Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 2

The story continues, picking up where it left off in the first LN. This time, the focus shifts to Liliruca Erde. She's called a Parm, but really it's another name for Hobbit, probably done to avoid copyright issues. She's unable to become an Adventurer, so she opts to make a living as a Supporter, which is another way of saying Hireling. They are treated like dirt by real Adventurers, frequently robbed or cheated out of their earned share, bullied and insulted at every opportunity, and even sometimes used as monster bait. You have to feel sorry for their plight, and Lili's got personal demons, making things even worse for her. She hooks up with the main character, Bell Cranel, an Adventurer who is rapidly improving. Lili sees this as an ideal opportunity to get away with her own cheating and theft, but the oblivious Bell keeps treating her like an equal, causing her to have mixed emotions.We read less about Aiz Wallenstein in this volume -- the woman who inspires Bell to heights of achievement -- but that's okay for now. We will probably see lots more of her in later books. Even Hestia fades a bit into the background, as Freya takes up a lot of our reading time. She has her own goals in mind, which include stealing a certain Adventurer for herself.The translation work is not bad, but as in the first volume, there are several cringe-worthy moments, where you really have to wonder if Yen Press employs a North American editor/proofreader to pore over the book and correct grammar, punctuation, spelling and idiom-use errors. There's at least one every 15-25 pages, where the translator displays the fact that English is their second language. As I mentioned in the Volume 1 review, a manga (comic book) format supplies plenty of visual reference, more than compensating for mistakes in translation. However, a light novel has little to no illustration, so the writing has to be much, much better to compensate.Admittedly pulling this off is difficult to do, even under ideal circumstances. Look at how many times Beowulf has been translated into Modern English. Hiring excellent translators is expensive, so I don't doubt that has to be factored into the overall cost/profit margin. At least Yen Press does try to hire the best they can afford, unlike some companies that skimp on this and end up with LN books in English that are unreadable.I hope that as we get further into the LN series, Yen Press will provide active feedback to the translators, so the translation work will steadily improve. There are several more books to go in this LN series, and for all we know, the writer Fujino Oomori might add still more.I'm already speculating what paper and dice roleplaying system would work best to translate the Dungeon and its Adventurers, Supporters, and gods into a game that feels close to the story, but is enjoyable to play. Haven't made a decision yet, but any suggestions are welcome. I seriously doubt we'll see an MMORPG version, unless interest in this series skyrockets worldwide.

Starting where the first volume left off, volume 2 of Danmachi furthers the series by introducing a new member to the caste of females interested in Bell, and it also further explains the world at large.I found this volume to be much more engaging than volume 1. This might have been because we didn’t get as much of Bell’s POV as we do in the first volume, but I think another reason might just be that this story felt a lot more straightforward. In it, we have a clear problem that eventually gets solved by Bell. In volume 1, there really wasn’t any problem. It was just a story about Bell Cranel getting more powerful, having several girls fall in love with him, and him being a clueless idiot.Supporter - a term used to describe someone who supports an adventurer by gathering the crystals and drop items that monsters, that way the adventurer can focus on fighting and not worry about being weighed down. The concept of having someone who supports the adventurer in this way is interesting, and I can’t deny that I enjoyed the supporter character that was introduced.I wonder, maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the writing style has also improved a good deal. Even Bell’s first person POV doesn’t bother me like it used to. The sentences aren’t as choppy and feel much more fluid. I wonder if this is a way of showing Bell Cranel’s growing maturity, or if this is simply the case of the translator improving.Either way, I felt like this volume was much better than the previous one. The story had a more involved plot, the writing seemed much better, and the characters continued to be engaging all the way to the end.If there is one thing about this volume that I didn’t like, then it’s Bell Cranel’s continued ignorance towards women. I mean, okay, I get that the “clueless idiot when it comes to romance” is a major trope in Japanese pop culture. I understand. But, there comes a point when the main character’s denseness towards the opposite gender stops being cute and becomes annoying.Bell Cranel’s denseness is annoying. It’s especially annoying because it is so blatantly obvious that these girls like Bell that even an idiot should get it. Seriously, when multiple women hug you to their chest, there are not many things that this can be mistaken for. The fact that Bell still doesn’t understand why all these women are suddenly acting super affectionate really bugs me. One girl even flat out said that she was falling for him in the previous volume, and he STILL doesn’t get it. How freaking stupid can one person be? That’s not denseness. That’s willfully making a character ignorant for the sake of harem comedy plot. I really hope the author eventually fixes this, because while I like the story as a whole, this issue is one of the biggest turn offs for me.

Really good plot, and great characters. Definitely my favorite light novel series.

Bell has been doing well in the Dungeon, so well that he has been approved to go to the 7th floor. Whats a new adventurer on a hot streak do, go on a shopping trip with his Guild advisor for new gear (and a surprise from his goddess). But he realizes he could use some help when a young girl named Lilly asks to be his supporter. Is this girl a life-saver, or does she have a dark secret that could spell the end of our hero? And what is the dark secret of her Familia and why do they act the way they do?I love this series and have also been watching the anime as well. Bell shows he is more mature and insightful than his years let on. Lilly is also a great character, one with a dark past and doing what she needs to survive but she also has a side that wants to get out. Also Freya is keeping her eyes on Bell as well, helping him gain new abilities while plotting to steal him from Hestia. Also you will see a side of Aiz (who I am cheering for) that you would not expect and the results are the usual hilarity. I can not wait for the next installment (though the anime will already go over it I still will read it). to read what will happen next to our intrepid hero and his goddess.

Enjoyable continuation of the story. New characters added to the world, with a new role of supporter being introduced as those who assist Adventures by carrying all the equipment rather than fighting. Developments for existing characters as well. So on to the next one.

This volume introduces us to Lilluka, a little Prum girl, who Bell saves. She is a great character, and very cute indeed, but what dark past does she have and why does she betray Bell?

I bought this straight after watching the anime which was really good but I must say the writing is very stilted I don't know if its the author or the translator but I hope it gets better

Really enjoyable read. Still don't know whether or not it is wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon though.

If you like the cartoon you will like this.