firefractal's Blog

Jan 17, 12:52 PM
Anime Relations: Dungeon Meshi
Warning: This post contains spoilers from the Dungeon Meshi manga.
Do not read any further if you're coming from the anime.


It's easy to be drawn in by the mouthwatering food, the gorgeous backgrounds, and the endearing characters in Dungeon Meshi, but an aspect of this manga that I found myself gradually fixating on was the way it seemed to revolve around the idea of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.



This theory began with the simple observation that each member of Laios' party seemed to have a backstory that fit into a different tier of Maslow's hierarchy. Senshi's tragic past reveals a need for food security that extends into his ongoing obsession with dungeon cuisine. Izutsumi's childhood of abuse and neglect is reflected in her desire to secure her own safety and security without having to rely on other people. Chilchuck's stubborn insistence on keeping his work life and personal life separate points to a lack of love and belonging in his life. Marcille's experiences at the magic academy and her fascination with dungeon ecosystems partly stems from her need for esteem. And lastly, Laois' difficulty with fitting into the mold regardless of where he goes shows that he's searching for an environment where he can undergo self-actualization and reach his full potential. However, the world of Dungeon Meshi has a connection to Maslow's hierarchy that is truly on a deeper level than this one-to-one character matching exercise.


Ultimately, the entire dungeon ecosystem has one primary purpose - to fulfill the needs of those within. These needs can range from the mundane (a source of drinking water, a safe room to sleep in) to the extraordinary (a group of companions with the same life span). We see evidence on multiple occasions that the first two layers of Maslow's hierarchy are easily and readily fulfilled by the dungeon. During Senshi's recollections of his party's first and ultimately fatal expedition into the mad sorcerer's dungeon, he explains how his party encountered fountains of water when they were thirsty and rooms where they could rest when they were weary.


(Ch 49. Griffin Soup)


Later, we see Kabru and Mithrun have a similar experience when they are able to conveniently find a room with a source of water and sleeping accommodations in their most desperate moment.


(Ch 61. Roasted Walking Mushroom)


Mithrun's subsequent explanation of the circumstances surrounding the creation of the dungeon ecosystem paints a clear picture of how these simple physiological and safety needs can and often are fulfilled by the dungeon. However, the more complex the needs become, the harder they become to fulfill. Ultimately, these complex desires are what appeal to the demons' sensibilities.


(Ch 62. Six Days)
Notice how the inverted triangle seems to bear an uncanny resemblance to Maslow's hierarchy of needs?



Time and time again, the demons prey on these complex desires that occupy the top of Maslow's hierarchy. Love and belonging, esteem, self-actualization - needs that are complex not only because of the difficulty to fulfill any one singular need, but also because of the difficulty in fulfilling the need in context of others' needs in the same ecosystem. While this difficulty may be encountered in the lower levels of the hierarchy as well, physiological and safety needs are still far more self-contained and easily solved than needs on the higher levels of the hierarchy. This especially seems to be the case in the world of Dungeon Meshi, where all three known elven dungeon lords begin their descent into madness with their desire for love and companionship.


First, Thistle:

Delgal always had a place in Thistle's heart, both as the king who he had single-handedly devoted his life to and as a beloved family member who he watched over from infancy to old age. Needless to say, the moment Delgal came to Thistle with his concerns about his country's suffering in the face of a natural disaster, Thistle was not about to stand by idly and let his beloved king suffer from his anxieties.


(Ch 68. Sissel -1-)


Thistle ends up seeking out the demon trapped in the tome and wishes for the kingdom's safety and prosperity. However, we the readers already know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.


(Ch 68. Sissel -1-)


It's not long after that Thistle's desire to both protect the kingdom and earn Delgal's approval ends up warping into the more sinister form in the present telling of the story.


Next, Mithrun:

Mithrun's dungeon lord origin story is by far the most straightforward in terms of its connection to his desire for love and belonging. After being overcome with jealousy of his brother for stealing away the girl he loved during his absence, Mithrun expresses his desire to return to his life prior to joining the Canaries - a simple life surrounded by friends and loved ones. Of course, this desire is fulfilled (in a sense), but as with Thistle, his seemingly perfect life ultimately spiraled out of his control.


(Ch 62. Six Days)



And lastly, Marcille:

There are numerous allusions to Marcille's fear of losing her loved ones leading up to her fateful decision to become the new dungeon lord after Thistle's defeat. Possibly one of the most impactful of those moments was following the party's nearly failed attempt to catch dungeon rabbits for Falin's massive curry.


(Ch 65. Rabbits -2-)


Shortly after experiencing the (temporary) loss of her fellow party members, the gears start turning in Marcille's head as she realizes she could use the demon's infinite power to grant her seemingly impossible wish of giving every species the same lifespan.


(Ch 65. Rabbits -2-)


Obviously, there are many holes in Marcille's plan that are indicative of her rather immature logic, as her other party members are quick to point out. Not everyone necessarily wants to live longer, and even if they did, how many years would be considered sufficient for a common lifespan? With all of these competing views on how long each person should live in relation to another, why should Marcille's vision be the one that is propagated? Marcille's grand desire is truly the most extreme example of how these higher level needs in Maslow's hierarchy are predicated on so many other interconnected needs that are hard to unravel.


On the topic of Marcille, her ascent to the position of dungeon lord and simultaneous descent into madness serves to give us a glimpse of how a fledgling dungeon lord might behave when initially confronted with an onslaught of competing desires. Shortly after Marcille becomes the new dungeon lord, the layout of the dungeon begins to shift dramatically as all the layers of the dungeon fuse into one.


(Ch 76. Lord of the Dungeon -2-)


Laios offers up an explanation for this phenomenon where he assumes Marcille is consciously considering how to move Falin up to the surface as quickly as possible in order to enact their resurrection plan. However, this seems rather unlikely given Marcille's mental state at the time. Marcille's last known thought regarding that matter was about figuring out a way to preserve Falin, rather than about transporting her. With this in mind, it's possible that the reconfiguration of the dungeon was not a conscious act on Marcille's part, but rather a subconscious shift as the dungeon reacts to the dungeon lord's desires. This dungeon in infancy may serve as a analogy for Marcille losing control of her desires and all of her needs beginning to pour out at once. We see this later when Marcille starts wishing for everything under the sun, from yummy food and adventuring equipment to her original motivating desire for equal lifespans. All five layers of Maslow's hierarchy have collapsed into one within an instant.


(Ch 76. Marcille -4-)



This begs the question: does the dungeon truly serve as an analogy for Maslow's hierarchy of needs? Was this the case when Thistle was lord of the dungeon? Did this apply to Mithrun's dungeon as well? It's hard to say for the latter, given the scant information we have about Mithrun's dungeon, but I believe that Thistle's dungeon did in fact serve as an analogy for Maslow's hierarchy, albeit loosely. Consider the structure of Thistle's dungeon (which I've pulled from the Dungeon Meshi Fandom page):

Floor 1 - The uppermost floor of the dungeon. Once the graveyard of the nearby Merini Village, the discovery of the dungeon resulted in it filling with merchants and adventurers. There are sellers of manuscripts and incense, as well as an abundance of food stalls. There is also a demi-human slave market.

Floor 2 - The floor is filled with tall trees and towers, linked by wooden bridges. It is theorized by scholars that the area is the top of the Golden Castle sealed away by the Lunatic Magician.

Floor 3 - The entrance to the Golden Castle, now moldy and covered in dust. Footsteps can be heard, but it is unclear if they are those of fellow adventurers or the undead. Most monsters on this floor are undead, rotting or skeletal. There are water fountains in the shape of lion's heads throughout the level. There are also toilets in the busier areas, which have been maintained by Senshi for many years.

Floor 4 - The floor is a cave made up of the castle and an underground lake. The water has absorbed magical energy and glows faintly. At the bottom of the lake is the castle town.

Floor 5 - The exit of the Golden Castle and the entrance to the castle town, which contain evidence of their former splendor. The streets often magically rearrange themselves, making navigation difficult. The orcs' former home is located here. There is an overgrown graveyard attached to the town that is populated by Dryads.

Floor 6 - A network of underground waterways built using the mining tunnels of dwarves. It is stated that most monsters on this floor use mental attacks. This floor was once hot and humid, but is now cold and snowy.


Certainly, we can see that the structure of the dungeon becomes more complex the deeper down we go, similar to how the needs get more complex as we ascend Maslow's hierarchy. It's also true that for certain floors, we can see a direct correlation with Maslow's hierarchy. For instance, the first floor serves to provide adventurers with food, supplies, and shelter. The fifth floor's splendor reflects a certain level of esteem. The sixth floor could be viewed as a stretch goal, perhaps self-actualization. However, the analogy really is quite loose and can fall apart easily upon further inspection, but I digress.


One final point I wanted to touch on about Dungeon Meshi and its relation to the hierarchy of needs is about the demon itself. It's well-established that the demon consumes desires, but what may not be as obvious is how the way its taste for desires evolved seems to be in line with Maslow's hierarchy. In the beginning, the desires it consumed were clearly situated in the first physiological level of the hierarchy: the desire for sustenance.


(Ch 87. Winged Lion -2-)


Later, we see that the demon gradually becomes more interested in cultivating more complex desires, as they end up providing more nourishment in the long run.


(Ch 87. Winged Lion -2-)


However, even as the desires that the demon consumes become more complex, the demon's own desires stay glaringly the same, at least on the surface. Laois points out that while the demon may seem to be acting on its base instincts for consuming desires, it has ultimately internalized the desires that it has ingested.


(Ch 87. Winged Lion)


This means that on some level, the demon is also acting in accordance to the hierarchy of needs, but its never-ending hunger causes its physiological needs to overtake all other needs. The demon is only able to recognize its own hunger, so much so that it considers it part of its very essence.


(Ch 87. Winged Lion -6-)


Uncharacteristically insightful, Laios is quick to correct the demon's misconception. He recognizes that, through the course of its consumption of human desires, the demon is no longer bound to its physiological needs and can now begin fulfilling other needs in Maslow's hierarchy, namely self-actualization. This comes at the same that that Laois himself has also achieved his own self-actualization through his transformation into his ideal monster.


(Ch 87. Winged Lion -6-)



Ultimately, there's a lot to unpack in this manga and if I were to reread this series in its entirety, I would undoubtedly be able to identify more instances where the hierarchy of needs plays a role in this story. But, long story short, it is fun to think about and interpret this story with Maslow's hierarchy of needs in mind because it ends up adding so much more depth to an already enriching experience. Hopefully this long-winded post left you with some things to consider further.
Posted by firefractal | Jan 17, 12:52 PM | Add a comment
It’s time to ditch the text file.
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