Dungeon Meshi

Alright so here it is, my first official post! 

I thought about it for a moment and decided it had to be on something I really like. So I settled on starting my blog with something I really, really love and discovered only recently: Dungeon Meshi. 

If you don't know what Dungeon Meshi is don't worry! I'll explain it all to you! Dunmeshi as fans might call it online, is a manga (recently adapted in anime) by Ryoko Kui. It recounts the tale of a Party of adventurers in a dungeon, taking lots of inspiration from roleplays or DnD. The main characters are Laios, a tall-man and the leader of their group, Marcille, an elven mage, and Chilchuck, a half-foot locksmith.

They're looking for Laios' sister, Farlyn, who's been eaten by a dragon on one of the lowest level fo the dungeon. Unfortunately, they've been dumped by two of their members, Namari and Toshiro, and, on top of that, they're broke. It means they can't get food or new equipments and they lost most of theirs during their fight with the dragon. But they must go back quickly in order to save Farlyn! People dying in the dungeon can be ressurected but there are a few conditions. And one of them is that, in order to ressurect someone, you must get most of their body in good shape. So they have to get quickly to Farlyn, before the dragon digests her. 

That's when they met Senshi, a dwarf warrior living in the dungeon. Senshi values healthy habits most than anything else in the world! Which means you have to eat full meals everyday! And that's the main point of this story; food. Basically, Senshi introduces them to monsters cuisine and, as they go back into the dungeon, they discover new ways to cook monsters. Each chapter is sort of dedicated to one meal but also one type of monster. Laios is kind of a freak and he loves monsters more than people. He also loves eating them. Marcille and Chilchuck are a a bit against this idea but since it's their only way to get through the dungeon, they deal with it. 

I know the premise seems a bit silly but it deals with really serious topics all throughout the story. Each of these characters has to cope with stuff way greater than themselves. It's a very, very intersting plot with intricates storylines and a few heavy subjects like grief, death and desires. 

If you want to read it, I suggest you click out now! I'll start talking about it more in depths and it would be a shame if you got spoiled! It's such a great piece of media and an intersting story, I wholeheartly believe you should go in without knowing too much! :)

So, here we go! Three of my favourite things about Dungeon Meshi (not in order).

1. Marcille's fear of death.

At first, Marcille appears as a stuck-up elf who only sticks with the Party for Farlyn, her friend. But throughout the story we can see how much she cares about the others. She considers them her friends and will do anything to save them from harm. But we also discover that Marcille is terrified of death. Later on, we learn that she's not really an elf but moreso a half-elf. Which means her mom is an elf and her dad a tall-man. Famously, elves have much longer lifespans than the other races so Marcille's dad died when she was still young (by elves standards). This made her realize that, one day, every single person she ever loved will die, leaving her behind. She's not afraid of dying but she's terrified of being left alone. And I can really empathize with this feeling. It something that hits close to home for me because I'm also experiencing this. Not that I know  I'll live longer than the people I love but I know some people from my entourage will die before me and I'm really scared of that. So, yeah, this arc was really interessant to read. Especially since Marcille's fear draws her to become an antagonist for a few chapters. Her dream since the beginning of the story is to find a way to make short-lived races lifespans longer. And long-lived races' shorter. So everyone will be able to stay together. On paper, it seems like a good idea. But the story quickly shows us that it would be impracticable and sort of cruel for everyone. The moral dilemma is really well written and I absolutely loved this storyline. Especially since it starts to sprout early on but you don't really pick it up until it's there.

2. Laios

I love him. He's an absolute freak. He cares more about monsters than people. He's bad at reading social cues and sucks at making meaningful connexions. He was depressed and wasting away before finding his way to the dungeon. He's far from being the best Party leader but he really tries his best. He loves his sister more than anything in the world. He's such an interesting character to me! Sure, he has plenty of flaws, but they're not the worst things ever. And as I said, he always tries his best. His arc is very interesting, too, because at first he sincerely just seems like a dumb guy. And don't get me wrong, he's a dumb guy! But he's also truly so sincere with his intentions, it's heartwarming. One of my favourite moments of the manga is the first time they save Farlyn. He hugs her tightly, as if he never wants to leave this embrace ever again. 

laios hugging farlyn

His face in this one panel means the world to me. Unfortunately for him, Farlyn disappears that same night and becomes a dragon chimera. Later in the story, the Party will be confronted with a choice of what to do about it. Laios will take it upon himself to kill his sister in order to save her. And that might be one of the most gutwrenching scenes I've ever read in a manga. There's no doubt that Farlyn is the person he loves the most in the entire world. He'd died for her. He's feeling guilt because he feels like it's his fault she's in this state. He thought a few times that it should've been HIM instead of her, being eaten by the dragon. He feels like Farlyn is more important to the Party. 

laios before killing farlyn

On multiple occasions he thinks about how things would've been different if Farlyn had never been eaten by the dragon. But never EVER he thinks about giving up on her. He'll die trying to save her even if it's the last thing he'll ever do. Laios won't hesitate to put the fate of the whole universe to save his sister. 

Like I said, Laios is dumb. But he's far from being stupid. He sacrified himself to save his sister AND the universe and managed to come back from it. All throughout the story, people suggest that the worse thing that could happen is Laios becoming the Master of the Dungeon. And maybe they were right, in some ways. But at the end of the story, Laios becomes a King. And it's so meaningfull and fitting! It's such a beautiful way to finish this story, in my opinion. It couldn't have been better. I often think about the last chapters and my heart swells with love and warmth. 

3. The Ending

As I just mentionned, this story has one of the best ending I've ever read. And that's because there's no rush, no plot holes or characters left behind. Everything wraps up neatly and I'm so, so, so glad for it! One of the last chapters is about Izutsumi, asking the others what they will do after. Because she has no idea what she will do, now that she's free of accompany them on their quest. As they're all preparing a feast, each of them answer with the meal they're cooking. They all finally talk about their future and their plans. It doesn't help Izutsumi and that's when she says one of my favourite lines. "In order to live, I can't just do the things that I like to do, It's absolutely unfair." It's very simple but it resonates with me. I really like this moment! But, anyway, when she asks Laios, he's panicking because he has NO IDEA. People are trying to make him king and he's still wondering if he'll be able to save Farlyn. And instead of pushing it, Izutsumi then says she was talking about food. I really love this because it shows how different he's different from the others and from himself, in a way. He's not only thinking about monsters and food anymore. He found other things to care about and he really cares. I love that chapter and I love the ending. I'm glad it's a happy ending for everyone. They all deserve to be happy, forever! 

Here, I'm done rambling for now! Maybe I'll make a part two for this post with more stuff I love about this manga! I just put the three first things that came in my mind but I could easily talk about it for hours! And maybe I'll do! :3c

I'll leave you with the ending song of the anime because it's so good and it's by one of my favourite bands!!!