Danmachi season 5 episode 11 review: J.C. Staff commences the War Game's adaptation with grandeur

Under the production of J.C. Staff studios, Danmachi season 5 episode 11, Hell: Folkvangr, witnessed the beginning of the War Game between Freya Familia and the Hestia Familia-led Allied Army. The esteemed studio brought to life the written words from volume 18 of Fujino Omori's light novels in the anime format.

Although the episode captured the despair of the Allied Army against the Freya Familia's monstrous strength, there were several moments where the top adventurers from the other Familia showcased their mettle. Having said that, they stood almost no chance against the ferocity of Freya's children.

From a production perspective, Danmachi season 5 episode 11 had everything a light novel fan would have liked. The esteemed studio beautifully adapted Heith Velvet's iconic moment, as she went berserk against the allied army.

Even though Heith was a healer, she showcased why she wasn't a mug in combat. From excellent art direction to camera angles, the episode had many moments worth cherishing.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from Danmachi season 5 episode 11.

Danmachi season 5 episode 11 review: Exploring J.C. Staff's production for the War Game's beginning

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From the onset, J.C. Staff's production made it clear that Danmachi season 5 episode 11 would revolve around the War Game. One of the important aspects of the episode was how the narrative didn't deviate much from the action. Sometimes, incorporating a non-action scene between the action scenes can affect the latter and distract an audience.

However, J.C. Staff ensured fans didn't have to go through that. This is perhaps the only episode where the esteemed studio did well not to include a lengthy monologue. There were plenty of monologues in the original light novel like Liliruca speculating on Freya Familia's strategies.

Danmachi season 5 episode 11, within its timeframe, did a fine job of portraying Lily's inner workings of the mind. The episode picked up the events from the previous installment and commenced with Lily sending scouting teams to different sections of the enemy territory to find them.

Liliruca in the episode (Image via J.C.Staff)

However, when they informed her that they couldn't locate the Freya Familia members, despite crossing over half of their territory, Liliruca wondered whether they were being lured into a trap. Yet, suddenly, Luvis informed her that he could see every Freya Familia member on the west side of the island, including their Goddess, sitting inside the shrine.

Danmachi season 5 episode 11 saw Liliruca bamboozled to see the Freya Familia's offensive strategy, which turned the Hide-and-Seek war game into a siege battle. She was almost at her wit's end, before Bell contacted and calmed her down. After regaining her resolve, Lily repositioned the army and split them into three teams, each with a strong leader.

Hermes and Finn felt the Freya Familia's plan in Danmachi season 5 episode 11 worked well in their favor due to their ominous strength. Meanwhile, Hedin Selland commended Lily's response to their offensive strategy. He marshaled his troops and gave them the order to go full throttle at the Allied forces.

Freya Familia's Einherjars (Image via J.C.Staff)

From then on, Danmachi season 5 episode 11 was a non-stop action fest, aided by some breathtaking animation. Although the animation quality wasn't as good as fans have seen in season 4, the episode nonetheless captured the war's atmosphere well. J.C. Staff expertly split the narrative into several parts, focusing on every top executive of the Freya Familia.

For example, Heith Velvet finally got her moment to shine. After the allied army demonstrated the Crozzo magic swords to overwhelm a wave of Einherjars, Heith demonstrated a healing spell to rejuvenate them. As a result, the fallen comrades rose from their defeat and faced the opponents again.

Liliruca, who was strategizing the Allied army's moves, contacted Mord's team to initiate an attack on Heith. Even though Mord and others targeted Heith Velvet, they couldn't defeat her because of her auto-healing ability. The Freya Familia healer healed herself from the fire and launched a counterattack.

Heith, as seen in the episode (Image via J.C.Staff)

J.C. Staff greatly captured Heith's fanatism for Goddess Freya, as she launched herself into combat against Mord and others. With sheer force, she overpowered them. However, the esteemed studio didn't exactly mention her backstory, which could be a downside to the episode.

Yet, to be fair, the episode had a run-time to strictly adhere to. Therefore, adding Heith's backstory would have overwhelmed the other small narratives. To mention an instance, right after Heith's exploits, Danmachi season 5 episode 11 shifted to Hogni vs. Tsubaki's team.

Hogni in the episode (Image via J.C.Staff)

Hogni was terrified by their gazes until he demonstrated his personality-altering magic, Dainsleif. The spell turned the dark elf into a frenzied person, who instantly defeated Tsubaki's team. Following that, he engaged in a duel with the Hephaestus Familia's captain and badly wounded her.

Welf tried to help Tsubaki, but he had to face off against Allen. Notably, J.C. Staff wonderfully captured Hogni's moment, as he took off after using Dainsleif. Although Allen didn't get much screen time in the episode, he made his presence felt.

Danmachi season 5 episode 11 review: J.C. Staff does justice to the first round of Bell vs. Ottar

Ottarl in the episode (Image via J.C.Staff)

Aside from Heith and Hogni's strength and Hedin's tactics, Danmachi season 5 episode 11 showcased why Ottar is considered the strongest in Freya Familia. J.C. Staff has done a phenomenal job of portraying the disparity in powers between Bell Cranel and Ottar.

The former knew he had to face Ottar sooner or later. If he could defeat him, it would have significantly increased their chances of victory in the war. Hence, he prepared a five-minute charged Argonaut to face Ottar. The Freya Familia's strongest member allowed Bell one chance to show his true powers.

Bell accepted Ottar's generosity and hit him with his Argo Vesta. In reply, Ottar countered with his Hildis Vini, a move that astronomically strengthened him. As a result, Bell's strongest move did almost nothing to Ottar. Yet, he acknowledged the boy's strength, mentioning how the attack could have defeated him if his level weren't higher than Bell's.

Bell Cranel in Danmachi season 5 episode 11 (Image via J.C.Staff)

Following that, the episode witnessed a one-sided match between Bell Cranel and Ottar. The latter demolished Bell and pinned him to the ground. The boy almost begged him to stop, but he continued his onslaught. Injured, Bell tried to fight back one final time using Fire Bolt.

However, Ottar brushed off the attack like it was nothing. Eventually, he urged Bell Cranel to get up and show why he was worthy of getting Freya's love. From a narrative and adaptation point of view, J.C. Staff did perfectly well to skim the dialogues and focus on the action.

The episode didn't delve too deep into monologues and backstories. Although Heith's backstory could have been shown, it wouldn't have gone with the episode's nature. Besides, Danmachi season 5 episode 11 was only a trailer to the War Game, with plenty of action reserved for the next four episodes. In that sense, J.C. Staff has done a terrific job to hype audiences' interest.

Conclusion

Freya in the anime (Image via J.C.Staff)

Danmachi season 5 episode 11 was a nice exposition, featuring a series of captivating battles between the Freya Familia's executives and the Allied Army. The Hestia Familia members and the other Familia went according to the plans. However, they posed no challenge to Freya Familia's monstrous strength.

Under the production of J.C. Staff, the episode nicely set up the remainder of the War Game. Thus, it remains to be seen how the animation studio maintains the quality for the rest of the episodes.