Just announced: Volume 20 will be released on December 15th 2024, and SO Volume 15 on January 15th 2025.
https://twitter.com/fujinoomori/status/1842228875516133794?s=46&t=oxl07DRL9AycW0xalINQDQ
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Yes this is all updated, between my initial comment and my reply a few comments up.
I’m pretty sure Lefiya has never actually appeared in a main DM novel, very rarely (like in DM19) she’s referenced but that’s it. So that would be a big shift if she does actively participate in the Orariopiad in DM20.
Also yeah, it’s too early for a team-up expedition, I imagine Loki Familia is going to go there first themselves for effectively reconnaissance, and then we’ll get a much grander expedition that Hestia/Freya Familia take part in. I also would expect that expedition to occur in the main DM novel, so that could also what they mean by the two series more directly connecting to each other.
@Hurricane951 Chapter 2 is called "The Lion and the Sword Princess". Whether that's Lion as in "Ryuu Lion" or "Leon the Lion" we don't know for sure yet, but presumably the latter makes the most sense with how much focus Leon sounds to be getting in the book.
It's really not that likely that Aisha will level up again, considering she's not that major of a character and hasn't done as much as others within the like 4-5 months since she last did.
Even Ryuu they excused by saying that she was on the verge of being a Level 5, and then had about 5 years of extra backlog that got her to 6. It feels pretty firm they probably won't have any one else other than Bell beat Ais' original year level up record. Maybe they'll push it for Welf and Mikoto to become a Level 3 right before the final battle, but I don't see it happening to anybody else.
The relationship between Asfi and Ryuu has always been one of the most interesting to me because it feels like she is one of the very few people Asfi genuinely cares about. We see how aloof and closed off she is most of the time, following the "bigger picture" perspective of Hermes, but there are many times we see her go out of her way to help or listen to Ryuu. Even in volume 18, very much paraphrasing, she says to Hermes something to the effect of "It's not like I particuarly care what happens to the others, I'm just worried for Lion's sake." So I wonder if there's something else there that happened that got the emotionally detached girl to feel that way, or if it's just Ryuu's natural charm, the same way that got Syr/Freya to like her.
Yeah I remembered Aisha being the same level as Bell during their fight in Volume 7, but only her Lv 4 stats were posted, so wasn't sure if I just completely misconstrued that or not. So she's not getting another level up.
I'm pretty sure that we will see every character get 1 Level up by story's end, so everyone who hasn't gotten a level up since before the start of Volume 1 will get one, and everyone who has won't get another (with Bell, Ryuu, and potentially Ais being the only exceptions to get multiple).
Ryuu, Aisa, and Asfi were a fun dynamic during both the Xenos incident and the battle against Filvis, so good to see more of them together.
I forget if Aisha was a Level 3 during Volume 7, or if she was always a Level 4. If it's the latter than there is a possibility she'll become a Level 5 at some point in the future, Asfi at the very least is definitely gonna level up by the time of the climax.
(Edited by InversePrime)
Like was mentioned, most of Volume 8 and almost all of 15 were skipped, which again they were primarily a compilation of short stories focused on the characters anyway. They aren't too big of a deal at being missed in the general story for the anime, but 8 does have alot of good character development moments, and 15 features the origin stories for most of the main characters, so it's worth checking out.
In terms of the rest of the story in the LNs, the anime pretty much adapts everything else. Obviously, by virtue of it being a novel, you're going to get far more detail in how events are described and such when you read it yourself, but in terms of scenes and plot beats mostly everything is there. The biggest omission that they definitely should've kept is probably the Denatus scene in Volume 4, in which we see the Gods' naming of the levelled up children (they did at least include the second Denatus in Season 4).
If you're interested in Sword Oratoria, the best bet would be to check out the manga, since it honestly even surpasses the LN in terms of execution, which how much they add and its art style.
To be fair, competing in a School Festival would still fall under the definition of an "adventure". It would be weird for Bell to just not be directly involved in the main plot of the book.
It's also possible that the Festival isn't about pure fighting and involves different types of activities to compete against, to make it more balanced. Especially since if Bell is still undercover, he definitely wouldn't be able to compete in a fight while lying about his Level.
The 20th installment of the DanMachi main story!
A huge shockwave, Orario vs. the school district competition [City Sports Festival] -- the Orario Piad is about to begin!
"We will not tolerate the tyranny of the guild!"
Student protests break out!
After the hardest metal, Orichalcum, is confiscated, the students of the "School District" explode in discontent.
With all communication with Orario severed and the whole city in uproar, the festival-loving gods would not miss this opportunity!
"Orario vs School District Representative Match!
The city athletic festival is about to begin!"
Funnily enough I just said recently that they could have their next big conflict be surrounding the Guild and now they're doing exactly that.
Also based on the title and the cover that's been going around, the SS most likely will be about Horn and Heith working at the Hostess of Fertility.
It did feel like the anime was doing as much as they could to establish/re-establish both the Freya Familia captains and the Hostess waitresses, since most of their initial development all came from side books, and they're important for the season.
Stuff like teasing Ahnya's "poor singing", and showing off some of Hedin's abilities earlier.
It depends, this first episode they did add a fight scene between Bell and Hedin that didn't exist.
It's generally hard to determine how much time is needed to adapt fight scenes, since animated pacing is significantly different than both manga and novel pacing.
My prediction is probably episode 1 is all the prep stuff, episode 2 is the first chunk of the fight, ending on nearly everyone being beaten, episode 3 would be primarily the Hogni fight ending with Ryu's return, episode 4 would be all the Hostess stuff/Hedin's turn/Gullivers fight, episode 5 primarily the Allen fight and most of the 4-way Ottar fight, and episode 6 the fight endings/wrap-up. So it is doable I think.
@AP24 I guess it depends on which Loki Familia members go on the 60th floor journey and who stays behind, since didn't one of the revealed chapter titles reference Ais, meaning she at least plays some role in Vol. 20.
After already having two more serious "tournament arc" equivalents with the War Games, it's funny that they're now going for a true one with a Sports Festival. It sounds like it could be fun, wonder who they're going to have competing in it. Maybe the finale involves Leon fighting someone which is how it gets revealed he is the other Level 7.
@Longhatruong Sword Oratoria Vol. 13 actually comes out in December in English.
(Edited by InversePrime)
What I find interesting about Oomori's tweet, it could be a mistranslation, but it says "From volume 15 and volume 20 onwards, the main story and the side story will progress in tandem."
So what I think that's supposed to mean is the main series and SO will now be more directly linked to each other going forward, in the same vein as volume 19 and SO volume 13's release.
My comment doesn't have to do with the power system, but rather the emotional/dramatic stakes for the story. Like Enyo/Evilus were all about trying to literally destroy Orario, and then you have Freya brainwashing the whole city right after, it's harder to think of what else they could do that could reasonably go further than that other than the Dragon or the Corrupted Spirit.
Most of the antagonists in the story weren't just about overcoming strength but also the investment and connection they had to the other characters. Apollo's attempt to take Bell, partly as revenge against Hestia, Lili and Welf's personal histories with Soma and Ares Familias, Ishtar's schemes using Haruhime, Ikelos Familia's Xenos hunting, and Freya's own desire to claim Bell. And then most of the villains in SO also have their own clear drives and connections to the characters in the story (Dionysus, Filvis, Revis, Thanatos, Valletta, etc.)
It isn't really a power scaling thing, but after conquering Freya Familia, it's hard to think of anyone in Orario that could or would want to beef with them, that could be considering compelling threats (since even all the off-screen attempts at kidnapping Haruhime post-War Game are just played as basically gags). And if there is a new threat that comes from outside, I think you would need someone who could intellectular or ideologically challenge Bell in some way.
If they wanted to bring in a more grander antagonist, the smartest thing I think they could do would be something like a hostile takeover of the Guild from outside forces in some way. It's a threat they can't just simply beat in a fight, and could have ramifications in the planning for the eventual Dragon battle.
After Enyo and Evilus were defeated for good in Sword Oratoria, and Freya Familia conquered/tamed, there pretty much isn't any new villains left they could reasonably introduce, especially with the heights most of the major characters have reached.
Beyond the OEBD, and I guess technically speaking Asterius, like others mentioned the Corrupted Spirit is the biggest threat left, and it'll most likely be part of the Ais arc anyway.
Considering that we are creeping up on the conclusion of the story, right now in the "late worldbuilding and training before the final battle" phase, they don't really need another villain in the same vein as the others in the series.
This is exactly why I think the "Charm" theory makes the most sense. What is so special about Liaris Freese beyond its ability to make Bell stronger faster? It makes him immune to Charms. So if it really is instrumental in taking down the Dragon to the point that they'll lose if he doesn't have it, then it must be some direct counter to a power the Dragon can use.
Not to mention, Bell has also just gained the ability where he gets ANOTHER power boost if he's charmed, and since it might seem ridiculous to keep Freya on the sidelines close-by, the most logical narrative swerve would be for Bell to confront an enemy that could Charm him, which would instead basically Uno Reverse card back at them. And the Dragon doing this would fit that bill.
There's enough hints that make me also believe Aria had some sort of Charm ability that the Dragon used as an extra cheat to easily wipe out his opponents. Between Realis Phrase being "instrumental" in taking out the Dragon (which I have to imagine is more beyond simply letting Bell get stronger faster), Bell gaining an ability that grants him a power boost when charmed, and Oomori mentioning that Zald and Alfia are immune to (at least Freya's) Charm.
So I'm thinking a major part of the fight will involve, Bell and Ais in particular, fighting to break Aria free, which will then significantly weaken the Dragon and make it far more of a fair fight with the rest of the Orario.
Very interesting cause Re:Zero S3, which is also airing this season, is also doing an uncommon 16 episode run, with the first 8 episodes airing in Fall, and remaining 8 airing in Winter 2025. I can imagine this season will probably be something similar if there will be only 15 episodes, first 7-8 episodes airing first, and then in remaining ones airing later in the Winter season.
Sad we won't get a full 22 episodes, but average length for volumes pre-S4 was about 4 episodes, and it'd be pretty easy to condense alot of the action in Vol. 18, so it feels doable.