DUNGEON MESHI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ONA AdventureDungeon Meshi CM
MANGA AdventureDungeon Meshi World Guide Boukensha Bible
ANIME AdventureDungeon Meshi
ONA AdventureDungeon Meshi: Senshi no Kantan Cooking!
ANIME AdventureDungeon Meshi 2nd Season

REVIEWS

• 

  phones

  100/100
  Love letter to cooking, world-building, ecology, and self-care

  __At the time of writing this, Dungeon Meshi is currently being published and has 74 chapters. My opinion may change by the time the story concludes!__ __9/20 EDIT: Dungeon Meshi just concluded at 96 chapters and I'm really happy to say that my opinion of the story has remained unchanged.__ I'm writing this review because I realized all of my reviews so far are mostly me complaining. I thought i'd change that up by writing about something I really adore. So yeah, __if you're looking for the tl;dr section of the review where the reviewer tells you if it's worth your time or not, this is the part where I tell you to go read Dungeon Meshi.__ I wasn't sure if I'd like Dungeon Meshi as I've only played a handful of DND campaigns and in fantasy situations I tend to opt more towards urban fantasy than traditional high fantasy. But I thought, hey, the premise sounds funny, and I want to read something more light-hearted, so I'll give it a go. And what starts off as a silly cooking manga about cooking the monsters you would encounter in a JRPG or tabletop RPG setting becomes absolutely incredible. Also worth noting that the beginning part of the story is not slow by any means; it's just as good as the latter half is--it's just more focused on the silly cooking adventures Senshi and Laios force their party into. I love the characters in this story. Everyone is so lovingly crafted and well-made. Laios is a character who you'd expect to be just another bland protagonist, especially given how normal the guy looks, but he's definitely one of my favorite protagonists in a story. This is the panel where I decided I really liked him. His traveling companions are also extremely well-developed, and while all of them are fantastic characters, I want to give special attention to Senshi. Senshi is the dwarf who introduces Laios (and the party by proxy) to how to prepare the various monsters they encounter in the dungeon. He's the sort of character you don't expect to be given much thought to outside of that. But even he gets an amazing backstory, and the chapter that focuses on him, chapter 49, is my absolute favorite in the story so far. Even the silly characters and the side characters get lovingly crafted. On the side characters; Kabru is a character who shows up later who is intended to be Laios's foil; where Laios is awkward, terrible at reading the room, but well-meaning, Kabru is sneaky, good at manipulating people and understanding others' motivations, but just as well-meaning underneath that. The way they interact with each other and how their respective teams go about traversing the dungeon under their leadership is extremely interesting and fun to watch. Kabru is also my favorite character. The world-building is done in a way that it doesn't feel overbearing since the story circulates around the dungeon the team is traversing, and as the story sort of veers away from its cooking manga origins into more of a plot-driven story (while still retaining those cooking bits of course!), these lore notes are dropped in a way that it doesn't feel overwhelming since it uses the dungeon as its focal point. The world outside of the dungeon feels very alive and very real, but the reader doesn't feel lost in a way one might with something like _Hunter x Hunter_ or _Jujutsu Kaisen_. Another one of Dunmeshi's strengths is its tone. The story is funny but not without its emotional beats, but even when navigating those, it doesn't lose sight of that humor and always finds a way to return to the bizarre without feeling untrue to the emotions the characters are experiencing. After all, the story is about a brother who has lost his sister and is trying to get her back--there are high stakes, and that shows. Dunmeshi is also about caring for yourself. The party insists on practicing good self-care to better help others, which is something I really like and in general don't see advocated enough in media. There's also a lot of analysis about ecology, which is 1) interesting to consider in the context of a dungeon, and 2) also not explored a lot in fictional media (at least from what I've read). There's also, of course, cooking, and while you may not be able to make what Senshi cooks up for the crew, it makes me want to try to cook more for myself--that cooking is self-care, and caring about what you put into your body is good and worth celebrating. Oh yeah, and it's really pretty to look at. I especially like the range of body types in the story, and it's nice to not have a singular token brown character in a manga. Everyone looks different beyond just their typical racial distinctions (i.e. the elves aren't just characterized by being skinny blonde people with pointy ears) and it helps contribute to the world feeling alive. I especially like how Ryoko Kui illustrates eyes and blush marks. Her attention to detail in things like bark, fur, tree trunks, and plumage is really good too. And I love looking at the compilation of sketches she does for the story. There's also a lot of interesting character notes in there too, like how Laios opts to keep himself clean-shaven because he doesn't want to resemble his dad. She clearly loves these characters a LOT and works hard to make them feel as real as possible. This manga is really good. __I can't recommend it enough. __This is also a manga I would say can be recommended to people who don't really care about anime or manga; especially if they like TTRPGs. This is the sort of manga anyone can enjoy. 10/10
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• 

  PhocusEnergy

  90/100
  Dungeon Meshi has stealthily become a GOAT contender

  As Dungeon Meshi is still currently being published, it feels a bit early for me to try to post any sort of review, but I feel like I need to make an exception in this case, as Dungeon Meshi has evolved over its run from a little manga about a DnD party cooking monsters into one of the absolute best pieces of fantasy I've ever experienced in any medium.

  

  As it's progressed, Dungeon Meshi has consistently developed its world around a deep dive into a single aspect of its universe (dungeon exploration), exploring that topic from ecological, political, economical, and sociological angles, intertwining them into an incredibly realistic backdrop for a main plot and characters that are equally as complex, well-developed, and totally engaging. It does all this at one of the most perfect paces I've ever seen in any media - it starts out as a cute little generic fantasy manga with a simple premise - broke dungeon explorers decide to eat monsters as they rush through a dungeon to try and revive their healer, who was killed by a dragon deep in the dungeon on their last excursion. From this base, every single chapter develops and builds upon at least one element of the series, be it the world, the monsters, the characters, the society, etc. etc., and once you're past the slower early chapters, it chugs along at a pace where it's never too slow as to grow stale, but never too fast as to become overwhelming, which has pushed the plot to a level of extremely satisfying complexity, where all the pieces and players on the board have been so well defined that nothing feels underdeveloped or lost in the details.

  

  Beyond the excellent central narrative and world building, it also boast a fantastic cast of characters as well-developed as they are lovable, all of them with believable character flaws and personal ideologies that clash and cooperate with one another constantly to create believable and interesting dynamics, both among the main characters and the diverse supporting cast that drift in, out, and around their journey through the dungeon.

  

  The art in this series is exceptional, with the mangaka particularly excelling in character and monster designs. The monsters can range from cute, to bizarre, to disgusting, to threatening behemoths, and all are given a level of detail that really helps them jump off the page. This detail even carries over to the humans and humanoids, where species-to-species and individual-to-individual differences are extremely well defined, completely avoiding the issue so much of the medium has with every-character-looks-the-same-with-different-hair-syndrom. She's also exceptional at using facial expressions to drive home the narrative almost as much as the dialog itself, akin to what I've seen in series like One Piece.

  

  At the manga's latest chapter, where the story has progressed to a scale of global inter-species geopolitics that hinge upon decisions and actions tied up in magical/biological processes so morally grey that you're not even sure if the story has a hero anymore, the only thing more insane than looking back at how simply and humbly the series began, is how well it avoided ever feeling jarring at any point climbing to the ridiculous height it's currently at, and this upwards trend has shown no signs of slowing down. I'd like to say that I couldn't see a way that we weren't marching towards an extremely satisfying conclusion, but as every manga reader is well aware even some GOAT-contender candidates can fumble right before they hit the finish line, and if Dungeon Meshi falls prey to this same curse I'll update this review and my rating as I feel necessary. But at current, Dungeon Meshi is nipping at the heels of the all-time best manga and anime that I've ever experienced, and I feel like anyone looking for truly fantastic twist on old fantasy tropes would love to dive into this dungeon alongside our main cast, because it's a far deeper journey than anyone could have expected.

  
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• 

  baba13

  90/100
  A Dungeons & Dragons Gourmet Extravaganza!

  A Dungeons & Dragons Gourmet Extravaganza!

  Dungeon Meshi is a manga I originally had minimal expectations going in, it looked like a somewhat generic Isekai from the offset. Oh boy, I was wrong. This manga feels like a masterfully crafted D&D campaign coming to life. Incorporating a lot of Tolkienesque lore, standard RPGs like Baldur's Gate, and other renowned franchises while being a brilliant Gourmet manga with so much care and attention put into these fictional dishes. It is one of the most impressive elements of the manga, it just feels authentic and lived-in, like, obviously, most of the ingredients aren’t real, but there’s a real logic and consistency to it. What initially could be perceived as comedy, becomes so much more endearing than just that. Granted, it's still a comedy, yet that isn’t a knock against it. There is a great deal of care when it came to the writing; there were no instances where I felt the dramatic moments undercut the comedic moments and vice versa, it's a delicate balance, yet she pulls it off almost effortlessly.

  The characters, notably the main cast, are brilliantly written. Individually, they all have their own lives, goals, certain skills, quirks, and so forth. What sets Dungeon Meshi apart is not just the characters, but the dynamic of the cast. This fellowship becomes so endearing by the end of this journey, you genuinely care for each one of them, even the newcomer Izutsumi, perfectly fitting within the dynamic of the group. By far my favourite character would be Marcille, her arc and personal struggles were so well realised and felt so human as a result. The best chapters of the series are often related to her. The other characters aren’t anywhere near as developed, yet those side characters are still fun additions, the exception being Kabru and Mithrun (both characters were excellent!). I think once again that what sets Dungeon Meshi apart is the varied character designs. She might be one of the best artists currently working; her art is not just brilliant in a technical sense, but even extremely varied. There’s fair criticism in manga and anime about the proportions of females, no such issue ever arises in Dungeon Meshi. I also appreciate the lack of forced romantic interest, there were just brilliant friendships and ones of a sibling and parental nature. I do think one romantic coupling is hinted at slightly, however, it’s left open-ended if such a development does properly transpire, which is the right move.

  The plot progressed at just the perfect pace. In general, I felt the manga was the perfect length and never overstayed its welcome while feeling like it concluded everything brilliantly. The interlude story in between with Kabru was a great juxtaposition, developing both the dungeon and the outside of it. In general, the worldbuilding is extremely well thought out, she even made her own Adventurer's Bible, which is a companion book that contains: world origin stories, monster guides, multiple dungeons, and descriptions of the various races that live in the world. It's like an elaborate RPG, even with mechanics or elements the developers don’t expect 99% of people to interact with, yet it rewards that 1% and shows that this is a world that is alive. There’s a plethora of references to video games, mythologies, Japanese folklore, and manga, all rolled into one, which gives the world texture and colour.

  I’ve touched upon the art concerning the character designs, but yes, it’s just stunning to see. The evolution of the author's artwork as the series progresses is brilliant to see, as she was already incredible at the beginning, but the craft is refined better and better as it progresses. The spreads are gorgeous, the panel work is excellent, there is great use of expression, and in general, she utilised her medium particularly well. It’s rare to see an author who is excellent in all three departments: technical, framing, and varied designs. There are many themes that are handled quite well, but one surprising one would be moral and ethics relating to the Ecosystem of the Dungeon. It’s a subject that is touched upon verbatim, and it handles it quite well. In general, all the core complements unilaterally synchronize into a remarkable package.

  In conclusion, there’s a lot to say about Dungeon Meshi. It's a remarkable series that achieves everything it intends, and more so, as a whole, it’s a very unique fantasy series that is worth not sleeping on. It has a brilliant beginning, middle, and end and is a satisfying adventure.

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