Another fantasy that it has some similarities to is Dungeon Meshi, though this is more grounded. The manga shares the same obsessions with food (and makes you care, even though you will never be able to eat any of these dishes), and details. When the main character gets the skin of a monster, we learn about the challenges of turning this into armor. When the character visits villages, the manga is careful to give us enough information about the geography and economy of these villages so as to make them real, without overwhelming us. And the monsters (if they truly are monsters) are depicted carefully, with the manga always careful to make sure we don't understand anymore than the main character (whose views evolve through the manga).
Then there's the central character who's just a good dude. He likes people, but he's no pushover. He's old (well middle aged), and is fine with that and has become wise with age. And he's just good company - as a reader you never doubt that people would be drawn to him and would follow him. His charisma is there on the page for you to see. There's a hint that maybe there's more to it, but frankly the manga doesn't need it.
And finally the art which is beautiful. The manga would be fine with weaker art, but the art raises it to a whole other level. Every panel is gorgeous, and meaningful and drives the story. Fight scenes are (mostly) easy to follow, and the world breathes on every panel.
Highly recommended manga for adult fans of fantasy.
