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⬢⬡⬢| Dungeon Meshi |⬢⬡⬢
What do you do when you need to get through a dungeon as quick as possible and you can't afford provisions? Why, eat the monsters of course! Our group races against time to save their lost party-member trapped in the belly of the dungeon, all while trying to keep their own bellies full.
⬢⬡| Overview |⬡⬢
- Story: A cozy fantasy story about cooking in a dungeon that sometimes dips into heavy subjects but just as quickly manages to return to a lighthearted adventure (8/10)
- Characters: Some of my favorite characters because they all have their quirks, and they're all lovable in different ways (9/10)
- Visuals: Tons of expressions on the characters, fluid movement, just great design all around (8/10)
- Audio: The voice acting was good (I mostly watched dubbed) but aside from that I don't think there was anything particularly special about it (7.5/10)
- Bingeable/Hype: It starts out a little slower, but at the end of every episode you're like "no way that was 25 minutes; it felt like 5." Very easy to binge (8.5/10)
- Enjoyment: Contrary to what I expected since I never watched a "cooking anime" before, I liked it from the start, and once the second half kicked off it was even better (8.5/10)
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⬢⬡| Plot |⬡⬢
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(8/10)
I came into it not really expecting much because I didn't think a show about cooking stuff would interest me, but I was pleasantly mistaken. While cooking is a big part of the anime, it's not what the story's mainly about. Yes, it is everywhere, and yes, this anime revolves around the monsters and how to cook them, but it doesn't feel forced; it doesn't feel like this is a cooking anime but a fantasy adventure one. The cooking is a (really clever) plot device to further the story and deliver the world-building in a natural way. And oh my gosh, the world building! There is so much depth that gradually becomes uncovered the more the story goes on, and what you think is going to just be another fantasy world comes to life in a whole new way. There's monsters that I've never seen in any other story (and they eat most of them; actually the story is just as much about the monsters as the food, probably because they eat them), and the monsters we've all seen before are just different and with a lot of thought put behind them. (There's literally an entire encyclopedia filled with stuff from the source manga and I don't just mean fun facts, but full on ecosystems, life cycles, and biology explained; it gets crazy)
So, let me talk about the story (don't worry, no spoilers). Right off rip we find the whole premise of the show is to retrieve the corpse of one of the MC's, Laios's sister Falin, who was eaten by a dragon. "Woah! I thought you said this was a lighthearted anime about adventure." Worry not, as I said before, the story is rich with world building, and if you pay attention to the dialogue, a passing remark here, an odd line there, we find that it's... not really that big of a deal. But even when the show does start to get a little dark and heavy it will just as quickly manage to pick itself up into a lighthearted adventure again. I can't really explain it, but even though the stakes feel real, and tension high, it also feels like everything will work out in the end. But don't worry, the big stuff doesn't come in till later. Now, I'm about to say something that I hate when other people say, but the story gets good, you just have to watch a bunch of episodes to get there. That's not to say the first half of the anime isn't good. It's good, okay. But, it's a slow start; it takes its time to set up the setting and characters (speaking of characters, I will get to that soon) and lets you settle in to the world before hitting you with the story full on. When they finally reach the dragon, you're like "nice, the story will finally come to a close." NO! WRONG! The story is just beginning.
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⬢⬡| Characters |⬡⬢
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(9/10)
I love these guys, and you will too! It's their fun and funny group dynamic that gives the anime its charm. All of them are seasoned adventurers in this world, all with their own quirks. What does this mean? It means they all know what the heck they're doing and I don't have to sit through a boring monologue of exposition that no one would actually say in real life. The world around them is gradually revealed and explained to you through their actions. There is a large handful of characters that come and go but the main group consists of four people. We got Laios, who I'm not gonna lie, might be autistic, and he's the monster obsessed leader whose sister, Falin, everyone is going to save. Then there's Marcille, the elf and resident mage of the party who has about a million expressions per episode and never wants to eat the monster food until she tries it and ends up loving it. There's also Chilchuck, the sometimes shrewd half-foot lock-pick and trap expert. Finally, Senshi is the dwarf and cook of the group with expert knowledge on how to turn any and every monster crawling in the dungeon into a delicacy.
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⬢⬡| Visuals |⬡⬢
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(8/10)
We got tons of expressions from each character, tons of monster designs, cool settings, tasty looking food, fluid animation, just double thumbs up all around. I'm not ashamed to admit I started drooling once or twice when they started cooking. The show looks good no doubt, and while rarely, isn't afraid to experiment. Sometimes there'll be a cut to zoom in for comedic effect, or the whole frame will shrink, but it works. Where there's action, it looks good; it's smooth and easy to follow. Where there's calm traveling scenes, it looks good, whether wide shots are utilized or close ups. I'll hand it to the animators, they know how to frame a scene whether they want comedy, seriousness, or something in between.
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⬢⬡| Audio |⬡⬢
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(7.5/10)
As much as I sung praises to every other aspect of the show, I can't do the same for the sfx and music. Now, it's not bad, please don't think that, but it's not amazing either. What I mean is nothing really stands out. Now, I might be extra picky, probably am, but there wasn't really any point in the show that made me say "wow, this song is awesome," or "dang, those sound effects are crazy." Full disclosure, I watched this anime dubbed (controversial some might say) and I thought the English voice acting was actually really good. The little bit I saw in the original Japanese also sounded pretty good, but I didn't hear enough to feel comfortable giving my opinion on it right now. So, overall average, good but not great.
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⬢⬡| Bingeability/Hype |⬡⬢
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(8.5/10)
I started watching this a couple days before the 23rd episode came out. Back in my prime, I would've caught up in a day, but I'm not the same anime gobblin' whippersnapper I once was. Nevertheless, I managed to binge almost all of it in a few days. Something about the episodes made them very easy to digest. they're all 25 minutes long (so like 20 since I skip the OP and ED/credits after I see it the first time) but it feels like they go by so much quicker. I just kept watching them, and I kept wanting to watch. You'll be watching an episode and think "okay they go somewhere, have a little fight, eat the monster they just killed, and move on," and then the episode is over and you realize actually a lot more than just that happened. (I guess that means it has good pacing? I dunno) Anyways, what I'm trying to say is it was easy and enjoyable to watch.
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⬢⬡| Enjoyment |⬡⬢
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(8.5/10)
Speaking of enjoyment, that is something I got a lot of when watching this. I did not think I would enjoy it since it's a cooking anime, but honestly, I kinda like the cooking parts. Even if I didn't care for them, there's plenty else to enjoy. It's a fantasy-comedy-adventure that happens to have a lot of cooking. I especially loved the world-building, and I really love the characters. You just gotta pay attention; there's a lot of things they will do or say briefly that are funny or important to understanding the plot. But even if you somehow miss it the anime is so full of everything else it's hard to miss the passion that clearly went into making it.
