to the surface, and terrified people ran screaming. Hestia Famila was there looking for Bell, and they ran towards the commotion. Haruhime was the only one who recognized the enormous rampaging monster as Wiene. 

Bell arrived and tried to calm Wiene, but before he could make much progress, a huge spear pinned her shoulder to the wall. Bell looked up to see the first string of Loki Familia on a rooftop. Somehow, it seemed they’d been tipped off that something was going down.

Also, Finn Deimne seemed to know more than he should. He announced that there was no gem on the creature’s forehead, so they were to eliminate it immediately. So Bell, while Wiene writhed in pain against the wall, slowly took up position between Wiene and Loki Familia. He raised his arms to block their attacks.

Brave? Foolish? What did you think, Irina?

How Does the Gem Work?

Do we know what would happen if Bell put that gem on the first random monster he encountered? Would that monster become “sentient” as well? Like can they mass produce these and just have all the monsters sentient. Will that put the guild and most of the familias out of business? Oooohhh so a lot of people have a vested interest in monsters just staying monsters. In fact, the entire economy of the world would collapse. Man this runs deep!

All things considered, I’m surprised it’s only the Loki familia. 

That’s a lot of fire power standing there… Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Oh, wait, you were talking about Bell. Considering Bell as a character, I’m not sure there was anything else he could have done. I was a bit confused by why he was freaking out so much. What else did he think was going to happen? And how is this any different then two minutes before that when he was desperately fighting Wiene in a crowded marketplace? 

I have to wonder why he didn’t even try to explain what was going on. Or why he didn’t try to replace the gem. I mean, facing a problem head on is his style, but it still made me wonder.

Conclusion of DanMachi III Episode 7

Irina, what’d you think about DanMachi III Episode 7 overall?

He might try to explain and gem the girl next week. I figure they didn’t have time to start that in the 30 seconds left. 

The episode had a lot of fun moments. I liked when the monsters all came together and decided it was their turn to save Bell. On a logical basis it’s really a super bad idea. But on an emotional basis it was a sweet moment and I bet it will work out.  

That was cool. And I didn’t know Gros was such a tsundere! 

It’ll be interesting to see if Bell calms down and tries to reason with the Loki Familia. They have some seriously powerful members. Talking his way out is really his only hope.

Reviews of the Other Episodes

• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 1 – Dungeons and Wyverns
• Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 2: Coexistence And Lili’s Foot In Mouth Disease
• Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? III Episode 3 – The Mission To Level 20
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 4 – Told You He Was A Dix
• Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? III Episode 5 – Gros Isn’t Wrong
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 6 – A Man Named Modaka
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 7 – Bell Takes on Wiene and the World
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 8 – An Enemy of Humanity
• Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? III Episode 9 — Regrets And Introspection
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? III Episode 10 – Wild Bell Chase
• Is It Wrong To Try to Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? III Episode 11 — A Polite Betrayal
• Is It Wrong To Try to Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? III Episode 12 – Full Circle