Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side

Episode 4

April showers bring May flowers, but I'm sure that the evil toothy variety isn't what the people of Orario were expecting. After first making their appearance at the Monsterphilia (at least in this form), the malevolent blooms are back, and it looks like they're not limiting themselves to the city. Not only do Bete and Loki discover them lurking in the sewers, but a mysterious one-eyed man also appears to be able to summon them with a special whistle in the dungeon – even on the supposedly safe floor. What are they, and why are their magic stones so different from those of normal monsters?

When Bete realizes that he smelled Dionysus and his elven child in the sewers, that becomes a more pertinent question. Loki confronts her fellow god, and he seems to be doing his best to imply that Uranus is to blame somehow. This is the first we've heard of the Roman god, and Loki's glance toward the Tower that covers the dungeon seems to indicate that he's somehow related to it. That makes a lot of sense, mythologically speaking: Uranus is the Roman name for Hades, the god of the underworld. If he's the originator of the dungeon, that not only brings up questions of what the monsters are (spirits of the dead?), but it also conjures up the myth of Persephone, the living girl who married the god and, perhaps more importantly, the daughter of Demeter (Ceres), who we met at the Monsterphilia. What's odd is that the god is being referred to by his Roman name, while all of the other Greco-Roman gods have used the Greek. Although the two pantheons aren't fully synonymous, it definitely suggests a break between Uranus and the rest of his related gods that may prove important.

So that's the best part of this week's episode. As you may have noticed, it has very little to do with Aiz, whose story is once again pushed to the side by Lefiya and the rest of Loki familia, albeit in a less irritating way this time. After shattering her loaner sword last week, Aiz goes to reclaim her own, only to be hit with a huge bill for both the repair and the destroyed blade, so she decides to go down into the dungeon to make some quick cash. Tiona quickly offers to go with her, and before you know it, Tione, Riveria, Finn, and unfortunately Lefiya all join the party. (I admit it, I groaned aloud when Lefiya was allowed to come, even though I knew she would from reading the second novel, which we're now adapting.) Their trip goes off the rails as soon as they reach Rivira, the dungeon town, where a grisly murder has just been committed. Finn gets Loki familia involved in the investigation, which quickly reveals that the plant monsters may somehow be getting hatched by people rather than the dungeon – Aiz and Lefiya track a Hermes familia chienthrope and find that she's been hired to transport a strange transparent egg with what looks like an infant monster inside.

While the murder mystery aspect of the story is an interesting departure, it's really Aiz's encounter with the egg that stands out. Somehow the monster reacts to her, which understandably shakes her badly. Since it doesn't show any awareness to Lefiya or Lulune (the Hermes woman), this likely has something to do with Aiz herself, quite possibly her heritage. At the beginning of the episode we do see people who appear to be her parents with no real explanation, so it seems possible that her past isn't only complex, but perhaps has ties to some sort of god. Could this be why she's so drawn to Bell, whose own past is linked to implied divinity in the novels?

If the focus of the series was more on that, or at least gave Aiz more of a voice, it would probably be a better show. As it is, this week's episode feels like it's trying to cram in too much of both the Loki/Bete storyline and the murder mystery, once again not allowing us to see much of Aiz beyond her mysterious swordswoman exterior. The dream of the past is a good start in the right direction, so I'm tentatively hopeful that we'll get there soon. Lefiya is largely toned down once the mystery plot starts, and since Loki is interacting with Bete this week, she's also a better character. Giving Bete some time in the spotlight is also a positive, since we do get to see him as more than the jerk who harassed Bell, a powerful familia member in his own right – his recognition of Dionysus' scent is likely to be a major key in solving the plant monster mystery. He also gets the only fight scene in the episode, and while it isn't particularly impressive, it does allow us to understand his skill level.

While I'm not entirely convinced that Sword Oratoria is going to live up to my expectations, this episode does give me a bit more hope. The plot itself is interesting, but the characters aren't matching it. If things can continue on this track of a toned-down Lefiya and hints of Aiz's past, as well as the mythological implications, we may finally get the show we were hoping for.

Rating: B

Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side is currently streaming on Amazon's Anime Strike.