From one of the most interesting titles that a person can think of, this series has definitely caught my attention. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Danjon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darō ka or DanMachi for short) has recently taken my heart. This action rom-com story is written by the talented Fujino Omori and illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda (Durarara!!, Yozakura Quartet, Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Survivor, Kamisama Kazoku.) It is currently being published in the West by Yen Press since December of 2014.
Story: Oratio, a large city whose largest feature is the huge dungeon that looms over it. Adventures travel from around the world to claim the treasure within the dungeon. The only problem... the monsters inside this endlessly respawning dungeon. To give humans a fair chance, and partially for their own entertainment, the various gods have decided to decend from Tenkai (heaven) to give what they call "blessings" to select humans. These blessings would give beings developed growth and "status" in exchange for pledging ones allegience to the god of which bestows their blessing.
Bell Cranel is a brand new adventure and the only member of the Hestia Familgia. When Bell was young, his grandfather would often tell him stories about mighty heroes and how they would save princesses and maidens. Bell's dream is to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather's folktale heroes and one day become an adventurer that is so strong and powerful enough to be able to pick up girls in a dungeon, however everything changes when he is saved by the Sword Princess, Aiz Wallenstien. After being saved he realized how he hasfallen in love with someone so famous and powerful. To be able to be with Aiz, Bell decides that he must become stronger so that he can stand along side her. However Bell's goddess, Hestia, has a different idea in mind.
Review: This was actually the first light novel I have ever purchased and I loved the hell out of it. The context and background of this series is relative to that of Sword Art Online or Log Horizon by being a part of the video game sort of aspect. The reason for this is that the term "status" is which is relative to the concept of experience and leveling up in video games as well as such terms as "Attack", "Defense", "Speed", even "Magic" and "Ability." Not only that, but also idea of how to boost certain stats. For example, Speed is increased by running, Defense is increased by taking hits, and Attack is increased by dealing damage.
What make this an even further plus is the amount of heavy mythology that has been thrown into the mix. With the various gods from different religions, this series has the potential to play heavily into mythology whereas it can be considered a part of this worlds politics. Even when dealing with them as Familigas each one has their own set of rules and laws by which the members are governed.
Like I mentioned before, the novel takes a video game-esque type of world, but unlike those of its genre, Danmachi brings something fresh to the table. Bell Cranel, our ever lovable protagonist has come to a very different kind of challenge: he wants to become stronger. When looking at series in the same ballpark as DanMachi, most of the protagonist are veterans in combat or strategy, while Bell finds himself to be lacking of both. Bell finds himself weak and lacking in the qualities that other heroes have and desires to be like them.
One of the main focuses of DanMachi is growth, mostly focused on the growth of Bell as he tries to catch up with the girl of his dreams, Aiz Wallenstien. The importance of this dream becomes more than possible with his ability of Realis Phase. What Realis Phase is is basically the fact that Bell's growth is dependant upon how consistant his desire is as well as how strong of a desire he possesses within. With this ability, Bell has been noted to grow faster than the average adventurer in Oratio. Even at the end of each novel they show Bell's stats and information on his abilities and items which helps the reader graps just how much growth Bell has gone through. From the perspective of the reader, who is seeing Bell's growth from his own point of view, the viewer is able to feel more of Bell emotions and a deeper connection to the character.
Now even though Aiz seems to be Bell's love interest from how much she has impacted Bell, this is all we see of the Bell-Aiz relationship for the most part in this volume since it more focus on Bell's relationship with his goddess and the true heroine of the volume, Hestia.