Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? IV
ダンジョンに出会いを求めるのは間違っているだろうかⅣ 新章 迷宮篇 (Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka IV: Shin Shou - Meikyuu-hen)
- Action
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Mythology
- Episodes
- 11
- Duration
- 23 min per ep
- Aired
- Jul 23, 2022 to Oct 1, 2022
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
After rescuing the Xenos from a deadly crisis, Bell Cranel reaches Level 4 at last. With newfound strength, the captain of the Hestia Familia sets his sights on the Dungeon’s deeper, more perilous floors, heading out alongside trusted friends and allies for another descent into the unknown.
Yet a prophetic dream from Cassandra Ilion warns of an approaching disaster—one tied to Bell’s close companion, Ryuu Lion—and threatens to bring ruin to the entire group. Refusing to doubt Ryuu, Bell resolves to uncover the truth and protect her, even as the Dungeon’s unforgiving depths test whether his resolve and power are enough to withstand the abyss.
Otaku Consensus
DanMachi IV: Meikyuu-hen is the point where the anime stops leaning on the title’s harem gag and trusts its strongest asset: the Dungeon, with J.C.Staff and director Hideki Tachibana delivering tighter expedition tension, more sustained combat, and an adaptation shaped by original author Fujino Oomori’s co-composition credit. Fan and critic response praised the renewed dungeon-crawling focus after earlier seasons were criticized as rushed, while the most persistent complaint remains uneven pacing, with detractors finding some stretches padded despite the sharper survival stakes.
Why You Should Watch
Watch DanMachi IV if you want fantasy adventure built around attrition: party roles, monster matchups, resource pressure, and a dungeon that feels like an active ruleset rather than background scenery. It scratches the progression-combat itch of Solo Leveling while keeping the familia system and mythological god politics that make DanMachi distinct; compared with Frieren or Mushoku Tensei, it is less meditative and more tactical, with danger measured episode by episode. This is also the entry most likely to convert viewers who bounced off the franchise’s harem branding: Hestia’s comedy is not the engine, Bell’s Level 4 competence changes the texture of fights, and Ryuu’s prominence pulls the season toward survival fantasy. If you want crunchy party-based dungeon crawling without isekai reincarnation baggage, this is the payoff arc.
Key Characters
- BBell Cranel(VA: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka)
Bell is most compelling here as a newly promoted Level 4 adventurer whose fights are no longer just underdog scrambles but tests of judgment, mobility, and leadership under dungeon pressure.
- HHestia(VA: Inori Minase)
Hestia remains the franchise’s mascot goddess, but this season works because it uses her presence as familia identity rather than letting her romantic comedy energy dominate the expedition.
- RRyuu Lion(VA: Saori Hayami)
Ryuu becomes the emotional gravity well of the season, giving the cast’s elf warrior archetype a sharper blend of loyalty, danger, and unresolved history.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
The 11-episode Meikyuu-hen structure makes the Dungeon the season’s center of gravity, a shift repeatedly praised by viewers who felt previous seasons had drifted or compressed too much material.
- 2
Original author Fujino Oomori is credited not only for the source story but also for series composition alongside Hideki Shirane, giving this adaptation a more direct source-material hand than many light-novel anime receive.
- 3
J.C.Staff’s action emphasis is noticeably foregrounded in audience reception: reviews singled out the high-octane fights, Bell’s dual-wielding movement, and CGI that avoided the usual complaint of breaking immersion.
- 4
The season’s AniList tag profile signals a tonal hardening for the franchise, with Dungeon at 96%, Gods at 84%, Swordplay at 78%, Magic at 77%, and Gore high enough at 56% to mark it as more violent than the show’s early reputation suggests.
- 5
Ryuu’s elevated role changes the ensemble balance: although Bell and Hestia remain central, the season’s strongest fan discussion clusters around Ryuu-linked tension rather than the familiar harem-comedy hook.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- DanMachi IV: Meikyuu-hen aired for 11 episodes from July 23, 2022 to October 1, 2022, making it a compact cour rather than the more common 12- or 13-episode seasonal package.
- Fun fact 2
- The key creative chain is unusually source-facing: Fujino Oomori is credited for the original story and also shares series composition duties with Hideki Shirane, while Suzuhito Yasuda’s original character designs are adapted for animation by Shigeki Kimoto.
- Fun fact 3
- Across major database metrics, reception is closely aligned: it holds a 7.75/10 MAL score from 184,339 votes and a 77/100 AniList score, suggesting its reputation is stable across fan communities rather than isolated to one platform.
- Fun fact 4
- Its MAL Popularity ranking of #659 and AniList favourites count of 2,455 show that this is not just a legacy sequel watched by completionists; it retained a sizable active fanbase deep into the fourth TV season.
- Fun fact 5
- User-review discourse around this season is unusually consistent on one point: even mixed reviewers call out pacing as the weakness, while positive reviews frame the return to dungeon-focused action as the reason DanMachi finally felt revitalized.
Studios
- J.C.Staff
