Kai Arcos Jiménez

#Thoughts

Despite the loss of a party member at the beginning of the story, Delicious in Dungeon starts out as a wholesome exploration of the food chain found within a typical fantasy dungeon. There’s a lot of thought put into this ecosystem. Classic fantasy monsters that are not exactly what you’d expect, species that interact with each other in surprising ways… The level of detail in the worldbuilding is so captivating that you’ll soon forget the reason the party headed into the dungeon in the first place.

As you continue reading, you’ll realise there’s more to it than beautiful food illustrations and lighthearted banter. This story and its setting will have you facing some deep and dark topics, but I won’t spoil them for you!

I especially loved how the author handled the cast of characters. More often than not, manga readers enjoy a perspective where they get to know character backstories and motivations pretty quickly. Delicious in Dungeon follows a different approach, allowing you to meet the characters slowly. Their motivations become clearer with time, and some information is only revealed to us when it is revealed to the rest of the crew. This makes for some great twists and surprising backgrounds.

Delicious in Dungeon was hard to put down. On top of the detailed worldbuilding and the depth of its themes, Ryoko Kui’s art was simply beautiful. This is obvious from the moment you pick up the first volume, but as the subjects presented become more complex, so does the art style. As an artist myself, I found myself mesmerised by the details.

It is rare for me to find a manga that ticks all the boxes, but Delicious in Dungeon left such an impact that I had to keep myself from re-reading it right after I finished it. It’s no wonder the anime adaptation was so successful.

#Sneak peek