Though most recent fantasy anime with ridiculously long titles are isekai, they're not the only ones with these weird monikers. Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?, also known simply as DanMachi, is one of the most ludicrous sounding shows around, though it has the popularity to back up the tongue-twister. With numerous spinoffs and adaptations in different mediums, traversing the franchise can feel like being in a dungeon itself.
Thankfully, those who can't get enough of going to the dangerous dungeon are in luck, as the books and anime are far easier to get into. On top of that, more is on the way, so now's the best time to discover why fans love DanMachi.
The Plot of Is It Wrong to Try To Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?
The world of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon? is a city called Orario, which is home to countless gods and goddesses. These powerful supernatural beings have sought to somewhat limit their power in order to challenge themselves by living among the mortals. Life in Orario is especially hard for these normal people, though they make their days go by more easily by pledging themselves to certain gods. The sole patron of the Hestia Familia is the protagonist Bell Cranel, who wishes to be an expert adventurer.
Unfortunately for Bell, the life of such an adventurer is hard and deadly indeed, with anyone venturing into the cavernous "Dungeon" risking life and limb for fortune and glory. Still, Bell trudges on, due to the inspiration given to him by his crush, a female sword master named Ais. Thankfully, he's got quite a harem of lovely ladies wanting to be by his side during his quest -- including the goddess Hestia herself.
Where to Read the DanMachi Manga and Light Novels
DanMachi began as a light novel from Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda, though the former originally tried writing it as a story called Familia Myth. The first volume came out in January 2013 and the series remains ongoing, with 17 in total so far. A spinoff light novel series based around Ais titled Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side: Sword Oratoria began a year after the original, and it's got 12 volumes so far. 2017 saw the release of the side story spinoff Familia Chronicle, which is adjacent to both of the others. All of these books would go on to receive manga adaptations, along with special stories for the characters Lyu and Freya.
With the exception of the most recent volumes, all of the manga and light novels in the DanMachi series have been brought over to the West by Yen Press. They can be found in the usual places, with physical stores like Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and even Walmart carrying them. They can also be ordered on Amazon, Right Stuf Anime and digitally through Kindle and Comixology.
Where to Watch the DanMachi Anime
J.C. Staff handles the anime adaptation for DanMachi, which began in 2015, two years after the original novels. So far the show has three seasons made up of 37 episodes and three OVA specials, as well as an original movie titled Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?: Arrow of the Orion. J.C. Staff also adapted Sword Oratoria into a series, though it only got one 12-episode season in 2017.
A fourth season of the show is coming out later in 2022, so now's the best time for newcomers and veteran fans alike to get caught up. DanMachi can be streamed on Hulu, VRV and HIDIVE, with the movie only found on HIDIVE. It was once on the Crunchyroll streaming service but has since been delisted. Sword Oratoria, on the other hand, can be streamed through Prime Video. For those wanting physical versions instead, Blu-ray collections of the shows can be purchased through retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.