Summary
TheIs It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeonseriesportrays Bell Cranel on the many adventureshe finds himself on and his interaction with the gods. Catching the attention of a god could mean many things for a mortal, but for Bell, Freya’s attention means she involves herself in his life, making many impossible situations possible.
With the Goddess of Beauty fiercely obsessing over a young boy, Bell’s life gets caught up in one dramatic event after another, by a supernatural being he can’t seem to escape. While Freya has nothing against Bell and wants the best for him, her obsession over his life in itself may be a tad bit more than the adventurer can handle, and this begs the question of why a god is so interested in a mortal in theIs It Wrong to attempt to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeonseries.
The Goddess Of Beauty
Her Unrelenting Obsession And Desire
Freya, the Goddess of Beauty, is an appealing god who iscapable of charming gods and mortals alike. Commanding the powerful Freya familia in Orario, Freya has managed to spread her influence among adventurers and those who inhabit the city. Unlike many other gods who simply observe the mortals or laxly guide their growth, Freya has made it her mission to guide Bell Cranel and get as involved as she possibly can, showing how overly possessive she can be. On seeing her in all her godliness, many would assume the deity is an elegant and graceful god; however, when it comes to her desires, Freya doesn’t allow anyone to come in between what she wants coming to pass.
As a god, Freya has powers beyond her charms, with her mind tactics being arguably one of her primary strengths. Initially and like many other gods, Freya stayed in heaven; however, after losing a bet against Hera, she was sent to Orario to help in developing adventurers. On getting to Orario, she developed a taste for particularly talented adventurers and began to go after them, adding them to her familia in many ways.
Her particularly possessive nature toward Bell Cranel is downright questionable, as she’s shown that she’s willing to go to war with other gods for him. Why she’s so attracted to Bell and how he first caught her eye are questions that many would like to decipher.
The Nature Of Freya’s Obsession
What Draws Her To Bell Cranel?
As the divine beings that they are, various gods have come down to earth to see and experience the mortal coil out of boredom. While Freya’s coming to earth didn’t originate from boredom, in the end, she remains a god who has lived for a long time. Perhaps to cure her boredom or simply because she wants to bring out as much brilliance as she can in any adventurer she sets her eyes on, Freya is often drawn to strong and talented adventurers, and while Bell is yet to max out his talents,his potential is among the greatestthe Goddess of Beauty has seen.
Her obsession with Bell stems from a number of things, but the core reason is something intangible—his transparent soul, which stems from his innocence, purity, and unyielding determination. Freya discovering Bell was simply something that happened by chance, but ever since then, she’s refused to let him out of her sight from a broader perspective. Oftentimes, Freya would simply directly claim those she wants, but for Bell, she takes on a more manipulative approach, manipulating the events around the promising adventurer rather than taking control directly.
While Freya often gets jealous of Ais Wallenstein and Hestia during their interactions with Bell, she doesn’t seem to want Bell in the romantic sense, but rather like a prize only she can claim. To that extent, Freya sees Bell as an adventurer to nurture by throwing various difficulties at him even if they could threaten his life. Seeking brilliance, Freya is hell-bent on drawing out the most potential she can from Bell with as many challenges as possible, as fast as possible.
Manipulation And Interference
How Freya Shapes Bell’s Journey
Every adventurer’s journey is often braced with danger, but a goddess’s direct interference makes Bell’s experience as an adventurer even more dangerous. One of the most iconicIs It Wrong to attempt to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeonseason is season one, particularly for Bell’s battle against the Minotaur, who was many levels ahead of him in strength. Under normal circumstances, a Minotaur wouldn’t be anywhere near the floor Bell was on, but through Freya’s interference, she had her captain, Ottar, release a Minotaur so Bell could face it. Bell Cranel nearly lost his life, but coming out on top made him grow twice as fast as he would’ve if he continued living within his comfort zone. Aside from the Minotaur situation, Freya actively stepped in during Bell’s confrontation withthe Apollo familia and the Ishtar familia, albeit in different ways.
During the war game against the Apollo familia, Freya ensured that while she allowed Apollo to do his thing, he’d be unable to “steal Bell’s talent for his familia” by providing the Hestia family with reinforcements to make up for their lack of numbers. While Bell was in danger many times, Freya never directly interfered and simply observed using more subtle ways to approach the situation.
Many would’ve thought that Freya would continue to influence Bell’s growth by manipulating various situations but never directly interfering, as seen with the Apollo/War Game arc; however, Freya completely turned heads when Ishtar took Bell captive.
The Ishtar familia served asone of the most powerful familiain Orario and had significant influence, particularly in the entertainment district. However, this is all past tense because when Ishtar tried to take Bell, something precious to Freya, as a slight to the goddess, Freya directly intervened, confronting Ishtar herself and wiping out the Ishtar familia with hers. Ishtar kidnapped Bell and then tried to charm him, breaking his will, but Bell seemed unaffected by Ishtar’s charms, a fact that intrigued the goddess. However, before Ishtar could explore how Bell could be immune to her, Freya directly stepped in, showing how possessive she was over Bell. Moreover, she proclaimed to Ishtar that her various attempts to dethrone her could be seen as minor offenses she could laugh off compared to trying to take Bell away from her control. In the end, Freya’s familia ended up destroying Ishtar’s, and Ishtar was sent back to heaven.
This shows that while Freya unhesitatingly interferes with Bell’s journey as an adventurer by constantly putting him in harm’s way to ensure he draws out his latent potential, she also ensures he’s never broken. Unfortunately, at times, Freya’s obsession with Bell often leads to consequences that few would have predicted.
Consequences Of Obsession
The Impact On Bell And The Wider Storyline
Freya’s obsession with Bell and the actions she takes to ‘guide’ his path have a lot of effects, positive or negative, on the entire community of Orario. For Bell himself, Freya’s obsession with him gets him into dicey situations with various gods and goddesses who want to see what the boy is all about—to havea goddess as exalted as Freyahold him in such a light. Because of her obsession with Bell, goddesses like Ishtar, who have a bone to pick with Freya, find it way easier to attack Bell, a figure without much power or influence compared to Freya or her familia. With the Freya arc,Freya’s obsession with Bell was seen to lead to destruction. Destroying the Ishtar familia meant wiping out a whopping 40% of all income and business in the district, leaving the whole entertainment district in tatters and confusion.
The impulsiveness of her actions and decisions all lead to various shifts in powers and the forging of new enemies or allies, which affects Orario as a whole. Aside from the impact on Bell and the world at large, Freya’s obsession also affects her familia. Ordinarily, when she gets obsessed with a certain individual, they join the Freya familia; however, that isn’t the case this time around, and her familia, particularly her powerful and devoted ones, are left to watch as her attention constantly shifts towards her “new toy.” While they still remain fiercely loyal to her, her obsession, especially with someone she hasn’t made part of her familia, creates a sense of unease about what her obsessiveness could potentially lead to.
Complexity Of Desire
Does Freya Have Motives Beyond Mere Obsession?
Freya’s obsession with Bell is truly interesting; however, what are the chances that there could be motives beyond mere obsession? Can she simply guide him to his full potential endlessly? These questions suggest that simply being obsessed with Bell and helping him mature faster is not the end goal of Freya’s machinations. As a goddess with divine power and as an important figure in Orario’s hierarchy, it’ll be no surprise if Freya knows something fans and characters alike do not.
Guiding Bell to mature fastercould mean that he has a role to play possibly in shaping Orario’s fate, or even the fate of the world and the gods. Throughout history, for a plethora of reasons, gods have always needed mortals to accomplish certain tasks for them. Bell might have such an important role to play. After all, being obsessed with a mortal is unique but not rare; however, starting a war because of one shows there might be hidden motives behind her actions.
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Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?
Based on a light novel series by Fujino Omori, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is an action-fantasy anime that follows Bell, an initially weak adventurer who is the only member of the Hestia Familia. Looking to become stronger and protect those who matter the most to him, Bell regularly descends the dungeon, a seemingly neverending pit filled with monsters.
