By Fujino Omori and Suzuhito Yasuda. Released in Japan as “Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatte Iru Darou ka?” by Softbank Creative. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Andrew Gaippe.
I spent a lot of time in my last review complaining about Book 5’s use of Hestia as a character, so it feels especially good to see how well she fares here. In a volume where her entire life with Bell is destroyed and then offered up as sacrifice to an arrogant God, she shines, not in terms of being a badass but in terms of doing what she’s meant to do best – unite people who care about each other and get *them* to fight. After spending most of the last volume jealous of various women’s dealings with Bell, especially Lily, she doesn’t even think twice about rescuing her from Soma Familia’s clutches. And then there’s her confession to Bell, which sadly takes place during a deadly escape so she can’t press more. That said, once again, Bell just doesn’t see you that way, Hestia.
The girl he does have romantic chemistry with is of course Aiz, though it’s arguable whether that’s only on his end – I remain convinced that Aiz is not so much confused about her love for him as confused about her jealousy of him. Still, their dance at the Gods’ ball is a highlight of the book, and we get another round of training the only way Aiz knows how – beat Bell up till he learns. There’s also some new additions to Hestia Familia, taking it over the count of ‘two’ we’ve had for the first five books. No, not Aiz, but Lily, Welf, and Mikoto (remember her? From the last book?) all join up in order to help Bell and Hestia, though Welf and Mikoto may only be there temporarily. When they all combine, and with the aid of Lyr from the bar once again showing off how badass she is while trying not to reveal her true identity, they’re unstoppable.
They are perhaps a little too unstoppable, and yes, there’s elements of male power fantasy here. Speaking of which, the main villain this time around is Apollo, whose followers are all basically picked up by him because he wants to sleep with them, but are nevertheless very competent – and arrogant, as Bell finds in the first of the book’s four extended fights, which in page count take up nearly 3/4 of the book itself. I was a little irritated at the ‘depraved bisexual’ trope being played completely straight, especially when we’ve seen Freya’s desire for Bell played with a lot less creepiness in previous books. The other flaw in the book is during the battle for Lily at Soma Familia – Lily overcoming the power of the wine/drug to beg that she be able to help Bell is a powerful scene, but Soma is *such* a cipher that it’s not as big as it can be.
So now, at the end of Book Six, the cat is out of the bag as far as Bell Cranel being a badass. Everyone in the entire city watched him and the Familia stomp Apollo’s people, and Hestia’s secret isn’t anymore. I suspect that will affect the next book greatly. Before that, though, we have a spinoff coming in October, which will deal with Aiz and her adventures in the Loki Familia. Usually we get spinoff manga, not novels, so I’m looking forward to this. As for the main series, this volume is absolutely worth your time.
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