The series obviously has a lot of fun referencing Dragon Quest game tropes, sometimes Leaning on the Fourth Wall with friendly jabs.
An innkeeper wonders why three kids are traveling together when the country is raided by monsters.
Popp: You could say we're the Hero and his party!
Badack suggesting Crocodine changes his technique's name from "Anguish Blast" (what enemies use in the games when performing a critical hit) to "Redemption Blast" (what the heroes use in the same case!). Crocodine happily accepts the proposed name.
Flazzard realizing how powerful Dai has become, lampshading his incredible level up, bordering a bit on Narm.
Maam heals Dai with her magic after their first battle with Crocodine ends, and Popp requests some healing magic from Maam. Maam, however, throws a bag of medicinal herbs that hits him in the face instead. When Popp protests about the different treatment he receives from her as opposed to the one Dai gets, Maam responds nonchalantly that she treats a hero differently from how she treats a fool/coward, much to Popp's chagrin.note Dai, meanwhile, finds it Actually Pretty Funny and laughs.
Later that night, Dai and Popp share a room where they stay in the village before setting off next day for the Romos castle. Dai asks Popp if he likes Maam, causing Popp to attempt to rebuff him while sporting Luminescent Blush, which does nothing to deceive Dai, who claims he has noticed Popp staring at Maam a lot. Popp is reduced to confessing that he gawks at her breast, to which Dai responds by calling Popp immature, and Popp takes offense, especially since Popp is older than Dai.
Popp: Who are you calling "immature"?!
Popp tries to justify himself by talking more about his reaction to Maam's breast with Dai, but the conversation goes nowhere due to Dai's innocent nature.
Matoriv sends Dai, Popp, and Maam in a flying boat towards Valge Island. The boat speeds across the air...
During their shopping spree, Dai, Popp and Gome-chan takes fascination for a high-quality Horse Manure.
Shortly after, a man takes interest on Popp's belt (which Popp himself finds ugly), only for the mage to learn it's a cursed item that he can't take off.
When shopping for weapons, Popp and Dai are disappointed at the local equipment. Fortunately the owner has an ace on the hole: The HAMMER HELM! (Exactly What It Says on the Tin, a helmet with a hammer embedded into it.)
In the 2020 remake, the merchant tries to push a 2-for-1 deal, and even more, just to try to sell the Hammer Helms. Nobody is interested.
After the disappointing shopping experience at the local Papnica weapons store, Leona, Dai, and Popp head to the department store in the kingdom of Bengarna for better gear options for Dai, while Leona herself looks for an alternate dress for herself.
First, Dai picks an armor and goes inside the fitting room to put it on, and Leona tries on a dress — if you can even call it a "dress", since it's just bras and underwear, causing Popp to tell her to Please Put Some Clothes On.note Leona does pick out a more wholesome dress for herself soon enough, though.
Popp: WHAT KIND OF SAGE DRESSES LIKE THAT!!? GET SOMETHING MORE SIMPLE!! Leona: But... it's so easy to move in...
She also tries a bunch of other costumes, one being a clown outfit and the other a cat onesie which she claims has high defense.
Right at that moment, out comes Dai in his armor... which is way too big and heavy for him, as he looks nearly buried in his armor, struggles to keep up with Leona and Popp as they walk, and, when they walk downstairs to a floor below, misses a step and tumbles along the way. note Leona's initial reaction at the sight of him is hearty laughter, while Popp reacts with Stunned Silence.
Dai: [thinking to himself] It... It doesn't feel like I've gotten any stronger...
Finally, when dragons start their onslaught into Bengarna, Popp utilizes his spell-work to fly out of the window to face the dragons and Dai tries to leap out of the window as well — unfortunately for Dai, the keyword is "tries", as the armor that nearly buries him weighs him down so much that he ends up falling out of the window (bear in mind that they're on the fourth floor at the time) and straight into the ground outside instead. This serves as the last straw for him, and he promptly takes all the excess armor pieces off himself, leaving just enough for body-covering without sacrificing mobility.
Brokeena, a Cool Old Guy that he is, provides some humor through his own character, mostly by proving what a Bad Liar he is.
In a flashback, he advises to Maam and Chiu about the ultimate fighter's technique but says that he can't show them. His reason for that? "My butt tingles."
Chiu: (thinking to himself) If it's your butt, why are you sitting like that...?
After the martial arts tournament ends, some of the participants request for him to take them on as his students. He turns them down by claiming to have been infected with a chronic itching illness of the knee before walking away.
One of the participants: (thinking to himself) If it's an itchy knee illness, why doesn't he sit down...?
When he shows up on the night before the final battle against Vearn's forces, he meets Chiu and requests to join his team... under a Paper-Thin Disguise of a bed-sheet.
Chiu: You must be kidding... Maam and the others already told me that the strange man wearing a bed-sheet is Master's disguise. I mean, everyone in Romos already knew that! I'm glad that you came to help, but you don't really have to be in a disguise...
Brokeena: (in whisper) You must understand; it's much cooler if I help my disciples incognito. So, don't you worry and use me as if I'm another one of your subordinate monsters. (raises hand and speaks normally) Ah, that's right! Captain... please make a badge for me, too!note The badge on him is rather unnecessary, as the purpose of the badge is for Uniformity Exception, since Chiu's monster subordinates are otherwise identical in appearance to others of their respective species, but Brokeena's attempt at the Bedsheet Ghost disguise is NOT identical to any being, whether human or monster.
Right as Popp, Maam, and Crocodine are about to face the Shinei Kidan for the second time, Popp unexpectedly pokes Maam on the backside, only for Gome to come flying out into the open.
Crocodine: Popp, that was a good observation you made.
Popp: Oh, that... I just thought her butt looked a lot bigger than it usually does... when it comes to Maam's measurements, I'm an expert.
*cue Maam smacks Popp in one punch that sends his face into the ground*
Popp: Wh-What the hell are you doing!!! We're about to face some really powerful enemies; you can't be wasting your strength on stupid things like that!!!
Maam: I'm not the one who says the stupid things!!IDIOT!! PERVERT!!!
Crocodine: Hehe... It's gonna be interesting when you guys are husband and wife!
Humorously, when Maam punches Popp in the head, an old-fashioned Dragon Queststat screen pops up, showing his HP drop of 165 to 135.
Despite the urgent nature of the events behind Leona and company's descent into the Anti-Evil Cave, some funny moments do crop up.
When Leona and Flora are getting ready to set out to the cave, Merle begs them to take her along, arguing that her Psychic Power will come in handy. After Flora voices her approval, Dai, encouraged by this scenario, tries to volunteer as a bodyguard, only for Popp to cover his mouth and volunteer himself for the position, going so far as to kneel and bow close to the floor, his face looking lustful at the sight of Leona's and Flora's legs. That's as far as Popp gets, however, because Maam beats him back — literally, with a kick to his chin — and volunteers herself as a bodyguard instead. After the full team assembly is completed, Popp spends a moment nursing the spot on his chin where Maam kicked him.
Popp: Ow... Every day, she's becoming a little more murderous... Damn it...
As they prepare for the descent into the cave, Maam starts wrapping the lower-body section of her robe around her waist to help herself move around more easily, making Maam a walking embodiment of Panty Shot, much to Merle's dismay. A brief argument between them take place, before Flora puts a stop to it.
Merle: W-Wait, Maam! I-I can see your underwear...
Maam: But it's hard to move with this thing, going back and forth.
Leona: Don't worry, Merle. She's always like that...
Merle: P-Perhaps if Maam were more modest, Popp wouldn't be such a pervert...!
Maam: Y-You think? I remember him being a pervert since the first time we met...
Leona: (thinking to herself) Geez... we got another kind of fight going on here...
Flora: Come on, girls! It's not a picnic, you know! Let's get into the first floor!
As they get to the first floor, they encounter a large swarm of Slimes. Just as Maam frets about how much time it would take to deal with them one at a time, Flora takes them down in one fell swoop with her whip. Maam, in reaction, remarks that Flora is "one tough queen". As a result, Leona has an Imagine Spot of Flora holding a whip and donning the outfit of a Dominatrix, causing Leona to chastise Maam in return.
Leona: Wait, Maam! That's not a nice thing to say!
Maam: Come on, Leona, stop opening every chest you see! How many times do I have to tell you?
After the journey into the cave is complete and everyone gathers to congratulate Leona on her success, Leona claims the whole task was easy and ask Maam and Merle for their input. Maam and Merle, who know the whole truth but don't have the heart to contradict Leona in front of everyone else, nervously react with Mirthless Laughter in return.
After Aimi hands the spear Hyunckle inherits from Larhalt, the two of them have a heart-to-heart... in the midst of the battle that rages while Avan's disciples are working to activate the anti-evil spell that's necessary for them to gain access to Vearn's Palace. Leona jolts Aimi back into the urgent reality of the situation.
Leona: Aimi... are you through? We need to get going with the spell.
Albinass smiling or laughing◊. Shame it only happens in the last two episodes of her airtime.
Everyone commenting that they saw Avan die or asking how he came back from the dead. His answer to all three questions? A smug "I didn't die".
After fighting off Zaboera and the other demons on the ground level, Nova pledges to learn how to forge weapons from Lon, who agrees to Nova's request. The first task Lon gives Nova that the latter struggles to fulfill is... to open a liquor bottle. Everyone else who witnesses it, whether human or not, finds it Actually Pretty Funny and laughs loudly in reaction, much to Nova's embarrassment.
Lon: [with an exasperated sigh] I guess I'll have to start by teaching you how to open a liquor bottle.
Chu decides to take two members (one for combat and one for healing support) with him to provide backup to Dai's team, who's inside Vearn Palace at the time. Crocodine is picked as Chu's backup combat help of choice and agrees to the proposal, but Chu suddenly has a terrible feeling after claiming he needs someone with healing capacity — unbeknownst to him, Aimi, who's behind him at the moment, wishes with all her might for Chu to pick her so she'd have a legitimate reason to join Hyunckle personally.
When Dai and co. reach the garden within Vearn Palace, Popp complains that he's exhausted, both magically and physically, as his efforts to get himself and Dai out of a deadly trap set by Kill-Vearn drained all of his magic reserve and the running into the palace isn't something a Squishy Wizard like him is accustomed to do. He pleads to Maam for some healing spells... and gets touchy-feely with her as well. Maam is about to punch him before Avan suggests for everyone to take a break in the garden.
At the same time, Leona expresses concern for Dai, as he was with Popp in that trap after a grueling duel, but she gets a different response than what she was expecting.
Dai: Popp was still tired because of that trap. Leona: You're also tired, aren't you, Dai? Dai: Well, I'm feeling better after running. Leona: [thinking to herself] What kind of body is that...?
Popp gets snot on Avan's clothes, and Avan complains, obviously.
While Avan gets a picnic set up, Leona asks others in a whisper what Avan is up to due to not being accustomed to his antics.
Just as Popp tries to advance despite his depleted magical power, Avan throws a magical feather-dart at him, resulting in it pricking Popp in the back of his head, causing him to black out briefly while Maam and Dai panic, before Popp awakens again, stating that his magical power has returned, even if not fully.
While Avan takes Leona with him for some exploration ahead and the others stay behind for relaxation, Dai, Popp, and Maam reflect on Avan's intent of getting them rested up for battles ahead. Popp then suddenly pulls back his sleeve, to Dai and Maam's confusion, before he proceeds to request another prick. Dai and Maam consider the nature of his request Actually Pretty Funny and burst into hearty laughter, with Popp joining them soon afterwards.
Popp: (with his sleeve pulled back) OK, then, let's get this over with! But, this time, don't stab me in the head!
Upon meeting Myst-Vearn, Avan and Leona remark that they managed to investigate much of the rest of the palace and destroyed most of the traps set up by Kill-Vearn, before Avan shows off his trap-detection item (a pair of goofy-looking eyeglasses with swirls on the lenses that resemble Wingding Eyes) despite Leona's plea, resulting in Leona, Dai, Popp, Maam, and Gome all feeling embarrassed for him.
Leona: [thinking to herself] Now he looks so dorky. Nobody would have known had he not said anything. Dai: Master, that's so lame! Popp: Yeah, he's always trying to be funny like that. Maam: Um... what were we worried about again...?
Myst-Vearn, on the other hand, finds Avan's stunt Actually Pretty Funny and bursts into hearty laughter.
Pop: Hey, I think Myst-Vearn got the joke, too. Dai: No way...!
After their escape from Vearn Palace, the party sans Dai are met by Queen Flora and the rest of the army. In the midst of reunions, Avan comes up to Flora, whose Double Take reaction is of a woman seeing her love come Back from the Dead.
Flora: Avan? Avan: Yes? Flora: (eyes turn into flat green disks) Falls over sideways in a dead faint Avan: Flora-sama, hang in there! Leona: Oh right. She didn’t know that Master was alive. Popp: No wonder she fainted.
◊. Shame it only happens in the last two episodes of her airtime.
