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You step out into a cavernous limestone corridor long-since stripped of any value. Your sword at your side, you raise your lantern and peer into the dark. The corridor seems to run on forever. Cautious, you press forward, only to fall back against the stonework, a familiar pain in your gut. A terrible growl fills the darkness. You're pretty hungry. We've just the thing.  Dungeon Meshi, also known as Dungeon Food or Delicious in Dungeon, is a high fantasy adventure series (inspired by the likes of D&D and Wizardry) with a charming preoccupation for cooking. Monsters, specifically. Our intrepid heroes, the Thorden Party, find themselves on a deadline to reach the bottom of the dungeon on a tight budget, with no recourse but to survive off the fat of the land - by which I mean they eat pretty much everything they kill.   Opinions within the party are divided. But not on this website! Dungeon Meshi's been pretty consistently popular around here, so it's about time it got its own thread. This is it. This is the thread. Finally. If you're just joining us, Dungeon Meshi is a veritable treat. Written and illustrated by the talented Ryoko Kui, Dungeon Meshi combines a fondness for old school fantasy adventure, character comedy, and delicious food that will never exist - with an unexpectedly keen eye for understated worldbuilding, monster biology, and dungeon ecology.  Laius, the human fighter, is the leader of the group. A simple man, he wants nothing more than to save his sister from the bowels of the dungeon (or, more specifically, the bowels of a dragon). Also to eat monsters. All the monsters. Seriously. He's been keeping a notebook for years. Marcille, the elven mage, provides the party with some much-needed magical artillery, and would probably be more useful if she weren't always freaking out about having to eat monsters. Reads from the restricted section of the library. Shrimpin' ain't easy. Chilchack, the halfling rogue, is the locksmith and brains of the outfit. Not really a people person. Or a monster person. He's been dead before. Nice scarf-thing. Senshi, the dwarven fighter and newest addition to the group, is a wandering gourmet chef who specializes in cooking monsters and dungeon survival. He and Laius are now bestest buds. Not much is known about him, however. Add salt for seasoning. Enjoy!
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Oct 15, 2018 13:25
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| # ¿ May 10, 2024 04:31 |
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Oct 15, 2018 13:27
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HouseofGlass posted:isekais
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Oct 15, 2018 13:57
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Feb 14, 2019 16:56
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If there's a way to eat it there's a way to beat it.
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Mar 15, 2019 15:40
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I mean, their parents probably cared for her, albeit from a distance? Presumably they paid to send her to school, and they're still keeping written correspondence with her. IIRC Laius and Farlyn are minor nobility, so it seems more likely the villagers and servants were isolating her, which seems to be the case in Laius' flashback. He probably left as soon as he was able to, when he was of age, but taking his sister with him would've been irresponsible. Could you honestly see an 18-year-old Laius taking care of his 17-year-old sister (or 16/15, whatever the standard)? He probably knew he couldn't take her along, or maybe he was also an outcast (for being a huge weirdo) and left for his own reasons. It reads poorly at first blush but, thinking about it, there's a some charitable context that isn't a stretch.
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Mar 16, 2019 08:24
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Yeah, that also. But who knows how long his stint in the service lasted. Even after getting drummed out (or deserting), there were likely other reasons he didn't come back for her.
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Mar 16, 2019 10:46
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Feminine elves (verses masculine dwarves) is a pretty old hat for post-Tolkien fantasy, so yeah, the captain could be whatever. Going by the build I'm guessing "Guy," but I thought the Mad Sorcerer was a girl until Yaado said otherwise so I'm no expert. That's a pretty nasty trick though. I bet the captain's capable of much worse. Captain Invictus posted:yeah they explicitly are swapping out precisely the same wallspace as the person takes up, so it may be a bit hard to breathe, but they should be fine like the guy in the ceiling. Given these guys were mafia-types, they're probably in for the slow death.
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Apr 13, 2019 16:21
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There's a level of Buddhist moral philosophy at play as well. Desire is destructive, and the more you desire the more destructive it is. Senshi comments that the orcs, who desire very little, are able to live quite comfortably within the confines of the dungeon. Their lives are simpler, and not without peril, but they do not invite the same level of suffering as the adventurers. The dungeon cannot tempt them, so instead it tolerates them.
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Apr 15, 2019 04:46
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I enjoyed this chapter but something about it seems too...soon? Like we just had a chapter of ominous foreshadowing and build up and now the dungeon's already warping. Not gonna claim I know how it should've gone but this is the first time a development has felt rushed to me. Maybe it'll be a plot point, I dunno.
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May 17, 2019 13:09
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No, no, I get that. It's mechanically sound. We understand the dungeon, how it operates, and we understand that the Mad Sorcerer coming to this level has accelerated the rate of change. The math works out. It's not the math, it's the timing. The last plot point had pretty much no time to breathe before becoming immediately relevant. I remember reading this book as a kid where the hero finds a box with a finger in it. He then (almost immediately) stumbles upon an evil wizard, who reveals he cannot be killed because he sealed his life force in his (severed) finger and hid it. The hero puts two and two together, produces the finger, and the evil wizard is destroyed. The problem isn't the hero finding the box (not even by accident), nor the box containing the wizard's weakness, but the fact that these things happened so close together. Even as a child, it felt a bit quick - and that's without registering any of the other contrived parts of the story. The lack of downtime feels too sudden, is all. The elves wanted to create a disturbance in the dungeon and got one immediately, because the Mad Sorcerer decided to pick this exact time to cause some trouble, right as they were regrouping. There's no reason the Mad Sorcerer can't be here, causing trouble, but it feels like a bit of narrative convenience. And yes, there might be a reason for it, like getting tipped off by the king's son, but it still feels sudden in a way that subconsciously bugged me. Again, not a huge deal (though apparently huge enough I felt the need to write about it). Just trying to air out my thought process?
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May 17, 2019 15:14
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She thought Chilchack was still a child even after learning he was 28. I hope the dullahan comes back to aid our heroes in their time of need.
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Aug 11, 2019 06:33
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I don't want an anime 'til it's over. I don't need some middling studio-original ending that deflates the story. Also, YEAH, it's about time Kabru got a cover.
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Sep 5, 2019 11:27
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Show us Laius and Senshi's succubi you coward.Brought To You By posted:Kui really likes the idea of making supernatural entities more naturalistic looking at her previous anthologies, but it's been back to back in this series to it's benefit. Succubus being shapeshifting mosquitoes, Living armors being mollusk colonies, Mimics being large hermit crabs, and changelings being the result of magic mushroom spores from specific configurations. Things like that really sell the idea of the dungeon being an ecosystem, doubly so when you examine how these creatures behave and how that dictates how the party approaches them. I really enjoy how Kui crafts her worlds, it's something I would like to take to heart when planning out my own campaign settings.
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Nov 16, 2019 02:58
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So apparently a few months back Ryoko Kui published a little folding booklet intended to mirror a journal Senshi was keeping. It's since been translated (don't know who, sorry) and posted on /a/, so I figured someone should post it here.       
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Mar 16, 2020 09:49
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  Both from the first chapter. She's been stewing on this one for years.
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May 16, 2020 05:57
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Saizeriya was closed.
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Feb 14, 2022 09:14
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Ibblebibble posted:IIRC Delicious In Dungeon comes straight from the mangaka. It also wouldn't be the first time a highly-skilled professional had a less than optimal take in an unrelated field.
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May 12, 2022 14:06
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pnumoman posted:I do translations for a living, and one of the first things you learn is that the client gets what the client wants. Oh well, what can you do, I just hope someone at least tried to explain to the author why the title isn't the best. SexyBlindfold posted:
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May 13, 2022 08:25
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"What's your favorite food." "Hippogriff Soup." Senshi... 
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May 14, 2022 04:06
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Laios Touden waited. The elves above him charged and fell out of the air. There were demons in the dungeon. He saw them, but hadn't expected them, now for years. The warnings of Kabru were not listenend to and now it was too late. Far too late for now, anyway. Laois was an adventurer for fourteen years. When he was young he watched the monsters and he said to dad "I want to eat the monsters, daddy." Dad said "NO! YOU WILL BE EAT BY MONSTERS!" There was a time when he believed him. Then as he got oldered he stopped. But now in the dungeon of the Golden Kingdom he knew there were monsters. "This is Kabru," the magic bell crackered. "You must eat the monsters!" So Laios got Kensuke and knocked down the wall. "HE'S GOING TO EAT US," said the monsters! "I will tempt at him," said the Lion Demon and spoke through his sword. Laois reasoned him and tried to eat him up. But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped, and not able to eat. "No! I must eat the demon," he shouted! The magic bell said, "No, Laios. You are the dark lord." And then, Laois was a dark lord.
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May 14, 2022 05:54
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Dolash posted:I had sort of assumed he'd been in a famine, since his attitude toward food was evocative of stories you hear about people who survived the dustbowl and the Great Depression, but I didn't expect it to include full-on cannibalism!  Rereading that chapter still breaks my heart. The tears in his eyes, realizing he's finally free of the fear that's haunted him all these years.
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Jun 4, 2022 02:12
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Izutsumi is the first catgirl I've come across who actually acts like a cat.
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Jun 16, 2022 04:20
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I'm glad it's Trigger and I'm glad they waited for what feels like the final arc.
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Aug 9, 2022 15:50
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When I was in Japan, I picked up a few Japanese-only tabletop games to bring home. The Japanese tabletop scene is pretty different than the U.S., so it was interesting to compare. Anyway, if I were still there, I'd definitely pick that up. Might ask a friend to do it, since I can't.
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Aug 10, 2022 12:48
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*Loads crossbow with delicious intent.*
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Aug 12, 2022 09:46
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They need a DM but nobody wants to DM. Typical tabletop problems. No wonder this campaign's gone off the rails.
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Aug 12, 2022 14:57
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Sometimes when a previously "Fun" character turns out to be a villain (not that I ever thought the Winged Lion wasn't a bad guy), they undergo a personality change and it's revealed their fun persona was just an act, and from here on out they're just gonna be generically sinister. It's a problem a lot of twist villains have, where I preferred the character they were before and wish they'd retained their pre-reveal spark. I'm glad to learn the Winged Lion was always kind of a goober, and still is.
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Sep 18, 2022 08:50
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Jokes and reactions aside, I would've been disappointed if they got away clean with "Wishing the wish-granter away."
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Oct 16, 2022 14:57
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I guess the real dungeon was delicious all along.
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Oct 23, 2022 04:18
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Man, I dunno how to feel about this. Nice to see things wrapping up, but I'll be sad to see it go. I know everything's converging on an ending, but for the first time in a long time I wish it could go on.
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Mar 17, 2023 08:32
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It's better to leave them wanting more than to overextend, but it's been awhile since I've read anything I didn't want to end. Like, I enjoyed Golden Kamuy from start to finish, but when it ended I was like "Yep, that's the end." Dungeon Meshi, meanwhile, has left me yearning for another campaign. I know we shouldn't, but man, MAN.
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Mar 18, 2023 05:33
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Nebrilos posted:What is that from? Also, a catgirl, really? (I see that he calls it a Scylla, but to me it just looks like a conventional cute catgirl).  
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Mar 18, 2023 10:37
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I appreciate the magazine giving Kui time to wrap up this final plot point instead of just rushing things to their conclusion. There are so many other series where everything that's happened since the lion would be squished into a single chapter. The thing with the captain also made me smile.
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May 14, 2023 06:08
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I agree, and that's clearly Kui's intention, but the editorial staff and readers don't always see it like that.
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May 14, 2023 06:12
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Scholtz posted:A three cours meal?
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May 25, 2023 22:48
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I remember when I thought this series as gonna be 5-6 volumes, so 13 is a welcome surprise.
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Aug 13, 2023 01:19
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I wonderful ending to a wonderful series. I'mma gonna go get something to eat. HouseofGlass posted:You're welcome (to everyone else too)! I'm still around, I just like lurking more than posting. Doing big glossaries almost became a game to see if we could outdo each other each time and maybe make a psd file big enough to crash our computers. It's nice to be able to take it easy now though!
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Sep 16, 2023 07:55
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Love that Laois' curse would be a blessing for anybody else but it's Laois so he's actually bummed out.
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Sep 16, 2023 09:12
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The only thing in the entire series that didn't land with me was the bit where Thistle kills the party and we get the little dish name pop-up for Laois' dead party members. I know it's a lighthearted series and knew they'd find a way to bring them back, but it kinda just detracted from the moment. I would've preferred Kui commit to the dread of the total party kill for at least one chapter. And that's it. Everything else went down easy. I'll definitely read whatever Kui has cooked up next.
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Sep 16, 2023 23:12
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