I HATE fantasy... but Dungeon Meshi...

[@NesdatNatsirt]

With Senshi winning all those tumblr sexy man polls is a sign to me that the world is healing. Senshi is prime husbando potential.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Exactlyyyy

[@shar4803]

Especially since almost all Tumblr sexy men (with the exception of the tumblr sexy man KING sans) are all skinny little twigs and I'm so happy this man is getting so much love because SENSHI IS SUCH A CUTIE

[@uuh4yj43]

​@@shar4803sans is also a skeleton he is just stocky short, still technically skinny

[@shar4803]

@@uuh4yj43 All skeletons are tecnically skinny. But in the way that sans is designed he is not really skinny. Even in his official art the way he is drawn gives him a chubby appearance which is clearly intentional. So the way you would read his silhouette is chubby. Tecnically skinny because skeleton, but in every other way he isn't skinny

[@EDDYSUNSHINEv2]

Senshi is such a fun character. Unc has that swag to him.

[@reyrapids63]

In addition to Senshi keeping them healthy, I love that Liaos is legitimately a good leader because he knows how to AVOID fights and minimize damage when fighting monsters is inevitable, where other groups like Kabru's try to fight and kill every monster they come across. Dude would kill it as a speedrunner.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg he wouldddd

[@abdanmayori924]

prob cuz they have different goals, laios party just want to save falin, while kabru's seems like trying to get strong in the process too

[@reyrapids63]

@@abdanmayori924 exactly! Kabru is definitely coming at the dungeon like leveling up is a thing in real life. In reality you gotta rest, eat and sleep. Like with Liaos barking at monsters, sometimes avoiding fights is preferable. In nature the most fearsome predators can be killed by a broken ankle or an infected bite. It pays to play smart. But Kabru starts off blinded by revenge against all monsters, and has to learn to treat monsters like any other animal that's part of a larger ecosystem One animal fact I love is that after predators have eaten they will commonly be totally chill with prey animals, like when deer and coyotes will be seen drinking water together or using the same trails. If they have no reason to fight they won't. Getting hurt in the wild is a death sentence cuz they ain't got no health care.

[@chengkuoklee5734]

Their party is the only party that ventured into deepest part of dungeon where other parties unable or lack of motivation to do so.

[@nathan1507]

I love how the author went, "You know what, elves are Italian in this world."

[@AlleyDreamer]

😂

[@julien827]

and it honestly just work since from a medieval perspective, the roman empire is older bigger and cleaner than any middle age kingdom just like elf for humans

[@Bloodredtyrant]

Ryoko Kui (the creator) draws everyone like someone who loves real human proportions. Laios has a genuinely realistic body shape with plenty of muscle and also fat in all the places you would expect from someone who eats and exercises every day. Marcille and Falin have very respectable body shapes as well, which is freaking unheard of in anime. It's so refreshing to see an artist create characters who look like they are real human beings instead of just existing for fanservice. Well.... Okay, there's Senshi, but... you get what I mean!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Senshi is for the people!

[@oddacity5883]

So happy to see someone like Senshi, who's feasible to cosplay for men under 5'7(aka my fatass)

[@AlleyDreamer]

@@oddacity5883 omg felt like I wanna cosplay Nemari so bad 😫

[@KoiPuff]

Not a single character is dressed for fanservice either. The clothes are all practical and reasonable to their characters. Kui is amazing. I’ll follow her wherever she wants to go with her writing. I’m a forever fan now lol

[@XShrike0]

Apparently Ryoko Kui was at a point where she noticed she was starting to draw all of her characters the same. She deliberately went through the effort to avoid this and make unique characters.

[@sweatygoblin2335]

IDK if anyone's mentioned it, but in the lorebook there's a page that explains that Resurrection magic burns through your fat and muscle mass super fast - it's why they needed to use the dragon the way they did. The author even pointed out that Kabru has gotten very thin compared to what he looked like before going into the Dungeon, and seeing a thick/fat adventurer in the dungeon usually indicates that they're very strong. Laios being kinda squidgy over all his muscle is literally a flex.

[@AlleyDreamer]

THERE'S A LORE BOOK. I NEED

[@sweatygoblin2335]

@@AlleyDreamer THERE IS. And it's full of art!

[@AVspectre]

@@AlleyDreamerOooooh! Neat! Hope there is an English version! 🤞

[@kamikazelemming1552]

@@AVspectre There is. Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurers Bible, is the name.

[@AVspectre]

@@kamikazelemming1552 Eeeeeeek! Exciting!

[@caitlinlucyhenderson8417]

Based on some stuff that comes up later in the manga, and on the author's other works, I'm 100% convinced that she wrote Laios as autistic on purpose, not just accidental autism vibes

[@AlleyDreamer]

I've caught up with the anime and I'm even more convinced now lol

[@Foogi9000]

I hope so, we Autistic people don't get much in terms of anime representation lol.

[@gachagamer536]

Autism was not a diagnosis in their world probably 😂

[@russellpierce3987]

i got my own autism diagnosis about the same time as the anime started airing and given it's my current fixation, Laius is absolutely my current blorbo (though i loved him when reading the manga too) and he's one of my only fav human chars

[@samdal420]

​@@russellpierce3987 Also the "slightest" of furry vibes✨

[@Sinnk_]

I don't remember where I saw it, but someone said that Laios' magical creature 'recipe' book is just a guide for kids that gives them fun facts about the dungeon monsters😭 I found it so charming and unserious that he was essentially whipping out a, "fun ocean facts for kiddies!" as they were being attacked by a megladon😂

[@AlleyDreamer]

Awww wait I love that 😭

[@mr.slimeyt]

OMG HAHAHA

[@cosmic_cookie5669]

Wait yeah, doesn't Laios actually mention at one point that it was a gift from his mom or someone when he was younger?? Omg that's so cute

[@connorjohnson8590]

Liaos is one of my comfort characters. He's non judgmental, embodies his passions, and has such a goofy charm to him. He ain't that smart, but he's got the spirit!

[@AlleyDreamer]

EXACTLY perfect man imo

[@itsanotherhomestuckfanwow9350]

He's VERY smart actually, but he just doesn't care if it's not monsters. It's where he puts all his many braincells to!

[@TyBe-uo4ud]

@@AlleyDreamer ok, last one. frieren is a fantasy anime very similar to dungeon meshi in vibes and autistic/normaly treated characters. it has 24 episodes and season 1 just ended. it's SO good, I SWEAR IM FROTHING AND SEETHING I CANT AAAAAAAAAAAAA]

[@lonelyshpee7873]

He's super smart and his knowledge about monsters is unparalleled. There's a reason he's the leader of the team despite being... You know... Laios...

[@jack-wulf]

Otherwise agreed, but as others have already stated, Laios is actually pretty smart! Ryoko Kui provided stats for the main cast, and gave Laios a 4/5 on intelligence. For context, only Marcille and Mithrun score higher than him with a full 5/5 and he's on par with characters like Falin and Kabru, who I think are generally perceived as smarter than him. I think his blunt demeanor and lack of social awareness just make him more easily perceived as stupid. Even in the show, we see him be able to think very strategically, as well as retain and learn new information quickly. Sorry for the long ass reply, I just thought I had some stuff to add & this is a conversation I find interesting. Overall though I'm glad people find Laios to be such a comforting character, and I'd have to say I agree.

[@JBBRDNKS]

16:20 he said in episode 9 that since he’s paid in advance he can’t leave a party until the job is complete. Also he’s just that guy

[@AlleyDreamer]

I must've missed that lol but he is just that guy 😂

[@JBBRDNKS]

@@AlleyDreameryea it’s a very small scene but it’s when he’s cleaning dishes with namari and marcille

[@fatanimetiddies9760]

To add a little bit on to that, he also considers saving Falin as part of the same job he was paid for. He's got a heart of gold deep down.

[@Vivigreeny25]

Let’s be real though, Laios TOLD Chilchuck and Marcile they could stay behind on the surface. Chilchuck is just uses the “well I was paid in advance I can’t just LEAVE” thing because it’s a lot easier for him to stomach than “I care about these people and I want to help them because they’re my friends”.

[@leslie10959]

Laios's voice actor is also on the spectrum himself! He's identified as such on his socials and twitch streams, and expressed how much he's loved the opportunity to voice a neuro spicy character 🥰

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah! I love him!

[@matrixiekitty2127]

Senshi is very focused on being a *part* of the ecosystem of the dungeon, rather than coming in for just resource mining or fighting the mad mage. This is not only reflected in him having a wok rather than a shield, but also in his axe. Compared to his cooking utensils his axe is beat to hell, to the point where Namari scolds him for not taking good care of it. But here’s the thing, Senshi isn’t a fighter, he’ll only take what’s necessary, he sees no use in fighting monsters in the dungeon unless he 1. Has to cuz they’re aggressive, or 2. For food. He’s very efficient about it and he doesn’t want to fight any more than he needs to. Heck, he’s so trusting of the ecosystem he nearly gets tricked and killed by a kelpie he considered a friend.

[@AlleyDreamer]

He's that uncle with the weird illegal farm but makes the best gd food

[@Vlad-t3f6q]

you get the kingdom with the dungeon because the dungeon IS the kingdom. like the upper floors are the tallest towers of a castle. it’s just all underground

[@AlleyDreamer]

:OOOOO u just blew my king ngl

[@YourBigDaddyOwO]

​@@AlleyDreamer Spoilers When he became king the entire kingdom emerged from the sea

[@caipingcui7594]

@@AlleyDreamer Also there's a bit in the beginning of both the show and manga, where an old (they assume former king) says that the insane wizard guy controlling the dungeon, basically if they kill the wizard they get all his stuff (and the kingdom).

[@diegovera1353]

The mangaka is amazing with diverse body types for character designs, she’s made an adventurers Bible for dungeon meshi where you can see a lot of other drawings she’s done for characters and a whole lot of different character designs for random people

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg I hope I can buy that one day 👀

[@grapeicies]

⁠@@AlleyDreamerI love how she depicts fatness so lovingly. Just as lovingly as she depicts varying degrees of thinness. Falin is not fat nor thin. She isn’t “anime” thin. She’s a full-figured, totally normal-proportioned European-coded person and we have thicker characters like Namari, Tade, and so many more to come.

[@Lotan_]

No to mention the designs she did for the main characters as the different races.

[@kuronya3582]

@@grapeicies just one word, orcs

[@mikelonduckguey]

As mentioned in other comments, Laios being autistic is pseudo canon; essentially we know the author takes representation seriously and would have done a lot of research into making it accurate and respectful, and there are just kinda too many indirect references to it for it to NOT be true. Honestly I think the only reason it isn't outright stated is because dungeon meshi takes place in a world where that diagnosis doesn't exist yet. But anywho, I think where dungeon meshi really shines in it's representation is how people react negatively to Laios's behavior (that sounds bad but stay with me (also this will discuss events of the manga but will do so in a spoiler free way, so no worries)). Not too far ahead in the manga, there are characters who express how they find Laios's difficulty at picking up on more subtle social cues very grating, but, rather than the standard, cliche, and insulting "I wish I could be 'normal'" moment that happens a lot, Laios actually gets frustrated in return, calling them out for being so backhanded; basically just saying that he doesn't care whether or not they like him, but, he hates that they won't just talk to him about it. Dungeon Meshi's stance isn't that Laios needs help to fit in and understand social cues, but rather, maybe the fact that these social cues are so ambiguous and can be misread in so many different ways is evidence that people should stop beating around the bush and be honest with each other; that petty things like pretending to like people you hate or saying yes to things you'd rather not do are concepts that make sense to neurotypical people even though doing things like that offers no benefit. No one comes to an understanding, no solution is found, and continuing that behavior only ever damages the relationships of the people involved. Not that Laios needs to try harder to understand everyone, but that everyone should try harder to understand Laios.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg that last sentence goes hard absolutely

[@lms5787]

Seeing that scene with Shuro in the show broke my heart a little ngl

[@marvmarcano]

@@lms5787 It's the scene with Shuro that sealed the idea that Laios may be on the spectrum for me but also everyone else is unaware what to do with that info.

[@TheLeafcuter]

What also just really highlights Laios's autism is when he gets to meet Kabru and Kabru just has absolutely no idea what to think of him. He's a person who is overly-analytical and tries VERY hard to sus out the motivations and reasonings of the people he talks to, and here comes a man who is so honest and open and painfully ernest in who he is, and it short-circuits Kabru completely.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Kabru is so funny for that, doesn't like him because he can't figure him out smh

[@dumbassgoddess5251]

I like to think kabru also is on the spectrum

[@kjarakravik4837]

And even outside of the main story, there's a chapter in the lorebook about how Laios can't wear certain clothes because of his sensory issues

[@aydenburgess905]

I love the scene where Kabru has to try the monster food its such a specific problem to have that only he created, all he'd have to do is be a normal person and communicate "nah i don't wanna eat that" but he's so deep in the mind games he can't do it

[@elluimlinnias7273]

Someone described Kabru as Laios’ mirror in a lot of ways; mainly that while Laios got that autism about monsters, Kabru got it about *other people*.

[@squidlump]

There aren’t respawn rules there are revival rules, they just want to be fast enough to get to Falin’s corpse so there is still enough of her to revive since healing magic needs organic material.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ooo gotcha

[@inazuma2332]

Errrm actually- (spoiler) Yea actually there is, the dungeon chains the soul to the body strongly (not permanently) which prevents a true death, which allows revive either magic rune/spells are usually taken to the first floor to be revived, hence a revive/scout fee (we see this via kabru's party). Also why dark magic marcille uses accidentally binds Falin as an asset to said dungeon, mixed with her sould and dragon meat. heavier spoiler- the people of the golden kingdom have their souls also trapped which their bodies have deteriorated centuries ago.

[@squidlump]

@@inazuma2332 wait what is it your trying to “Erm actually” me about?

[@astralsour7866]

@@inazuma2332that’s literally what this person just said in much more fewer words

[@midnightumbrmoon3644]

@@astralsour7866well they did add one important part about it not just needing the organic part but also their soul to revive, but that’s about it.

[@ramaluminus]

The reason I love Delicious in Dungeon so much is how mundane and down-to-earth it is, despite its fantasy genre, like the foods treated as just regular foods (although its using very bizarre ingredients), not something that gives you magical buffs or something, like in other fantasy (especially isekai) anime.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yes!!! I love the fact that it's taking these monsters that most people would never dream of eating and is just like nope just like surface animals if you prepare them the right way it's perfectly good food!

[@starjuker]

the "buffs" you get from the food are just the benefits you get from eating properly, lol

[@AlleyDreamer]

@@starjuker 😭😭 look we're all weebs none of us are eating properly

[@matrixiekitty2127]

Huh I never thought of that! They’re not complicated in function, they’re just meals, period. The only magical part about them is the ingredients and even those are heavily grounded in good world building and irl cooking and prepping techniques!

[@ori7647]

I mean, with the undine, there is a little bit about magical buff, in the sense of helping to regain some magic, but honestly... That's the same thing as eating the right food after a workout session.

[@animebomb]

Fantasy anime has just been oversaturated with crappy iskeai to be the point its the same damn story of boring/self-insert npc protagonist, pointless harems and always defeating the damn demon king but dungeon meshi is so good binge watch the recent episodes and loved all of it getting ACTUALLY back into the fantasy and the Dnd vibes and yes I love Laios, i love that blonde autusic man and do want him.. also Faine x Marcille for life!!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg yeah I do not like isekai because of that 😭 I feel so refreshed with dungeon meshi. Also yes Falin and Marcille I love them sm

[@2265Hello]

Bruh 9/10 times I see anime fans say they hate fantasy it’s not the case. They just hate crappy isekai and never actually looked for a fantasy series. But yes the over-saturation of crappy isekai has buried a lot of good series like shadow house (pretty sure that as fantasy), the case study of Vanitas, and Pandora hearts, and land of the Lustrous.

[@m.v.gonzalez5575]

I do love fantasy anime, but i'm also bored of all this generic take the genre has been suffering lately; every now and then i find a good one, just to never get a second season 😮‍💨

[@parkchimmin7913]

@@2265Hello I’m so glad someone mentioned Pandora Hearts! Everything about it was perfect, I just wish it got another season or a reboot!

[@TyBe-uo4ud]

@@AlleyDreamer WAYTCH FRIEREN, PLEASE I BEG, i SWARE TO GOD!!!

[@gummygal008]

senshi's wok used to be a shield and it's made of literally the best metal that all blacksmiths aspire to work with and he turned it into a cooking utensil

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg that's crazy cool

[@eliasapollo4131]

I love dungeon meshi so much for many reasons, but as you said partially for how it portrays disabled and neurodivergent characters. As an autistic person, Laios means a lot to me. Hes never portrayed as naive or childlike or stupid; he's oblivious in some regards, sure, but he's also immensely competent and knowledgeable. That guy's a straight A biology major! Marcille, too, to some extent. She's burnt out and fussy and likes rules a lot, but she's still depicted as deeply caring and competent. Though i think my favourite would have to be Mithrun, due to how despite both his physical and mental disability he's a respected authority figure AND gets a healing journey which doesn't magically fix him but rather offers a start to getting better. Ryoko Kui really created something special with this manga

[@eliasapollo4131]

I guess if I had to frame it in dnd terms - marcille and laios have good intelligence and lower wisdom, senshi has high wisdom and intelligence, and chilchuck has good wisdom and lower intelligence

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yes well said! I can't wait to meet more characters she did such a good job making them

[@UninspiredArtemis]

I absolutely love the characterisation of Marcille as an autistic person who shows a lot of the same traits as her! Like, I wish I was like Laios but unfortunately I'm frustratingly rigid about rules 😅

[@eliasapollo4131]

@@UninspiredArtemis yeah, especially if you read the whole manga I think she exhibits a lot of those traits. Also difficulty to change/let go of things

[@mikelonduckguey]

Not to mention how sweet it was that they show how Laios can have trouble getting his point across, and sometimes says things in a way that's easy to misinterpret; Falin would be the interpreter, because she grew up with Laios, so she can tell what point he's trying to make when everyone else doesn't get it or takes it the wrong way.

[@Taradoxxi]

As an autistic person myself I almost *immediately* interpreted Laios as being autistic (or at least autistic-coded) when I was reading the manga. I love him so muchhhhh he’s great

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yes!!! Love him sm

[@nikki607]

Him, and Kabru too. They're pretty much opposites in everything except for them both being super autistic😂

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

it was the ice cream incident that sealed it for me. I'm like "shit... you're me." lol

[@surrcram]

It's implied in his backstory that he didn't fit in anywhere in his hometown and in the military and was bullied a lot for his interest in monsters.

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

@@surrcram this latest episode (no spoilers) i felt it on so many levels and I really fucking hated Shuro and I'm not really sure how I feel about Kabru. people judge Laios so harsh and it feels like his back story is mine. does it feel like yours too?

[@tofu_golem]

D&D classes: Laios is almost certainly a fighter. They can use any weapon or armor, so they typically wear the heaviest armor. A paladin is a holy warrior. They can also use any weapon or armor, but they have the whole religion thing on top of that. Laios seems to be more of an eldritch knight (fighter with some spellcasting) rather than a paladin.

[@AlleyDreamer]

👀 noted

[@Bandit-23th]

I'd like to put in an arguement that laios and kabru are rangers Specialised enemy targets and laios grew up with hunting dogs so much that he can mimic em, he probably very familiar with hunting and the wilderness

[@razzpuppy]

"why does defeating the dungeon make you king" ANIME ONLY GIRLIE JUST WAIT!!!!! THE LORE DROP WILL HAPPEN LATER

[@AlleyDreamer]

I'M SCARED IT'S ALREADY GETTING SO CRAZY

[@ArtemisRahl15]

Actually, you don’t have to wait until later episodes/chapters. It was explained at the very beginning. The previous king of the Golden Kingdom (Delgal) gave up his immortality by climbing up to the opening of the dungeon and declaring that “Whoever defeats the Mage will inherit my kingdom”.

[@monody]

@@ArtemisRahl15 There is actually much more to it than that, largely to do with the wizard of the dungeon and the demon that they have not delved into in the anime yet.

[@ArtemisRahl15]

@@monody Not really. (Spoiler alert ‼️ ) . . . . . . Thistle may have turned the entire Golden Kingdom into a dungeon and is responsible for how it acts, but it is still by all rights the property of King Delgal. The demon may have given Thistle the power to do so, but in the end, the land mass is owned by Delgal. . . . . . When all is said and done, the Western elves (who granted the current island lord his lordship) honored Delgal’s wishes because of this. Otherwise, Laios would have just been hailed as a hero, but the Western Elves would still have claimed what remained of the territory like they did with Kabru’s hometown. It also helps that Delgal’s grandson also agreed with his grandfather’s decree and abdicated his throne when Laios defeated Thistle and the demon.

[@monody]

@@ArtemisRahl15 You're arguing legal ownership rights where a demon whose magic forms the dungeon alongside the one(s) who the demon makes a pact with. Defeating the dungeon itself makes you nothing beyond what differing groups are willing to respect. The only literal power in play is the demon and the dungeon masters.

[@gyozapunk]

As an autistic person I ADORE Laios, that is my MAN. He is such a weirdo and it's beautiful, he has my exact brand of autism too which is "freak for monsters/animal nerd" so I latched on immediately. Ntm he's fine AF. Also, not only does his English VA headcanon him as autistic, but he also actually is autistic, which is very rare to see and makes me super happy.

[@AlleyDreamer]

THE GUY

[@w0rstart1st5]

I draw the line at the parasite. Especially a raw parasite. When I first saw that in the manga (I can't wait for another week for an episode so I just read the manga), I was like "Laios, I love you and I know you're not that intelligent but WTF DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?! You ate that shit and got sick from it!" So yeah. I love the story, comedy, characters and the world building which everything I wanted more in fantasy series.

[@AlleyDreamer]

I feel like he'd be so convincing though 😭

[@teaartist6455]

I mean, parasites are inside a far more controlled environment, them having parasites themselves would be less likely than any random creature that's just out an about and it'd be even less likely for them to have any that actually are able to harm humans. Parasites tend to be host-specific just as various bacterial and viral infections are. Them crossing over (especially over the vast evolutionary distance between a proto and a deuterostomia; literally the first "fork" in more complex critter evolution) is extremely unlikely.

[@chertikinamoto]

It’s the only meal I wouldn’t eat either, but that’s more on my potent fear of parasites than any other factor. I’m writing a story in which the characters do a lot of hunting and gathering, and when the fishing party catches a Dunkleosteus (makes sense in context) the main character is so insistent with eliminating any and all parasites that she ended up making a very bizarre meal of it.

[@keskarader4837]

Part of the reason I love the show so much is that every character is a type of social outcast on their own. Laios has autism which has made a lot of his interpersonal relationships difficult, like all the misunderstandings with Sureau, Marcille due to her parentage and academic achievement has left in an awkward place, Senshi because he lives in the dungeon and has isolated himself, Chilchuck has become estranged from his family. Even getting into the larger cast such as the Canaries, the mad mage also has a queer identity.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Oooo 👀👀 I'm very interested I. The mad mage

[@zkkitty2436]

the mad mage was queer?? like queer in the sexuality sense or queer in the outcast sense? I read the whole manga and didn't pick up on that, I'd love more info

[@2triedforthis830]

@@zkkitty2436honestly as a anime only, I think it’s his love for the king?? Bc he was super close to him and was so pissed when Laios came into the painting thing and was eating his food. Idk bro

[@eliasapollo4131]

Ohhh care to elaborate on the last point? I kinda like to hc thistle as queer irt gender, but I always read his love for delgal as brotherly?

[@opalescent9625]

i know in the translation i read, it took a while for them to confirm he was a guy, and he has very androgynous features. also yeah the fact that he was basically raised alongside his king and the two of them were inseparable for literally their entire lives makes for pretty queer undertones (if you want to read it that way)

[@onelazynoob15]

*MANGA SPOILERS* . . . . . We actually know from the adventurer's bible Senshi's first death didn't occur until meeting Laois' party. Everybody but Marcille dies to the rabbits. He was doing fine on his own before that lol

[@chestbumphero]

You know what, I’m not surprised because Senshi has been living off of the dungeon for a decade and the places he frequents he has so much knowledge on it

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

thank you for the warning. most people don't warn, they just spoil and I respect you for making the effort.

[@TheFrostedfirefly]

Reply to SPOILERS . . . . . To be fair, Senshi could've been a gonner without the party sooner or later, because we know that he was always curious about riding Anne across the water, it was just recently that he was urged to do it sooner, then saved by Laios thinking ahead. So yeah, Senshi had avoided death in the dungeon until meeting the group, but it's interesting to think about the fact that he might've had a permanent death if he were left alone until his curiosity had built too high.

[@XShrike0]

Spoilers . . . . . More than Marcille survives the rabbits. Izutsumi survived and even killed a few. Only to at least pass out from a scare given by the flesh puppets Marcille is dancing around with.

[@ohdeer-sabrina8132]

​@@XShrike0SPOILERS . . . . . . . . Izutsumi doesn't just pass out, that's also her first death in the dungeon lol

[@schwarzwald6672]

All Im gonna say is Im glad marcille's one rule was "no demi-humans" cuz i am positive he woulda ate goblins and orcs and stuff.

[@AlleyDreamer]

LMAO probably

[@fulanodetal3000]

@@AlleyDreamer (spoilers somewhat) demi-human is sort of an arbitrary term used to discriminate against other races. orcs are a human race just like elves, dwarves, and halflings in dungeon meshi! they arent monsters, they just live down in the dungeon because they were run out of the surface. monsters are creatures created by the dungeon master. something that might have been better to mention is harpies, incubi, and sirens.

[@joyc.e.7511]

Idk, I feel like Laios draws the line at eating things close to humans. Like, monsters are very much animals to him in the sense that they aren't people.

[@fulanodetal3000]

@@joyc.e.7511 he has wanted to eat harpy and siren before. that said, neither of those are considered human in dunmesh. goblins don't exist and orcs are considered humans, though they live in the dungeon. they still originate on the surface. anything created in a dungeon would be considered a monster. he probably does draw a line at eating humans though. even though he was very interested in their nonhuman elements he never rly wondered what izutsumi or lycion tasted like.

[@0927kira]

this and frieren revived my liking for anime, it gave me hope

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ooo I've heard a lot about frieren 👀

[@2triedforthis830]

@@AlleyDreamerPLEASE PLEASE WATCH! If you love dungeon meshi you’re gonna love Frieren. And the animation is top tier😭

[@baronvonjo1929]

WATCH​@@AlleyDreamer

[@justforfungamergirl7402]

​@@AlleyDreamer Frieren is definitely a good watch, it's a journey and a story about living in the now while we still can.

[@idontknow_you1122]

SAME

[@фанаткасаши-з7д]

Chilchuck and senshi are peak anime men 😩👌

[@AlleyDreamer]

Literally!

[@ActuallyRocatex]

as someone who knows the whole story, be patient. every question you have, even ones you didnt know you had, will be answered with well thought out answers

[@AlleyDreamer]

👁👄👁

[@HeroTen10]

Absolutely! Ryoko Kui didn't write a story. She built a world.

[@brymcyan8294]

Oooooooo ❤❤❤❤

[@MouseTheGoblin]

If the group played Minecraft we ALL know what they would be doing Senshi would be the one making the house and setting up the farm, filling chests with as many random food items as possible. Laios would be helping Senshi by running around all over the world to try and find any farmable animals- using boats to get them back home and crying when he can’t find even a sheep Marcille would be breeding villagers to try and find ones that sell enchantment books that are cheap, killing whatever isn’t useful to the chagrin of Laios Chikchuck is just trying to figure out how to get to the end and absolutely running from everything instead of fighting any monsters to get to it, them dragging the group with him to the end by bringing something he stole from their avatars rooms so he could get the end dragon egg and feel accomplished. Laios will try to find out how to eat it. Is unable to and stays upset

[@billlee3851]

4:00 no... she's dead, and they know that. But in the dungeon people can be revived and the success rate is based on how damaged the body is. So they're trying to kill the dragon before Falin gets digested and revive her. 16:22 the reason he stayed could be that he was already paid upfront and the job wasn't finished, he needed to do it to maintain his reputation. But I like your explaination too

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah I'm caught up on the anime now makes a lot of sense lol

[@fulanodetal3000]

nah she was kind of right about chil

[@malmorose]

I also tend not to like fantasy fiction (a lot of it gets really repetitive and bland), but I absolutely love dungeon meshi! I love playin dnd, and this show has that exact vibe of assembling a party of weirdos with your friends. Apparently the author is a huge fan of Baldur's Gate, it really shows! Also, as a vegetarian, the question of where to draw the line on which monsters were okay to eat was funny to me. My own issues are more with the global farming industry, its inhumane conditions, and its impact on the environment rather than with eating other living beings, so the answer is "all of them."

[@AlleyDreamer]

Shdhdh valid about the food part. I think the stigma around eating dungeon monsters is to great to have over farming issues and senshi makes sure that no one takes too much 😌

[@teaartist6455]

The same could be said about any kind of fiction you don't know a lot about. There's a bunch of really interesting fantasy out there, it just tends to not be what people think of when they hear "fantasy" unless they actually are interested in the genre. (Some examples: The Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin, The Laundry Files by Charles Stross, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muirand The way of kings by Brandon Sanderson.)

[@nodeloliver6201]

It took me 5 seconds of reading the manga and seeing how Laious talks about monsters to say: "Oh, shit... it me." Man is obsessed with weird creatures, and the many facts about them. Honestly... same.

[@AlleyDreamer]

He's for the people!

[@nodeloliver6201]

@@AlleyDreamer A man of the people.

[@scottbruckner4653]

3:31 The Old king Said so. Literally. Also he's not the grand wizard he's too melenated for that title.

[@AlleyDreamer]

AHDJDHDH LMAOOO yeah it's mad mage I forgot the title in the moment 💀💀💀💀

[@paulinemissonnier6225]

For Marcille, I personally think she LOADED with neurosis and anxiety...the way she always overthink and worries about stuff that don't matter much, the way she's so set on certain stuff and overeact tons when she gets forced to change her way, do unusual stuff... she's super competent, and can handle super difficult, dangerous situations...and yet she will fumble on minor details that will absolutely throw her off her game! I

[@AlleyDreamer]

Definitely agree!

[@lolplush101]

Dungeon Meshi ep 1: oh so this is a fantasy cooking anime with shonen elements sounds cute I wonder how it will go from here Dungeon Meshi ep 12: holy shit

[@AlleyDreamer]

I was one episode 10 when I filmed this, I am now caught up 👁👄👁 I'm so distraught and intrigued

[@kuronya3582]

Manga last arc: HOLY F***

[@joyc.e.7511]

​@@kuronya3582YO THAT LAST ARC WENT CRAZY I THE BEST WAY

[@rainbowpandafish]

every time i see ryoko kui's drawings of characters in their underwear with their different body shapes I go insane

[@AlleyDreamer]

Right!!!

[@tofu_golem]

It's not that Falin was still alive in the dragon's stomach. It's that if her corpse gets completely digested, there is nothing for the resurrection spell to work on. That is standard D&D logic there. I love it.

[@tonkinthehanoian1843]

Senshi have never died in that dungeon prior meeting the gang.

[@AlleyDreamer]

:O literally how 😭 he just built different

[@keyramendoza4603]

@@AlleyDreamerApparently according to later chapters (I think that or the Dungeon Bible) he only stayed in the first four levels cause he was too scared to go or because he knew he wasn’t skilled enough to go further down 😂

[@oranjoe69]

@@keyramendoza4603 i think no adventure is skilled enough to explore deeper floors alone. Just the fact that he was living in the first 4 floors all by himself is pretty impressive

[@poeticthief]

Great video! Also, just a bit of lore, the author made a point that to get to the lower parts of the dungeon, you need to stock up on a bit of body fat or else you would have to go back up to resupply. It makes sense for Laios to be built that way and why the orcs also look that way.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ooooo yeah that makes sense! Cool!

[@KhyannArts]

if im not mistaken being resurrected also consumes calories from your body (ig is due to some sort of accelerated healing) so is safer for you to be a bit on the fuller side so you can be resurrected more than once and still be able to fight

[@knightory]

Your analysis of Marcille is so on point! There's a depth to her character that you pointed out that I hadn't considered before, and now I absolutely love the author of this manga's commentary. I'm like you, I'm a very sci-fi/other genre kinda enjoyer and this anime/manga finally got me because it does something refreshing to the fantasy genre for me. What a simple theme that's so easy to explore: "What's the importance of food?"

[@AlleyDreamer]

Thank you so much! I'm very excited to see where this goes

[@devilsMasquerade]

Intentional or not laios and even falin are the best autistic rep I’ve ever seen

[@AlleyDreamer]

Exactly!!!

[@freddiehyson1051]

This video was actually so good, I love listening to someone talk about such a good show with so much love and appreciation for it

[@AlleyDreamer]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@RigB0n3]

I havent seen this video all the way yet (on my lunch break) BUT I wanna say im so happy that damien haas is getting noticed for his role in the show! I always loved him on so random and smosh :)

[@AlleyDreamer]

It's what he deserves!

[@pai3219]

falin is the most relatable character ever, yet I am not a mage nor healer (or dead). the creator knows how to create the most humanistic and relatable characters that I’ve seen in a while, while I do not like certain characters for some aspects of their personality- I can appreciate the parts of them that make them as they are. reading it was a such breath of fresh air, so many unique ideas and characters all executed to perfection (in my opinion). the ending definitely changed my life and made me appreciate so many other things more (namely food haha) [ALSO FALIN LOVES THAT ELF GIRL ITSSSS CANNOOONN- in my mind :3]

[@pai3219]

there’s so many things that I can talk about within the show it’s so good and it brings up so many interesting topics. i love falin did I mention that.

[@AlleyDreamer]

She's so cool I love her

[@chip-toons]

my friend who I play dnd with recommended me this series, and as someone who barely ever watches anime its such a banger. marcille sweep.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Love her!

[@shanicestella2226]

This Anime is Too Dangerous to be Watched at Night Time Especially getting hungry

[@AlleyDreamer]

Fr now I want scorpion hot pot 😫

[@RUNESANEINTHEBRAIN]

I GET YOUUUUU Im so not a fantasy girlie but Dungeon Meshi hits so good

[@AlleyDreamer]

Right! It was so unexpected 😭

[@TheLeafcuter]

I wonder if your lack of enthusiasm for the fantasy genre has to do with the fact that sometimes, fantasy worlds just don't have explainations for how they work, they opperate under the "a wizard did it" rules. I'm a fantasy girlie, but mostly for the speculative biology parts of a fantasy world. If you can explain to me how magic functions in a way that sounds believeable, I'm INSTANTLY hooked and want to learn more (this goes for sci-fi as well and is why I gravitate towards stories that actually explain how aliens are different to humans and how different their home planets are compared to earth). Dungeon Meshi being so thurough with it's explainations of it's world, magic systems, and monsters are what has given me such massive brain rot about it. Dragons sleep a lot of the time because of their size and energy consumption, they use the inedible parts of their prey and store it as fuel. Some mimics are hermit crab-like things. Slime senses your breath and is how they determine what to attack, their bodies are surrounded by their digestive fluid which is how they can eat by just moving over something. Some monster plants ensnare their prey and uses it as fertilizer. The living armor being MOLUSKS??!? GOD I love it all so much.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah I'm such a world building girlie but it has to be a fresh and interesting world (another fantasy one i really like is witch hat atelier) so when there is a show that happens to be fanatasy with an interesting world like this one in definitely hooked lol

[@wafflefries1758]

1:19 the dungeon mesh brainrot has been so bad for me right now that I know exactly what twitter post your talking about 😭😭💀

[@AlleyDreamer]

LOLOL ONE MIND

[@yvaincallipso84]

I almost cried when we see Shuro's POV and see how much Laios annoyed him. I've had that moment when someone you considered a friend blows up at you because it turns out they where just tolerating you and being nice. Or worse, they become obvious about how they don't want you around and it turns out your reassurances of "if they didn't like you they'd just tell you" where just you lying to yourself

[@jlinus7251]

The reason their designs are so good is because a woman drew it. Istg every Shounen show drawn by female mangaka iust has the best designs. Theres a variety of body types for both genders outside of the basic good looking body types you see in most anime.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Oop speak on it 👀

[@NakuruKouChannel]

idk if you watch smosh, but Laios' VA is Damien Haas from smosh, and he's actually autistic. he also helps write and direct the show, so that probably contributed to how he portrayed Laios - pure autism rizz

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg yeah I knew him from smosh but I didn't know he had autism! Crazy dream role I'm sure@

[@VivienVarga-ki3sd]

AlleyDreamer i think he only recently got diagnosed. But yeah its great he is finally getting recognized outside of smosh

[@spaceycarchasey6656]

3:09 ok so, if they beat the dungeon, it will bring back a kingdom that they will then get to rule! it's not the same kingdom as the one that's over the dungeon, it's a different kingdom. I hope that makes sense!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ohhh ok yeah that makes sense thanks!

[@Psychic_Sylph]

@@AlleyDreamer To add some stuff to make the picture a bit more clear: the island where the dungeon is has a reigning lord (think of him as a mayor) that's a human. He's a lazy, greedy prick who only got the island in the first place because some elves gave him that territory. As we saw in the first episode, years before the story starts some skeletal dude came out of the dungeon and basically said "hey inside this dungeon there's another kingdom, which I am king of. Defeat the lunatic magician and you get my entire shit." and because the dungeon used to be covered in gold adventurers came in droves and the Island Lord got rich. Again, he's a lazy buffon so he doesn't really consider the possibility of anyone actually, you know, winning the prize. He thinks the situation will keep itself afloat forever, which is stupid because the gold has already been stripped away. So if the people get tired of trying to get the prize then everyone will leave and soon the monsters in the dungeon will start going into the surface and kill everyone on sight. Hope that helps 👍

[@elsesome2707]

The Island Dungeon is unique in the setting in the specific two ways: The Anti-Death Curse that makes resurrection within the Dungeon limits effortless, this is Metaphysically true about the setting that all Mages flocking to the Dungeon are aware of, interested in, and trying to study. The second unique feature is the Prophecy, which was in the prologue of the first episode: Person claiming to be The King of Golden Kingdom trapped beneath the Dungeon has offered the throne as a reward to whomever is able to save his kingdom from the Lunatic Magician. Given that King vanished immediately after promising this, the Prophecy is a lot more dubious but prospecting Adventurers are tempted by the idea of being able to claim the wealth, power, and entirety of the Dungeon as their own. Thouden Party seems to operate agnostically of the Prophecy, trying to score profit by pursuing scouting bounties posted by the Governor of the Island.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ooo thank you for explaining!

[@elsesome2707]

​@@AlleyDreamer Watching your new video I remembered this comment, and wanted to return. The Anti-Death Curse was confirmed in the Complete Adventurer's Bible to be fairly common dungeon feature around the world (makes sense given how established resurrection and corpse retrieval economy appears to be on the Island), although both Marcille and Mr Tantsu remarked that the Golden Kingdom dungeon's curse was uniquely powerful in some unspecified way.

[@Songal18]

It's like One Piece, find Gol'D Roger's treasure and you are King of the Pirates. Awesome we get this super sweet autistic golden retriever man ^^ Thank you for gushing over these characters.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Explain it in one piece terms and I'll immediately get it lolol. Thanks for watching!

[@Songal18]

@@AlleyDreamer Hehe you're welcome XD

[@beakarylleesclet0542]

its always exciting to see new people appreciating this gem !!! instantly subscribed

[@AlleyDreamer]

Thank you so much!

[@mxthrun]

i honestly think laios is so well written as an autistic character, that it doesnt even need to be explicitly stated ,,, i love him so so much

[@AlleyDreamer]

Right! We just know 👀

[@rhamnetines]

im a dunmeshi manga girlie who has been enjoying the reactions of anime onlys and this vid really was a treat to watch

[@rhamnetines]

also if ur up to date with the anime what do you think about kabru LOL i love him sm

[@AlleyDreamer]

It's taking everything in me not to read ahead 😭 and thanks!

[@AlleyDreamer]

SASSY MAN APOCALYPSE I LOVE HIM HES INSANE

[@Gore-Labs]

I see myself in Laios so much dude. It’s honestly a little comforting to see an adult act the way Laios does. It makes me feel a little less childish.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah!

[@austincde]

I was always asking my d&d group if we can eat the monsters we kill 😂 ive found my new favorite show now lol

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg they gotta let you now

[@Mochachocakon]

It feels like they took a classic Roguelike and turned it into a manga/anime instead of D&D. There is this mechanic where you pulp bodies and just eat them... RAW.

[@NutCase]

I get not liking the base of a genre. There are so many things mixed into fantasy in anime now adays. Like I don't like Mecha anime, but I can name ones I have enjoyed! I'm so glad so many people are into Dungeon Meshi, the manga is so good and the anime is a great adaptation. Laios, Senshi and Izutsumo are my favorite characters!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah, I'm definitely on the hunt for specific ones now 👀

[@ChibiDevil245]

Honestly the thing that immediately hooked me on Dungeon Meshi was the fact that the monsters ARE treated like animals and that the dungeon IS a living breathing ecosystem! For context I'm an ecologist, and seeing a show that actually deep dives into the questions I always ask about fantasy settings (how does that monster fit into the ecosystem? how does it work and why? how does magic change those dynamics?) was SOOOO rewarding, like scratching an itch in my brain that had been bothering me for years. Laios and Senshi felt like kindred spirits the moment they got introduced, because in a fantasy setting that would absolutely be me 😭catch me 3 floors down in the dungeon taking research notes on monster behavior. The lovely character design, storytelling, and themes were just the cherry on top for me to turn a good show into a favorite one! :)

[@siennahopkins4288]

no because idk who you are but keep talking about Dungeon Meshi because I love it just as much

[@AlleyDreamer]

I DEFINITELY GOTTA MAKE A PART TWO BECAUSE I'M CAUGHT UP WITH THE ANIME NOW AND I'M FREAKING OUT

[@siennahopkins4288]

@@AlleyDreamer OH YEAH I think I know a couple reasons why, looking forward to part 2

[@sail_inh]

yessss dunmeshi i'm not much into fantasy either, but i like the characters and people are constantly talking about how the plot gets more complex and how much it escalates. so i cant wait to see that

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah same! I'm caught up on the anime now and I'm like 👁👄👁 it's getting crazy

[@KhyannArts]

is explained in the intro of the first episode that a man came crawling out of the dungeon claiming to be the king of a golden kingdom and whoever might defeat the mad sorcerer would become the new king of the dungeon/land. Through out a few of the episode is also mentioned how the dungeon used to be a sort of kingdom. That's the end of the non--spoiler explanation SPOILER EXPLANATION The dungeon is actually part of the kingdom laios saw in the moving paintings episode. After the king died everything started to go downhill and the court jester, the dark skin elf, who was raised as basically the previous king's son and the new king's (delgal) brother attempted to preserve the kingdom cuz the new said he was afraid of dying and the jester searched for a way to fulfill that wish by asking a what they thought to be a god for 1 wish: that the kingdom would be safe and nobody would ever die again (you can already see the problem with this wish) and so the kingdom became the dungeon but after a long time the people of the old kingdom started to wish to just die in peace, but the mad mage wont listen to them cuz he is dead set of keeping everyone "safe" so the only way to free the people of the old kingdom is by killing the current dungeon master aka the mad mage, which in turn also grants whoever does so complete control over the dungeon and thus, complete control over the kingdom

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ok that makes sense!

[@earlearl1895]

I like the comparison you made to powerlifting

[@AlleyDreamer]

Thank you!

[@nathanlamberth7631]

“They respect what he can do with a sword” 😂 saved it

[@AlleyDreamer]

💀💀

[@Debloko666]

I have to say that the person responsable for the voice actor casting did an amazing job in casting Damien Haas as Laios, because... Damien is pretty much Laios irl. Laios is a big guy with a heart of gold, has autistic traits, a person who cares about his friends, is dedicated to his job, and loves eating and trying new foods. That's Damien irl!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Right!

[@doom9564]

I'm a Kabru girlie his desperation is amusing

[@AlleyDreamer]

I love him he's so crazy 😌

[@kaleslags1355]

This anime and the manga is such a breath of fresh air as nowadays watchers are bombarded with mediocre fantasy setting anime. The author of this series has done an exercise of drawing different body types (slim, wide, short, tall) and also first person perspective based on the character's height. That tells a lot about the author's dedication and passion to create something this amazing. Glad that you enjoyed this show as there are new episodes coming out every week. Also, Senshi is best boi

[@AlleyDreamer]

: o she's so cool for that lol you don't see that very often in anime

[@colourriot3520]

I love Chilchuck! There's a twofold reason I believe he stayed. The first he literally stays out loud at one point which is that he was paid in advanced so he feels obligated to see it out to the end, if he wasn't paid yet he would feel free to cut his losses and bounce. This is because in Dungeon Meshi dungeon diving is basically a career for a lot of the characters so if you get paid in advance then abandon the job halfway through who else is going to hire you? Chilchuck is also the head of a Half-foot union which feeds into this picture of dungeoneering being a career and Chilchuck a career man and as a contracted worker your reputation is so important in order to get further work, this theme is seen with Namari and her contract with the Gnomes also. Secondly Chilchuck cares

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg I love this!

[@JediMB]

All these dungeons with their Wizardry and their Mad Overlords. And did I clock Marcille as sapphic in the first episode? Yes, I did.

[@Blue_Lunacy]

13:20 is, I believed, the second anime exclusive Senshi fan service, so far.

[@AlleyDreamer]

The animators know what they're doing 👁👄👁

[@yvaincallipso84]

Every time this man does anything I go "oh man he's just like me for real!"

[@Neppiko]

I love the implementation of biology and explanations about magic in Dungeon Meshi SOOOO MUCH I could listen to Laios talk forever and never get bored

[@AlleyDreamer]

Right!!! I want the adventurers guide book so badly 😭

[@zixserro1]

In terms of D&D classes, Laios & Senshi are both sort of Fighters; a Paladin is more of a holy knight than just the sort of dude with a sword that Laios is, and since Fighter is sort of the general catch-all baby's first non-magic class, Senshi kind of falls into it too, though he doesn't really do all that much fighting. Chilchuck is definitely a Rogue, and Marcille is a Wizard. The cat girl, whose name I forget, is also a Rogue, but more of an assassin-type, while Chil is more of a thief-type. Falin was more of a Cleric.

[@grim6129]

the part about "you will be the king of the dungeon if you defeat the wizard" is an important part of the series. I won't spoil but the notion of consumption/eating being used to connect desire and necessity is a great discussion coming from the author's intention of the series.

[@AlleyDreamer]

👀👀👀👀

[@AuroraPaintBrush4444]

There is a pretty good video on KZbin diving in deep on Three of the Characters and Autism Spectrum, One Character lack of reading the social situation, Character Two specialized in reading People and Character 3 is Female Autism representation. Dungeon Meshi - Spelunking on the Spectrum By KZbinr Superdude Edited to add, the video has spoilers for the whole season, so watch with that in mind.

[@CaptainStupendous]

Your manner of speaking is so rapid-fire, yet so full of content and free of filler and pauses. My brain is not wired to speak so clearly and consistently, and I'm so jealous. Amazing. What a fun video. I 100% recommend Freiren as a potential 2nd fantasy anime. It has some of the best storytelling I've experienced in any medium.

[@AlleyDreamer]

@CaptainStupendous I do edit out my long pauses but thank you!

[@CaptainStupendous]

@@AlleyDreamer lol, the power of editing is unmatched. You're still fun to listen to, and are still much better at speaking than I could ever hope to be. Watch Freiren next (at least the first four episodes). It dethroned Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood as #1 anime on MyAnimeList for a damn good reason: it earned it.

[@cristophernunez7786]

Marcille then sees that she has a very powerful reason for being so strict with the rules. She uses black magic, it's her specialty and she knows that her moral compass is not very good. She always knew that she could be dangerous if she abandoned the rules. That character steals the series.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Love her sm

[@EebyDeeby413]

3:25 Someone else probably brought this up but it's actually said outright in the manga on the first page that the old king from 1000 years ago crawled out of a hole (the first dungeon entrance) and told the first people he saw that if they defeated the mad mage at the bottom of the dungeon they'd have his blessing to inherit the land as its new king, and then immediately crumbled to dust stone dead!

[@Adelphos12]

In the English version, laios's voice actor just brings that next level of unhinged obsession. I highly recommend the dub ❤

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah I've been watching the dub!

[@cesarvillalobos1692]

I don't usually follow animated shows -- I like dunegeon meshi because I like dnd. For that reason I don't think I'll subscribe to the channel but I have to say THIS VIDEO IS SPECTACULAR. The production is so good, you are soo funny and charismatic. Truly, what an entertaining video! Kudos!

[@AlleyDreamer]

Lol valid thanks!

[@Kikkatar.]

I adore Laios! I also adore watching animated Laios being attentive to Marcelle. ❤ The artist actually did a lot of anatomy studies and she made an effort to bring different body and face shapes into the manga even between the same races. It is likely she based Laios and Senchi's body shapes off of powerlifters. I would draw the line at demi-humans and the fishmen. And also probably the pumpkin heads......

[@AlleyDreamer]

The soup looks good though 😫

[@DeniableWhistle]

Loved the video, though as an aside, Dungeon Meshi is not actually directly inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, but by Ryoko Kui watching her dad play Wizardry, a once-popular fantasy video game series from the 80s. IIRC she didn't even start playing fantasy video games until she started working on the manga (she's since become a big Baldur's Gate fan). The five "human" races in Dunmeshi (tallmen, halffoots, elves, dwarves, and gnomes) are the races you could choose for your party members in Wizardry, and the series revolves around delving into a dungeon and defeating a mad sorcerer (though in one game you actually play AS the mad sorcerer). While its popularity faded in the West during the 90s IIRC, it remained hugely popular in Japan and got sequels there ages after the main series died. It was a huge influence on game series like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (and Dragon Quest by itself is THE blueprint for Japanese fantasy), so in a way Wizardry is the grandfather of modern Japanese Western-style fantasy. That said, there IS a big DnD-related Japanese franchise that was also hugely influential in Japanese pop culture, Record of Lodoss War, which is quite literally a Japanese guy writing up one of his DnD campaigns into a fantasy epic, which became a novel series and subsequent anime. Though as another aside, while RoLW was hugely popular, DnD does not dominate tabletop role-playing in Japan like it does in America. That honor goes to the horror TTRPG "The Call of Cthulhu", which is why you'll see references to HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos here and there in anime and manga.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Ooo interesting 👀

[@MsMoranguinho92]

Something else that is appealing about the series is that it was featured in a magazine that came out on a bi-monthly basis iirc. This gave time for the creator to plan out the story. The world building is fairly simple but gets expanded on over the course of the story, it isn't afraid to be silly sometimes, and the creator wasn't forced to change certain details and plot points to fit a the typical shonen manga format.

[@alifishies]

It's honestly one of the few shows that has made me genuinely laugh. Marcilles vision of Lios is so funny in the changeling episode

[@AlleyDreamer]

Omg yes 😂

[@Ayyylien51]

I honestly never picked up on the characters gaining weight as the series progressed, but other than the food the main aspect that lured me in was the fantasy approach to ecology; I tend to really enjoy speculative evolution projects and how they construct an ecosystem, but seeing that expressed in a fantasy narrative was such a breath of fresh air, especially given character dynamics/development that co-exist among it.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah that's definitely what dragged me in you would tell she thought so hard about it

[@dg7815]

Okay, after you've posted this, your comment on autism swag has lived rent free in my head and I've been wanting to see your reactions (as the anime has practically confirmed everything you've said).

[@AlleyDreamer]

I have been freaking out in happiness this show has blasted away my expectations I love it sm

[@spunkinator5000]

This show has been the most pleasant surprise. I scrolled passed it like 500 times before I finally gave it a chance and now I'm hooked on this show. I really want some holy water ghost sherbet.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yeah same! I was not expecting to like it as much as I did lol

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

On Laios's body and the powerlifter aesthetic. Laios also wears plate Armour almost 24/7, and although he isn't wearing a full suit that stuff will still weigh between ten and twenty kilos and he fights and travels in it at all times.

[@AlleyDreamer]

Stronk boi

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

@@AlleyDreamer Very stronk! I just remembered that he wears a mail hauberk under his cuirass, and a full length hauberk like that can weigh in excess of ten kilos all on its own.

[@sepulcher_stalker]

7:36 OKAY AS A DUNGEON MASTER, LAIOS PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE A PALADIN! though he certainly looks like it, paladins typically have deities that they serve. they don't always have to since they can follow their own oaths, the only thing is, the only oath I can see him taking is an oath to eat monsters 😭 That being said, I believe he'd likely be a fighter. Even so, there's a chance he could become a paladin if this were DND considering Marcille starts teaching him healing spells, which most paladins can perform. In general, he certainly seems more like a fighter to me. I just can't see him taking any oaths Howeverrrrr, he IS technically a failed knight, so he could be an oath breaker 👀 now that'd be interesting. Otherwise, he'd likely be classed as a fighter. Hope this fuels someone's autism

[@sepulcher_stalker]

He could also multi class as a fighter and paladin

[@AlleyDreamer]

Oooo interesting 👀👀👀

[@dumbluckduckgoose9437]

As someone autistic, as soon as I saw Laios i genuinely cried because i felt so seen in this freak(lovingly) of a man

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yes definitely a freak (lovingly)

[@sananaryon4061]

The king of the land thing is explained in the first page. The old king, just before his death, told people that a mad mage had taken over his kingdom, and whosoever defeated him he would bestow his entire kingdom on. Classic fairytale stuff, the princess and half the kingdom type

[@lizabell6782]

Yesss fellow Laios girly

[@AlleyDreamer]

Yessss! Thank you so much!

[@raiboodie]

you understood the characters way better than a lot of content creators on here who keep describing the gang as very one dimensional, and you actually paid attention to the context of everythinggg

[@AlleyDreamer]

One dimensional???? I think they're watching with their eyes closed 💀