Cooking anime is a niche that allows for a variety of stories. Sweetness and Lighting focuses on the relationship between a father and his young daughter as they navigate the death of his wife by learning how to cook. Restaurant to Another World showcases the importance of community spaces through its interdimensional traveling restaurant. The Way of the Househusband focuses on an ex-Yakuza member who becomes a househusband. The latest entry, Dungeon Meshi, is taking the internet by storm with its mixing of fantasy and cooking.
Dungeons Are Delicious?
As they traverse a dungeon, Dungeon Meshi follows a band of adventures: Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, and Falin. The group runs into a dragon that eats Falin—overpowered, and the group retreats, leaving Falin behind. However, they re-enter the dungeon to rescue her before the dragon digests her. Unfortunately, the trio cannot afford food and decides to eat whatever they can find in the dungeons. Luckily, the trio meets Senshi, a dwarf who specializes in dungeon cuisine and teaches them how to survive in the dungeon.
Translating food from real life into fantasy-based meals isn’t a far-off concept. However, the way living off of natural resources is presented brings a new spin to the genre.
Eating bugs isn’t a new idea, and in many places, eating snails, crickets, and grasshoppers is part of a balanced diet. However, it still unsettles a lot of people. This is also reflected in the party, as Senshi and Laios have no problems with the food, while Marcille is usually the opposition. She eventually comes around as Senshi proves his food to be just as good, sometimes even better than a typical meal.
A Gem Of A Meal
When traversing a dungeon, people usually think about supplies and how to ration. In Dungeon Meshi, this is also true. Most dungeon parties rely on their supplies from the surface and will not use the ecosystem in the dungeon. When these parties run low on supplies, they must retreat and try again.
However, Laios’s party continues as they rely on the dungeon to feed themselves and create items to move along. They’re resourceful, and this allows them to make much more progress than the average adventurer.
When the party comes across a mimic chest filled with treasure bugs (and actual treasure), Senshi is quick to figure out what is edible and what is inedible. After a gag showcasing Senshi’s lack of interest in actual loot, he creates a jam and some snacks out of the different bugs.
Later on in the episode, ghosts attack the party. In a pinch, Senshi takes out the jam, creates holy water, and exorcizes the ghosts. In the process of swinging around the jar of holy water, it turns into ice cream by the end of the ambush.
While the jeweled meal visuals are gorgeous, they demonstrate that strength alone cannot guarantee a successful venture in a dungeon.
Mind Over Matter
Throughout the series, the main party meets other parties as they traverse the dungeons on specific missions or venture out on their first foray. Corpses of past adventures line the walls of the dungeon as the residents of the dungeon feed on them. It takes a knowledgeable and resourceful party to survive a dungeon, as adventurers can come across powerful enemies with magical and physical prowess.
As the party makes its way to the bottom, I cannot wait for them to come across the Red Dragon. Will they free Falin? How will they kill the dragon? How will they cook the dragon?
New episodes of Dungeon Meshi are uploaded weekly on Netflix. The manga is completed, and thirteen of the translated volumes are available in the US.
