The following contains spoilers for Episode 4 of DanMachi IV, "Mermaid (The Girl of Water City)" now streaming on HIDIVE.
Some of the best episodes are the ones that are so enveloping that you don't realize how much time has passed until the end credits hit, and suddenly the wait for the next episode is more tantalizing. DanMachi IV continues strong with a short episode that offers some cute moments as a reprieve from the stressful plight of the characters.
Last week, Bell was separated from the party, seemingly leaving the party in the worst possible position, but not all hope was lost. Having fallen down a steep waterfall, Bell battled a dangerous threat and was soon greeted by a new friend in the dungeon; a mermaid who introduced herself this week as Marie.
Little Rookie & The Mermaid
Marie is a Xenos who stayed below because she is a water-based creature that can't move around the higher floors. Marie's cuteness and her affectionate personality fluster Bell in an utterly adorable way that seldom gets tiring even after three prior seasons of watching him get flustered by women.
Marie is a bright spot in a very dark place and despite her small corner of the dungeon being safe for her, she is fearful, not only for herself but for Bell. She's been lonely, but Bell has to find his friends, putting him in a tough spot, seeing as how there's plenty of dry land between her and other Xenos, let alone enough water.
Apart from their first two scenes with Bell, there isn't much to say about Marie as of now, and it's unclear where their story will take them, given their species. One can hope that she doesn't become the new Wiene of this season. Not to say Wiene wasn't appreciated, but to have another exotic character put in for the sake of cuteness and drama would feel cheap.
A Monster Party
Meanwhile, the rest of the party and the survivors they are guarding continue to run into large groups of smaller monsters blocking their path. However, the threat of the monsters is exacerbated by the Moss Huge, which continues to hunt them, even smart enough to rile the monsters up into attacking en masse.
Back in season 1, a "pass party" was introduced, in which a retreating party being chased by monsters would make a dash for safety with the risk of other parties being swarmed. This season sees the Moss Huge employing a similar tactic to wear down the Hestia Familia. The rest of the episode could have easily just been them all suffering, but instead, they were in prime form.
As the cast has grown, DanMachi has done a good job of giving every character a time to shine, big or small. Lili has been all the rage the last few episode reviews, but, Aisha, Ouka, Welf, and Mikoto all have some meaningful hero moments. In this episode, in particular, Mikoto steals the show with the reveal of a new technique.
As a side-note, good subtitle design is essential in a medium such as this, and HiDIVE and Crunchyroll have both set some high standards for subtitle presentation in streaming. The addition of an editor's note translating Mikoto's new technique offered some appreciable context to the importance of the name and strengthened an already satisfying scene.
While the party isn't anywhere near out of the woods, it is a pleasant surprise to see the series show that this party can be so resilient without Bell being there. Even if he is absent, the kind of spirit he inspires in people is still there. It is important for these characters to be strong and victorious, however small, without the protagonist there to save them.
As was stated in the beginning, this episode ends with a tease of things to come, leaving those caught in the excitement on a cliffhanger. It's a good kind of disappointment that builds excitement going forward, and it seems that - just maybe - the Hestia Familia is nearing a turning point in their struggle.