"Falin is CRASHING the PARTY" - A Weeb & Normie React - Dungeon Meshi [S1E17-18] (Highlights)

[@sk8terGrlM]

Some fandom context: Laios is seen as autism coded. When you see him as autistic, everything makes sense. Most people with experience in Special Education see very many signs of autism in him. He's very capable of being serious. Just not serious in a way that makes sense to us. What we see as a monster, he sees as a monster and a something to learn. Which is fun and exciting for him (remember the Living Armour episode). Just like kids with dinosaurs. They're gigantic and scary, they might even eat you. And yes it would be tone deaf to get excited about trivia. But would it be wrong? "Although frowned upon, it is not illegal to call a child an asshole" kind of logic. It's very subtle but that's why Kabru's party always dies. Kabru understands people, not monsters. He's normal in a way that matters. Not in a way that matters to others.

[@Rannos22]

The author said he's not autistic just extremely passionate

[@rinseyong5202]

@@Rannos22 The author never shut down that interpretation though, she only said she never explicitly intended to write him that way. She never even said "he's not autistic", she just said she wrote him to be an everyman who could be relatable to anyone -- notably in response to a really poorly worded and bad faith question about his mental health. It doesn't come across in the translation, but the words the interviewer uses have some pretty negative connotations in Japanese.

[@sk8terGrlM]

@@rinseyong5202 to expand on @rannnod22 ‘s question: the interview that was from essentially was mistranslated and misinformative.

[@edamame1879]

⁠@@rinseyong5202true i interpret it as laios is character relatable to anyone. so is laios autistic? maybe yes maybe no, but as reader/watcher we can think of him as someone we can relate to, even if you are autistic or not autistic. honestly i dont really like that interview😅 but i think ryoko kui left many things to fans' interpretation, the story is finished and anything beyond that is up to your imagination.

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

this fight is why so many of us think Laios is autistic, the speech he gives about not realizing he was a pest because Shuro is passive aggressive is the same bs a lot of Nuerodivergents deal with. we don't know we're a bother and the passive aggressive people just hint hint hint but we're not understanding. so when they inevitably blow up and harsh us out, it feels outta left field.

[@manjiimortal]

Regarding the season finale, it's worth remembering that this show's an adaptation of a manga which was ongoing, so there really isn't a good, convenient, place to cut for a season finale. Also, Ryoko Kui was offered the chance for Dungeon Meshi to be adapted to anime several years ago, but she declined it on account of wanting to finish the manga first (the manga ended on September of last year, and the anime started airing the following January). One thing I really like is how the story started with this very personal conflict (saving Falin) and small stakes (kill the Red Dragon), but it has now seemingly risen to much higher stakes (turn Falin back to human, beat the Lunatic Magician) while still retaining the very personal conflict (saving Falin), which has become even more personal for the viewer since we've had the chance of meeting Falin, both by way of flashbacks and of the episode after she'd been resurrected. A lot of fans read Laios as being autistic/having HDHD (another reactor stated Laios's behaviour is just like her fiance's, who has HDHD, though Ryoko Kui has stated she didn't write Laios as being autistic/having HDHD), which adds to the way he behaves.

[@TheLorax787]

There’s an extra manga panel that explains every copy and why it looks the way it does. The three remaining, were Chilchuck’s Senshi: he looks like that because half foots find dwarves handsome and the pinnacle of manliness Marcille’s Chilchuck: She still sees him as a plucky youth Laois’s Marcille: her recent actions to save Falin left the strongest impression on him (also he’s the only one who knows what her book looks like)

Sooo ep 17 was a real WHAM episode. Falin crashing the party hard.

[@willgegg8601]

Ohhh. You guys think hes being goofy. Nah man Laios is serious. Laios is a monster obsessed nerd, being in a dungeon is a dream come true for him. A looot of who people relate to Laios talk about their experiences with ADHD and Autism, and the fight with Toshiro, "You thought we were friends but I've always hated your guts" is a deep seeded fear for a lot of autistic folks. Laios is both doing the scariest most dire task in his life, and the most fun exciting thing hes ever been able to do. He's got so much going on, its gotta be overwhelming. Imagine how long Laios has been adventuring with Chilchuck and Marcille and they had NO IDEA he wanted to eat monsters for so long. He's been obsessed but hes been hiding it, and now that its necessary and people are participating in it, its all coming out. Hes been masking, and now he gets to talk about his hyperfixation and its saving lives. I think Laios and Toshiro are still friends! But Toshiro had grievances he never aired and they built up. The fight shouldve happened long ago, I personally dont blame Laios or Toshiro for it, I honestly blame Chilchuck and Marcille lol. They definitely noticed all the tension and didnt bother to tell Laios what Toshiro meant and never told Toshiro you have to be very direct with Laios. Everyone saw that cultural disconnect and just laughed at it and let it get worse and worse. There are side comics and extras for the manga that show the disconnect, and Namari and Chilchuck watching and chuckling. I'll point out real quick, Kui likes putting lots of details into the eyes of characters! Chimera-Falin's eyes go back and forth between having slit pupils like the dragon and round pupils like a human. (Also, occasionally the eye that got the mithril dagger stabbed into it bleeds/cries blood). A certain mad mage has their pupils change shape when spells are cast as well.

[@gregperianayagam4522]

It is up to each and everyone on how they interpret Laios, but the author has stated that they did not write Laiod with ADHD, he's meant to be just weird.

[@willgegg8601]

​@@gregperianayagam4522 I didn't say he was autistic, I said his character relates heavily to many folks with ADHD and Autism. Not sure why you felt the need to add this comment. Im sure it's common for writers who get very popular to find that their character who they say is "just a normal guy" has a descriptive label in another culture which makes them stand out. Im sure you think Kui's other short stories "just so happen" to resonate with trans people and are just a coincidence to you that you MUST inform everyone that the characters aren't trans its just a coincidence that trans people resonate with them.

[@gregperianayagam4522]

I did say you can interpret a character however you want.I should also say the interview where she said this was very funny.

[@rinseyong5202]

​@@gregperianayagam4522 Yeah the author only said that she never explicitly set out to write an autistic character when she wrote Laios. But it's also worth noting that the part of the interview you're referring to is heavily mistranslated -- when asking whether Laios was autistic, the interviewer used words that have pretty negative connotations in Japanese, basically the equivalent of asking if he was sick in the head. To which she answered that she'd set out to make him normal and relatable to anyone. A lot of that interview was Kui dodging and deflecting questions that were either excessively leading or in bad faith, and this one was the latter.

[@heartoftarassque]

So, the shapeshifters and who they belong to according to manga, since this wasn't really explained: Blushing Laios - Senshi; since he sees them all as children, and to dwarfs tallmen look feminine. Gigachad Laios - Marcille; Falin told her that she has a brother, and, since Marcille is an elf, and all elfs in DM (including males) are VERY androgynous, she, as an elf herself, expected Laios to be 1 to 1 copy of Falin, but was shocked when it turned out to be the other way. Dumb Laios - Chilchuck; self-explanatory. Mewing Marcille - Senshi; he grew up as a dwarf and since dwarfs and elves hate each other he was told how scary elves are: you can see that when they put this fake Marcille into the cage Senshi was looking at her like "I thought she is the real one?" Determinated Marcille - Laios; Marcille's zeal to use dark magic, a forbidden art, just to resurrect Falin, made a big impression on Laios. Marcille with a fake magic book - Chilchuck; Chilchuck hates magic and dark magic especially, so he never even tried to learn anything about it, hence he didn't even look into her book once. Gigachad Senshi - Chilchuck; dwarfs are viewed as peak masculinity by half-foots: a lot of female half-foots in DM strive to marry a dwarf. Senshi without a hole in his helmet - Laios; explained. Senshi with fake cooking tools - Marcille; Marcille barely ever payed attention to Senshis cooking, and his appearance and build are the only thing she remembers. Chilchuck with a scarf, not a muffler - Laios; explained. Chilchuck that is way cuter! - Marcille; she knows he is supposed to be an adult, but she still can't really cope with this fact. Chilchuck with fake tools (and squishy cheeks) - Senshi; still views Chilchuck as a kid and barely changed his opinion on that.

[@sweetday2]

31:30 The adventure is fun and entertaining not because of the show supposed to be, but because we are following Laios's story. Imagine Kabru being protagonist, the story would be stressing after the second dead.

[@edamame1879]

i guess many people are put off with laios' attitude because it didn't feel like he was serious enough about his sister. i think the way he expresses himself is a bit different, he immediately went back to the dungeon without much preparation just for falin. just because he didnt act flustered, it doesnt mean that he didnt care. graham was right about shuro and laios. shuro was raised in japanese-like environment where being too straightforward is considered rude. anyway cant wait to see the catgirl!

[@jimlight5137]

7:12 what’re you talking about? Laios has been VERY serious about his goals…

[@Ecalleu]

Good react 👍🍕🍄

[@Ecalleu]

Falin is cute

[@wrexgrafix84]

I didn’t like Laios either because I hate people who don’t do things seriously… for things like saving his sister… I wanted him to have a bigger sense of urgency. I see many commenters mentioning he has signs of autism. I’m not familiar with autism… maybe it makes him more understandable, but without knowing that possibility, it just made him irritating for me. I actually stopped watching around episode 20 or so because I couldn’t stand him any more. But, with the knowledge that he could have autism, and to keep watching your reactions, I’ll pick up the series again. 😅

[@蔡民傑-t7y]

here's the list of shape shifter that create from each member's memory from Senshi are the big laios ,the weird looking marcille and the young looking chilchuck. from Laios are the cold marcille, the chilchuck with scarf and the senshi with no dent helmet. from Chilchuck are the hungry laios, the marcille that have messy book and handsome senshi. from Marcille are the senshi and chilchuck with wrong tools and soft looking laios .

[@willgegg8601]

Thats... inaccurate. There is an actual official listing. Senshi: round faced Chilchuck, big lipped big cheek bones Marcille, eyes closed feminine Laios Chilchuck: Marcille with the goofy spellbook, drooling Laios, handsome Senshi Marcille: cute friendly Chichuck, wrong tools Senshi, hyper masculine tall Laios.

[@蔡民傑-t7y]

@@willgegg8601 oh ,I saw a reddit post and thought it's the official one, thank you

[@willgegg8601]

​@@蔡民傑-t7y all good! Reddit is a mess, don't trust everything you read there haha