- Mangaka : Oomori, Fujimo (Writer); Momoyama, Hinase (Artist)
- Publisher : Yen Press
- Genre : Action, Fantasy, Comedy, Shounen
- Published : April 2023 - Presents
It seems to be a trend in recent years for a fairly popular series, particularly a manga or light novel, to receive a spin-off series that focuses on the story of certain supporting characters. Demon Slayer, Bungou Stray Dogs, Sword Art Online, Naruto, Attack on Titan, Fairy Tail, My Hero Academia, and many other properties have produced a spin-off or two. And now it’s time for one of the most popular fantasy series at the moment to join the trend and create its own spin off. This is our brief review for Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya.
Contains Spoilers
Discussion Time
As the name suggests, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya, is a spin off series that focuses on one of the strongest familia in the world, the Freya Familia, and its Goddess of Beauty, Freya. The story itself takes place before the protagonist of the main series, Bell Cranel, came to the Adventurer city of Orario.
It goes without saying that every member of Freya Familia swears their absolute loyalty to her. But even more than that, what makes them strive to be the best is their unbound love and admiration towards their beautiful Goddess. They even go as far as quarreling among themselves just to show that their love is the biggest of them all. Freya simply chuckles in amusement seeing her familia’s obsession and the commotion that they often cause.
Truth be told, her familia would prefer Freya to stay in their headquarters all the time, safe from all of the bothersome things that happen in the outside world. More often than not, Freya listens and agrees to what they say. However, from time to time, she will get the urge to find her precious Odr, the one destined to be by her side forever. When that urge comes, she sneaks out of the HQ, and goes wherever her whims take her, without saying anything to anyone. Needless to say, this is a nightmare for her familia.
This story is about one of those times when the Goddess Freya leaves her nest and travels the world, looking for her Odr, leaving her bewildered familia behind in a state of utter panic.
1. Intriguing Main Character
For those of you who are familiar with the main series, then you’ll likely know who Freya is. But even so, this manga will show you a unique side of her that you’ve never seen before, which allows you to gain a much deeper understanding and appreciation over who she is as a character. Because at first glance, she seems like an ordinary beautiful Goddess who is used to getting everything that she ever wanted. And for the most part, that is exactly who she is, except for the “ordinary” part. Because there’s nothing ordinary about Freya at all.
First of all, she is a regal Goddess whose beauty can captivate almost everybody that sees her. But not only that, the people who see and get the chance to know her will instantly fall head over heels in love with her, and will do anything for her. Add to that the fact that she is also the leader of the strongest familia in the world, then you can imagine the immense power that she has under her control. And Freya will use that power to fulfill any of her whimsical desires.
SPOILER ALERT!
One of the best examples of Freya’s unique charm is when she arrives at the Merchant town called Leodo. She takes a liking to one of the people in Leodo, who happens to be a slave. So she asks the biggest slave merchant in town to gather every slave that he has. Thanks to that, Freya manages to easily find the person that piqued her interest earlier. But rather than freeing that person, Freya decides to free the entire slave population in town instead. And it’s not because she has a strong sense of justice or anything like that, she just doesn’t like seeing a town filled with people being sad and miserable. The Goddess of beauty also likes beautiful things and beautiful people, and there’s nothing beautiful about being or owning a slave.
Needless to say, the merchant is shocked and immediately protests to Freya. And that’s when Freya reminds the pitiful man about who she is and the amount of power and authority that she holds. That is how in just a matter of hours after her arrival in town, Freya becomes the most popular and beloved individual in Leodo. And she achieves all of that without having to spill a single drop of blood. After reading this book, it’s clear that Freya is easily one of the most intriguing characters in the entire series.
2. A Simple Premise, Executed Perfectly
As mentioned in the summary above, the premise of this spin off series is actually quite simple and straightforward. The Goddess Freya secretly goes out of town to look for her Odr. She doesn’t have any particular destination in mind. She simply follows wherever her whims take her. Throughout the story, we see her interact with all kinds of characters, while her familia frantically looks for her. That is pretty much the whole story of this spin off.
However, despite such a simple premise, once you begin reading this manga, you won’t be able to put it down until you reach the back cover. Because it is truly a page turner. There are a couple of reasons as to why this book manages to be such an interesting read. Things like the intriguing characters, the occasional comedy, the proper pacing, and the fascinating world, just to name a few. But at the end of the day, it boils down to the fact that this manga manages to take such a simple premise, and execute it perfectly in order to tell such an interesting story.
1. If You Don’t Like This Series
In our humble opinion, there’s really no reason to dislike this manga other than the fact that you’ve read, or watched, Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon before, and you don’t like it. In that case, it’s highly likely that you’ll be averse to any sequels or spin offs that have to do with this particular franchise. If that describes who you are, then unfortunately this one might not be for you.
Final Thoughts
This particular spin off of Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in A Dungeon is easily the most interesting story that came out of this series. All thanks to the sheer dominance of its main character and the fact that the authors manage to execute every story element perfectly.
That’s why, even if you don’t like the original series all that much, you should still give this spin off a try. Because just like us, you might end up liking this book very much. We’re definitely looking forward to the new volume.
Have you read Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon? Familia Chronicle: Episode Freya? If you have, do you like it as much as we do? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Author: Harry
Recommended Post
