#senshi is just so endearing hes just a dwarf!!!!

[teruthecreator]

current ranking of guys:

laois

senshi

chilchuck

marcille

im not dead (SAD) but i did watch dungeon meshi (GLAD)

[1lb5oz-chuckanut]

Z’s Chilaios Frankenstein AU!!

This will be set during the Victorian era — magic does exist and all the characters will remain their canon races

Except for Laios, of course, because he is the Creature.

Which means, naturally, that Chilchuck is our Victor Frankenstein.

Dr. Tims has spent the last two decades of his life obsessed with death and the magic he perceives around it. His goal has always been to create the perfect man, but he only got around to doing so in the last seven years.

Shortly before that was when his wife left him. Their relationship was long dead - She was exhausted of Chilchuck spending more time in his lab than with Her and the kids. He has thrown himself completely into his research.

Dandan, one of Dr. Tims’ only remaining acquaintances, hired a Dwarf friend of his to play assistant to Chilchuck after the divorce. Dandan urged Chilchuck to hire someone of his own accord, but Chilchuck denied everyone else who had responded to the offer.

Since endearing himself to Chilchuck, Mr. Senshi has become the groundskeeper, housekeeper, lab assistant, and chef (though he can hardly get Dr. Tims out of his lab to eat or sleep). He refuses pay and so the deal they’ve agreed on is this: Senshi lives full time in the Tims Estate, with free access to every room except Chilchuck’s. Chilchuck pays for the weekly groceries and house expenses; anything else Senshi needs is negotiable (see: when Senshi allows Chilchuck to pay for it).

Marcille is a frequent guest. She’s a detective specializing in unauthorized magic use. Ms. Donato was the only one willing to investigate the case of the strange sightings and reports of odd occurrences at the Tims Estate. The townsfolk believe it is Black Magic, though the Elves aren’t convinced anyone in a half-foot village could use magic at all (though Marcille really, really wants it to be true because she’s always wanted to study Black Magic in person).

Chilchuck despises having Marcille around. He’s just about to make his big breakthrough and having an elf snooping around his property would be terrible at the best of times!

Senshi is ecstatic to have someone else around the manor, though. Two birds with one stone for Chilchuck.

Now hopefully no shenanigans ensue…

[doorbloggr]

Getting lost in fictional worlds

Wednesday 1/3/23

Media Recommendations #46

Content:

Dungeon Meshi

Disco Elysium

Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon

Ryoko Kui

Dungeon Meshi is a fantasy action/comedy manga that has been running since 2014. At the time of writing, the manga has not reached its conclusion, but I feel its getting close. Its funny, heartwarming, has an interesting world and an endearing art style.

Pitch

The story is set in a classic high fantasy world, where underground structures called Dungeons litter the landscape. Dungeons are a complex set of biomes in their own right with advanced magic systems, including the unique quirk that adventurers who die in a dungeon can be revived fairly reliably. It is fairly standard D&D in its initial presentation, but the world has a uniquely real spin on the standard fantasy format.

We follow the party of Laios Touden, a human fighter, who's sister, Falin, a human cleric, was killed by a dragon and eaten deep in the dungeon. Due to the laws of the dungeon, if they find her remains soon enough, they will be able to revive her, but before her end, Falin teleported the party to the surface. A few members of their party quit on the spot. They do not have the funds or resources to do that trip again, and without a healer, their party would be in even more danger. Laios, not wanting to waste any time, decides the best course of action is to head back in immediately, and use the resources of the dungeon for food on the way. He is accompanied by Marcille, an elf mage, and Chilchuck, a half-foot trap-finder.

Soon into their journey, they run into Senshi, a dwarf who has lived in this dungeon as long as adventurers have known about it. Senshi is very knowledgeable about how to prepare and cook monsters of the dungeon, and intrigued by Laios and his journey, accompanies the party. Laios grew up obsessed with monsters and knows the ins and outs of their biology, ecology, how to kill them, and what parts are inedible. Combined with Senshi's knowledge on how to cook them, the party (Marcille and Chilchuk begrudgingly) are well equipped to delve deep into the dungeon surviving on nothing but the wildlife of the dungeon.

My Thoughts

Delicious in Dungeon is such an easily likeable story. The artstyle is cute and unique, but at the same time, portrays such intense action and interesting monster designs. The story starts out as a quirky little romp, but very soon it becomes apparent that every detail about the world is meticulously crafted to make it feel real and lived in. Monster Biology is based in real anatomical rules, but Magic is still part of the world too. For example, spirits are a real type of magical creature, and some monsters are adapted to filter feed on them.

The party all have very one-note personalities at the beginning. Senshi is obsessed with healthy habits, Laios is a bit of a dunderhead, Marcille is squeamish, and Chilchuck is selfish. But as the story progresses, you get to know each better and their personalities and ideals evolve as they encounter new challenges.

As I touched on above, the art style is gorgeous. The food looks delicious, the monsters are fun to look at in action, and the character design of each of the main and supporting cast of characters is varied and fun. Without spoiling anything, the story goes in a direction deeper and is more engaging than I thought possible from as simple a pitch as "adventurers eat the monsters in a dungeon", and although at the time of writing the manga is not finished, I am very happy with where the story has gone and am very keen to see where the ending takes us.

If my description has piqued your interest at all, I highly recommend seeking out Delicious in Dungeon. It's a fantastic read. And I just found out while writing this that an anime is being produced by Studio Trigger. So keep an eye out for that too.

Disco Elysium

ZA/UM

Disco Elysium is a role playing game released for PC and all main consoles, I personally played the Final Cut version on Nintendo Switch. Now when someone says Role Playing Game, the first thought is usually a random-encounter, turn-based combat system with parties, health and magic meters. But Disco Elysium is more like the classic table top RPG type, a point and click narrative adventure with dice rolls and branching narratives depending on the player's actions. It was a very engaging experience that I will probably go back and play again for a whole new experience.

The Pitch

Disco Elysium is based in a fictional post-war European-type city called Revachol. You play the role of a very broken man who wakes up after a few days of binge drinking, having forgotten literally everything about who you are and why you are here. A bit of briefing with the hotel staff and discussion with a police officer named Kim Kitsuragi, you find that you are a police officer too, and your precinct sent you to help Lieutenant Kitsuragi solve a murder case.

You interact with the world through walking up to objects, people, and landmarks, and making observations, growing your knowledge base of the world and who you once were. The player character's progression is through assigning points to various skills to build the type of cop you want to be in this story. Split into 4 main categories of skills; Intellect, Psyche, Physique, and Motorics; you start the game by assigning base points to a few different areas that will make it easier to be better at certain skills.

A character with good base Intellect will be better at general knowledge, conceptualisation, and talking smart, while a character with good base Motorics will have good hand-eye coordination, composure, and reaction time. You have the option to start from a few base pre-builds, or customise your stats to your preference. But you can't be good at everything. Are you the type of cop that talks down people in your way or the type to punch them in the jaw? That's up to you. Anytime you attempt a challenging task, be that persuasion, violence, or anything in between, you can attempt a dice roll. And depending on what skills you have points in, you will have better odds in different challenges.

Getting more skill points requires experience, which can be gained by pursuing the main objective, and by solving side-story mysteries. And the world is full of mysteries! There are cults, supernatural hauntings, post-war trauma, Eurobeat ravers, and much more to interact with. You are a broken man in a broken world, and there's nothing stopping you from being the worst kind of human being to get your way. Unless you don't want to upset Kim Kitsuragi.

And Kim is the one light in this dark, sad world.

My Thoughts

Disco Elysium is an experience like no other. The absolute depth of the world is just immense, you could get lost in centuries of in-game lore for hours. Even though the entire game takes place in part of one city, you have the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the entire world, decades of conflict, and the political matrix of powers that has led to such a desolate world.

Just as deep as the world are the characters, particularly the player character, Harry Dubois. You can play the entire game multiple times and not find everything wrong with this poor little meow meow. I neglected to mention this above, but each Skill talks, offering input from their area of specialty. Most dialogue in the game is from the inner thoughts of our cop, and what he can make of the situation. Putting more points into different skills will mean you hear the perspective of that skill more often. In my playthrough, I heard a lot from Encyclopedia, Drama, and Perception, but in a future playthrough, maybe Savor Flaire, Inland Empire, and Electrochemistry might have more to say.

Although the game is full of choice, there is ultimately one ending. I initially thought this as a bad thing, but it makes sense on further thought. This city was boiling towards an explosive conclusion no matter what two policemen do. What we can change however, is if we can save anyone on the way there, and what sort of person you make yourself into by the end. What kind of cop do you want to be?

Thanks for Reading

This recommendation has been a long time coming, as I've had these two series in in the back of my mind for ages. If you have engaged with either, please spread this post and tell me what you've enjoyed from them.

If you enjoy my style of writing, I have made 45 other posts just like this recommending all sorts of media. Check the pinned post on my blog.

[lazerv4]

Thoughts on Dungeon Meshi

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

Dungeon Meshi ah, Dungeon Meshi…

Dungeon Meshi is a show that in many ways is surprising, you think it would be about food because well it is called dungeon food but that is only ⅓ of the truth, you would also think it would be pretty lighthearted but that just isn’t the case and you would thing it would mostly be kind of simple but nothing can be further from the truth. Dungeon Meshi is complex, beautiful, dark and has so much heart from both the author Ryoko Kui and Studio Trigger that it just makes me really happy it got as big as it did.

There is no reason to talk about the plot because if you are reading this you have seen it already so I’m just gonna talk a bit about the characters and save further analysis for the eventual thoughts on the manga so I can get a fuller picture of what it’s all about.

Laios Touden is a very strange main character for a show like this, he feels like what you would expect from hearing the main premise but then when the show morphs into it’s more dark storylines he does as well, he represents the idea of the story in a very straightforward way and drives it forward the story and tone shifts. He is not only functional but also very fun to watch as his bizarre behavior is just really funny and makes him good enough to stand out even as the most generic character.

Chilchuck Tims is my favorite character and a top tier rogue, he works in the very old school D&D style of rogue in which you are good at utilities like disarming traps and picking locks but your combat prowess is just terrible even if it’s explained away by his size for some reason, he is the actual straight man and the embodiment of slow cooking as his development and story develop very very slowly as everyone else goes through multiple arcs which makes him feel a bit more grounded and interesting as even his backstory and motivations are a mystery for a while and remain vague until the end unlike Senshi. He is funny, down to earth and just overall a cool guy, in this household we stan Chilchuck Tims.

Marcille Donato is the signature mage and face of the series as her multiple derpy looks have been memed to hell and her demeanor is the funniest in general as she just goes for the fish out of water and overwhelmed jokes that are considered funny by most people and it just works, besides this she is also the heart of the series with a lot of the core themes and messages revolving around her and her struggles to improve and rescue Fallin. She is an iconic neurotic lesbian and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Senshi is a dwarf that likes to cook, that is most of his character for a while and even when we get his backstory it doesn’t really change much, he is essentially the cooking part of the show and a character with a very strict single focus that works in parts of the story that just don’t work well with for example Marcille. Him being static is not an issue as a lot of people find him very endearing and he also becomes the fan service machine the show likes to throw around so I guess he fulfills his purpose well and makes the team dynamics better by giving Laios someone on his side.

Itzutsumi is the last to join and comes in pretty late to the party in the anime, she is has been cursed to be half beast amongst other things while also being by far the youngest member of the main cast bringing a more childish and well cat like mannerisms to the group dynamics, she also serves the purpose of grounding the team and not being overly and comedically ambitious without proper caution. She is fun and I want to see what happens with her even if she does feel like the late addition she is.

There are also some fun side characters like Kabru who always has this sketchiness to him that keeps us invested through his limited appearances and the previous party members Kuro and Namari who show us different perspectives on the events that started the series. In a roundabout way you could also say the world is kind of like a main character in that while it’s not very developed we learn about them locally as we go on in a way that feels more like character building that world building and is surprisingly effective at keeping the viewer engaged in very simple politics and decently complex ancient history. Finally there is also Fallin who we learn more about little by little in order to makes us engage with the party more without disrupting the flow of the series as for obvious reasons she isn’t present for the majority of the show, she has her own charm to her and could be really fun depending on how the series moves forward with her so I guess I’ll learn more when I find the time to read through the manga.

Dungeon Meshi was a pleasure to watch and another good show in Trigger’s portfolio to hopefully one day having a positive record but until then this and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners stand together as their magnum opus(es) and it’s for sure a must watch for any enjoyer of the fantasy genre.

[goombasa]

Dungeon Meshi is Delicious~

My girlfriend and I have this ritual where, every night for dinner, we like to sit down together and watch a video while we eat. Most of the time it's a youtube video we both have an interest in, but every now and then we'll start or continue a series that we're both interested in. We sat down one night a week or so ago and watched the first couple of episodes of Dungeon Meshi, or Delicious in Dungeon.

And this almost never happens to me, but after learning that the manga the show was based on was finished, I felt compelled the binge all 97 chapters, and… my god, this story is so good and goofy and I love it so much.

Delicious in Dungeon is a comedy fantasy manga by Ryoko Kui, about an adventuring party delving into a dangerous dungeon to rescue their comrade who was swallowed by a red dragon. Along the way, in order to keep their strength up, they have to use the natural resources of the dungeon to survive, which involves cooking the monsters that they kill, much to the terror of some of the members of the crew. Meanwhile, while the main focus is on their adventure, everyone around them is constantly worrying about the politics of the dungeon, ownership of the land around it, and the fact that the dungeon itself seems to be getting more powerful as time passes.

This is a fantastic story, with the real highlight being the worldbuilding. Every question that I found myself asking over the course of the series had an answer, and it was always a good one. Characters make reference to dying, and that's because something in the dungeon makes it so that anyone who dies can be brought back to life so long as their body is in decent condition and their soul hasn't gone too far from said body. The layout of the dungeon has basically been thoroughly mapped, to the point where various merchants have set up shop on certain floors, or specialized delvers trade in goods unique to the dungeon. Even the way that the town built around the dungeon functions is talked about, what sort of needs a town has when its main function is to serve as a hub for adventurers looking to get as deep into the dungeon as possible.

And as the story goes on and we're introduced through dialogue and backstory to the world outside of dungeon delving, we're shown a world that has a very strict political structure and a lot of mistrust among its people, centered around, of all things, the various lifespans of each race. It's fascinating.

Enhancing it all are the characters who are all just… god, they are such lovable beans, I love them all. Even the assholes, because we see why they're assholes and most of the assholes have moments where they aren't assholes and it warms my heart to see. Laios is dense in a way that sets him apart from your usual Shonen hero as being unintelligent, instead just being really socially awkward and it is kind of endearing seeing him share his special interest with others who more often than not just see him as very strange and off putting. Marcille the mage of the group and also the one who complains the most about having to eat monsters. Unlike many other shows or stories where this trait might get old or annoying, she actually manages to remain pretty endearing all throughout, and probably gets the most character development in a party that stays pretty static through the whole adventure. That's not a knock, as they do change in subtle ways, but it isn't nearly as pronounced as you see in other stories. Chilchuck is a good example of this, as while he does open up a bit more and let's down his professional guard now and then, he mostly remains a pretty pragmatic and distant hired hand for the party, an interesting change-up for the Hobbit stand-ins who are usually portrayed as pretty adventurous or curious. And then there's Senshi. He's a dwarf and he practically lives in the dungeon, and is an experienced hunter, gardener, and chef, with unusually powerful cooking gear. He's an oddball, like Laios, and the two compliment each other well, and there are some great interplay between him and Marcille given his mistrust of magic.

And then there's the fact that almost every chapter, we get at least one amazing dish made with the remains of slain monsters, and while the Anime goes out of its way to make it look as appetizing as possible (as anime tends to do with food), the manga also has these beautifully rendered pictures of every meal, as well as a list of all the different ingredients used in its creation. It's truly lovely.

I don't want to spoil anything, but once the gang gets to their destination, the amount of twists and turns that the overarching plot takes is quite interesting, and I found myself just wondering HOW it was all going to shake out by the end of the tale. This is an amazingly fun series, and one that is well worth checking out. The anime, at the time I'm writing this, is still airing its first season, and I'm not sure how far into the story they'll make it by the end. I'm legitimately hoping that it gets enough seasons to cover the entire story, because dammit, it deserves it. They'd only need like… three, I think, it's not a super long manga. It's currently airing on Netflix. But if you would prefer to get the whole story now, the manga finished its run back last September, and all except the last two volumes have been released in English by Yen Press, with volume 13 set to release in March of 2024, and the last volume coming at an unspecified date after that (at the time of writing).

It's been a long time since I've felt the need to binge a manga after seeing even a little bit of the anime, so I really think this one is something special. And it's an original fantasy story too! I feel like it's getting harder to get good fantasy anime that isn't dressed up like an Isekai at this point, and this story does not disappointment.

Just make sure you have a snack on hand while reading or watching. It tends to make you really hungry, seeing what they cook up.

[smokeybrand]

Exorcism Sorbet for the Soul

I’m a little late with this one, mostly because I've been kind of distracted with a ton of other life stuff, but i got some time before errands and wanted to throw some light on a manga i enjoy; Dungeon Mesh or Delicious In Dungeon here in the states. Dungeon Meshi is a high fantasy style, dungeon crawling focused, manga with an emphasis on cooking. Now, i was a little underwhelmed by that concept when i heard it but the saving grace, the thing that actually got me to open the book, was the art. This sh*t is gorgeous, man. I loved every line, every layout, every page. It quite stunning. The creator, Ryoko Kui, has a real flair and unique look to her art and it’s absolutely stunning. Seeing her lines made me feel like the first time i saw Kubo’s art and, from me, that’s very high praise. Even more than that, the world she’s constructed is crazy fascination.

Like i said before, this is a hard fantasy manga. Think Tolkien, not Martin. Kui has crafted a world with is it’s own class system, fantastic creatures, and a magic system that seems sound. There are rules to this world that are immutable and have to be addressed as the journey opens up and i adore that. Other countries are mentioned, making the political climate of certain nations paramount, though, those aspects take a backseat to the more, personal, narrative we’re being guided by. Indeed, this story has a rather compelling tale of familial bonds, a theme that runs through this narrative like a river to the sea. It informs everything about this adventure and really hammers home with the characters.

The strength of this book is the relationships and interactions with the main party. I love these guys, man. The leader and closest thing to a main character, Laios Thorden is this gung-ho, Lovable but oblivious, Tall-Man who adventures as a Knight. Next, and childhood friend to Laios, is Marcille. She’s a an Elf Mage who basically gets the plot started out of her own hubris. She is a pretty great mage, but often bites off more than she can chew. Next up, is the Chef in the group, a quiet and worldly Warrior Dwarf named Senshi. Dude knows everyone and can cook anything. It’s kind of hilarious. Chilchuck is an easily panicked, coward of a Half-Foot. It took a while for me to understand why the party puts up with his sh*t but, apparently, he’s one of the best Locksmiths around, something i figure would come in handy while exploring a magical dungeon. Lastly, we come to my favorite character of the main cast, Izutsumi. She is a Man-made Beast, cursed with the visage of a cat and trained in the art of Ninjitsu. She’s a nekomimi ninja, bro. And a tsundere at that. Izu started off as a foil but learned to accept, and be accepted into, the party Vegeta style. Like, I'm no furry but Izutsumi is definitely worth that squeeze, you know what i mean? I'm a sucker for that kind of character and immediately found myself endeared to her feminine-feline wiles. Izu is easily the most capable in the entire party, a fact she’s well aware of, and rarely goes without letting everyone know it. I think the Kui agrees because she couldn't wait to introduce Izu into the narrative.

Dungeon Meshi is an amazing manga that deserves all of the shine it can muster. It seems to be pretty popular in Japan as of now but it can always use a signal boost. This thing needs a proper anime adaption because the world is just that opulent. Trigger actually gave us a little tease of what could be, for a commercial selling ramen of all things, and it was amazing. Thirty seconds was all i needed to see, to absolutely know, we need a full length series animated by the Gainax progeny, with a generous budget. I would love to see Izu’s ambush or that time the party fished for a Kraken, in full motion. I need to know how the monsters and beasts would be animated or how a studio would visualize the magic used throughout the narrative. How does one capture the Canary Captain, Mithrun’s teleport ability? How would they articulate the symbiosis between dungeon and Lord of the Dungeon? I would love to see the party’s battle with chimera Falon and how epic those madmen over at Trigger would adapt everything. I need this to happen so I nee more people across the world, to support Meshi.

Even without an amazing anime adaption, Dungeon Meshi is a brilliant read. It’s full of amazing, endearing, characters who populate a deep, well visualized, integrated world, that feels real. It feels alive. You care about the party within the first few chapters because hey act like people. They're fallible and make mistakes. Some of it is played up for laughs but it stems organically from people being people, even if, technologically, there are no “people” as awe know them. The comradery among the party is genuine and almost palpable. You want them to succeed in their quest and when the narrative opens up to the grater mystery ahead, you lust for the next chapter. This thing will lure you in with outstanding art and land you with one of the best fantasy stories i have ever had the pleasure of reading. Dungeon Meshi is all of the dope and you should go read it right now.