Dungeon Meshi

It was great, very amusing. I appreciate the attention to detail with both the cooking and explanations of the dungeon's ecosystem.

I did not read the manga, so I had no expectations about how characters should sound. So, while "some people" complained about the English voice acting I didn't have any problems with it, my perspective is that those people are overly sensitive. The target of said criticism was a female dwarf character who sounds a bit manly; but it could be artistic interpretation of what a female dwarf sounds like. Those people should stop crying over trivial nonsense and grow up.

What started as a light watch and silly anime really expanded into a gripping and fun show! I love that they release it weekly because I look forward to it. I love every second of it. The relationship development is super interesting, the cooking theme is cute and really clever, and the writing is great- so many funny bits with great comical timing. The show surprised me with the darker overarching storyline which develops over the season and I've found the pacing and development to be a little confusing but also engaging and it leaves me wanting more. I love the primary cast but the secondary characters have surprised me with their quality additions to the story and plot. It's kind of a trust the process start which pans out well.

I love this show, I'm genuinely excited to watch it every Thursday! It's got me leaning forward during the fight scenes and they are such a sweet group that and they make meals I'm jealous of! It's such a fun genuinely good show. They really do a good job of (figuratively) thinking on their feet they surprise me time and again, and I usually am good at guessing the "path" the characters are going to take. At first the characters come off a little whiney but character growth is solid and maybe makes you a little proud lol as much as you can be a for a fictional character. I recommend this show to everyone!!

The show has been carefully designed, to make use of vibrant colors and quick pacing, which hooks you and keeps you watching. The concept is entirely unique, has the perfect sense of morbid curiosity, and is intertwined with a meta story that wraps into something bigger which is excellent. Surprisingly for a Netflix show, the main character Laios is not portrayed shamefully, and there's many elements of cultural European folktale and mythos - portrayed again, surprisingly accurate for being curated by Japanese. Clear inspiration from Dungeons and Dragons, which is infinitely fascinating, but the show has its own concepts. Though, Namari's voice acting was jarring and hard to listen to.

The show doesn't take itself too seriously despite having many references to depth. And, it is childlike in a sense. I think it's good if you have no intention of a more serious plot. I do think there's just a little too much emphasis on food at times, which I honestly think could've been handled in a less repetitive fashion - it alternates between a medieval fantasy setting and a cooking show and I think the former is more intriguing personally.

In the beginning, Laios seems pretty unemotional which isn't explained until they go into how death and resurrection works. That seemed out of place, and for people watching I don't think they'll understand. It really does almost portray him as a straight up psychopath at first.

On the topic of death and resurrection, having something go wrong that gives rise to "real deaths", I think would give more gravity to the storyline. Adding or subtracting characters, especially in a political climate adds a lot of meaning. Marcille's charisma is really held back by her unwillingness, and there's not much of a character ark that has handled that so far. Izutsumi's negativity kind of brought the party out of balance and there's not much chemistry with Chilchuck.

Those are my criticisms, however it's still in general enjoyable to watch: the campy nature of an adventure party never fails to entertain, medieval fantasy will always strike the perfect chords for me, and the intrigue painted by the plot clearly does a great job of making an easy to follow and interesting story.

Hoping to revisit this series when newer seasons arrive, and that it gains popularity.

DunMeshi has an unusual concept, but the worldbuilding is so well done that It grows on you. In a dungeon the characters usually worry more about defeating monsters, but in this story they realistically have to worry about food, water, carrying weight, and other aspects of daily life. The animation is beautiful and the food actually looks yummy even if it is made from monster parts.

If you enjoy thinking about the ecosystem of an universe, I bet you will enjoy this show. Senshi is one of my favorite characters because he understands the importance of each being, from big to small, and shares his knowledge and wonder with the other characters. A great hit for TTRPG fans, for sure.