It’s a typical quest in the mysterious and dangerous dungeon. Human warrior Laios and his party are venturing onto a new level and there encounter a dragon! In a quick and disastrous battle they lose all their supplies and equipment along with a member of their party, their magic-worker Falin, who also happens to be Laios’ little sister. Some members of the party retreat for a better chance elsewhere, but Laios, a knight, Chilchuk, a halfling thief, and elf Marcille decide to stick together. As they discuss their chances of rescuing Falin, Laios produces an idea to keep what equipment and arms they have and not need to re-provision—why don’t they eat the monsters in the dungeon?
The others aren’t too excited about this idea, but Laios has clearly given it a lot of thought (maybe… a little too much thought?) and when they meet Senshi, dwarf, experienced inhabitant of the dungeon, and monster gourmand, they decide to risk everything and keep going. After the initial action scenes, the series shifts into a weird but delightful mix of strange dungeon creatures, foodie recipes, discussions of sustainable living (in a magical dungeon), with the occasional narrow escape. Readers will laugh, groan, and maybe even gag a little as the characters chow down, level by level, seeking to rescue Falin.
In the second volume, the characters continue to move downward, but this time they’re entering a barren waste of dungeon where there’s nothing edible, not even monsters. Or is there? Readers will not only see some new recipes and monsters, edible and otherwise, they’ll learn a little more about the characters and their history.
While Kiu’s style does have some manga characteristics, like bigger eyes and sudden breakouts of emotion where the characters flail their arms and generally freak out, I found the style refreshingly easy to follow, especially for someone who doesn’t read manga often. There are lots of clean lines and the characters are easily distinguished by their size, clothing, and other attributes. The story is littered with culinary instructions and drawings, so should you ever have the chance to cook a mandrake and basilisk omelet, you’ll not only know how to do it, you’ll have some great ideas for presentation and nutritional information as well. The male characters, Laios, Chilchuk, and Senshi all favor deadpan delivery and sober facial expressions, rarely showing emotions, besides the occasional drops of sweat—at least in public. It’s not surprising that Marcille tends to lose it on her annoying companions from time to time, especially when it seems that they’ve started enjoying this whole eating-monsters thing a little too much. Marcille is shown as more emotional not necessarily because she’s female (the resigning members of the party and most of their heavy hitters were female), but because she’s struggling more than the others with adapting to a different culture and cuisine. In the second volume, where they encounter a band of orcs, there is a gentle exploration of prejudice and complex issues between warring cultures. Marcille’s eager face, frequent panics (marked by spinning eyes and dark shading), and genuine worry about her friend Falin keep the emotional tone of the story moving and prevent it from becoming a monster cookbook.
The subtle humor and unexpected behavior of the characters adds yet another dimension to the story. Laios, at first appearing to be a humorless, rather stupid knight, turns out to have quite the flair for cookery and a secret passion for gourmet experiments, much to the dismay of Marcille. He has a past and the slow reveal of his quirky, rather tenderhearted character is one of the funniest and and most touching parts of the story in these first two volumes.
Fans of the classic Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which is seeing a wide resurgence in popularity, will instantly recognize and be both delighted and intrigued by the parallels. Don’t be surprised if some of your D&D players start experimenting a little in their games and gain some unexpected abilities from eating, instead of defeating, their enemies!
Other than a few mildly risque comments, there isn’t much in this series so far to offend or bother younger readers; even most of the people they encounter who are killed are able to be revived and sent on their way and while frightening, the ghosts aren’t much scarier than the average kids’ horror story. However, younger readers may not catch the more mature reflections on sustainability and what we eat or throw away and sensitive readers will be nonplussed by the cheerful devouring of most living things, no matter how creepy, crawly, or friendly.
Middle school D&D fans will gobble up this series and older teen readers will appreciate its quiet humor and points for discussion. For school libraries struggling to find manga acceptable to their population’s Westernized taste buds, this is a great choice. It’s funny and includes plenty of monsters and adventure, but has no fan service and little to no questionable jokes or behavior. In short, there’s something to meet the tastes of every reader in this manga menu of monsters.
Delicious in Dungeon, vols. 1-2
By Ryoko Kui
vol 1 ISBN: 9780316471855
vol 2 ISBN: 9780316473057
Yen Press, 2017
Publisher Age Rating: T
The post Delicious in Dungeon, vols. 1-2 appeared first on No Flying No Tights.