Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Light Novels, Vol. 3

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Light Novel #3

by Fujino Omori, Suzuhito Yasuda (Illustrator), ヤスダスズヒト (Illustrations)

I've got my eye on you...

With the help of his new supporter Lilliluka, novice adventurer Bell Cranell is making progress deeper into the Dungeon. With new equipment and new allies, he thinks things are finally starting to go his way...but he's dead wrong! Bell's in a panic, Lilliluka's being cryptic, and Hestia's drunk! The trouble never seems to end in this third volume of the hit comedy-fantasy series!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Adventure, Action, Harem, Comedy

197 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2013

About the author

OOMORI Fujino
Name (in native language): 大森藤ノ
Associated Names:
OHMORI Fujino
OMORI Fujino
ŌMORI Fujino

Reviews

[Sushi (寿司) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ancora odio i furigana tra parentesi, ma qui ce ne sono davvero pochi e probabilmente, grazie a Dio, il testo era tutto in Kanji che dovrebbero essere conosciuti. Tranquilli, non ho niente contro i furigana anzi sono utili ma se devo trovarmeli tra parentesi perchè il traduttore è un cretino allora tanto meglio se non ci sono.
Desidererei che Estia fosse Hestia e Ais fosse Aiz (アイズ notare che c'è un tenten ["] quindi si legge Aizu) ma ormai credo sia impossibile.
La storia continua a non essere male anche se Bell è un ingenuo a dir poco.

[Tani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book was much better than the first two. It doesn't suffer from the clunky style of the first book, and I liked the plot much better than I did the second, which focused too much on Lilly for me. Freya really starts to show her hand in this volume, and her meddling brings out a lot of depth for Bell. I actually found myself compelled to keep reading since the first time I started reading this series, and as a result, I actually finished in a decent amount of time. If you're interested in this series, but have struggled with the earlier books, I'd say that this volume should be your final test. If you like this one, you're golden. If you don't, perhaps this series just isn't for you.

[Wilker Sousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sem dúvidas o ápice até agora onde li... Fenomenal esse volume <3

[Gabriel d'Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que batalha final incrível. Cheguei até a me emocionar com a conclusão.

[Tarl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent novel. Where a lot of light novels don't show the protagonist working to become stronger and instead have some sort of insta-jump to being strong, this one takes its time.
Sure, the protagonist has a special skill that allows him to advance quickly, but he actually works at it. He trains with people, he challenges himself when it comes to the dungeons. His powers don't just suddenly appear, everything is worked for, and even the odd gift (like his quick cast) takes time for him to learn.

It's one of the things I really enjoyed about this novel, that and the fact that they revisited something that happened in the first volume and had the protagonist face it. It added closure, and set up the series to continue onwards afterwards with something new, leaving older themes and events behind.

We also got a good glimpse into other characters as the side characters were developed more. We got to see further interactions in other familia and get a better sense of the world and how it works, something that has been happening gradually rather than being given an info dump. It's another part of why I really enjoy this series.

That said, there is a lot of concentration on how the protagonist is feeling, almost excessively so, especially in moments of stress when someone would be reacting rather than overthinking things. This isn't taken to a level that makes it unbearable (Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash: Volume 1 I am looking at you), but it's there and at times detracts from the action or scene that is happening at the time.

Still, I really enjoyed this book, and will continue to read this series and its spinoffs simply because I really enjoy the writing and the overall world that has been created. The characters feel like real people with real problems, and even the gods feel realistic, which is something harder to pull off. So if you are looking for a good light novel, this series is one I would highly recommend.

[Fabrice Gaudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow,

As I said before, this book is a direct follow up in the series, I won't repeat everything, for a full review, please check the review I made of the first book.
This one impressed me way more than the last 2, since I saw the anime and read the manga, I knew the story to some extent, but the details that were put in this one, I have to say that I had a hard time turning off my kindle to go to sleep.

The climax of the final battle with the Minotaur, it was an amazing thing to see in the anime, but in this book, i was taken away, every details of the battle were really well described and I was easily able to see it in my head, the struggle of this intense battle felt alive as I was seeing every movement.

Now, I'm pretty sure that the translation got better.
I read this one really quickly, I was unable to stop, so far, this one was the best of the series.

[K Vimal Raj · Rating 4 out of 5]

good series to read, good world (dungeon building), characters development , waiting for more ...

[Gary Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gonna Fly Now

If you liked the 1976 boxing movie Rocky, have I got a book for you. This third volume has two major plots that consume roughly 80% of the page space: Aiz training Bell how to fight, and Bell's endless battle against the Minotaur. Aiz is the Adrian who inspires the hero to fight on against impossible odds, and wolfboy Bete plays Apollo Creed mocking Tomato Boy until there's egg on his face.

Yawn. Been there, done that, and so I felt like a prisoner forced to follow the predictable trajectory this story took. This was the first volume where I really felt too old and too far from the book's target YA demographic. All of Bell's puppy love mooning over the unattainable Aiz, jealous Hestia, manipulative Freya, protective Syr and Lyu.... I mean, is this an adventure series or a teenage "romantasy"?

Even when the adventure ramps up in the book's latter-half, it's so dragged out, as if Omori had a page limit to meet and kept jet-puffing the battle with more Minotaur MUWOOs and MROOAHs and Bell's internal monologues punctuated by his grunts and groans. And Omori is quick to sprinkle in like pepper on a potato snack those space-filling blank lines of "..." (I wish I knew about that trick in college when I struggled to write 10-page papers. I would tell the prof they are dramatic pauses and then take my D like a man.)

Speaking of drama, Omori does add a Greek chorus to the otherwise mind-numbing battle chapters. Bete, Tiona and Tione stand to the side and bicker with the acerbic bully Bete unwilling to acknowledge that Tomato Boy has come a long way in a short while. My own sneaking suspicion is that wolfboy Bete is Omori's answer to Marvel's Wolverine, and he plays that role with aplomb.

I was numbed in the fog of war but did wake up to wince when on page 156 the Minotaur's blade slashed so close to Bell it snipped a flurry of white hair from the back of his head. Dramatically effective, maybe, but I just don't think things work that way.

RIP Kanu, who gave his life for a riveting side-story-within-a-story that perfectly set the stage for what followed. His ill-fated adventure proved a high point of the book.

Just gotta trash talk Lilly for a paragraph. After playing the albatross in the last volume, here she endangers Bell's life by refusing to obey his clear and repeated order to retreat from the field of battle. She stands there sheepishly yet steadfast, "As long as you're here, I can't run! (p. 158). Why not? Is it a Supporter Union dictate? Did she delude herself into believing her less-than-useless presence would somehow tip the scales in Bell's favor? In my life's experience, when your boss tells you to do something, you do it. It was pathetic that Bell had to beg her to clear out so he could make his escape. But by the time her little prum paws went tup, tup, tup that window had closed. Lilly proved herself an insubordinate liability and I wish she'd be written out of the series... but I know she won't (insert impotent rage emoji when somebody invents one).

Easy to overlook in this volume bookended by the Training and the Big Fight are the quieter character development moments. Eina Tulle, my favorite character, is willing to lose her job with the Guild on principle as she presses for an investigation of Soma Familia. Her motivations are admirable. She wants to protect all adventurers from this toxic and drug-addicted clan whose mad desire to acquire wealth at any cost poses a threat to ethical adventurers.

Then we discover that Lyu also apparently has a thing for Bell (who doesn't, right?). Since the motherly waitresses at the Benevolent Maiden appear uniformly opposed to Bell's adventuring, I don't see much future for them in his expanding harem of admirers.

The flashback to Bell's grandfather appeared intended to retcon some depth and decency into what was hitherto a cartoonish dirty old man whose dying wish was for his grandson to go to the city and assemble a harem to vicariously fulfill his own demented wet dreams.

Hestia is also rewarded with some reputation restoration in this volume: "The goddess seemed to exist right on the border of 'fetching girl' and 'lovely young lady.' ... She was part mischievous troublemaker, but also refined--both elements seemingly entwined within her. ... Hestia possessed a dignity befitting a goddess" (p. 13). This was a welcome development as the flaky goofball goddess Hestia has played until now would not be sustainable long-term. And with the expanding scope and cast in this volume, it's clear Omori is playing 4-D chess and plotting the long game.

One great appeal of light novels is the illustrations. In the afterword to volume 2, Omori indirectly apologizes for Suzuhito Yasuda who "overcame a very difficult schedule to provide amazing artwork." The artwork was okay in that volume, but often appears phoned in for this one. Chapter 3's isn't even a drawing but looks like a photograph of wispy clouds. The lined-up swords illustration for chapter 5 was just lazy and utterly failed to capitalize on any of the new characters or the spirit of that all-action conclusion. But the award for absolute worst illustration in any light novel I've yet read goes to chapter 4's drawing of, well, what exactly is that? I thought it was an empty Thanksgiving horn o' plenty. No, not in a Japanese novel. Maybe a chopped potato from Hestia's side hustle? No. I finally figured out it's the minotaur's missing horn. But what a small and lazy drawing it is, free-floating in a page of white space.

That said, Yasuda does excel in drawing beautiful women, incontrovertibly testified to by our opening the book to his peekaboo-panty painting of Hestia and Bell followed by Freya's big reveal, which had to have crashed hard into and dented the "Ages 13 & Up" guardrail. I don't remember that scene being in the anime...! Freya doffs her clothes again in a rear-view shot for the prologue. Yasuda's "correction" of Hestia's warning to Lilly was well done, even if I can't believe Bell is that much taller than the girls. Aiz stands out prominently in her two illustrations. Lyu's side-eye glance is cute with Bell's reaction reflected in the dish. The Minotaur illos did the job.

Mentioning Lyu makes me wonder why Omori fills this story with difficult to pronounce and confusing names. Lyu, Syr, Riveria, and those Amazon sisters Tiona and Tione Hyrute. Hey, I'm still out here struggling to say Hephaistos!

I had to wonder if Yasuda reads the story before illustrating its key moments. Page 77 finds Bell with Aiz, admiring "every detail of her innocent, sleeping face" and "the nape of her neck." The nape is the back of the neck, and Bell's ability to behold it would be impossible if one believes Yasuda's illustration on the opposite page that not only shows Aiz facing Bell but her hair completely covering her nape.

On that note, if books had drinking games, toss back a shot every time Omori mentions Aiz's blonde hair. Dude, we know she's blonde! I get it that to the Japanese blonde hair is an exotic novelty, but Omori's obsession with it is beginning to border on the fetishistic.

Can somebody start a GoFundMe to buy coffee for the Yen On Press proofreader pool? There were a ton of typos in this volume; e.g., Bell remembers Gramps' "arms, thick as tree trucks" (p. 154). Astoundingly, this was not a mistake! Gramps was so old (how old was he?) that he lived through the Stone Age where people actually drove trucks made out of trees. Saw it myself on The Flintstones. So... do I get my No Prize?

Okay, so I found disappointing this Rocky-riffed concluding volume of Bell's redemption story arc. I know I'm in the minority here in ranking volume one as S tier, two a disastrous dip in the Lilly pond, and three a dragged-out drag-out fight. Hey, I just want more sword-and-sorcery adventuring and less love triangles and yearning teen romance. Before bitterness takes root, I will take a brief break from the series before taking up volume 4. And I will return as I enjoy the characters and the unfolding story and am a tremendous fan of the anime. That and I already have all 19 volumes on my shelf!

[Russell Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe it's because it's been a hot minute since the anime aired, but this seems to be an example of a story where I think the anime did it better. I feel like the show toned down a bit of the harem aspects (believe it or not) and I also think the times when the character Bell is being extremely cringe/pathetic take much less time in the show while the book painfully drags them over multiple pages.

I don't like to really include price as a consideration when grading a story, but I really can't help it here. I think the fact that these light novels on kindle cost $7.99 significantly contributed to me enjoying this less. These books are only 200 pages, so it is already a pretty high penny per page rate compared to other books. I understand and appreciate the fact that part of it is due to being translated...

But the writing is very mediocre, even by translated standards. The prose is extremely generic and bare bones and the formatting actually results in fewer words per page. Especially when Bell is being a wimp and it's written in first person with the word scared being repeated 10 times and each one takes an entire line on the page. They also said something cut 'like a knife through butter' no less than three times, which would bother me a bit even in a full-sized book.

I feel refreshed enough on the plot of this story that I'm not continuing the book series and I'll just stick with the anime from now on.

[MC · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be quite honest, the second volume of this series, while still good, was a bit of a let-down. This third volume more than made up for this. Given how cool the arc (and especially the end battle) of the anime was, I expected great things. I was NOT disappointed.

Picking up shortly after the second volume ends, Bell Cranell and his new supporter, Lilly, are dungeon-crawling together to earn money. Despite their successes, Bell finds himself at a tough position. He wants to get stronger and level up, but he constantly sees how weak he truly is. Thankfully, he's about to get some help from an unexpected, but ideal, source.

I loved the expansion in the world-building and characterization in this third volume of Dungeon. To see the inner-workings of Bell, Aiz, Hestia, and other characters, was cool. I loved seeing yet again how, despite her immaturity at times, Hestia is sharp and not to be taken lightly.

Finally, the fight at the end was truly epic and kick-ass. And there is some advancement in Bell's hopes to have some contact with Aiz Wallenstein. Really can't wait for the fourth volume this December.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this series anyway and volume 3 is about 3/4 through the anime series which recently aired.
Like most novels/books I preferred the book to the anime.

The first book I felt started a bit stiff, I think trying to explain the basic concepts of the world being like a game but not actually being a game and life being on the line wasn't put across very well, or at least the way it was translated into English didn't do it justice. However since then Volume 2 and 3 have been written/translated better.

Overall enjoyed the book but looking forward to volume 5 which is likely to be after the anime and where I don't know whats going to happen next :)

[Lawrence Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more of these books I read, the better they seem to get. Although I've read them wildly out of order. I've watched the anime, which is an adaptation of volumes 1-5, then I read volume 1, and then volume 1 of Sword Oratoria, the spinoff anime follow Aiz, and then I read volumes 6-8 of the main series, and then volumes 2-3 of Sword Oratoria, and now I'm working on volumes 1-5 of the main series. If that wasn't confusing, congratulations. I'm so confused I can't remember which parts were the anime and which parts were the main series following Bell and which parts were Sword Oratoria following Aiz.

I feel dizzy...

[Aaron Nagy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good continuation of this fun series. I would say it's pretty much the end of the first arc and it does a good job showing growth of the main character and gets me excited for things to come.

[Dustin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, but the fight scene at the end dragged a bit.

[Doug Bolden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say the dialogue in this one has gotten mostly better (the need to write out every one of a certain minotaur's "mmmoooooaoahah?!" sounds, notwithstanding) and the general plot is now much more focused on what the world would mean. Definitely the best written of the three, so far, with the sense of there being an actual impact about how this crazy world works. The gods feel like a potential threat more fully, here, and adventurers and their various biases and prejudices continue to be explored. The main goddess, Hestia, feels more like a character and less like a comic device while other characters in a growing list of side-characters are a bit toned down. It does not really dive more into the dungeon in any great detail, but it expands upon some of the mechanics in a nice complement to the previous volume. The climatic fight is suitably climatic to finish out this first story arc.

I could take a break from the series, now, and go on to other things, but I think I might try out volume four first and see how that hits me. I'm not sure how much deeper I'll go with this series, but I'm glad I'm pushed past my misgivings from the first one and gave it a chance to grow and develop, some.

[Lire-une-passion · Rating 3 out of 5]

"​En résumé, c'est un troisième tome que j’ai trouvé assez lent dans la première partie, mais qui rattrape le tout dans les 100 dernières pages. Si la première partie est plus tournée sur la psychologie des personnages, la seconde est totalement tournée sur l'action. Bell s’affirme de plus en plus, et se rend compte que gravir les échelons ne sera pas aussi simple qu'il pouvait le penser. Je suis tout de même curieuse de lire la suite et de voir ce que prévoit l’auteur. Je pense que nous ne sommes pas au bout de nos surprises !"

Chronique complète: http://lire-une-passion.weebly.com/fa...

[Paige Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked how this novel was put together. They really showcased bell's growth and his strive to get even better and stronger than he was before. Bell wants to become a so-called "hero" He gets reunited with his savior and the person he looks up to the most, wanting to become just like her, Ais. He was saved by her before and decided it was his turn to save her, it showed his resilience and courage. He defeated the same thing that had defeated him before, leveling up. I really like how at the climax of the battle bell still continued and pushed forward.

[Javier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't without its flaws, but it is definitely above a 4.5. I could explain to you what I think they are, but most importantly are its myriad of strengths. Bell is a great main character and his values are proper, something to strive for and admire. The writing is perfect for the tale it is telling and the medium (fun because it changes narrative types). It is a story of self-reflection and courage, and it shows through its different cast of characters. Perhaps it is my state of being as of late, but I got emotional along the journey plenty of times.

[Al · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bell's Minotaur fight is my second favorite fight scene ever. The first is the Optimus Prime and Megatron fight in Transformers The Movie(1986). So reading this book was pure joy. Reading Bell's thoughts while he was fighting was amazing. I didn't know he was giving up in the beginning. And seeing him overcome his fears was awesome. I did read the book in two days and that is a new record for me. I can't help myself. I need more.

[Ganan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best in the series yet

This book is what really sets this light novel series apart. Classic heroic fantasy tales centre stage as Bell finally has to come face to face with his worst nightmare in order to take the next step to reaching his goal! A cracking read and can’t wait to read the next one!

[Eli Holguin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pushing beyond your limits

The third book is the perfect closing to this first part of this amazing story. It shows you that anything is possible if you take that first step into allowing yourself to be uncomfortable. You won’t know an outcome regardless if you fail. If you never give it a chance.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bull and Bunny

This volume promises one thing and delivers on it in every way. I'm not usually very engaged by battle scenes in books but I wasn't about to stop reading in the middle of this fight. Excitedly moving on to volume 4.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having more of Bell’s inner thoughts presents him as a bit more childish and annoying than compared to the anime (I assume). Even still, love the series, and the fight at the end of this one was fantastic!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting but the duel between Bell & the Minotaur was actually very well done.

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come

[Tyson Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

It should really be a 4.5 stars. The final fight was amazing to read.

[Nehemiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Argonaut

[Nabeel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's much better than the first 2.

[morgan tyler lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 5 was intense

The last chapter is one that sums up the enthusiasm I had for this book, the epic chapter was worth the book alone.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un grand merci à Guillaume ainsi qu’à l’équipe d’Ofelbe pour cette lecture et pour leur confiance. Aaaah comme l’univers de Dan Machi m’avait manqué ! Il fait partie de mes titres préférés dans cette maison d’édition, et jusqu’à maintenant, chaque tome m’a apporté un divertissement sans cesse renouvelé. Le tome 3 n’a pas dérogé à la règle, loin de là. Et puis… vous avez vu cette couverture ? Un petit bijou !

Si vous n’avez pas lu les tomes précédents, je vous conseille de passer directement au paragraphe suivant, au risque de vous spoiler. Rappelez-vous, dans le premier opus, Bell s’était couvert de ridicule lorsque la belle Princesse à l’épée, Aiz Wallenstein, l’a sauvé des griffes d’un Minotaure. Depuis, il a pris garde de la fuir comme la peste, tout en nourrissant pour elle une admiration sans limites. Ici, la donne change et Aiz est très intriguée par l’évolution prodigieuse du jeune aventurier. En effet, en l’espace de trois semaines, ses capacités semblent s’être décuplées et elle est curieuse d’en connaître la cause. C’est pourquoi elle décide de l’aider à s’améliorer en lui prodiguant ses conseils. Ce que Bell ignore, c’est que Freya, la Déesse de l’Amour, n’en a pas terminé avec lui et compte le tester de la manière la plus difficile qui soit, en le confrontant à son pire cauchemar : le terrible Minotaure.

Dan Machi a cette fabuleuse capacité de m’alpaguer dès les premières pages. C’est le genre de roman qui s’engloutit tout rond et que l’on est déçu de terminer aussi vite. Combien de fois n’ai-je pas regardé avec dépit le nombre de pages qu’il me restait à lire, frustrée de savoir qu’il faudra encore attendre pour avoir la suite ? Cette saga m’est de plus en plus chère, et tout particulièrement parce que je m’attache chaque fois un peu plus aux personnages.

Bell, égal à lui-même, n’a rien perdu de son authenticité et de son naturel. Il est d’une rigueur et d’une volonté à toute épreuve, et son caractère expressif le rend particulièrement adorable. On sent que ce n’est pas encore tout à fait un homme et qu’il se cherche, au travers de ses épreuves passées comme présentes. C’est un garçon vraiment réfléchi que je prends plaisir à suivre.

Il est toujours accompagné de cette brave Lili. Difficile de faire plus mignonne et attendrissante ! Plus en retrait, cette fois, on entraperçoit Hestia, qui repousse de plus en plus les limites de la possessivité. J’ai eu beaucoup plus de mal avec elle dans ce nouvel opus, car sa jalousie, presque maladive, la rend très agaçante. Bell est un peu comme son trophée qu’elle ne compte partager avec personne (sûrement son petit côté déité qui ressort).

Et enfin le personnage qu’il me tardait de suivre : Aiz. Durant les deux premiers tomes, elle nous apparaît très mystérieuse et indéchiffrable. Et dans le troisième tome, ça n’a pas changé d’un iota. Mais Fujiro Omori lève un peu le voile sur cette personnalité saisissante. Aiz m’a intriguée et j’ai beaucoup apprécié son caractère de femme forte et indépendante. Elle est loin d’être aussi futile que les autres figures féminines qui bourdonnent autour de Bell.

Concernant l’histoire, certains trouveront peut-être qu’il ne se passe pas grand-chose, mis à part dans la dernière partie. Je ne l’ai pas du tout ressenti comme ça. Au contraire, je me suis passionné pour les entraînements entre Bell et Aiz, j’ai tenté de comprendre les sombres desseins de Freya et j’ai appréhendé tout le long, en prévision de l’affrontement final. Car il est très vite évident que l’on tend vers un combat épique et que Bell semble encore un peu trop vulnérable pour affronter une créature mythique à lui tout seul.

Parlons-en, de cette fin. Du grand spectacle, des scènes imagées et une tension permanente. Je me suis vue assister à cette bataille, j’y étais ! Et après l’avoir attendue avec impatience, je n’ai absolument pas été déçue. Les statistiques de Bell augmentent à une vitesse prodigieuse, mais ce n’est pas pour autant qu’il est théoriquement capable d’affronter un Minotaure. De fait, l’issue reste incertaine et on devine qu’il lui a encore beaucoup de chemin à parcourir.

En résumé, la saga Dan Machi me plaît avant tout parce que chaque tome nous offre des perspectives différentes et ne néglige aucun personnage. Le tome 3 est une complète réussite, un Light Novel extrêmement addictif avec des personnages contrastés et un récit toujours plus entraînant. Je n’ai pas envie de quitter cet univers de sitôt !

Ma chronique : http://april-the-seven.weebly.com/fan...