Art 9/10
It's well animated, no surprise here considering the studio who is handling this. Trigger will always pull the trigger on making a good, well flowing anime. The animation never feels jarring or out of place and actually makes certain moments more entertaining. With the low quality zoom in for comedic moments, you can tell it is Dungeon Meshi and it fits the vibe very well. If this anime had absolutely stunning visuals, it would just not fit the overall vibe the franchise brings to the dinner table. I can't say much more on the art itself, but it was well adapted and makes for an enjoyable watch.
Characters 11/10
This is easily a 10/10. Now some might say "Yeah but (insert protagonist from another medium) is WAY cooler!". You are not wrong to say these characters, both in design and personalities are not really that crazy, that's what makes the characters so much better than most anime these days. The equipment our adventurers wear are functional and still retain some form of style, all of which is still relative to that character that adorns the equipment. Every piece of clothing, armor, weapons, and tools our main cast (and secondary characters) carry on them is specific to them. It all has reasoning and is not some woman who is wearing a bikini top and a small sliver of armor to cover the bare minimum to keep this anime from becoming soft core of full on adult content. The characters are functional in their equipment. Some adorn more lavish or simplistic pieces to compliment their personalities as well.
Personalities wise, the characters don't make you jump out of your seat with utter shock, but actually make you say "Oh that makes sense" or "I know someone that's just like that". WHICH IS WHAT MAKES THEM GOOD! It feels like a real world and not just some author's self insert who gets all the hot babes and has women or men basically gravitating to them with lust. It's characters the audience can 100% believe would inhabit this world.
Story 10/10
This anime does something that most anime, and even manga, have a habit of falling pray to. It shows the author of this series is genuinely interested in world building and creating a LIVING world that the audience can feel apart of. This trap is where the author just throws information at you right off the first episode or just at random because of either: A) The author has no idea how to let the audience now that information without just shoving it at them, or B) Laziness. This isn't to say those who do this do not care about their world/story, but the author here shows a clear indication that they care about world building and creating a world that you can put yourself into. You learn about the world in natural ways, even at times learning the world as the characters do. It isn't just a cutaway and a two minute word vomit. You become apart of this world. Something not just anime, but other mediums are beginning to lose site of due to attention span.
Enjoyment 10/10
Easily best anime of the year for me. I binged this anime, which is rare for me to do these days. It stands out, not for it's insane visuals or it's outrageous character designs. If anything, it stands out more because the author embraces the simple stuff. What makes a good world and an amazing story to be told of that world does not have to pull the audience so far from their own reality that you just shrug your shoulders and say "Yeah I guess that makes sense in this world". It's embracing the simplicity, while allowing for impactful and exciting moments for the characters and audience. It does what other anime and manga seem to be kind of scared to do, just be "normal". While this is a completely fictional and impossible world for us to inhabit, there isn't a moment I felt that something was simply happening because "I said so". It all has reasoning and purpose.
Overall 9/10
Don't get me wrong, this anime (and the manga) deserve the praise of masterpiece from some, but just doesn't feel right giving it that until it has aged a bit to really see if it still stands up with some of the greats that are masterpieces. This is an attempt to review the anime as just that, the anime. While I have completed the manga as well, I am using my thoughts on simply the anime alone. No doubt about it though, this is easily an anime I would recommend, not just to seasoned watchers, but to new anime fans as well. This is easily the new anime I would recommend to someone who says "I want to get into anime, but I'm not sure what to start with." There is no fan service (so none of the weird shots or downright illegal acts that take place), it's an easy story to follow.
