Oh boy, there’s nothing scarier than following a light novel for years, only to find out the main character doesn’t even make it to the end. Like, imagine investing all your time and love for this one character and having to hinge on the uncertainty of them surviving the mess they are going through. I had to suffer that with Death Note and L Lawliet (Spoilers: He didn’t make it because the universe hated me!), and I refuse to let anyone go through my pain again. So, when rumors of Bell Cranel dying in Dan-Machi surfaced, it was like war flashbacks.
Truthfully, Bell Cranel isn’t going to die any time soon. Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, or Dan-Machi, as it’s known, hasn’t really pulled a major character death like that on its fans before? Like, Dan-Machi isn’t that kind of Isekai, ones that go way too serious and hard for what their plot actually is. Still, the fear is understandable. Stakes are high here, and character deaths are regularly used trope in several Isekai plots.
With Bell, we already have an idea of where his plot is going. With season 4 on the way, the story is pretty much outlined in the light novels with little to no deviation. The Hestia family is slowly but steadily building itself up. And so is Bell, with Season 3 concluding at how he wants to become more independent and stronger. But could that strength come at a sacrifice?
In Dan-Machi, we haven’t had a serious character death happen that was permanent. Sure, there were a couple of scares here and there, but to start something so serious with the main character themselves? I don’t think it’s on the cards. But that’s what we are here to discuss in another segment of Lore Analysis – where we take a close look at what the mythos of a manga or anime might be hiding from us. Could the plot line hint at an upcoming demise? Let’s discuss!
The Future Of The Hestia Familia?
The main story of Dan-machi is based around the Hero Familias that belong to the various Gods residing in Oraria, the fictional town where everything takes place. And our protagonist is Bell Cranel, belonging to arguably the least powerful one of them all, which is the Hestia Familia. How many members does it have?
Well, in the beginning, it was only one. Bell ended up teaming up with Hestia and became the sole adventurer in her guild. Though, it wasn’t like Hestia was a bad Familia head. She clearly cares a lot about Bell and would endure a lot of hardships to ensure that he had good equipment and weapons to fight with when traversing the Dungeon.
Since then, the Hestia family has only grown. They went from their initial underdog stage to becoming a serious contender as the top team, specifically after they won the War Game. And hey, that included a new mansion courtesy of the Apollo Familia losing. Now, aside from Bell, his allies have joined the Familia, bumping up the number of members to five adventurers.
And from here, the only way is up. Likely the story will conclude when the Hestia Familia has evolved to the point where they could dethrone the likes of the Loki Familia, which houses the current top adventurer, Ais Wallestein.
Bell And Ais: Meant To Be?
Speaking of, there’s also the whole ‘will they, won’t they?’ situation between Bell and Ains. Technically, Dan-Machi has set itself up as a harem, so we can’t be sure which girl will get to be the best waifu by the end, but we can take a quick guess.
Bell is notoriously in love with Ains, an adventurer so formidable that she is considered one of the strongest amongst the First-Class Adventurers Faction. However, underneath her strong-willed nature and cold demeanor, it is clear that she is naïve and sweet. Ais definitely harbors some feelings towards Bell, and Bell looks up to her a lot. She has saved him more times than he can count, always coming to his rescue despite them being from opposing Familias.
Of course, it helps that the author of the light novel themselves have given this pairing the green light. Fujino Ōmori has made it clear that she will be getting her own arc very soon to build up on that. So it’s very clear that by the end of Dan-machi, those two will be together.
Will Bell Die In The Final Dungeon?
Now, for the biggest mystery: No, as stated before, Bell Cranel will definitely end up surviving whatever is thrown at him. He will probably reach the deepest part of the dungeon and defeat the One-Eyed Black Dragon.
Thus, the Hestia Familia will surpass Zeus to become the Number 1 Familia in Oraria. And finally, Bell will have a place he can call his own.
Surprise!!! Bell is dead. Right arm cut off and killed via severed cervical bone from a highspeed tail whiplash from an OP dungeon monster.
dead yeah, no xd? he got his arm back