REVIEW: ‘Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?’ Season 5 Episode 3 — “Partner (Odr)”

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 5 Episode 3 (Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka) continues the trajectory of the previous episode by continuing Syr and Bell’s exciting date. While the episode is entertaining and highlights its characters quite well, it is sorely lacking in plot progression and makes everything thus far feel like filler episodes.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 5 Episode 3 picks up where Episode 2 left off. Syr and Bell are trying to escape the prying eyes of the Freya Familia and their almost infinite number of members. They’re also being tailed by Ais and Hestia, who briefly spot them entering a store. The two encounter members of the Freya Familia who are chasing Bell, but Ais tries to fend them off.

Bell gets the brilliant idea to evade their pursuers with a magical invisibility cloak, Harry Potter style. Syr is delighted and almost unconcerned by the whole ordeal, while Bell is actively running for his life. He manages to evade them and takes her to a church that holds a grave of a spirit. He tells her the tragic love story of the spirit and a knight torn between the spirit and another woman.

But despite her rage, the spirit died protecting the knight, and her grave was memorialized in the church. He then tells Syr that the moral of his story is that you should always strive to protect those you love without ever giving up, alluding to the fact that he will keep protecting Syr no matter what.

Syr, still as infatuated with Bell as ever, teases him about whether or not he would stop her if she ever went rogue and asks him if he would take her back to his place and keep her forever, making the ever-meek Bell as uncomfortable as always. Syr then gets Bell to buy her some jewelry to keep as a memory of their time together in the church. After leaving, they go to their next scheduled stop, a dinner cruise.

They arrive there, and we quickly learn that the cruise is filled with many of Bell and Syr’s friends, including Ryu, Hestia, and Ais. Bell wonders why the Freya Familia is looking after Syr, but Syr avoids the question by asking Bell whether or not he’d treat her differently if he knew the answer. He responds he won’t, but she doesn’t answer anyway, as doing that would break her deal with Freya.

Ais and Ryu watch over Bell and Syr, who seem to enjoy themselves. They both look sad in the process, making it very clear they are jealous of Syr but are still trying to support them regardless. Before long, the ship gets raided by the ever-aggressive Freya Familia. Luckily, Syr’s co-workers and Ais step in and allow Bell and Syr to get away yet again.

The scenes so far depict the wholesome relationship between Syr and Bell, showing how much Syr is in love with Bell and how kind Bell is to her. They also show how supportive their friends are, but not much else about the episode is noteworthy. Syr doesn’t reveal why Bell has to deal with the wrath of the Freya Familia, and Bell doesn’t seem too bothered by the sudden hostility.

The overarching narrative is not touched at all. However, the episode gets a little more interesting when the two head to the Bridge of Heroes. Here, Bell spots a statue of the great hero Albert, who is said to have fended off the Black Dragon who caused havoc in Orario.

Syr tells Bell that the space for the last statue opposite Albert’s statue is empty because the world is waiting for the last hero who will finally defeat the Black Dragon. She then tells him that she’s looking for her own hero or “Odr” but remains as vague and dramatic as ever by not elaborating further. This is the only part of the episode that hints to a future plotline in the anime.

Their moment is ruined by yet another group of Freya Familia members, but Syr decides to evade them by taking Bell to a private room. The episode ends with Bell freaking out because he is now completely alone with Syr in a bedroom.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 5 Episode 3, is another fun and enjoyable episode. It presents its characters in a positive light and shows how much they care for each other. However, the episode doesn’t do many things the previous episodes haven’t done so far and does not move the plot forward at all. As such, the episode will likely be better enjoyed by those who prefer the slice-of-life structure.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 5 Episode 3 is out now on HI DIVE.