The following contains spoilers for Episode 12 of Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? Season 4, "Amphisbaena (A Song of Despair)" now streaming on HIDIVE.
The much-awaited second part of Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 4 aired its first episode on January 5th, 2023, at 12:00 pm EST, giving fans some much-needed closure after a debilitating cliffhanger in the final episode of part 1. The series had already become quite popular within the fantasy genre, with the three-month hiatus further aggravating the furore as fans eagerly awaited the second part of Fujino Omori’s highly popularized anime series.
Since part 1 of Season 4 left several loose ends, fans had high hopes from part 2’s first episode as it had big shoes to fill. However, the episode didn’t exactly delve into some of the more pressing matters, such as Bell and Ryu’s fate, which is understandable considering it's just the beginning of the new season. Nevertheless, the season started off strong with an intense battle right in the beginning, along with some daunting scenes of the Dungeon’s deep floors.
Recap of Season 4 Part 1
A quick recap is essential to explain how Bell and his party ended up in such a horrid state. Bell’s party (comprising several Familia) got separated from him, leaving them to fend for themselves as they faced a two-headed dragon monster. Bell and Ryu, on the other hand, were left facing an all-powerful monster known as the Juggernaut.
The two barely escaped death, rendering Ryu completely unconscious and leaving Bell with a broken arm and bleeding wounds. The two are safe for a while, yet the threat of monsters approaching still looms over them.
The Cage of Despair
For the most part, the focus remains on the separated party rather than Bell himself, as the episode begins with the appearance of Amphisbaena, a floor boss that appears much before its intended respawn interval, prompting the party to wonder if the Dungeon purposely wants them dead. After experiencing the scorching heat of the dragon’s blue napalm, Aisha Belka orders everyone to escape. However, the dragon targets the ceiling to block off the exit with falling debris, leaving the party helpless and in despair.
With both strength and morale at their lowest, the party initially struggles to muster up the courage to fight, even with Aisha’s attempts at reinvigorating their spirits. Even the party’s commander, Liliruca, had given up all hope, while Cassandra gave in to her prophecies of despair even before the fighting had even begun. However, Welf used Bell’s example to light up a flame in everyone’s heart, encouraging them to fight the two-headed dragon. Once the fighting begins, it soon becomes apparent that magic and physical attacks won’t work on the dragons, as their mist negates all magic and the crystallized skin deters any physical attacks.
Liliruca spirals under the debilitating pressure and gets wrapped up in a flurry of self-doubt, something that Daphne breaks through, with her words piercing through the haze in Liliruca’s mind. Suddenly, she takes control and maneuvers the situation, assessing the battlefield from the back line and ordering a counterattack. She signals Mikoto to use her skill to entrap the amphibian dragon, which in turn destroys the dungeon’s ceiling, hurling tons of debris over the monster and incapacitating it. With this opening, the party lands its final blow on the monster, defeating it entirely on their own.
The Deep Floors
While the party fought Amphisbaena on the lower floors, Bell was stuck in the 27th floor, one of the Dungeon’s deep floors. With a broken arm and fatal wounds, Bell was in no condition to fight, and with the threat of incoming monsters, the adventurer froze in place, not knowing what to do next. Even exiting the floor wasn’t an option as there was no way of knowing what laid behind the exit door.
Realizing the deep floors’ ability to render a person mentally incapacitated, Bell tried to find an exit with Ryu barely conscious, yet the episode reaches its conclusion just as they reach the floors’ exit. It's safe to assume that something eerie lays in wait behind the door, as the incessant howls of monsters depicted in the final scene point towards another difficult battle for Bell, leaving the series on another hair-raising cliffhanger.
Overall Impressions
In terms of ancillary aspects such as music and animations, the series has definitely stepped up its game, as evident from the scenes with Amphisbaena which presented the twin-headed dragon’s movements and overall frames in high definition, allowing viewers to feel the petrifying nature of the reptilian monster through their screens. The blue napalm and red mist also conveyed a contrasting mix, representing the monster's two-faced nature and differing abilities.
However, the episode reached a disappointing conclusion as the ending was left on another cliffhanger, leaving Bell and Ryu’s fate still in the fray. For now, not much can be said about their survival, making the second episode all the more anticipated. This nail-biting conclusion has surely left many fans already awaiting the next episode of this highly popularized anime series.