THE HORRORS OF DUNGEON MESHI

NOTE: I originally wrote this in late 2020, before the manga even finished – Now we have a TON more creatures and a ton of newcomers to the series thanks to the Anime – I’m thankful for the traffic this article STILL gets. I hope to write another article when I have the time, but for now, enjoy ❤

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HORRORS is an ongoing series exploring the overlooked darker elements of well known media. SPOILER WARNING for some plot details below, as well as CONTENT WARNING for body horror and gore.

Dungeon Meshi, also known in English as Delicious in Dungeon, is a fantasy/comedy manga by Ryōko Kui about a group of adventurers exploring a cavernous dungeon to rescue their dear friend while also… cooking and eating the monsters they encounter. It’s a wild, hilarious ride with a lot of care and detail put into the Monster Recipes themselves, based on real food with a splash of fantastical ingredients.

While generally lighthearted in tone, there’s some truly horrific monsters and sequences in Meshi, making them all the more impactful. Kui also illustrates faces in a way I find particularly emotive, drawing you in to the character’s headspace as they witness or are subjected to some nasty stuff. Here’s a few things that stand out to me.

Falin, Also sometimes translated as Farlyn, is the sister of one of the protagonists Laius and the reasons our heroes set out on their quest. At the beginning of the manga, she’s eaten by a red dragon. However, and thankfully, dungeons work differently from the surface world. As long as she hasn’t been fully digested, it’s possible to bring her back. She is revived by the party’s cleric but there was…a bit of a delay in the process and Farlyn’s body and soul is combined with the dragon, later transformed further by an evil wizard (yes lol) into this beautiful and mindless human-dragon-chimera hybrid.

I’m always a fan of artists who can do multiple styles like this. Obviously, the first images are simplistic and silly, but they do a great job trying to explain how Farlyn’s new anatomy might work. Laius’s plan seems to be to cut off Farlyn’s human part from the dragon body and revive her but he struggles at first to come up with an effective way to kill her. Which is pretty messed up in and of itself. He feels personally responsible to execute this plan, and it results in this absolutely devastating sequence…

There’s something so intimate about this scene. Her pulling at Laius’s hair, the other characters watching and looking away in abject horror. Followed by him gently holding her body. While outwardly a monster, this is still his sister, and he cares for her deeply. It’s heartbreaking. They don’t even know if this is going to work, but what other choice to they have if they want to bring her back? The manga is ongoing so we don’t know the conclusion of this scene yet, so maybe a part 2 of this post will happen in the future!

Later on we’re introduced to Mithrun, the leader of a group of elves. Each elf has a talent for specific type of magic, and Mithrun’s is teleportation. He uses this quite effectively in combat by teleporting opponents INTO WALLS and their body is replaced with a human shaped chunk of brick. We never see them come OUT of the wall so I have to wonder if they are just trapped there, forever, Cask of Amontillado style. Not a pleasant way to go.  He also teleports a chunk of wood into an arm, and comes away holding a chunk of flesh. Eww.

Through flashbacks, we’re told about Mithrun’s past with the dungeon. Essentially, demons lure people with strong desires which they grant as wishes, then feed from the energy produced. The stronger and deeper the desires, the stronger the demon becomes when feeding. Mithrun is tricked by demon taking the shape of a goat, and granted whatever he wants. Weakened from his time with the Demon, Mithrun is savagely attacked and all of his desires are consumed, including his desire to live. It’s played for comedy after the fact, but he basically cannot remember to sleep, eat, or perform any other bodily functions and has to have others remind him to do so. The only thing pushing him onwards now is revenge.

These moments are spread throughout the story and add some lovely background elements to the narrative. It’s quite a charming and fun read and includes some of my favourite characters in recent media! It’s picked up in popularity as it goes on and one of the few manga I actually keep up with. Would love to see it in animated form someday. Here’s hoping! ※