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Episode 5 of Delicious in Dungeon delivers another strong entry as the series shifts to a familiar yet effective structure.
This series is a great example of how episodic doesn’t have to be a pejorative term. The party may go deeper into the dungeon, but the overall structure of the episode remains the same as before. The group gathered and went below, they found strange animals and cooked them. Prime, rinse, repeat. There is a school of thought that this is a bad way of telling stories and lacks novelty. You’ll see similar setups derisively referred to as the monster-of-the-week format as if it were a cardinal narrative sin. Fragmentation is considered a synonym for formulaic or unimaginative.
I don’t have this opinion.
Hopefully, dear readers, you too can see the wisdom of this setup. Delicious in Dungeon is using the most powerful tool: ritual. Yes, regular rituals help us know what to expect while, paradoxically, warning us of the unexpected. What will the monster be this time? What will the treasure be this time? What delicious food will they make? This week, the confusing thing is that all three of these are the same! I like this expansion of Gygaxian naturalism from existing tropes into new (or at least, new to me) territory. Mimics—monsters that appear as treasure chests but are actually hungry beasts—are a dungeon classic. Now we have gold coins and bejeweled insects, luring greedy adventurers to grim ends. Having them act as our real-life insects is another clever way to get creative.
But the episode is not just ceremonial. We get more details about who Falin is as a party member, a sister, and a friend. Her relationships with others and the pain of her loss are felt most acutely in any episode to date. Furthermore, the hilarious new relationship Laios is developing with the little monster that lives in his sword is wonderful and exciting.
An excellent episode all around.
Rating:
Grant is the co-host of the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and the Super Senpai Podcast.
Delicious in Dungeon is now streaming on Netflix.
Delicious in Dungeon is now streaming on Netflix.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are members of the Kadokawa Group.
