Noir Stadia might be a noble son, but being the lowest rank of noble he is at the mercy of all the higher-ranked nobles around him. Aiming to enter the Hero Academy, he finds out that his Great Sage skill, previously unusable due to the headaches it induces, can be used… if he kisses his best friend Emma. Said skill points him towards a hidden dungeon, where he meets Olivia, an adventurer perpetually trapped there by a curse. She gives him the ability to create, edit, and bestow skills, albeit at the cost of Life Points (LP), and the way to get more LP… is to get physically affectionate with girls (among other hedonistic activities, but a teenage boy has priorities). But hey, if all he needs to do to get the skills to succeed is to hug, kiss, and take lap pillows with cute girls, that’s practically the dream life, right?

This is definitely one of those shows that is obvious wish fulfillment with a side of fanservice. Having read the first volume of the light novel, I can pretty confidently say that this first episode is fairly indicative of what the rest of the series will likely be: the protagonist getting cozy with girls and then using his skill manipulation abilities to solve problems. For what it’s worth, the actual skinship doesn’t get too sexual in nature (at least in the first volume). And I do have to give this show credit for having Noir and Emma kissing in the first ten minutes, something that other shows of this ilk take a whole season to do, if at all. At the same time, this is a show that thinks “Noir creates skill to shrink Emma’s boobs” is a funny joke and that should give you a good idea of how lowbrow this show is. It’s not so offensive to be unwatchable, but when a show is so obviously about getting close to girls to use overpowered abilities, it’s pretty obvious this will either be a “guilty pleasure” or something you won’t touch with a ten-foot polearm.

(As a side note, I must say, having Yui Horie voice Olivia was the perfect decision.)

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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stardf29

Frank is known as "stardf29" on various parts of the Internet; it stands for "Star Defender 29", which is something he came up with during his chuunibyou years. Now, when he's not doing things for the Navy or indefinitely delaying his writing projects, he likes engaging in anime, especially of the slice-of-life sort.

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