Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria Vol. 1 Review

Review Notes:

• Title: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria Vol. 1
• Spoilers: Mild
• Required Pre-Reading – Danmachi vol. 1 or the entire anime
• As for myself – I have watched Danmachi and currently reading the Vol 1 of the Light Novel.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria Vol. 1 (let’s call it Sword Oratoria) is a side-series of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? (Let’s call it Danmachi). It tells the story of Aiz Wallenstein and her group

Whereas in the main series the world is presented in the viewpoint of Bell Cranell, a newbie adventurer, Sword Oratoria presents the world of Danmachi on the viewpoint of Aiz, Bell’s crush in the main series.

Why is this interesting? In the eyes of Bell Cranell (in the main series), we see the Dungeon (the central place where adventurers in Danmachi go to hunt monsters), as menacing, abusive, and treacherous. Bell Cranell is a newbie adventurer and we see how much he struggles in order to stand side by side Aiz Wallenstein, the woman who saved him in the early chapters of both Danmachi and Sword Oratoria. So we are presented with the problems faced by a weak person. And I can imagine a lot of the light novel’s target audience empathizing with him.

In Sword Oratoria, we see the dungeon on the eyes of Aiz Wallenstein, said to be the strongest female adventurer in the world. Strong characters are often boring and I found it interesting how the novel will try to flesh out Aiz’ character and personality. As it turns out, Aiz’ problems are very different from Bell. While Bell is a newbie, Aiz is already on top. Because of that, it is quite hard for her to level up anymore (yes, level up, like in games). And this makes Aiz uneasy. For example, early in the novel, Aiz killed a group of powerful monsters all on her own. Yet, her stats only level up a measly bit. What does she need to do? Does she want to become weak again?

The Light Novel is successful in presenting this inner conflicts and Aiz’ struggles from the members of her group, the Loki Familia, and of course her interest on Bell.

As noted in this, the best stories about strong characters are not about how they win (because they always do), but more on the subtle things I mentioned above.

And there lies another conflict within Aiz Wallenstein. It is inferred that she was once weak and can’t save anyone, even herself. It is as if she was looking for a new purpose. A lot of things can be inferred as to why Aiz silently began to have an interest to Bell Cranell, the person she saved. Does she want Bell to be strong as her? Does she want someone to protect? Does she want to be protected? Does she chose Bell to be the person who will protect her in the future?

Obviously, I don’t know the answer. I was waiting for Vol 2 of Sword Oratoria + I barely remember the anime.

As far as I see, the first volumes of Danmachi and Sword Oratoria almost mirrors each other. However, some things are presented differently. Some basic World Building facts, like what are familias and what is the dungeon, they are explained differently so you wont feel that Sword Oratoria is just a rehash of Danmachi.

From the Light Novels that I have read thus far, Sword Art Online, Re:Zero, Mahouka, etc, the Danmachi series is my favorite so far. Granted SAO had all those game elements, but Danmachi has them too. Furthermore, I think I like the light – moderate plot progression and  at least one or 2 major conflicts in every volume.

Final Rating: 4/5

• What I like
  • Plot points that will make you skip a heartbeat
  • Presenting the world of Danmachi thru the eyes of one of its strongest adventurers
  • Aiz’ internal monologue about herself, her situation, and her interest on Bell.
  • Event crossover on the two series
• What I don’t like
  • Some message will be lost if you have not read the main series or atleast watch the anime
  • She destroyed those powerful enemies and the EXP gain was very low? Come on!