#i mean it's a seinen so I'm not surprised with content of the story

[marcilled]

hi Vivian! I've been meaning to ask about reading dungeon meshi for a while but I've been super low on things to read for a bit now so I want to take the plunge! I wanted to ask, are there any "caveats" you have about recommending it? I know sometimes people will love a thing but actually not recommend it to others lol. I don't think this is one of those situations but I wanted to check :) Or if there's anything like "the first couple chapters are slow but then it picks up" you know. Also do you have suggestions for a good place to read it?

You've just activated an unskippable cutscene. *rubs hands together gleefully*

For those not aware (if you follow me you're probably aware... but just in case), Dungeon Meshi is a fantasy comedy manga by author Ryoko Kui about a group of adventurers who have to cook and eat monsters to survive in a dungeon. It's a seinen, meaning it's targeted more towards adults, which really shows in a lot of its plot beats and humor- like how the party nearly disbands because Laios (the party leader) can't afford to pay everyone upfront, etc. It's also not entirely accurate to call it a comedy, really, it's an action/adventure series that focuses on comedy, oftentimes dark humor. Which brings me to your question!

I don't have any big caveats for recommending Dungeon Meshi, I think it's a series just about anyone can pick up and get enjoyment out of! But there are some things I think are worth warning about, since the story actually gets pretty serious later on, and explores some potentially triggering themes.

Here's some content warnings for dunmeshi I can provide just off the top of my head (that shouldn't spoil anything on their own); Body horror, eye trauma/eye injuries, asphyxiation, cannibalism, blood, some gore, unsettling imagery, uhh general warning for? psychological themes (idk how to word this or even warn for this without spoiling though) and mentions of child abuse.

There's probably more that I'm forgetting, but despite its reputation for being silly, dungeon meshi gets pretty damn dark at times!! All the same, it is, to its core, built upon the humor- even in the tensest, most dramatic chapters, there's always something to lighten the mood, something to make you smile. It's kind of surprising, really, how masterfully Ryoko Kui finds this balance of drama vs. humor. No one illustrates this dichotomy better than Laios...

(least spoiler-y image I could find)

As for slow starts... I suppose it depends on what you're hoping to see in dungeon meshi! If you're excited about izutsumi (the catgirl), she doesn't show up until much later on in the manga. There's some other popular characters that don't show up for a while, either. Also, I just re-read the first chapter before answering this ask- the start is a bit slow, i.e. everything seems low stakes at first, but I think that's only to dungeon meshi's benefit tbh. I kinda dislike when series will show their hand way too soon. I think the premise and presentation of dungeon meshi is strong enough on its own, although the early art style is really unrefined and messy compared to the modern chapters. The art gets so much better as time goes on! As do the characterizations... You really get the sense that their personalities weren't entirely figured out yet in chapter 1. I think that's fine, though, the roots are all there.

All this being said... I'm gonna be honest with you, I've never actually re-read dungeon meshi from my initial read of it! and I've been keeping up for each new chapter since, like, 2018, which is crazy to think about... I really ought to do a re-read sometime, it'll give me a fresh perspective I'm sure. truthfully I just struggle to read things, which is the only reason I haven't reread it like 10 times. I still love it to bits anyway. I hope that this answer is enlightening regardless, and- oh! also! you can read dungeon meshi on Mangadex, though I recommend buying it physically if they sell it where you live :-)!!

Anyhow thank you for indulging me, i love talking about dungeon meshi & introducing new people to the series! i hope you enjoy it!!!

[keii]

One more thing about Gantz. I am REALLY glad that they didn't include that one piece of shit character in the Gantz:O movie. You know who I'm talking about-- the one who wears only half of his suit and is just all around a disgusting being. The fact that outside of those alien missions, that guy is a prep school teacher?? I think-- God. He was gross.

[theomnicode]

I do see a lot of people diss parts of OPM just because it doesn't do parody of shounen trope and instead has it's own narrative that you can see in literature. If it doesn't parody shounen, it does not mean it's bad narrative.

It's not like shounen owns the manga industry or something and that other genres cannot have same themes or that OPM solely exists to make fun of shounen. Lot of the themes are shared between genres, but Seinen is just for more mature audience with some more mature themes, like politics and relationships.

So ye, I fullheartedly agree with gofancy, OPM is tackling far far bigger things than just parody. Parody is just for surface fun and everyone enjoys a good comedy in storytelling to lighten up the darker elements.

A lot of the most darkest plot points are dressed up in comedic elements to begin with so the series keeps it's inspiring, lighthearted and hopeful tone and doesn't become far too dark immediately when the setup is that Saitama is already a god and that part comes with some real consequences. Like OPM season 1 where Saitama is depressed, has lost the will to live and he literally lacks humanity in the first episode. And then he meets another guy who tried to self-destruct in front of his face, who's family had died and who's town had been destroyed. Even that what is supposed to be serious, melancholic moment of Genos telling his origin story is made into a gag element. OPM never makes fun of Saitama's struggles though.

Ironically, when OPM is more comedic, the underlying elements are darker but we won't pay attention because it's comedy, its just a funny meme innit so we ignore those elements for the sake of comedy. When it's more serious and somber and we actually focus on those plot elements, it's brighter and more hopeful at the same time because there is a sense of progression and improving towards goals.

It's pretty clever way to mask narratives and make it really funny at the same time and poke fun at gag at the same time. I suppose the comedy and gag is just satire all along.

One mentality I see even more though, is that manga should apparently not be its own separate continuum from the wc and some people even hail short, relatively basic chapters as good just on the basis of "it follows wc directly therefore its good" and not review the chapter based on the actual content it has. And then review those other chapters that deviate as bad simply because they deviate.

I get it that it's annoying if something doesnt get adapted perfectly but the manga should be criticized as it's own product outside of the realm of wc and not being constantly compared to it that if it deviates from the formula, it must be bad. It's fine to have favourite versions of adaptations, but not allowing any other expression in universe or creative freedom would probably stagnate the series and become far less interesting to long-term wc readers. What is there to wait for if you already know the plot? Nothing to be surprised about or excited about or any twists or subversions to be made if you already know the entire story inside out and I doubt for wc readers, being visually impressive product (from raw technical point of view) wasn't the selling point either or what drew them into the series, rather than the charm.

It just feels like venting and bashing OPM for the sake of venting and being unhappy and projecting those feelings. But maybe I'm just being elitist and disingenuous because I hold the story close to my heart and I hate to see it bashed on shallow grounds.

I've been really annoyed at a lot of takes I see on Reddit and couldn't put my finger on why, but today I realized it's because they have a lot of snobbery towards shounen and assume ONE is making fun of every element of it. which I don't think is true. he pokes fun for sure, but I see a lot of "he's deconstructing the shallow shounen trope of blah blah and ridiculing it" which feels excessively mean. Most of the time someone presents the trope being "deconstructed," it's something shounen already handles with nuance. So it's extra annoying because it sounds like people who don't actually read shounen and just assume everything in OPM is ridiculing it. OPM is definitely subversive, but idk. It reminds me of how people who read "real literature" scoff at YA fiction as if there's no way it could ever tackle nuanced themes. Maybe I'm reading too much into it. I guess I just dont wanna think of ONE as being so petty and snobby. What do you think? Maybe i'm too sensitive

Talk about a late, late reply. Sorry!

It's a good observation. I'm not the right person to talk about shonen in detail because I tend to dip in and out of individual titles so there's a lot of nuance I do miss, but you're right, people who dislike a genre tend to lump all its tropes together into an undifferentiated mass.

A slight digression as I introduce you to Boulet, a fantastic French comic strip artist, has a splendid comic collection online (https://english.bouletcorp.com/). Sadly, I'm unable to find the specific strip I have in mind but in it he's imagining how vastly different films would feel if you just kept the camera rolling a little longer. So we get to the aftermath of the Ewoks's victory and see these cute critters dragging the corpses of the Stormtroopers away, mocking some of them... really changes the feel of it. The thing that's different about ONE's handling of shonen tropes in One-Punch Man isn't that he deconstructs them per say -- he loves shonen stories and really has put a lot of thought into how they work -- it's that he keeps the camera rolling. What happens then? So what? What happens as a result? And then? That's what makes it feel like a deconstruction and also serves as the springboard for its seinen genre...

More seriously though, One-Punch Man isn't a parody at its heart: it has a lot of parodic elements but its focus isn't a genre -- it's got bigger things to tackle. ONE does remind me of Terry Pratchett in a way: the Discworld series may have started out as parodies of common fantasy tropes but they quickly outgrew that purpose and the stories became much richer explorations of various aspects of human nature, all while staying fantastic and funny.

I tend to say that ONE parodies heroes -- he loves the weird, contradictory, earnest people who step forward when everyone else avoids trouble and there's a lot of affection for them even as he pokes fun at some of the silliness the superhero genre has thrown up. He satirises corporate culture, and there's a lot of horror that's just put out there without comment for the smart reader to notice and piece together.

It does get annoying when there's fans who claim it can all be understood at a high level and that it needs must be a zero-sum game: if you like OPM, you must disparage the 'standard shonen'. Fortunately, one can simply... ignore the fools. I know I do!

Life is short. You won't stay young forever -- unproductive discourse is something to cut hard and early out of one's life!