A quote that sounds so simple, yet confidently profound. A quote that wonderfully describes Dungeon Meshi.
Don't be fooled, although it starts off as your ordinary, run of the mill comedy it soon turns into something a lot more. The story matures into a deeper, more contemplative journey, and eating the monsters stops being just a running gag.
If there's one thing that separates this work from other works, it would be the astounding attention to detail. There's not much to say in terms of narrative as it is very straightforward, but the author's ability to craft such well detailed world and characters, whilst avoiding plot contrivances and holes more than makes up for it. Everything, from little details to larger, seemingly more significant ones like how the dungeon itself operates, is so carefully thought out and masterfully put together.
The artwork perfectly complements the author's knack for detail. The humanoid character designs are all very varied yet still grounded. From Tall-men to halflings, to elves, and gnomes, all have and keep distinct traits that make them different. The same also goes for the monsters. Sometimes putting its own spin to it, it mostly takes inspiration from the usual myths and legends. Dungeon Meshi's art doesn't try to step outside the norms, yet it's still very effective due to how strong and thoughtful the artwork is.
This knack for detail also extends to the world. The worldbuilding in Dungeon Meshi is nothing short of incredible. The dungeon feels alive and breathing. And instead of filling you in on its mysteries with lengthy, convoluted exposition dump, it instead uses well thought out dialogue and story beats to show its reader about the world and how it actually works.
And now the highlight; the characters! This series lives and dies by its colorful cast of characters. All of them feel eccentric, flawed, weird, and human. No matter how unserious and lighthearted the story gets at times, the story never fails to remind its reader that the characters are all still just people at the end of the day. When faced with insurmountable odds they get mad, cry, and feel hopeless. Yet at times they're still able to laugh, smile, and have fun despite how absurd the world is. The characters are fun and over the top, yet still so grounded in realism.
Whilst seemingly used as a running gag, Dungeon Meshi uses "eating" as the central theme of the narrative. A very simple theme on the surface but takes on a whole different meaning when pieced together.
To a lot of people, eating is just a thing we do to get by, and Dungeon Meshi begs to differ. Eating is a lot more important than that. Self care is a lot more important than that. We have to be able to take care of ourselves before we can live and accomplish what we want. To live, we must first take care of ourselves; or perhaps taking care of ourselves is life itself.
Quaint, funny, endearing, and thoughtful, Dungeon Meshi perfects the balance of grounded character conflict and fun, lighthearted comedy. It might not have the most complex narrative, but its compelling characters, brilliantly crafted world, the simple, yet effective story, and the incredible attention to detail all feed off of each other to create a beautiful manga that is able to follow its vision all the way through.
Dungeon Meshi is one of the best works to come out in the last decade, and it merits every flower that it's received.
