#to go save laios rip...

[lokh]

oughh i wanted to do a cute laishuro take on the blu ray extras (what if laios had been eaten instead) but lets be honest. they absolutely would not have made it as far without laios

[citricacidprince]

Thinking about a Dungeon Meshi swap AU where Laios is eaten instead of Falin

I think everything is relatively the same in the terms of party members. Chilchuck would stay, not for Falin, but for Laios cause he and the blond are actually close and he wouldn’t say it out loud but he’s worried about him and no I won’t take criticism. Marcille would stay, definitely for Falin but she’s worried about that weird guy in her own way. Namari would still leave and wish Falin the best. The only difference is that Shuro would definitely come this time if it was Falin who asked, however he’d probably tell her to go on ahead without him so he can get a bigger team to help and meet her down there. Senshi, of course, still joins the group.

There are a lot of little things that would change but I have such a specific scene in my brain that won’t leave.

In the swap version of the scene where Chimera Falin fucks everyone up and then run off, Falin watches as her now monsterfied and wounded brother flee, tears in her eyes as she attempts to stop herself from crying but can’t. Marcille, immediately assuming that she’s crying about Laios, tries to comfort her by saying they’re going to find a way to revert this, even if at the time she’s just saying an empty promise to make Falin feel better since she has no clue on how to fix Laios either.

But that’s not why Falin is crying.

During the fight she watched her brother very closely, the way he moved, the way he analyzed each person who came close, the way his eyes softened and he gently smiled when he recognized her for just a moment before turning back into a beast. A gut wrenching realization ran through her head the more she watched him and it got even louder when he fled.

She realized that when her brother appeared as that chimera, that monster, his yellow eyes shined bright in the dark and his toothy grin could be seen for miles, and the grin barely faded even during the battle.

Falin has never seen her brother so unapologetically happy in her entire life.

It was like he was made to be a monster.

She wondered if it would be cruel to turn him human again, a horrid thought that she might be ripping him away from what was assumedly his dream come true. Who gave her the right to ruin her brothers happiness when she knows Laios would do everything in his power to make sure his little sister was happy.

She quickly shook away the thought. She had to save her brother. She had to.

But no matter how much deeper they traveled that small persistent thought stayed in her brain, trying to make her doubt the rescue and convince her that, while he wouldn’t tell her outright, Laios would grow to despise her for turning him back a tallman when being a monster was so freeing and easy.

Falin knows in her heart that her brother could never hate her and it was just her stressed and anxious thoughts getting the best of her, but it doesn’t stop those fears from manifesting in her nightmares.

Ignore me I’m running on 2 hours of sleep and I’m loosing my mind slightly

[fumifooms]

Namalin

Namari x Falin

Easy short rarepair spotlight post for prosperity~ This one I didn’t think of on my own for once, I don’t know if it’s just I forgot the decided-on ship name or what but I remember seeing really nice art and a couple posts about it that I can’t find again 💔 Namalin warrior you are out there and not forgotten ty for making me see the light

I like that Namari’s critical of Falin! I have a whole character analysis on Falin if you’re interested, but it’s generally well noticed that people around Falin idealize her a lot. Laios, Marcille and Toshiro all put her on a pedestral of ultimate goodness in the world, a saintess if nothing short of perfection. Sounds like Chilchuck felt sort of creeped out by her vibes, uncomfortable because he couldn’t read her, so unlike Namari it seems he preferred steering clear of her rather than debate opposed ideologies like he usually does. Makes sense if unlike Namari his issue is with her cryptic aura rather than the stances she does show. "… The dungeon is no place for soft hearts" my ultimate namalin scene <333 It’s fun because while this scene is there to show us a lot of things, mostly to establish Falin’s characters better as it’s the first flashback of her we get, the conflict in it is more than anything else Falin vs Namari in how they contrast and clash and approach situations differently. Namari wants security in swift effective violence and thinks Falin too soft for her own good when she prefers a pacifist approach and promotes compassion even for the "undeserving" in Namari’s eyes. Falin steps between the battle ready Namari and the ghost, fearless. Falin effortlessly gently exorcises the ghost without one step back, quickly. Falin proves someone wrong. Falin proves someone wrong.

I love thinking of Namari being surprised when she learns new aspects of Falin. I like Falin having the power to shape people’s views on her. With Falin ships the most fun part for me is usually that point where Falin/the relationship becomes a clean slate: the person realizes they haven’t been seeing all of her, realizes there’s more of her they hadn’t noticed or that she hadn’t shown, that there’s change, a shift in the views on each other and the dynamic a bit.

Namari often feels like an external view looking in to me… I need to make a proper analysis on her but like. I made a lamari post once (analytic more than personally invested rip sorry) and I go with the same Namari take here, I think she’s someone who tends to have an outsider view on people and relationships if that makes sense, she’s a coworker before anything else and she’s content staying at a distance, she’s not objective per se but she tries to keep feelings out of her choices and how she sees people (her lil arc on not staying to save Falin despite the existing camaderie but in the end asking to work for the Flokes more because she wants to stay with them). She’s serious no nonsense on the job but friendly off the job and likes having casual friends, but she’s not… She doesn’t really feel connected to the group. She’s so focused on doing her job, even if she does get impulsive and passionate and too assertive for her bosses’ tastes, so focused on working her reputation and life from the ground up that that professionalism and attitude limits her social life. It doesn’t help that her reputation makes her widely judged, so she probably enters social spaces on the derensive. The closest person she was to pre-canon as far as we knew was Chilchuck and even they have a very "coworker I get along with" dynamic more than friends, with a similar sense of boundaries, humor and world view. Also like canon says a few time, the party didn’t really try to get to know each other well pre-canon, didn’t hang out after work often no one knew where Marcille was from and no one thought that was weird (also how no one had the instinct to ask about Senshi’s past) etc, the notable exception is we’re shown Namari and Chilchuck hitting taverns together and having a grand time. Everyone’s fine with things as they are, they get along decent even if not everyone considers each other friends exactly. Where I’m getting at is that to me, it feels like she tries keeping emotional distance. Emotional distance from people in general being something which in my interpretation of Falin is also present, which would make it a theme and common thread interesting to explore imo. But yes like, Namari looking at Falin, and how everyone treats her, and being more skeptical, seeing her for what she is a little more, maybe even uncharitable. "Why is everyone treating her like she’s all that? She’s gentle sure but seems like a doormat to me" and then one day she comes running up with her mace ready to cave in someone’s face to protect Laios. So yeah… Keeping her distance but one day Falin offering her some gentleness that feels very too personal for someone who’s not used to being genuine and simply showing that they care… Them talking a bit which leaves her stumped and mindblown in a quiet way when Falin defies her expectations. Namari growing on Falin when she stays and decides to open herself up more, or when Falin ends up reading her really well like she’s shown to do with her parents and Marcille’s worries. She’s very attuned to worrying and why and when different people do it especially when it comes to when they worry for others, perhaps because she does a lot of that too, so I think she’d nail down how Namari does care for the rest of the party and it’d make Namari feel seen both in a warm validating way and in a scared naked way.

We see in the tentacles chapter that she’s someone’s who’s very protective and looks out for her peers in a tough love way. She’s overbearing but it’s because she wants everyone to have the best chances. I like that she’s very confrontational and somewhat pushy and rude, but it’s tough love, it’s protective care: asserting herself to better protect and defend. The opposite of Falin’s type of care, quiet and self-sacrificial devotion. They’re barbarian x healer but they’re also bodyguard x bodyguard in their attitude and role. … What I want for them is slow burn slice of life of being coworkers and slowly getting to know each other better, pretty fluffy, but god, put this way they’d have the potential to be such a hot layered mess of insanely mutually devoted codependence… Falin taking a hit for Namari and Namari being scarred by it forever, lots of arguments about it, my god.

I like that she’s the fighter to Falin’s healer. I looove thinking of scenes of Falin healing Namari, necessitating touch and like, a moment of slowing down and sitting together in silence, too intimate, the perfect opportunity to connect that neither truly want to take until one day they do. I love how onesided I imagine the relationship would be at first. Again, as per my interpretation of Falin, I think Namari would have all these little observations and opinions on Falin meanwhile Falin really doesn’t think of Namari much at first. So Namari thinks a lot about Falin and thinks she’s got her pinned down but hasn’t (not that she’s fully wrong, she’d have credit and confront Falin on some of her flaws like the doormat thing), while Falin is very passive about Namari and doesn’t think deeply about her or anything but she read Namari’s insecurities and logic well. Not unlike how Laios was the one who seemed to understand Namari’s way of care the best in the party in the tentacles episode, and how he was very understanding of her choice and reasons. In Falin’s case it’s more like, the objectivity of passivity… She cares about Namari less than Laios who generally seeks to form bonds, so her lack of investment allows her a neutral perspective. In that way another parallel with Namari that I’m drawing, except Namari lets feelings from her opinions seeps in more… Onesided beef my beloved. I’m going insane save me this post was a mistake. I think Falin takes the crumbs of friendship and love where she can without expecting or asking for anything more than what’s offered, and I think her relationship with Namari (or anyone really) would start out the way it did with Marcille: the other takes the initiative and they end up spending time together, Falin is friendly but unattached until the bond gets gradually and wordlessly strenghtened through regularly spending moments together. So! I think Namari would need to take a lot of the first steps, which since again she’s confrontational & argumentative and doesn’t hold herself back on that front that could spark a lot of conversations I think. Ooor since Falin cares about Namari less than Laios and Marcille she allows herself to be bolder herself lol. Or also circumstances force them to spend time together like dungeon party getting separated shenanigans.

I think their personalities match cutely, I think falin would try to protect namari like she does others but also Namari simply doesn’t need protection, just support. And I think they’re complementary in that way that Namari’s friendly but also won’t sugarcoat things, and I think if she takes an interest in Falin it could go from there and she could develop some understanding of her and idk like an intrigued crush….

Namari wants stability & security & to, like, not be judged and rejected and exiled lol, to find her nest her pack the place where she feels good and wanted in. I think having a fitting partner would help in that (similarly to how the found family with the Flokes seemed to. Oh another parallel, Falin’s top priority is protecting Laios her brother and what Namari are a family figure) and I think Falin would fulfill that cozy protection and that warm ‘being seen and not judged’ feeling. But also Namari would run up to her and yell about her trying to sacrifice herself ever.

Another fun thread to explore: post-canon guilt for not having gone to save her. Sure, they weren’t close, but they had some nice memories, didn’t they? Namari cares, and it stings despite herself when it feels like people think she doesn’t. Oh it wasn’t a lost cause after all, oh it’d have worked out, oh I could have stayed loyal and it wouldn’t have compromised myself in the end. Wanting to apologize to Falin, or just ahnging out with her and sharing a moment after she wakes up. And tangent but that’s interesting to think about… Narratively, I think the purpose of Namari and Toshiro in the story, beyond strenghtening the theme of "seek to understand what is different from you and promote unity despite them" and fleshing the cast and worldbuilding, is Toshiro’s purpose was being a foil & tool in Laios’ arc (trouble connecting with people) while Namari’s was being and a foil & tool in Marcille’s arc (standing up for ideals without being out of touch with harsh realities and needs). They are the conflict that push our protagonists to grow— and they explore different ways of dealing with a situation or topic, different ways of growing into themselves on that end: Laios needing to listen to others more and Toshiro needing to focus on voicing himself more to be able to connect, Marcille needing to learn ideals sometimes cost too much and Namari needing to internalize that ideals are sometimes worth risks (not only to be able to find a reasonable but fulfilling life balance, but also to get in touch with their compassion: Namari restricts her own too much and Marcille is too harsh on people she deems to be breaking values, like Namari not risking her life and career for a friend with no promise of success, or even like how Namari is harsh on Falin’s way of doing things : too gentle, too soft, too idealistic) (similarly to Chilchuck’s arc with Marcille too, and he also plays a hand in advancing that arc in the Namari chapters). We are getting far from namalin sorry ummm preview for future analyses like Toshiro’s contrasting approach to grief and accepting loss.

More post-canon namalin! Thinking about a timeline where… Namari is fond of Falin finding herself and going off to do her thing. "Finally!" she thinks. If she’s still for hire, maybe Falin would want her to come along, either as guide or bodyguard <3, she knows Namari has a lot of good avice on a lot of things to give, plus they’ve worked together before. She hires Namari and they travel for a bit. Travel would do Namari good too I think, even if her end goal is to settle and I think Falin’s would be too eventually. Seeing sights that light her wonder for the world and going places where people don’t know her story, don’t recognize her face or her name. Them, feeling free. Finding a companionship that feels uplifting instead of stifling or charged. Namari having been too in her head about reputation and social games and money that they hit the roads and spend time in nature and it’s like, woah. I’ve been living in a small world with made up rules.

Ahh yes romance, Namari and Falin kissing after 3 years of not really knowing each other despite seeing each other every day then 2 months of wanting to spend more and more time together until they’re an inseparable duo! Workwives. I want them to stand next to each other during campire time and Namari cracks little jokes and Namari laughs. I want Namari to gift Falin a bug caught in amber and for it to be their wedding/promised to each other thing.

TLDR

Rowdy but levelheaded barbarian x gentle healer that will also cave your face in with a mace I like it…… They’re an interesting duo of mixed stuff. Protection being your purpose and what you’re worth for, literally being a meat shield (Laios, Tansu), finding your individuality recognized and validated through a growing bond with the other. Sticking around as a love language. Also bug immortalized in amber and it being beautiful.

Nevermind this wasn’t short. Um! Anyways.

[bi-hop]

coming back to the kabru is like jesus if he was judas comparison. I think it's interesting that kabru always knew that he couldn't be the one to conquer the dungeon so he wanted to find people who could and support them, because he knows he's an excellent judge of character.

but the thing is, he still wants to be the hero. he still has a saviour complex. he's still envious that laios of all people is the one who has the potential to beat the mage. i think he wanted to be the one™ in some way . he *needed* to be needed by laios, he wanted to be like hermes, a psychopomp, or maybe charon, the ferryman that guides laios. so when laios /ignored/ him (not laios' fault truly he just . bad timing. sorry kabru) he felt resentful and yet even more determined to get in laios' orbit, to be the light. to be important in his eyes, like, judas when he said to the woman who used expensive oil to clean jesus ' feet. he said "why not just give it to the poor?" because he wanted praise. he wanted his teacher to look at him and go "look, i listened to you! i know what you teach!"

thats why laios rubbed off on him and he used a nutrition metaphor even because hes like. he wants to be jesus (the one to sacrifice himself and save the world from the dungeons to prevent another utaya) but hes judas (the adversary. the supporter from the shadows. the one who shows the soldiers (canaries) who jesus is. the one who " reported " him in the first place)

anyway yeah I think he has. a Jesus complex and when he met Laios he got mad with envy because he realized he was Judas help me

this is so good, turning it over in my head.

an element of kabru's character that grabbed me early on and is reinforced as he begins to bet on laios is his preoccupation with morality. people complain about the murder (bc people are lame BUT I DIGRESS!) but don't typically focus on the justifications he gives. even without knowing about the demon's nature, he is able to understand that greed and violence will only beget more of the same as those who can adapt will turn worse and those who cannot will be exploited or flee. for him, it's like ripping out weeds from a garden to protect what he cherishes.

I agree that he feels very self-critical when he finally admits that he can't be the knight in shining armor that he wants to be, due to his inability to survive as long as he wants in the dungeon. even without the motivation of going back to save falin, laios and his party had already went further on a regular basis than he has.

(shake me if I'm remembering wrong, but when we first meet kabru's party, isn't it one of their first times ever successfully making it to the third floor? lmao.)

and so the point to me was always that, yes, kabru wants to be the guy and yes, his party supports him as the guy, but realistically? he'd need someone else to at the very least support him. but he's very practical so it made immediate sense to me that he'd start looking for someone who he can either trust to take on the role or who is capable enough to get to a point where kabru could then take over. (again, all pre-finding out what being a dungeon lord truly means)

despite the latter being an option though, kabru's preoccupation with morality still stands. if he was truly the cold rational being some people seem to see him as, it would have been simple to simply throw his lot in with the first strong yet horrible person he observed. but he's picky selective. even with laios as his choice, he's CONSTANTLY fighting The Demons about it. his nightmare alone makes it clear that he has extremely well-rooted doubts and fears about what laios might do.

^ funniest page ever to me btw

but despite that, he still continually does the work of supporting him, albeit with a lot of setbacks and complications OADSJDODSOJD

i don't necessarily think the lens that we're currently taking is what ryoko intended but to conclude it is funny the themes of betrayal because technically kabru does betray laios' trust once lycion's like "ayo, he hates monster food btw, he's a SNAKE" and then he fumbles his way into... sort of regaining it? kinda? of course, by post-canon, he has it fully back, but speaking exclusively of the main story here.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 38

At first, I thought the title image was of the various women in the story, until I saw Holm. Then I realized it was the mages.

Falin's spellbook looks like it's on the verge of falling apart. And her inventory includes a snakeskin and some rocks. On the other side of the image, Holm has golem cores.

Kabru probably did the most effective damage against Falin but it didn't kill her.

This is one of those moments where so much happens suddenly that it's hard to tell what exactly happens.

In a moment, Laios is knocked back and Kabru is crushed under Falin's foot. But I'd like to know why Laios was knocked back and not also crushed. Was he knocked away from the impact? Did Kabru push Laios out of the way? Did Falin purposely avoid hurting Laios?

The magician’s idea of giving Falin a suitable form to find Delgal was to give her BIG NATURALS.

The party failed to beat the raid boss in time and it activated Enrage.

Don't worry. The riceballs are safe.

An earth elemental spirit is called a gnome just like a water elemental spirit is called an undine. Most likely wind elementals are called sylph and fire elementals are either salamander or ifrit.

One of Holm's items is a bottle of wind. So he probably has a sylph as well.

He probably has one of each elemental on him. His undine was named Marillier (RIP) and his gnome is Essiet. Maybe the golem cores are used to summon Essiet?

From what we see of Kabru's resurrection, his corpse did not look pretty. His head had definitely been split open when he was crushed. And Maizuru losing all her makeup when she was resurrected means her face was completely smashed when she was killed. Healers need to have the stomach to look at these grisly deaths without flinching.

I just realized that at some point between chapters 36 and 37, Marcille took off the frog suit.

When Laios and Shuro began arguing, Kabru wanted Holm to stop so they could see where that went.

This is the first time Laios has declared an intent to defeat the magician. His goal has been to save Falin, but now that goal requires him to get involved in the world in a far deeper way. Now Laios's party will be part of whatever grand conflict the story is heading toward.

I'm not going to try guessing what kind of person Ryoko Kui is, but I feel like she's using Laios and Shuro's fight as a way to vent her frustrations about some things.

If I had to describe Shuro in one word, I would use "conforming." He insists on following the rules and laws of society both written and unwritten. Shuro does not like Laios because Laios has zero social skills nor does he pick up on social cues. And Shuro wouldn't just say he doesn't like Laios and is frustrated with his antics because doing so would be considered rude.

The way he's taught to handle situations is to provide hints and cues to indicate annoyance and displeasure and the other person is supposed to pick up on them and then adjust their behaviour accordingly.

But when that didn't work, he insisted on putting up and trying to give more and more hints instead of just saying what he felt. Chilchuck and Marcille have been very open with Laios about their frustration with his antics, and he generally tries to consider their feelings once he knows them. But Shuro is too stuck in his ways to do that. He has it too hammered into his head that he should not say or do things that are disruptive even though they'll just cause bigger problems later.

And their argument is very much meant to portray Laios as being in the right. Shuro should have just spoken his grievances plain and clearly so they could resolve them early.

It came across to me as a super silly line, but yeah. Laios's party paces themselves, get full meals, and sleep because they are serious. Compare them to Shuro who both arrived later than Laios's party did and was so exhausted and malnurished that there's no way he would ever be able to defeat the dragon.

I bet Shuro didn't tell Laios he was going to take care of rescuing Falin because Laios would insist on joining him and then would get in the way of Shuro trying to woo Falin.

Well at least Maizuru is calling Holm by his proper race this time. And she's calling Senshi by name.

Kabru was killed in front of Rin, which prompted her attack that left her open to being killed by Falin. When she was resurrected, she saw Kabru safe and she let her gruff exterior break and let out her grief, fear, and relief.

What happened to Kuro? Is he burned or is his fur covered in blood?

Shuro's just going to abandon one of his attendants? And where was Asebi last chapter? The last time I saw her was when Shuro's team began fighting harpies, but she wasn't seen at all when Falin appeared.

What if she's a spy for the western elves? Shuro was going to turn Marcille in to them so they probably have enough influence to reach Shuro's homeland. Maybe Asebi is working for the western elves to keep tabs on the eastern royals. And when Falin appeared, she abandoned everyone and is on her way to report what has happened and what is in the dungeon now. And the next time we see her, she's going to take off her outfit and show off some elaborate tattoo that reveals she's part of some secret shadow organization.

After Shuro finally admitted all his frustrations and after he and Laios got to duke it out, they have a proper chat about things. Now I'm going to talk about that thing I said I wanted to talk about in chapter 36. Recall that Shuro agreed to rest and eat at Laios's insistence. Shuro's attendants had been urging him to do so for a while, but he was only willing to do so when Laios told him to.

Despite his frustrations with Laios, I think Shuro does genuinely care about him and knows that Laios does too. There's a barrier between Shuro and his attendants because he has to be Toshiro Nakamoto to them. So every instance of his attendants showing concern for him is because that is their role. When they tell him he needs to eat and rest, it's because it's their duty to care for Toshiro.

But Shuro and Laios have no obligation to care about each other. So when Laios tells him to eat and rest, it's because he cares about Shuro.

I think a bit of why Shuro loves Falin is because she represents a sense of freedom from customs and tradition. He fell in love with her after seeing her looking at a caterpillar. And I think what he loves is that she doesn't act like what is expected of her.

Even though Laios acting without concern for what society thinks annoys Shuro, he does wish he was a bit more free to act the way he'd like. Shuro, who is too weak to defy the rules and expectations placed on him, doesn't like that Laios, who has that strength, thinks he's strong.

Laios sucks at drawing people, but then he can turn around and draw amazing pictures of monsters.

I like these group shots of everyone doing things. Chilchuck and Mikbell are having a chat about something, which is impressive since Mikbell previously mentioned not liking Chilchuck. Kuro is fixing his armor. Rin is making the stovetop for Senshi and Maizuru to use. Holm seems to be mourning Marillier.

The rolled harpy omelet is the first meal I've found completely unappetizing. And it's not because the eggs are from harpies, but because it is just eggs. I like fried and poached eggs, but I don't like scrambled. If I have an omelet, I need to put tons of stuff into it, like peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. If you gave me a scrambled egg that was rolled up and called it an omelet, I'd have to fight the urge to retch.

Based on what Kabru's PTSD flashback implies, I will give him a full pass on not wanting to eat monsters. Everyone else refuses to eat monsters because they're "civilized" and only barbarians and brigands eat monsters. Meanwhile, even the sight of monster food reminds Kabru of whatever happened in the past.

If someone refused to eat a burger and told me burgers remind them of the time a herd of cows destroyed their home and killed their family, I'd be more than willing to not eat beef around them.

What is this?

Kabru kind of dug himself into the exact same hole Shuro did. He's stuck having to eat harpy egg omelets because he can't just say that he doesn't want to.

I hope this is the first of many instances of Kabru's manipulative nature coming back to bite him as he tries to manipulate someone too dense to fall into any of his trappings.

I'm upset Shuro parted ways with Laios's party. He should have every reason to want to help them. I just really want a grand reunion of the full Touden party. Shuro says "I'm staying here to save the woman I love." And then they bump into the Tansu party and they're all "What just happened?" and after being caught up, Mr Tansu would be all "This is dire. Namari, go with Laios. I'll fund all of your expenses."

Oh well. We're back to our core party, but Kabru promises they'll meet again.

back

[britcision]

Anyway I dunno how helpful this is gonna be to anyone but me, but uh… I… may have made a lil summary list of all the chapters of Dungeon Meshi by who’s in them and the vaguest description of what happens

(This began when I was trying to see if Chilchuck and Mithrun had been in a single panel together pre finale for Fanfic Reasons - they had been

One. Single. Panel.

Before Mithrun fucked off upstairs at Thistle’s house)

There are OBVIOUSLY spoilers it’s chapter by chapter but I like being able to pinpoint where the fuck to search for random obscure details so: Spoilers Below The Cut

DunMeshi chapters

1 - Falin goes down, leaving the dungeon, meeting Senshi. Giant scorpion hot pot

2 - man eating plants vs plant eating man

3 - basilisk hunting, meeting Doni and Fonil

4 - how not to pick mandrakes

5 - Chilchuck the trap expert, cooking with traps

6 - living armour, Laios first death

7 - analyzing and eating the living armour, Kensuke acquired

8 - Senshi and the golems

9 - veggie knight Laios, meeting the orcs

10 - meeting Kabru, treasure bugs

11 - spirit sorbet

12 - living paintings, first sighting of Thistle

13 - Chilchuck vs Mimics

14 - hair is important for magic, Anne actually does not like you sir, kelpie soap

15 - corpse collectors find Kabru, Kabru Swears Revenge, instant mermaid tpk, mermaids hate Laios’ singing

16 - kraken attack, parasites in parasites

17 - Marcille and Falin flashback, making fake dungeons, the natural dungeon, rip Laios

18 - planning rests, Marcille vs the Undine, Marcille low on mana - need lots of iron, Namari approaches

19 - Namari and the Tances meet Laios and co, the Undine is Super Duper Mad Actually, how resurrection works in the dungeon, fun with tentacles

20 - the undine fight part 2, trying to send Marcille to the surface for mana reasons with Namari and the Tances, Namari discovers the adamantine wok, Tances to the surface

21 - Laios and co down the shortcut full of tentacles, frog suits

22 - Tances to the governor, Namari and the twins visit a resurrection centre and bond

23 - Laios and co down to the castle town, how to fight the dragon awake and without Shuro? Mapping the town, planning

24 - leading the dragon around, Kensuke defects, stabbing feet is mid actually

25 - backup plan, let’s stand on a pot full of fireworks, the sacrifice play, Laios may learn some healing spells pls

26 - flashbacks with Laios, Falin, and the puppers, healing everyone up, excavating the dragon’s stomach and also guts

27 - putting the bones together, not enough left to reach the surface, it’s Fucked Up Necromancy Time, we gots a FALIN

28 - rest and recovery, dragon cooking season, Falin’s a lil OP now, Thistle Has Opinions

29 - hey guess what there’s still dragon in there, Thistle and Falin vs Laios and co, ghost rescue

30 - orcs on the fifth floor, Chilchuck would like his friends to live please, retreating to the surface?

31 - well shit going back is less easy than it looks, the moving maze, dryad snacks

32 - Tance resurrects Kabru and co, Kabru Swears To Go Home And Chill, attack of the corpse collectors, Kabru Has Morals

33 - Kabru and co working out who keeps “stealing” their stuff, a look at Laios and co from the outside and they all look shifty, sea serpent, Shuro and co meet Kabru and co

34 - teaching Laios healing magic, infinite energy in the dungeon, Laios mana sickness, the castle town is moving again, cockatrice, Marcille is petrified and pickling

35 - Chilchuck maps the dungeon city’s changes, dungeon cleaners, Shuro and Kabru and co arrive

36 - Kabru is kinda creepy okay, Chilchuck has something almost like a map, So Did You Fucking Save Falin (it’s complicated), Splitting The Party But For Safety Reasons, Laios tells Shuro and Kabru what has been happening including his Questionable Decisions, Shuro Backstory Via Maizuru

37 - Shuro is stabby and Kabru is a dick, HARPIES, Laios Maybe Should Not Have Told Shuro, Falin on the rampage

38 - Kabru Fucking Murders Falin (or DID he), reviving everyone, Laios vs Shuro, Marcille can MAYBE heal people I GUESS, Kabru has anatomy question, monster dinner for Kabru, Kabru and Shuro’s combined co go back to the surface and leave their supplies behind

39 - Suspiciously Convenient Downwards Stairs, why are we being attacked anyway, shapeshifters are just like us actually, Laios and all his impressions are super obvious so you can’t be mad

40 - Laios and crew with the shapeshifters cooking challenge

41 - Izutsumi joins the party, use your tools properly, decursing Izutsumi

42 - nightmares, Laios and Marcille

43 - reaching where the dragon fight took place, ice golem, Izutsumi and Chilchuck bond

44 - Izutsumi gets Namari’s coat, flashbacks with Izutsumi, barometz

45 - Kabru and Shuro’s crews reach the surface, Canaries reach the governor and Kabru reports, Laios Sees Dead People

46 - spirit kidnapping, the Golden Country and domesticated monsters, the mad sorcerer’s curse, Prophecies And You

47 - dungeon pancakes in the golden company, Yaad experiences Consequences, frozen over floor, That Is A Griffin Not A Falin

48 - griffin done kidnapped Senshi, making familiars, it turns out crafting skills are important, Senshi rescue

49 - Senshi’s Tragic Backstory™️, griffin vs hippogriff soup

50 - first changeling day! Elf Senshi, through the golden door

51 - changeling’d Laios and co vs gargoyles, We Are The Mushroom Circle, wash up

52 - dwarf elevator, Falin and Laios backstory, Canaries reach the dungeon

53 - Kabru, Namari, Canaries, the shadow governor and Mithrun being intensely fuckable

54 - Kabru, Namari and Shuro, mushrooms attack, Thistle Sighted

55 - Mithrun vs Thistle Round 1, Laios’ party have been changelinged take 2 (ogre Marcille) and eating ointment

56 - bicorn Laios’ party, the Chilchuck wife reveal

57 - flashback Falin and Laios take Marcille to the dungeon for the first time, headless horseman comes for some bicorn

58 - Laios’ party, succubi attack and the party goes down, Izutsumi focused

59 - Izutsumi’s succubi and party replenishment

60 - Laios’ succubus dreams and winged lion conversation, Laios the Dungeon Lord

61 - Kabru backstory reveal, Mithrun’s broke ass self reveal, Be sure not to want too much, The Ship Begins

62 - Mithrun the Dungeon Lord, footrubs work fuck you, their week alone and teleport scroll to meet up with the Canaries

63 - Laios and crew find Thistle’s house, phoenix fight and cooking, found book 1

64 - Marcille opens the book, need to make a meal for Falin

65 - dungeon rabbits and Marcille’s corpse tour

66 - top floor of the dungeon, Bickering Next To Holes Is Bad Actually, Kabru and the Canaries have a snack and Mithrun will not fucking stop staring, Laios and crew prepare a meal, Thistle is Suffering

67 - flashbacks with Laios and Falin, Laios kills Falin, Ready to take and have something taken

68 - Thistle’s backstory, someone has CLEANED, fuck you winged dragon

69 - Thistle and the Dragons nearly rock up a tpk

70 - Thistle shoulda researched dragons more

71 - Laios bondages Thistle to solve problems, Thistle instead creates a new problem

71.1 - Daydream Hour 4, character sketches, Canaries

72 - Thistle’s Brand New Feeder Fantasies, winged dragon eats Thistle and frees Laios and co to recover, Izutsumi finds Yaad

73 - Marcille is hung over, the Canaries and Kabru reach Thistle’s house, Cithis decides it’s hypno-time and Mithrun hunts down Thistle for round 2 (unneeded)

74 - Mithrun constantly accidentally menaces Marcille, Marcille unseals the winged dragon

75 - Mithrun vs Demon round 1, Marcille becomes Dungeon Lord and spiders it up

76 - Kabru, Canaries, Laios and co aftermath of Marcille’s leaving, dealing with the injured, Kabru sucks at explanations and Lycion is impatient, Canaries lose Laios and co

77 - orcs have captured Shuro and Namari, the dungeon shifts

78 - monsters running rampant, Namari and Shuro and Flamelle trying to work out what to do to save the world, sides picked for/against Laios as Dungeon Lord (he isn’t but okay)

79 - Marcille sees Falin and her dad, Laios and crew don’t drown yet, the Canary familiar army gets weird and eats them and promptly regrets it

80 - pooped out by coatl, Laios and co reunite with Marcille to discuss wtf, demon is a stripper, Laios says maybe stop Marcille says stay in the kitchen and make me a sammich

81 - Laios and co getting into Marcille’s past with FakeDad, do in fact make her a sammich, it does not work and subterfuge is still needed to escape

82 - phone calls on the surface, dungeon is leaking

83 - Kabru and the Canaries see the crack, monsters line up for combat, Marcille gets a new outfit that 1000% does not stop Mithrun from coming for her ass, Mithrun vs Marcille round 2 but he’s been listening and totally tries talking her down one whole time, Canaries tpk’d except Lycion

84 - Laios rescues Lycion, reconnects with Kabru Shuro and Namari, demon shares its goals and sides square up to contain the dungeon, monsters stop to let Laios and co through to see Marcille

85 - Laios and co find Falin in the tower, Marcille drowning in desires but the strongest one is for DRAMA (Chilchuck’s family)

86 - monsters will not listen to Marcille’s stop, sealing the bookhand demon, How do I stop being a dungeon lord?, Laios offers to defeat the demon and resurrects Mithrun on that alone so he signs off on eating Falin

86.1 - Daydream Hour 5, alternate outfits and more Canary stories

87 - demon backstory, needs other site

88 - Laios and co inside the demon (still a thot), Laios makes a deal

89 - dropping of Marcille and the gang with Namari and the Canaries, “Laios” makes a break for the surface but IT IS MITHRUN WITH A STEAL CHAIR Mithrun vs Demon round 3, still no noticeable success

90 - what if y’all go hang out with monster Laios instead, The World Is Ending And It’s All My Fault (Marcille and Kabru), Mithrun Is Having None Of It, Marcille and co chase down “Laios”, demon arms go claw machine

91 - vore and reverse vore, Laios vs “Laios”, get cursed bitch

92 - back down the tower then oops gotta escape the dungeon anyway, Marcille and gang find Namari, looking for Laios

93 - Now We Have A Dinner Party, different groups coming to help, found Laios

94 - elves in the aftermath, Mithrun serving up Falin, leftovers and veggie scraps

95 - meal, About That Golden Country, resurrection take 2

96 - epilogue

[beautifulphilosopherbird]

Dungeon Meshi rewatch ep 5 notes

you know what I'm curious about, this creature (ss bellow). it shows up in the intro and it makes me go 👀

ah the other adventure group is introduced (Kabru & co) - and they aren't a very experienced group

seems that most adventure groups are going through shit: missing people, disputes, money issues etc

Kabru mentions that the dungeon layout is shifting and that something strange is happening - guessing it has to do with the red dragon activity

lol they got wiped out by the treasure bugs, that's still funny to me

Marcille says she'll pray for them so that they don't become zombies so I'm guessing that's a thing that happens? but how/why/under which circumstances?

MONSTER SWORD SAVES THE DAY !!

OH RIGHT THEY THREW AWAY THE ACTUAL GEMS RIP

the monster sword's been named Kensuke lmfao

ghosts can possess dead bodies (does that turn the bodies into zombies then?)

Falin has really strong/advanced magic

Senshi creating an ultimate anti-ghost warding device using ancient customs from all over the world love that (fire, sake, salt, (a lot of) sugar, herbs, golden beetles)

I MISSED THIS DETAIL IN THE FIRST WATCH BUT LAIOS TRIES TO FEED THE HOLY ICE CREAM THING TO KENSUKE

LMFAOOOOOO but it shakes so I guess that's a no

random screengrabs:

[thenixkat]

still thinking about how one of the abilities of the monster that Laios created is shapeshifting. How the remains of his monster form looked like sloughed-off skins like he fucking prince lindwormed himself back into human shape.

Just, like it's fully possible that man could still technically be his fursona just stuck in the shape of a human because he needed to be human-shaped and able to think like a human in order to save his sister.

but also be fun as hell if he just looked like a normal human being. But he's got insatiable demon hunger. The offputting aura that scares off monsters. Plus the powers of his fursona that aren't related to the actual shape of its body like

Able to digest desires (fun potential horror hunger angle in addition to the literal can't feel full no matter what or how much he eats thing)

can make a forest from its poop (super fertilizer poop or shenanigans involving trees sprouting from the royal toilet)

Can change shape

Able to be the leader of a pack? (followed by groups of animals?)

Tough body that can't be damaged by magic (a surprise for a would be assassination plot)

Strong

I will assume that the flying, swimming, and moves about 300 km/h are structural things like not getting confused with the multiple heads

fucking wild if he retained the superstrength, mild invulnerability, soul-eating, and poop that makes incredible fertilizer - urgent maintenance needed for the royal toilet. Tree removal needed.

Laios having to reckon with his choices in character design after accidently ripping a door off the hinges or finding a pine going out of the toilet when he's really gotta go

'leader of a pack' gets followed around by groups of animals when it's not convenient. He just wanted to look at the sheep and now they won't leave him alone

[mentalmeles]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog 7

Oh, hey! It's the other party from earlier! They're still alive!

Marcille's magic is giving Senshi a fucking aneurysm LMAOO

A kelpie! One of my favorite monsters/myths. Tho I'm with Laios on this. Don't trust kelpies fr fr

The other party! They fucking died AGAIN lmaoo

Which, side note, they're dead dead this time, right? I mean. Unless someone else comes along to revive them, there's no way they survived being face down in the water for who knows how long...

SIRENS!! Another favorite of mine <3

...............Well, that's one way to deter a siren dlkjkljlkd

Not a fan of Laios going behind Marcille's back and adding humanoid monster stuff in her food, ngl. Even if it tastes good, she shouldn't have her trust violated like that

Aww, Marcille and Senshi bonding <3

SO FLUFFYYYYY!!!!!!!!

Aaaaaaaand they're fighting again. The peace was short lived rip

KRACKEN!!!!

Man, that's gonna give them SO much food..............................

The peace lives again!! Banding together to help the ecosystem by getting rid of a giant monster to save the midsize ones uwu

Aww, Marcille being excited about the food for once is so cute hehe

Sorry, Laios. You deserve to feel a lil bit of pain for deceiving Marcille earlier dlfkjl

[marmorafarms]

The Hazards of Love Ch 2

Hey guys! Here is the second chapter of my Dungeon Meshi Hanahaki AU! The plan is to update every weekend, but please be gentle with me if I miss an update. I'm pretty damn busy all the time so. I might miss a few. But anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Pairing: Labru (Laios/Kabru)

Chapter rating: Teen+

You can read it below or on ao3!

NOW

It was cruel the way Rin had gone about this. The way she had ripped Laios’ heart out of his chest and cast it away, with her words as her weapon. Laios hadn’t been ready for this attack, hadn’t been ready to hear it. But no amount of preperation would be able to save him from this new reality.

“It’s your fault! Kabru is dying and it’s all your fault!”

Laios lay in his bed, curled in on himself. His eyes were rimmed with red from crying, his chest and abs hurting from the intensity of his sobs. The only one he would allow near him was his younger sister Falin, who was currently sitting next to him, stroking his hair.

“If you weren’t such a failure with your fucking emotions, this wouldn’t have happened! You could’ve actually loved him instead of just admiring him!”

Laios let out a pained noise as that particular sentence repeated in his mind. If he hadn’t been such a failure with his emotions, this wouldn’t have happened. If he could just be someone else, anyone else, Kabru wouldn’t be in the hospital coughing up daffodils. He would be here, his smile lighting up the whole room. He would be here, his brilliant blue eyes sparkling as they looked at each other. Kabru, his best friend, wouldn’t be dying, he’d be here. And…and maybe they’d be wrapped up in each other’s arms, cuddling close. Or maybe doing something else, something that would require a locked door.

The thought made Laios’ stomach flip, a feeling he’d grown used to when thinking about Kabru. He was definitely attracted to Kabru, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem lay in deeper feelings. Feelings of love.

“Falin?” Laios said tentatively, and his sister’s hand paused, fingers still tangled in his hair.

“Yes Laios?” she said softly.

“Do you think…if I could fall in love with him…Kabru would live?” “Oh Laios,” Falin said sadly, “You can’t control who you fall in love with. Lust is simple, lust, attraction, can happen with anyone. But love? True love? That can’t be forced. If you don’t love him, you don’t love him. That’s not your fault.”

“But why don’t I love him?” Laios said, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. “I feel sad, I feel like dying…doesn’t that mean I love him?”

“As a friend,” Falin said, removing her hand from his head. “You’d be crying if it was Marcille, or Chilchuck, or Senshi, right? You love Kabru as a friend. You have to love him romantically in order for this to go away.”

“I have to figure it out,” Laios said. “I have to figure out how to be in love with him. He can’t die! Falin, he can’t.”

Falin let out a deep sigh. “Laios…”

“I won’t let him!” Laios said firmly, furrowing his brow. “He won’t die! I’ll fall in love with him not matter what it takes!”

“Laios, that’s not possible,” Falin said. Laios sat up at lighting speed, looking at her with fire in his eyes, a passionate determination.

“Maybe nobody else has done it before, but that was true with other things! Light bulbs didn’t exist until someone made it happen! So maybe nobody has done this, but I could be the first! I could be the one to make it happen!” Laios said wildly. Falin looked at him with a mixture of sadness and sympathy.

“Alright,” she said gently. “If you think you can, I’ll support you.”

Laios nodded at her words. “Thank you,” he said as he lay back down, though he knew that she didn’t really believe it. She didn’t really think he could do it. And that was fine. Nobody ever truly believed in him did they? At least not at first. But he always managed to prove them wrong. And by God he was going to do it again. He was going to fall in love with Kabru. He’d be his knight in shining armor. If Laios lost him, he’d lose himself too. That he knew for certain.

THEN

Laios was proving to be the single most frustrating man that Kabru had met in his entire life. He had decided to listen to Daya and try to make friends with Laios. But for whatever reason, Laios was ignoring him. Straight up ignoring him! Kabru had tried approaching him several times, but Laios would either not look at him, or would start talking to someone else. What the hell was wrong with this guy? Just as he was about to give up completely and resign himself to hating him even more, the weirdest thing happened.

Laios approached him.

Well, sort of. Kabru had been nose deep in his phone, walking across campus, and wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. Right as he was crossing the street, he felt a hand on his shoulder, jerking him backwards.

Kabru let out an undignified yelp, and turned to look at whoever had dared lay hands on him. To his shock, and slight horror, Laios stood there, a mixture of concern and frustration on his face.

“What’s your problem?” Kabru snapped, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be making friends with this man. “Why did you grab me?”

“You can’t just walk into traffic!” the tall blond said. “There was a car! It almost hit you!”

Kabru blinked in surprise. “Oh,” he said lamely, unsure what else to say.

“Yeah,” Laios said. “Try to be more careful next time.”

“Okay,” Kabru said, but for some reason, Laios didn’t turn to go. Instead, he stood there, looking Kabru up and down.

“What?” Kabru said, feeling his face flush. He wasn’t used to being…examined. This wasn’t a lustful gaze, no. This was a man looking at him with genuine curiosity, and Kabru wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

“You’re short,” Laios finally said.

“Excuse me?!” Kabru said, shocked. What the hell?

“Your height made me realize I’ve seen you before,” Laios said. “Do you take creative writing? The 8 am class with Professor Damacles?”

“Yeah,” Kabru said slowly. Laios smiled.

“I thought so! I remembered seeing you and thinking you were sort of short.”

“I’m not…! I…! Maybe you’re just tall!” Kabru burst out.

“How tall are you?” Laios said, and Kabru wanted to hit him. Why were they stuck on this? Why was he so fixated on his height?

“I’m 5’7, happy?”

“That’s short,” Laios said, and Kabru glared at him.

“Can we move on?” he said angrily, and Laios cocked his head.

“Did I upset you?” he asked, sounding very confused.

“I just don’t like being called short,” Kabru mumbled.

“Oh. I’m sorry,” Laios said, and Kabru was surprised at how genuine Laios sounded. He sounded like he really meant it, and even looked deeply sorry. “I…I do that a lot. Make people upset. On accident. I don’t know why, I just do.”

“It’s fine,” Kabru said. “Just…next time we talk, don’t bring it up.”

Laios brightened. “Next time?” he said. “You want to hang out?”

Kabru colored, suddenly realizing what he’d implied. Well, he couldn’t back out now, especially since he’d told Daya he would make an attempt at friendship.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Kabru said with a gulp. “Do you want my number?”

Laios looked thrilled, and as they exchanged numbers, Kabru couldn’t help but feel flustered. This didn’t feel like giving a friend his number. This felt like giving someone he would want to go on a date with his number. And that got him thinking. Would he want to go on a date with Laios?

Sure, Laios was a bit awkward, but there was something about him. Kabru thought back to their high school days, and remembered how drawn he had been towards Laios. There had always just been something about him, and Kabru couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

But what he did know was that he wanted to learn more. Maybe it was friendship, but maybe it was more. Kabru stole a glance at Laios, and swallowed thickly. His smile was beautiful, and his eyes were a soft amber, reminding him of caramel. Oh god, he wasn’t really doing this was he? Getting lost in somebody’s eyes? Kabru shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts.

There was also the matter of whether or not Laios was interested in men. Kabru had an unfortunate habit of getting crushes on straight guys, to the point where he was teased about it. This was probably one of those situations. Laios was most likely a straight guy who just wanted to be friends. That was it, that was all. He should squash these feelings before they grew into something more.

When the two bade each other goodbye, Kabru couldn’t help but open up his phone every now and then, wondering if he should send a text. But what would he even say? Ugh, how had this happened? How had he swung from unadulterated loathing to heart eyes in the span of three seconds?

It was night time when Kabru got the text. Toothbrush still in his mouth, Kabru grabbed his phone, and looked at the message.

This might be too soon But I have tickets to a concert and the person I was going with bailed. Wanna come?

Kabru stared at the three messages sent in quick succession. Laios had other friends, he had seen them before. Why was he inviting Kabru of all people instead of one of them? It didn’t make any sense to him. He quickly tapped out a response.

Who are the tickets for?

Kabru finished up brushing his teeth, and pulled on some pajamas before checking his phone again.

Ghost. They’re a mixture of hard rock and metal? I’m not usually into that, but their song Square Hammer is pretty good. Thought it might be worth checking out.

Metal? Kabru was thrown, but looked up the song. It actually was pretty good. And a free concert? Usually people made him pay for the tickets if they had them. This was a pretty good deal.

Yeah, sounds good! What time?

The two hammered out the details, and Kabru went to bed, heart pounding. No. NO! He couldn’t be having feelings for Laios! He shouldn’t be nervous about being alone with Laios for their first get together! It’s not like it was a date. They were just hanging out. This was ridiculous, they were just two dudes being bros. But at the same time, it was exciting. Kabru had been so wrapped up in his studies that he’d barely had time to do anything, not even with Rin and Daya.

And speaking of them, he should tell them about today. He knew Daya would be supportive, but Rin? He knew Rin would be upset. Kabru had suspected for a while that Rin had feelings for him, but he wasn’t sure. It would explain why she was upset when Daya implied that he was interested in Laios. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too upset that he was going to a concert with Laios the day after meeting him. Maybe she’d be supportive!

You’re going on a date with him?! No fucking way! Not him!

Or maybe not.

It’s not a date! We’re just going to a concert. We’re not even friends yet.

Kabru continued to attempt to convince Rin that this wasn’t a date, but she didn’t seem impressed with the situation. What could he do to make her happy? He needed to smooth things over somehow.

You barely hang out with me Kabru! Why are you suddenly going to a concert with some guy who you hated five minutes ago?

Ah. So that was it.

Well let’s plan something! Just the two of us.

Rin didn’t reply, and Kabru suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut. He hoped to God she didn’t think he was asking her on a date. Maybe he should clear things up? Yeah, he’d clear things up in the morning. It would be fine. Everything was going to be just fine.

[2x01]

dean would do so well in dungeon meshi and he'd get along really well with senshi after he takes a moment with the whole "eating monsters" thing (though i think similarly to chilchuck he'd have a rule on not eating humanoid looking ones?)

sam would think everyone is a weirdo because he's judgemental as hell but he'd end up reading through laios’s book and hearing his rambles out because learning is more important 😭 and he'd have similar reactions to marcille when it comes to food except he'd be even more grossed out, but her going through with the eating would push him to do it as well

overall i think they'd do well since they're just as insane too 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ might get the rest of the gang killed in order to save each other though #rip

[ladyloveandjustice]

God, I feel so bad for Marcille here. She is clearly so achingly desperate to save Falin, by asking her to leave her they might as well be ripping her heart out, even if she knows rationally. She cannot FATHOM the idea of leaving, every second of Falin in distress has been killing her, she has to do SOMETHING,and she will risk ANYTHING, put aside ANY grudge, offer EVERYTHING she has and even money she DOESN’T have, to save this girl. She will search ‘til her last breath for anything she can do. 

I don’t believe she even if she hadn’t eventually thought up a solution to her “I can’t do magic” problem here, she would have been able to leave. She would have insisted on going even with no magic, even knowing it’s not rational or practical. “Maybe I can at least serve as a distraction”, she would have followed behind them or something. Someone would have had to knock her out and teleport her, and even then she would have gone right back in the dungeon.

However you interpret their relationship (AND YOU KNOW HOW I INTERPRET IT) it’s clear her love for Falin has enough depth and intensity no dragon could stand up to it. I wish the others would understand it and be a little gentler with her (Laios at least seems concerned, and Chilchuck is just...like this, Mr. Epitome of Snarky Practicality, I know, but STILL).

(on a side note, shoutout to Namari being like “yeah i’ve killed like twelve dragons what of it. DID SHE DO IT BY HERSELF, I’D BELIEVE IT).

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 3/31/21

Black Clover, Vol. 24 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – New arc, new villains, new desperate fighting, new nameless characters being killed to give our named leads resolve and fury, and the same old fighting. I’ve said before that, in ripping off every shonen series around it, Black Clover is not really doing a bad job. That said, it’s also not standing out—by definition, this is gonna be pretty generic. Asta shouts and beats up bad guys, Noelle snarks at him, Charmy is back to being superdeformed and eating far too much, etc. You can easily see why this is now the third-longest-running series in Shonen Jump. But you can also see why it’s roundly mocked, and is never going to be at a point where it amazes the readers with its clever surprises. – Sean Gaffney

Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 9 | By Ryoko Kui| Yen Press – I forgot to brief the last volume of this, which means it’s been almost a year and a half. This “caught up with Japan” series, however, is always worth a deep read, and this time around, after some amusing but goofy stuff involving succubuses, we get to the core of the volume, which is Laios and Kabru’s contrasting viewpoints. Laios’ desire to have a community in the dungeon where everyone can live in peace and harmony… and also eat animals, which theoretically would be happier dying like this than with their current circumstance, contrasts with Kabru still seeing Laios as a dangerously unhinged madman who won’t stop going on about eating the things that kill everyone in the dungeon. Must read, still. – Sean Gaffney

Fiancee of the Wizard, Vol. 2 | By Syuri Nakamura and Masaki Kazuka | Yen Press -This volume moved a lot faster than I was expecting. It also leaves the titular fiancee on the sidelines for most of the book—there’s a battle to defeat the demon lord, but given she doesn’t have much magic or fighting skill, she’s not involved. The wizard IS involved, and we get quite a few scenes from the POV of his party, featuring a hero who I will politely call “naive” and two more savvy characters, including a princess who Filimena assumes is exactly the sort of person he will immediately fall for. She’s wrong, and as always Edy’s inability to not be an awkward jerk masks his true feelings. This ends with a wedding, but there are apparently more volumes. – Sean Gaffney

An Incurable Case of Love, Vol. 5 | By Maki Enjoji | Viz Media – The series ends with the 7th volume, which is good, because this is the one where I started to get a bit annoyed with the characters—Dr. Tendo is usually very good at understanding Nanase, but he’s very bad at communicating his own wants, needs, and desires. The sister of the woman he was unable to save is now in the hospital, reminding him that he really does want to do this research—but he also loves Nanase, and does not want to be separated from her. If he managed to communicate this properly to Nanase… well, OK, the series would likely then be six volumes instead of seven. Miscommunication is the lifeblood of most shoujo and josei romance titles, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. – Sean Gaffney

Magus of the Library, Vol. 4 | By Mitsu Izumi | Kodansha Comics – Word of warning for this volume: you will meet about 25 new cast members, complete with character bios. Fortunately, I don’t think we will have to remember them all at once. In any case, most of this volume is a standard “first days at school” sort of story, complete with the stern teacher, our hero stressing out about which path he will be taking, and a reunion with the person who was the biggest influence on his life. Now comes the question of where the story will be going as there’s a bit of an implication that the mentor is going to be kicking down a few pillars of society. Oh yes, and there is also the gorgeous art, which is still probably the main reason to read this series. – Sean Gaffney

Our Teachers Are Dating!, Vol. 2 | By Pikachi Ohi | Seven Seas – We continue to read the Pixie Stix of yuri manga, and it certainly delivers, being so sweet you may want to read Inio Asano afterwards for balance. There are a few “new couple” problems here, mostly as they haven’t really opened up to each other yet because they’re still in the first bloom of love. Most of this volume revolves around the school festival, so we get to see them compete in a three-legged race, walk around buying things from their students, dress in each other’s work outfits (and, later in an omake, in each other’s old high school uniforms). They are also still very physically attracted to each other—sex is plentiful here. Still a must-read for those who like sweet yuri manga but without the high schoolers. – Sean Gaffney

Penguin Gentlemen | By Kishi Ueno | Yen Press – Sometimes something magical can happen when a manga creator throws seemingly random and disparate interests together in a work. In the case of Penguin Gentleman, that oddly compelling combination consists of good-looking clothes, good-looking men, and good-looking… penguins?? At its heart, Penguin Gentleman is an informational and educational manga about these aquatic, flightless birds. Ueno’s enthusiasm for them is catching; I felt like I had to share all of the interesting things I was learning with others. However, it’s the manga’s ridiculous conceit that makes it so entertaining. For whatever reason (a reason actually is given, but it’s not at all important), the main characters of Penguin Gentleman are penguins who have taken on human form. And dress in tuxedos, of course. And work together at a bar, because why not? There’s not really much of a story, just the humor resulting from translating penguin behaviour into a human setting. – Ash Brown

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 12 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – There’s a celebratory parade at the start of this volume… one which Sariphi is not participating in, despite the feelings of the king. Now, to be fair, this allows her to have an adorable adventure with a platypus who is trying to grow stronger (and also see the King), but it does not change the central problem, which is that even though Sariphi has managed to win over most of the court by now, the relationship between beastmen and humans is still fractured almost beyond repair. So she decides to act as an envoy to bring a peace offering… with results that are amusing but also a little alarming. We’re clearly coming close to the endgame here, and I like that this volume has Sariphi taking control. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 11 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – At long last, Zen and Shiroyuki are taking that important step—they’re moving in together… well, OK, not quite. Zen is having Shiroyuki moved into his section of the palace, with the rest of his aides such as Mitsuhide and Kiki, who are still… kind of teased? You get the sense the author knows folks really want them to be a couple, but also doesn’t really want to go there given their regular interaction is so much fun. Speaking of Kiki, she also gets to pose as Zen’s supposed bridal candidate, mostly to get the rumors off his back, because he is NOT ready to go full public with his herbalist just yet. That said, the cliffhanger promises a sea change in this story. Still must-read shoujo manga. – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 4 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics – Thank goodness the author realizes that they could not have a young, horny married couple who are constantly turned on by each other be virgins for TOO long. Yes, at last, our leads have consummated, oddly as a result of the normally steady Sumika forgetting tickets to a concert they were going to. This is framed with a flashback showing her stern, unforgiving father yelling at her, and contrasting this with the far more easygoing Ikuma forgiving her. This is really good, as it gives good character background, explaining a lot of why Sumika is the way she is, and also allows for a good reason that they finally can move past embarrassment or overexcitement and show how much they love each other. Oh yes, and still funny. – Sean Gaffney

By: Sean Gaffney