Season 3 of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? set a high bar for success after a game-changing plotline that sent the story in a bold new direction. DanMachi IV begins slowly and humbly, with its characters refreshed and bearing renewed enthusiasm for adventures ahead, only for the tone and optimism of the premiere to descend with each floor of the dungeon, becoming darker than before.
Last season saw Bell Cranel nearly compromise his reputation to save the Xenos, an intelligent monster race with dreams of being able to ascend to the surface. In the end, Bell lost a hard-fought battle against Asterius, the minotaur he vanquished in season 1, but his reputation was saved thanks to his heroics, and the Xenos were saved as well.
A New Direction
When the last season ended, there was a mixture of emotions felt as the adrenaline rush died down, namely curiosity about where the story would go from there. The revelation that monsters were capable of intelligence, emotion, and speech has terrifying implications, and going back to business as usual wouldn't feel right.
Thankfully, the start of Bell's new journey begins with a sort of reframing of his quest's objectives and what they mean, though only briefly. In a meeting with Fels, Bell is told that if the dungeon can be conquered and the dangerous monsters thwarted, the Xenos can be saved. Bell's goal as a character seems to have shifted from self-betterment for glory and self-actualization, and more altruism.
But not a lot of time is spent reflecting on Bell's thoughts on what he wants and how what he has learned has shaped him in retrospect of season 3's events. Worse, still, the Xenos, who are a key part of the story's long-term endgame, are primarily absent this time around, leaving their voice decidedly absent from the story.
It's a shame because the characters therein and the emotions that they brought to the story were exceptional. There is however Marie, a mermaid whom Bell befriends early on, who follows him throughout the season, offering aid where she can. She is but a small reminder of a larger part of the story that takes a backseat this time around.
None of this is to say that the story that fans are treated to is lackluster, as it most certainly is not. If anything, DanMachi IV has been the best season for strengthening the supporting cast and showing their effectiveness when Bell is absent, something that paid off in dividends as the season approached its cliffhanger.
Who Needs Bell?
The first half of the season introduced a grizzly threat that could have easily been the jumping-off point for the whole season's shenanigans, yet in retrospect was just the tip of the iceberg. A series of circumstances separate Bell from his friends, and the party has to make due. It's a tense battle of attrition between the Hestia Familia and the Moss Huge, the arc's foe. Each new episode balanced the hopefulness and optimism of the characters with the increasingly daunting difficulty of their adversary.
In this high-stakes environment, the proceedings were surprisingly wholesome, full of moments where Lili grew as a tactician or Mikoto executed a new technique that saved the group. Without an ounce of hyperbole, the opening half of the season has some of the most satisfying character moments in the series, all the better for Bell's separation. The only caveat to the first arc of the season is Bell's rather rushed progression towards gaining the strength to overcome his foe.
Ryu Lion's Crusade
After a brief reprieve, the true meat of DanMachi IV was revealed when Ryu made her return in the most unfortunate of circumstances. A murder spurs on the anger of adventurers and prompts a search party to comb the lower floors to hunt down The Gale Wind, Ryu's alter-ego and the suspect in the murder. This is where season 4 becomes infinitely more shocking, but harder to assess as a whole. Similar to the season's first half, it is a game of attrition where the stakes are continually being raised in a battleground full of unknown factors hiding in the shadows, all exacerbated by competing powers.
Ryu has never been so expressive or angry before, and this season begins to explore her past and her vendetta in more detail. Meanwhile, the hunt for Ryu, Ryu's crusade, and Bell's desire to save her and everyone else all coalesce into a new dilemma; an impending disaster seen by Cassandra, one of the season's MVPs. Poor Cassandra was done dirty this season, not so maliciously as to say that it is a drawback of the season, but in the sense that she goes through a lot with little in the way of justice (at least not yet). She sees premonitions of death and destruction for all in the party, with Bell and Ryu at the center, and these visions keep happening, all while the party ignores her.
It's not as if they don't care, but rather they can't see Cassandra's visions as anything other than a reason to be cautious, not a sign that death awaits and that they should stop. Her futile efforts to stop the unstoppable are stressful, and it becomes a source of anticipation and mild frustration to watch her battle against fate. The music and animation were as expected of DanMachi. The sound design across the board elevates action that might otherwise come off as boring and the violence of season 4 is unreal. Those who have come to expect a certain threshold of violence should expect much darker things this season. And it's only going to get darker.
This is but part 1 of what will be the longest season of a series that typically has about 12 episodes per season. When it ends, it leaves the characters at their lowest points in the worst possible positions. Bell and Ryu's next steps will be in a territory unseen before in the series, but it feels as though Ryu's revenge arc received an abrupt end. There are still untied loose ends and monsters that need to be defeated. The story is far from finished and the biggest concern is that the story won't be able to keep the pace going into the second half. There's only so long that a story can stay on high alert before things stagnate or get too huge.
However, seen on its own, part 1 has already avoided such a fate and delivered some of the tensest episodes of the series, though not topping the emotional highs of season 3. When the next half begins in early 2023, it will have a lot to live up to.