Delicious in Dungeon is a new anime that has been adapted by Netflix. The story follows a party of adventurers who are trying to rescue a fallen party member, Falin, from a dragon’s belly before she’s fully digested. Yes, a secondary fantasy world where death isn’t as permanent for dungeon seekers, it seems. Empowered by a comforting art style, complex and moving characters that will soon feel like long time friends, and a found family dynamic, this cozy fantasy is the perfect show for monsoons.
The group we follow in the anime is soon joined by Senshi- a dwarf with a love for food that goes beyond survival and focuses on nutrition for health and taste for the tongue. Just like Laios, our resident tall-man, Senshi is interested in the dungeon ecosystem as a source of nourishment. Just like Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill, this show focuses on cooking and eating monsters. Unlike the previous show however, Delicious in Dungeon, looks at the ecosystem it is set in. Like Laios points out before revealing the party shall be dining on chimeras, mandrakes, and dragons, the dungeon is a living thriving ecosystem which means the monsters can be eaten, as they’re simply monstrous flora and fauna for that dungeon.
Senshi takes this a step further, by often chiding the party for disturbing the delicate balance of this system. Just like real world ecosystems, taking too much or disturbing the balance by missing your role as a predator or introducing invasive species can harm the ecological stability of the dungeon, which could inevitably result in harm to the party and others like them, especially those depending on the system for food.
This isn’t the only ecological lesson from the show. From farming tips using soil from Gollums or emphasizing the importance of food security and nutrition, the show and the manga it’s based on tell a captivating story of the fight against a mad mage with a heroic party, but also manage to impart lessons that are extremely valuable in this time of climate change and biodiversity loss we live in.
Also check:- MCU’s Great Responsibility: From Moon Knight to the Sentry
Just like Wall-E, Delicious in Dungeon, shows that talking about nature-human interactions and consequences of that does not have to be boring, a lesson that might help many writers of sustainable fiction and cli-fi, even if these stories might not fit that genre a 100%.
