About whether DnD is popular in Japan, the important thing is that the mangaka, Ryoko Kui, fucking LOVES it. Like, she did fanart of every character portrait in the original Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and finished the manga a week or two before Baldur's Gate 3 came out, girl was READY.
Dungeon Meshi does a superb job in actually tying its main theming of consumption, food, eating, and desire to the main plot and doing it in an incredible and consistent way. The character writing is excellent beyond initial character tropes. AAAND studio trigger can’t fuck up the ending because it’s already complete it’s genuine peak, glad you all are watching
I'd eat all of those except dogs. That limitation isn't even an ethical one for me, I think eating dog and eating cow is pretty much equivalent from an ethical standpoint, nor is it because I'm particularly attached to dogs, as a cat person. I don't even really have a rational reason to give, I'd just rather not. All my life I stubbornly refused to eat figs and I have exactly zero rational reasons to back up that refusal, but I still won't eat them; I see that as the same thing.
There's two main reason why very few people eat monsters: 1. It's seen as unsave, since knowledge about how prepare monsters is not that common (note how Marcille mentioned in the beginning how "amateurs" who eat monsters often get food poisoning). 2. It takes a lot of time. Most adventurers would rather just eat some preserved rations that search for edible things and prepare them. This is actually why the main characters move MUCH slower than some side character parties that come up later.
senshi, the dwarf, said he’s been studying and experimenting with monster cuisine for 10 years, but the others wondered if the dungeon has been there for so long entailing that it is fairly young so yeah i dont think its been there long enough for people to immediately capitalize on it
Dungeon Meshi doesn't really have fanservice in the way you're thinking of it. And I'm glad you're enjoying it. Some people are disappointed when they don't immediately enjoy an acclaimed manga. The manga ended recently too and we're getting 24 episodes right away so we might get a full adaptation with this. That would be nice. I'm sure there's some DnD influence with this series but it's more influenced by a video game series called Wizardry (which itself was influenced by DnD) which was very popular in Japan. It even had Japanese exclusive releases. And it has a mad magician like was set up here.
you can tell that this series was written with so much care, the mangaka is absolutely incredible. there's so much coming and dishes I never would've thought of in a one million years, as well as creatures that are backed up by mythology that I never heard of before.
This show is like frieren vibes but with food and dungeon but it also has it's serious moments. Really loved the manga and the anime's doing a great job with the adaptation.
There are so many wonderful things about Dungeon Meshi: the world building, the characters, the way it subverts tropes, but one of my favorite things is the very intentional lack of fanservice. There are no pantyshots, no chest grabs, nothing like that for Marcille or any of the female characters in the entire series. There is only one character who gets fanservice scenes, and it’s probably not someone you’re excepting. Spoiler: it’s Senshi. Only Senshi.
I was seeing there was some uproar about a "pinup' of Marcille. My first thought was, "If they are upset about this pinup, they are going to lose it over all the Senshi up skirt shots we get."
@@mint1114 ooh this is a great anime but the fanservice 🤓I can't stand the fanservice. So what makes Senshi's panty shots tasteful compared to anyone else's? Isn't all fanservice equal? You're one of those people who think's it's ok to be racist as long as it's against the 'correct' race, aren't you?
36:47 idk about japan, but i'm pretty sure the author is a big fan of DND, she drew a bunch of baldur's gate 1 & 2 companion potraits and pathfinder:kingmaker (i assume it was for her artbook) you can look it up.
If I remember correctly, the mangaka of this series based of, declining an early anime adaptation of her series since she fear that the anime would catch up to the manga way too fast (since the magazine this series serialized is monthly magazine, not weekly magazine), so she demanded if any studios interested in adapting her series, then they needs to wait until she finished the manga (which it already is, back in 2023). Also the mangaka, Ryoko Kui, is a huge DnD nerd.
I didn’t notice the zero fan service, but now that it was pointed out, I love this show even more! Fanservice is always a dealbreaker for me. Being aroace, I find shows with cheap hooks like that to be not worth my time.
Just because you can't appreciate it, doesn't mean that there isn't an art form to good fanservice in any media. I'm gay and yet I can still stomach hetero romances. Is that also a 'cheap hook'?
@@frustratedsquirrel Hetero romance is fine, that isn’t what I’m talking about. I get where your coming from but I meant that I don’t like when shows do the “all her clothes just so happen to conveniently tear off!” phenomenon. If I rewrote my comment today, I’d probably just say that I don’t like that regardless of being aroace or not. Romance is plot, not fan-service, (at least in the definition of it that I learned). For instance, 7 deadly sins: not an episode goes by where the main character doesn’t try to get that girl naked. To reiterate, I consider (how I understand fanservice to be) is trying to increase viewer retention of a probably mid show by appealing to the “awooga instinct” in viewers, and when it doesn’t work on me, I find it shallow.
I love this manga! Its one of the tightest, most thematically cohessive stories ive read. And this first episode is gorgeous. I hope you stick with it!
This show is the kind of stuff you need after a season filled with Dark anime, fights, etc... You get this kind of heartwarming feel from the story, characters, environment and pacing
@@electricant55 Isn't it a little premature to think that it's going to be an infodump show based only on the first episode that needs to contextualize things?
i'm so glad you're watching this!!! as other comments have said, dungeon meshi has an extremely rich plot that develops on the themes of "eating and being eaten" perfectly, as well as ZERO fanservice. it's great that this season will have 24 episodes; i think everyone who keeps watching will end up 100% invested.
I didn't know anything about this show and I was really surprised by how good it was this first episode! P.S. In spanish its titled: "Tragones y mazmorras", which translates to "Guzzlers and Dungeons", but in spanish is a pun because it sounds like "Dragones" (and there you go, also DnD!)
Was not expecting to see this reccomended in my youtube today. All I can really say is, this is one of my favourite manga of ALL TIME, no joke. Definitely give this more than a single episode watch. I can only say that it gets far deeper and surprisingly rich the further you read. Ryoko Kui is an excellent world builder.
We are really excited to keep watching this week to week! It’s nice to be so genuinely surprised by the quality of a random anime we didn’t know if we would like or not.
Whether the source material is "a manga" or "a light novel" has a big influence on how good the script turns out. Most of the resent "Isekai" anime are often part of what's called the "Narou" type, originating from light novels that were serialized on the "Let's Become a Novelist" service. These light novels are easy for anyone to write, so they may be a bit rough around the edges, but they're popular among younger readers. On the other hand, manga published in big magazines are carefully planned out by a team of a manga artist, editor, and specialized supervisors, and it takes a lot of time before they start serializing.
The author of dungeon meshi is a huge fan of RPGs including western stuff like baldur's gate 1 and 2 and that's where she draws a lot of the more gamey stuff from
Campfire Cooking in Another World was fairly enjoyable, though it's a bit more typical fare; failed hero because nobody saw the potential in his "online grocer" power. No fanservice, lots of cooking.
16:40 I'm glad you noticed they don't sexualise marcille. I knew this going in due to people posting on social media about the manga but thank god the series is normal about women. I don't watch most anime because women are treated as one note sex objects. I'm honestly sick of it. This should be a low bar but it's so refreshing because anime is mostly gross about women. I am loving this anime so far the character writing, humour, creativity and compassion makes it truly fantastic in my opinion (I have just finished episode 7).
What made me fall in love with Dungeon Meshi was how fucking smart the worldbuilding was. Everything in the show makes sense. Monsters are just animals with a twist, and hunt to survive, just like us. Even the different races have different biologies, which is something I love in fantasy. Ryoko Kui has put a TON of thought into this story, and it shows. it's one of my favorite series now, and I'm so glad it's getting an anime adaptation
love the commentary. i was right there with u where i was expecting the nasty fanservice, always waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it just never came. so grateful.
The manga is so good, hope you folks stick with because it's deserve it a bit of breath to tell it's story. EDIT: Also, you folks don't need to worry about fanservice in this
Why does this remind me of Made in Abyss? Oh yeah, because they are going downwards, the second layer is a subterran forest and they are eating the weird creatures they find on their way down! 😄 So far I like it! MiA's exploration is on a different level, but his is good! And I'm digging Macille and the comedy with her.
Honestly, the Slime and Vines not following through in normal anime fashion was a huge vote of confidence for this show. I can genuinely recommend this show to a fan of fantasy world building and cooking shows with no disclaimers at all.
86 is currently on hold and possibly going to be dropped. We had about 6 episodes in a row where we simply were not enjoying the story and had basically no reaction
@@BOLDcast i really wanted to see your reaction to the show , but if you guys don't f with it it's okay. Thats what i apretiate here, you don't fake shit
dungeon meshi is amazing specifically because it subverts from all the lazy shows that are plagging the genre of fantasy / dungeon anime now, its a beautiful story about friendship and food. the characters are unique and fun and it does not subscribe to any fan service / misogynistic tropes either it's just a beautiful feel good story written by someone who clearly loves food as much as they love Dungeons and Dragons
propping something up just because it doesn't have fanservice is puritan hipster cringe. This show is plenty erotic enough, it has lots of food porn at least.
This episode is out of order in the playlist ^_^ Its so impressive how early youve picked up on all the themes and worldbuilding being so tied together, i had to double check this was still episode 1 lol Oooh, anime fans who are also super annoyed with perv pandering! (Not that most fans dont just put up with it but yknow) one of the reasons i dont watch much anime these days is im sick and tired of how women are treated, and one of the reasons i decided to watch this was because i knew that there was very little of that in this show! (At least, towards the one youd expect... lol)
Manga is surprisingly smart with themes of food, eating, desire and death. It's a real shame it gettim a bit of popularity now, when shitty isekai were earning millions.
based on the discussion you guys have at the end, i think you'll really really enjoy this story. its honestly a master class example of phenomenal world building and character design, plus theres a lot more going on with the story then first meets they eye too. (slight spoiler but its very funny you mention the story not having any political narrative... lol) the manga author really excels at writing and designing realistic characters with diverse body types and backgrounds-especially in regards to her women characters. the women in her story are not given any fan service and they never get side lined as one dimensional romantic love interests either. theyre complex and down to earth, have their own skills, interests, and motivations, and arent all just skinny and conventionally attractive. they look and behave like actual women, which is honestly such a breath of fresh air to see from an industry that so often caters to the male gaze. in fact, romance isnt really featured or discussed pretty much at all, at least not in a plot crucial context. this anime definitely passes the bechdel test (or at least it will once the other women characters get introduced lol). you can really tell how much passion was put into this story through just the character writing alone, but it needs to be mentioned how much detail and care also went into its world building, creature biology, and even the fictional recipes we see throughout it. i could honestly go on and on about all the things this story does right, so i'll cut my self short and just leave it at this: theres a reason the manga already had a massive following long before the anime was ever even announced. it's truly something thats been missing from the medium for a very long time, and im very excited its been put into the hands of one of the most famous studios in the business when it comes to animating dynamic, fluid, larger than life action. it's definitely a title thats deserves that level of quality.
On the topic of DnD in Japan: Japanese LOVE fantasy RPGs. Not DnD specifically, but their own DnD-likes. The main difference is that in the West you're supposed to play a "campaign" for months or years. Japanese ones are more commonly oneshots, you can buy a box with premade characters to pick from and everything you need and play it in one evening. This also makes them a lot more accessible for casual fans, and pretty much every Japanese student played one some time in their childhood. An of course computer JRPGs is a huge thing. So people are very much familiar with fantasy RPG tropes and not necessarily associate them with DnD.
D&D is pretty popular in Japan and has been...for quite a while. Record of Lodoss War was based off a campaign, and Slayers was heavily inspired by D&D as well. Even the original Final Fantasy games had D&D monsters like mind flayers. So yeah, as far back as the 90s, they've been making anime that was straight up D&D. Capcom also made that D&D arcade game.
Starving the slime for two weeks...that sounds like the method people use when they raise snails in captivity with the goal of eating them lol (French person here)
I know it's late but if you like this I hope you'll give this anime that came out last year made by Mappa called Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill a watch it's really good and similar to this.
