The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter (Season One)
Noir is the son of a baronet so it was no surprise when a higher-ranking noble stole his job at the library before he could even start. Desperate, Noir tries out for the Hero Academy, but he’s going to need to level up and fast!
The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter (Season One)
What did you watch?
I’m a huge fan of anything fantasy and one of my guilty pleasures is ecchi harem so The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter satisfied both of those elements and instantly found its way onto my to watch list. After watching the first episode, I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy it and even wrote up reviews for EcchiHunter.com, which is now offline. I was planning on waiting until they had released to post this here, but now is as good a time as any. So, if you enjoy laughing, adventuring, and harems then this could be the series for you too! There will be spoilers beyond this point.
What happened?
Noir’s heritage is holding him back from the career he had decided on, but he does have one thing going for him, an incredibly rare skill called Great Sage. He can ask it anything he wants and it will give him an answer, however, that comes with a crippling headache. His childhood friend, Emma may have the solution to his problems. The last person to have Great Sage would kiss one of his wives to make the headache go away… Emma’s just trying to help…
So, Noir’s only option for a career now is to enter the Hero Academy and become an adventurer, but the admission process is hard and he’s not that tough. This seems like the perfect time for Great Sage and maybe then some more kissing… Great Sage tells Noir about a hidden dungeon and how to enter it. There he will find the means to level up fast. Inside the dungeon, Noir finds a woman chained up. Surprisingly, she can talk to him telepathically and agrees to help him out by giving him some new skills. They come at a cost though!
What did you think?
I actually really enjoyed this series. It wasn’t anything special but it was fun and had some very funny moments which I’m sure I’ll get to shortly. On top of that, I found the cast of characters to be interesting and without them, it would have been a far less entertaining affair. Of course, seeing Noir trying to come up with new ways to gain LP which he needs for his new skills was hilarious and played right into this series’ strengths – the girls.
What was your favourite moment?
I’m conflicted. The hot springs episode was hilarious as Noir tried to stop all the boys from peeping on the girls in the hot spring, but I think the Harem Pride was just too funny. They needed to earn some money and gain LP so that Noir could edit Luna’s skills. Currently, breaking a curse would kill her and he wasn’t too happy about that. So, they entered a Harem Pride tournament where harems would go out and introduce themselves to an arena full of angry, lonely, and bitter men who would vent and yell at them. The idea is so completely insane and it shouldn’t be funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh all the way through the episode.
What was your least favourite moment?
Noir went to the seventh floor of the dungeon in search of rare items to sell in his new shop. There he encountered a little girl who was the manifestation of a Dryad. She’s basically the spirit of a tree that is hundreds if not thousands of years old and for some unknown reason decided to appear before Noir as a little girl. I’m not a fan of lolis and if they suddenly vanished from existence I would not mourn them so this was not a good choice. Unless they were trying to make you feel awkward and creepy, of course, If that’s the case, they nailed it.
Who was your favourite character?
I think Olivia was the most interesting of the characters. Even chained up, she exuded life. She would constantly tease and play with Noir which made for some pretty funny moments. One time, she even pretended to be dead… Olivia is a riot! She also has an interesting past that led to her decision to help Noir. I feel like the series may have come to an end now that Olivia is free, but I’d happily watch more, even if it’s just about her.
Who was your least favourite character?
Another aspect that I didn’t really care for was Noir’s sister and her strange infatuation with him. She got quite flustered every time he seemed to have another girl interested in him which was because she wanted him all to herself. Again, why is this even a decision that’s being made when this story is being written? I get it was for comedic effect, but surely there are better ways to tell jokes than incest-related ones.
Would you like some more?
I mentioned earlier that I would watch a series about Olivia alone, and that is still true. However, I enjoyed this series and would happily watch another season with all of the characters. Things seemed to reach a natural ending with Olivia being free and Noir setting up his shop, but that doesn’t mean it needs to end there. They’re all part of the adventurers’ guild so there is any number of ways this series could go.
What have you learnt?
I’m going to sound like a recording but this series has yet again highlighted the importance of characters and making them interesting and relatable. Admittedly, this series didn’t go that deep, but it did enough for me to want to see what they are doing and whether they succeed.
This is also a situation-based comedy so coming up with fun and interesting situations is essential, but then that’s true of a lot of harem comedy. Sure, we could just watch them doing everyday stuff, but weird tournaments and trips to the hot springs are far more entertaining. Some might call them cliches, but if they work why wouldn’t you use them?
This series didn’t really do anything new, but it managed to get the basics right and that made it far more enjoyable than some series that try too hard. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying an average show. Also, remember it’s a guilty pleasure because you let it get away with things that you normally wouldn’t. You’re not guilty. There’s no shame in enjoying what you enjoy. Embrace it!
Other posts in the series
Anime
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Powerful Skill Set
- Episode 2 – The Guild and the Receptionist
- Episode 3 – The Troubled Classmate
- Episode 4 – The Untainted Cleric
- Episode 5 – The Future of This Harem
- Episode 6 – The Tulip Lion
- Episode 7 – The Receptionist Ranking
- Episode 8 – A Little Girl’s Wish
- Episode 9 – To The Gala
- Episode 10 – Let’s Go to the Hot Springs
- Episode 11 – Noir’s Decision
- Episode 12 – A Battle I Can’t Lose
Manga
- Series Review
- Volume 1 – Destined for Adventure!
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