#dungeon meshi anime isn't that bad.

[thermesiini]

mannn its rough over there for dungeon meshi animeers this last episode was not very well done

[thecraftgremlin]

I think the mistake a lot of people have made with Dungeon Meshi is expecting it to be a cooking anime with a fantasy backdrop, when it’s a fantasy about cooking. The expectation for cooking media to be fluffy, plotless, and (urgh) cozy is a whole other can of worms here. And I can understand to some degree why some people feel there’s a bait and switch happening, but it’s not like the story ever set out to deceive the audience. “Cooking but in a fantasy dungeon!” is about as good a descriptor for Dungeon Meshi as the infamous “Lesbian Necromancers in Space” tagline for the Locked Tomb series. Yes the series is technically about that, it's central to the theming and the story would be unrecognizable without it. But it's also massively reductive to everything else the story is about.

[bouncyenvos]

caught up with demon slayer anime s3. pretty UFOtable animation and nice-ish character designs as usual, but overall typical shounen anime fare. the amount of time tanjiro spends monologuing, explaining scenes in slo-mo, and just telling himself to get up..... goes very slow.

also muzan jackson spends half of first 50min episode throwing a tantrum and taking it out on his subordinates with the same intensity of this gif:

[dunmeshistash]

One of the things I really appreciate about Dungeon Meshi is how the text is so clearly full of love for animals. Like the true kind of love Laios feels for the monster where he wants to know everything about them, but most of all he respects them and loves them as animals.

One of the chapters I can't stop thinking about is the one about Anne the Kelpie. It's kind of impressive how well it illustrates the different kind of love people have for animals. And how someone that loves an animal isn't necessarily an animal lover. If that makes sense.

When Senshi calls out Anne what he says is "Don't worry Anne's Harmless" but she isn't, she's a wild animal.

Marcille immediately reacts positively about it thinking it's cute she accepts the treat Senshi has for her. And hers and Chilchuck's reaction to Senshi wanting to cross the river on her back is more surprise while Laios immediately realizes how bad of an idea it is.

But Laios is the animal monster lover so how come when he finally is faced with a "docile" monster he doesn't react positively like the others? Marcille even calls him a monster. That's because Laios loves monsters, and Senshi loves Anne.

I've seen this attitude around me several times, where people love a specific animal but what they love is their idea of that animal, they don't really know them because they don't love the animal part of them.

It becomes a "this one is special because I love them" that can quickly become an issue for the animal as much as it is for the person. It's something unfortunate I see time and time again irl.

Anne wasn't wicked, Anne wasn't mean, Anne didn't trick him. Anne was a wild animal and Senshi loved her as Anne but not as a kelpie.

She acted on instinct, maybe she did love Senshi in the way kelpies can love, but animals are still animals and must be respected and treated as such. Climbing on top of Anne's back was the equivalent of putting your arm inside a alligator's mouth, the mouth is gonna close because that's what they're designed to do.

The real life equivalent I see the most of "I love this animal but I don't love the animal part of them" is with dogs. If you insist on loving an animal without acknowledging they ARE an animal they might hurt you, you might hurt them, it will only end in grief.

The best way you can love an animal is by understanding they're an animal.

That is all to say I don't mean that the love Senshi felt for Anne wasn't real or that it's all his fault. He couldn't have known with the information he had and unfortunately it came down to the worst outcome.

I just love dungeon meshi dearly.

[redspex]

Hello from the depths!

Hi hi hi. I'm still kicking! Here's an update, from me to you:

I plan on being more active on here in the near future, as some fun stuff has been happening with me that has given me some more free time! First: time abroad for work is, as far as I know, wrapped up for the forceable future. Maybe one day you'll hear about my time in Europe (if 4CL gives me clearance to disclose :P - some of it was pretty silly + goofy, a lot of it was having an atrocious sleep schedule, missing my cat, and getting into my normal amount of trouble). Maybe I'll check with my boss and see if I can pass field notes? Could be big. Second: I graduated! Managing Fourcast time and school time was not easy at all, but now that the latter is wrapped up I will have more time for stuff that's not the Lab, which I desperately need. There are a lot of things I want to get back into the swing of (after I catch up on sleep), especially in terms of having something to focus my creative energy on; one thing is this page, making my little weird collages and all, but I have my little personal projects to keep myself entertained.

I've been running a (at best, semi-annual) DND campaign with some friends that I will hopefully be able to put more time into in terms of writing/planning/playing (I am the forever DM of my friendgroup, which has its pros and cons :,) ). I have also been incredibly tempted to get back into fanfiction writing lelelel - writing has kind of always been in my life, but it had to take a backburner these last few years and I've missed it, so being cringe but free may help me scratch that itch. Technically this is a personal blog so 4Cast couldn't stop me from posting fanfiction here, but if you're from the Lab and you're seeing this: you're not allowed to read my fanfiction. But who knows, maybe that will happen, maybe not? Maybe at the depths of a hyperfixation I'll be possessed to throw something out there.

But that's pretty much it :) happy pride month being queer rules ok bye now talk later yep sounds good ok bye

[busket]

weird and wild takes coming out of the new dungeon meshi fandom

if you can read all of dungeon meshi and see how it revels in the eroticism of consumption and plays with themes about base instinct, overwhelming desire, loving something so much you want to take it inside you and keep it there forever...if you can read all that and think that the author would be against people sexualizing her characters then I don't know what to tell you. dungeon meshi isn't horny in the way most fantasy animes are horny, but it's a huge fault to think that means it's not horny at all in a more complex and allegorical way. sex is a huge part of human instinct, just like eating, and the wires often get crossed. its that's not a bad thing because sex isn't a bad thing, lol

[tofixtheshadows]

You guys really need to stop and consider the ways you're talking about Kabru I am dead fucking serious. Like I know that flattening characters is just what fandom does to a certain extent, but Kabru's actual personality is getting lost to the fandom hivemind insisting that he's aggressive/cruel/sociopathic/hateful, and these are particularly concerning takes to see leveled at the only brown character in the main cast day after day. "My poor sweet golden child Laios needs to be protected from this scary brown man" is not a good look! Like, it's very telling that the bulk of the hate and bad faith readings are reserved for Toshiro and Kabru. Everyone else's flaws get to be discussed and validated and forgiven (or erased), meanwhile people are straight making up things to be mad about with Toshiro and Kabru but patting themselves on the back for being smart.

The worst part is how undeserved it all is. I'm trying to lay off anime-onlys because we're still kind of in the red herring stage of getting to know Kabru, but I would still like to gently suggest that even if you think Kabru is up to something, you don't gave to get in the tags of every fan creator's post and bring up how you hate him or You Can Tell he's totally evil. Sometimes I think Kabru's blue eyes give people license to say things about his appearance that they know would sound completely racist otherwise, but referring to his blue eyes acts as a get-out-of-racism free card. The jokes about the dog with brown contacts are getting old, by the way.

For people who have read the manga, it's disappointing. Kabru is one of the most complex and important characters in the story, and if you base your interpretation of him and all your fandom interactions on shallow first impressions you are completely missing out.

I know part of this is because Dungeon Meshi is a comedy, but the story also wants to be taken seriously. For example, it's admittedly really funny when Chilchuck calls Laios "sick in the head", but that doesn't change the fact that the way Chilchuck casually belittles Laios caused him to hide the fact that he was "hallucinating" from his friends for weeks. Those feelings matter.

Like, this

is funny.

But this?

Is not. This is just a very clear example of a brown boy with PTSD. As someone else with PTSD, just looking at this fucking sucks, man.

The only reason why Kabru thinks about killing Laios is because he is in the middle of a flashback. He's struggling through a panic attack. If he truly wanted to kill Laios because he's violent or because he finds Laios inherently annoying, he wouldn't otherwise talk with Laios normally. Notice how he doesn't act this way at any other point in the story- it's just because he's triggered by monsters. Even when he's thinking about his plans to "deal with" Laios later, he's reluctant to actually kill him and only considers it to prevent another tragedy. Despite his deadly skills, Kabru relies far more on "soft" power- insight, persuasion, diplomacy. He's a rare example of a character who absolutely is, or at least can be, manipulative, but seems to use his abilities for good. He's not a pathological liar, he isn't looking down on everyone behind a smile. He's someone who is extremely emotionally intelligent, and he's willing to put aside all his own basic wants and needs to stop the cycle of dungeons devouring humans.

I'm going to cut a potential thesis on his character short and just give some examples of things that fandom should consider about his personality more:

Racism in fandom isn't just about whitewashing in fan art, or using racial slurs. The insidiousness of bad faith readings, reductions to racist tropes, lack of fan content for characters of color, and dismissal of a character's complexity are far more common. You can believe yourself to be completely neutral or even positive about a character and still churn out low-grade bile about them into fandom's collective unconscious. Fandom reflects real life.

And I have been around fandom long enough to see how these behaviors (mostly from my fellow white fans) affect fans of color, how it makes a fandom feel hostile and unwelcome to them. It's fun to make jokes and memes, I'm absolutely not saying that everything needs to be a deeply nuanced take, but we need to be careful that it doesn't veer into toxicity. Please think about how our contributions to fandom come across, and what sort of vibes they cultivate in this communal space.

[tuliprambles]

An aspect of Dungeon Meshi I hope more and more anime (or shows in general) take inspiration from is how it handles autistic characters. Laios and Falin aren't just the usual autistic rep you see in media where they're socially inept, incapable of taking things seriously, and you're supposed to laugh at them.

Laios has his strengths. He's one to quietly observe and plan. He saves the party's asses time and time again with his knowledge of monsters, because they're his special interest. He does struggle to pick up on social cues, and he often words his thoughts in a terrible way, but he's not stupid. He's a lovable goof.

Falin is very similar, but rather than trying and failing to take part in social situations, she keeps to herself. Both her and Laios were outcasted where they grew up for being "weird," but whereas Laios actively looked for somewhere to fit in, Falin suffered in silence. It's a big deal when she starts hitting it off with Marcille. She has someone to spend time with and share her interests with, and Marcille is another magic user!

The show isn't shy about the fact that because Falin keeps quiet and acts like a lady is "supposed to," she isn't seen as bad as Laios is. When both of them come to this new place to start fresh, Laios tries and tries to fit in with others, but Falin doesn't. That makes her desirable to others, especially in a more medieval setting like this one. Shuro lashes out at Laios for being unable to pick up on any hints that he doesn't like him, and all the supposedly terrible traits he lists off are also traits Falin has. Shuro is in love with Falin though, which is telling.

The show does all of this so well, and at no point is it preachy. There is no point where the show stops to explain that 'this character has autism' or tell the audience how autism works. It expects the audience to see how these characters are treated and come to conclusions on their own. There are people out there who deny that any of this subtext exists, because the word autism is never outright said in the show or manga, but...come on.

[friendsoup]

Falin in a Relationship!

Recipe: Falin x Reader, Falin x Feminine! Reader, Reader isn't explicitly a girl but they're a feminine person

WC: 609

Chef's Note: It's been a while since I've written something that isn't reverse1999! I've been meaning to write Dungeon Meshi x Reader for a while! And after checking the tags, I was shocked to see none of the girls being written!!! Dungeon Meshi has so many beautiful women, why is no one writing about them? Anyways, I plan to do one for Marcille too, bc I'd feel bad if I did one of the doomed yuri girls and not the other... Who else should I do? Keep in mind I prefer writing girls!

You have to be INCREDIBLY obvious with your feelings in order to get through to her. No amount of flirting will get through her head. She just thinks you’re being nice.

When you do confess to her, she seemingly doesn’t react at first. She gives a simple “Thank you.” And wanders away. Don’t be fooled though, she’s only doing this so she can hide away and cover her face. She’s deeply flattered and flustered by your confession, she just doesn’t want to show it.

Falin loves gift giving. If she sees something that reminds her of you, she’s getting it right away. Rocks the color of your eyes, robin egg shells (you wore a dress this color once! She remembers it clearly), berries and nuts (she knows which ones you prefer). All of these things will be casually placed into your hands without explanation. She rarely talks about her own feelings, especially her romantic ones, so it’s up to you to decide what they mean.

Quality time is really really big for Falin. She wants to spend as much free time with you as possible. One of her favorite things to do with you is cooking! She likes to experiment in the kitchen, not strictly following the recipe. The success of the dishes varies… Sometimes they’re really good, sometimes they’re hot garbage. But she’ll still eat every bite, as it was a labor of love from the both of you.

Stray animals follow the two of you around constantly. You know it’s because Falin has a weak spot for them and feeds them on her way home, but she denies this adamantly. Stray cats push up against her legs and purr, and stray dogs always wag their tails when she walks by. She seems to have a way with animals that makes them really like her. And because you have her scent on you, they like you too.

Falin gets sensory overload in crowded places. When she’s beginning to grow nervous, she’ll clutch onto your arm and bury her head in your shoulder. Your scent is really calming to her. When you switch perfumes, she gets upset.

The fanciest date you’ll get with Falin is going to a play. She’ll dress in a casual, loose fitting suit (or whatever you dress her in, she doesn’t exactly care for fashion), and might even put on make up. All of that gets washed away however, as Falin always ends up crying during the emotional bits of the show. She’s not exactly a pretty crier either. Puffy red cheeks, snot dripping from her nose, her large eyes slightly red from tears. It’s a good idea to bring a handkerchief if going with her.

HIKES!!! Falin loves going on hikes, and will take you along as well if you let her. She’ll tell you about the herbs, berries, and flowers you see on the way. About how to grow them and their medicinal purposes. She’ll talk about the bugs the two of you see, their behaviors and properties. And she’ll point out all the animals on the trail, and talk about their habits and diets. The amount of knowledge she has on nature is stunning, and you always end up learning something new.

Though Falin is a bit spacey, she never forgets any of your likes or interests. She tries to meet you halfway on them, even if she can’t understand them. She’ll try to read the books you like, play the games you’re into, and watch the things you’re interested in. Even if she doesn’t like it herself, she’ll always try to turn it into something the both of you can enjoy.

[alittleplaytime]

Marcille Donato Agere Stimboard!!

🥧 📜 🌱 | 🥧 📜 🌱 | 🥧 📜 🌱

🌼 media: dungeon meshi

🐝 age appropriate? a lot of people are rating it for above 13 or MA but for the most part it isn't a very bad anime gore or sexual wise, especially compared to a lot of other popular animes atm, just be sure to double check any given warnings as always and remember it's okay to turn anything off if it isn't for you <3.

🍯 rqd by: @honeyhalcyon

🌻 note: i feel like marcille would have a very soft regression due to all the stress of the dungeons and her dislike for most of the things pertaining to it. she'd probably bake with senshi a lot but refuse to do any sort of cooking and is always asking chilchuck to help her braid her hair. someone free this girl of any stress!!!! (i can't stop giggling at the pumpkin in the image)

[bananonbinary]

been reading dungeon meshi and this one side adventure goof is fucking me up so bad

copypasted from my ramblings in discord:

actually the living paintings are real fucked up in general. we know that was ACTUALLY thistle in there, but its presumably an illusion, and not time travel, right? so thistle just....visits the shadows of his dead friends/family from when they were happy? that's fucked up thistle. like, theres a REAL village where everyone except delgal is living a kind of shitty immortality. but thistle isn't really well-liked there, and presumably doesn't have interactions that arent "intimidate them." so instead he hangs out in the paintings? and based on this joke aside, how much of those paintings can be said to have the "real" delgal in them? are they self aware like lil laios, or do they just live out these short moments over and over again with no idea they're just shadows on the wall? i live in this rabbit hole now lol wait actually, thistle was in all three paintings laios visited, and referenced them later when they properly met. so does he just have like...a piece of him in there all the time? he's just constantly reliving some of the best and worst moments of his life, watching it over and over and over while the rest of him is out there looking for delgal? jfc thistle you need therapy

note: i've only watched the anime and am still making my way through the manga, so no spoilers beyond where the anime stops please!

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: I think we all know I basically spent these 3 chapters cackling maniacally

In the demon business, we call that BAIT!

.

I'm all but wiggling happily. I love a good game of chess. I'm not entirely sure it actually is a game of chess beyond in Kabru's mind.

.

OH GOOD HE'S A LITTLE BIT STUPID. This comic really does take care to portray people as badass, hyper-competent, and kinda stupid, all in different ways.

.

oh, ALWAYS love a Santa-coded crime boss.

.

I appreciate that Kabru's pride is solidly among the things he's 100% willing to temporarily ignore in order to be someone's friend/get them to do what he wants. I like that in a man.

.

Interesting - clearly he's being magically influenced, but not so...directly? as to have the hourglass pupils.

.

^ words of a man who is about to get his ass, and his entire criminal organization, absolutely WHUPPED by like 6 elves. I suspect the Canaries are underestimating the tallmen and other denizens of this dungeon, because they're arrogant pricks, but the locals are underestimating this elite team of elvish warriors a LOT more. I can't wait to find out what they're actually doing while "sight-seeing." Spreading out into tactical positions, maybe?

.

ASS! WHUPPED! omg it's like an evil version of the Wink.

.

I want to see this fight animated so fucking bad.

I dunno, Kabru, he clearly uses the combination pretty fucking effectively.

.

WHY DO YOU THINK THAT A VISIBLE DEMONSTRATION OF MONSTERS WILL GET THROUGH WHERE WORDS DIDN'T? These people already know there are monsters down here... And at best, of course, a bunch of people will die... But they're just short-lived races so I suppose it doesn't matter :)

.

While I do appreciate this dedication to making Mithrun look as cool as possible at all times, sending a giant, zombie-making walking mushroom into the middle of the Level 4 lake is going to be SUCH a disruption to that ecosystem!! Somewhere, Senshi just groaned in pain like Obi-Wan when Alderaan was destroyed.

.

Mithrun has recognized that Kabru is going at picking out unusual people in a crowd, and is now using him as a manhandled tool to do so, and I just think that's Neat.

And it works! (So now it's their turn to get their asses handed to them.)

.

This chapter cover is giving me a lot of feelings about...love, and families of choice.

Except for how I'm holding Laios in one arm while brandishing a knife at that lion fountain behind him. Get the HELL away from my boy, you tiny manifestation of the granting of wishes, and all you greater ones as well.

.

oh are they now? They're definitely canaries in a coal mine, then. Badass and valued for their skills, but disposable. Hmm AU where Marcille...

.

oh my god holy shit never mind, it turns out Thistle sucks at this when facing an opponent who isn't caught off-guard.

.

It is possible that Mithrun is honestly, earnestly trying to help Thistle? As best he can?

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Sharing food as love!!!

MY GIRL!!

.

STILL A TEAM!

.

Oh Mithrun actually only has one eye, it's not just dramatic anime effect + hair flop? Hm. Should have a cool scar to make it clearer. I'm impressed with what depth perception he's shown, though, with the teleporting!

Obviously this does mean he ranks up in the Favorite Characters list.

.

Kabru: Ooh nice strategy, manipulating all those people in order to manipulate that one person!

Kabru: Wait, right, I still don't like you.

.

Yes! Yes! The Kabru's inner desires is OUT! He is impulsively risking this chance to prevent another Utaya - his stated goal, the obvious greater good, definitely very genuinely his primary focus - in favor of demanding the answers he WANTS, and the independence from long-lived elves.

YOU TELL 'EM, BUDDY! TAKE A STAND! BURN YOUR BRIDGES!!

.

I appreciate that Mithrun isn't bad at this personal assessment thing.

.

brb need to go chew a wall or something!

[whumpsday]

3 whumpy anime to check out this spring!

Go Go Loser Ranger is a heroes vs. villains anime where the villains are the good guys and the heroes are downright evil. Having wiped out all the powerful monsters more than a decade ago, the heroes keep the weakest monsters captive, to parade around and torment on a weekly basis while the public believes otherwise. Because they're immortal when hit with most weapons, they'll always reform to be hurt over and over again, despite feeling all the pain.

Footsoldier D is one of those weak monsters, an immortal shapeshifter made of dust, called a "duster". After escaping the heroes' arena, he forms a plan to kill the heroes and steal the few weapons they have that can permanently kill dusters, freeing the rest of his kind. Given that he has the constitution of a porcelain doll, he can't use strength to fight: he has to rely on wits, stealth, shapeshifting (despite knowing very little about humans or the outside world), and a shaky alliance with a double-agent ranger who seems to be taking advantage of him for her own gain.

Whump tags: villain whumpee, hero whumper, immortal whumpee

Watch it on Hulu, Disney+, or any unofficial anime site.

And if you don't have time to check out a whole anime, the Go Go Loser Ranger opening theme video is also really good, with fantastic visuals symbolizing D's struggles!

An Archdemon's Dilemma is a romantic comedy stuffed to the brim with popular whump tropes. Zagan is a demonic sorcerer who attends an auction for the possessions of another recently-killed sorcerer, when he sees that one of those "possessions" is an elf slave, Nephelia. Having had a destitute, harsh past himself, he feels a rush of sympathy and buys her way out, vowing to ensure her safety. However, Nephelia is terrified, believing she's about to be used as a sacrifice in a dark magic ritual. And unfortunately for both of them, Zagan is a socially awkward loser who sucks at communicating.

It's surreal seeing something that looks like it could be a caretaker-new-master whump fic as an actual, fully-realized anime. It definitely doesn't take itself too seriously despite the premise, leaning heavily on the "comedy" part of romantic comedy, and is mostly just a silly time with lots of whump-adjacent stuff thrown in. Fanfic-y to the point of "there's only one bed" being an actual line.

Whump tags: fantasy slavery (very pet-whump-esque in its tropes), caretaker new master

Watch it on Crunchyroll or any unofficial anime site.

The Grimm Variations is an anthology of horror retellings of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. With each episode being written and directed by different people, it varies wildly in quality, with episodes ranging from laughably bad to incredibly good, but I'm here to talk about episode 2: Little Red Riding Hood.

The Little Red Riding Hood takes place in a dystopian future where the upper and middle class use virtual reality technology to augment their reality. One man, Grey, is tired of this and craves the real: specifically, the feeling of real blood spraying him as he murders countless women, his wealth and connections protecting him from consequences. But when this serial killer makes the mistake of targeting a woman called Scarlet, he finds himself on the other side of the knife. This episode is a complete and utter gorefest with multiple onscreen torture scenes.

This isn't even my favorite episode of the series, it's like my 3rd favorite. But episode 2 is the one with the gruesome torture scene, so it's the one that goes in this post.

Little Red Riding Hood whump tags: whumper-turned-whumpee, torture, gore

Little Red Riding Hood warnings: sexual assault, eye gore, fingernail gore, violence against women, major character death

Watch it on Netflix or any unofficial anime site. Orrrr if you just wanna watch the big torture scene without any of the context, it's on Youtube.

that's all I have for now :)

(P.S: Dungeon Meshi, while not really whumpy as a whole, is also currently airing and very very good and I might write whump fanfic for it at some point in the near future. Netflix or any unofficial anime site.)

[lintwizardlyart]

on my hands and knees reminding dunmeshi tumblr to spoiler tag manga panels, fanart of characters/designs that haven't appeared in the anime yet, and ESPECIALLY postcanon material.

Over the last few years when we were all experiencing the manga serialized people got out of the habit of using spoiler tags because it was assumed everyone who was in the tag was on the same page but now we have anime-onlies. Yes, entering the tag is always going to be done at your own risk, yes tumblr is a bad website and it isn't all going to be avoidable. But we shouldn't deny anime-onlies the freedom to participate in the general tags for fear of spoilers. We got to experience the twists and turns of the story as intended, there are parts of dungeon meshi's story that for some, are going to be better experienced blind. We're all tagging like three different versions of the title anyway.

[dunmeshistash]

Third time I get a huge ask about representation in dungeon meshi.

People praise dungeon meshi for representation cause they are comparing it to other anime, the reason is that simple.

Some people do exaggerate on the compliments and Dungeon Meshi has a colorism problem but I think it's kinda silly to pretend you don't understand why it gets praised, unless you have never watched anime before.

Also race representation isn't the only representation that people praise Dungeon Meshi for, what was the last anime you've seen where heavier looking people weren't the butt of the joke if they were there at all? Not even anime, media in general? What was the last show you've seen where disabled people are defined by more than just their disability? Not that many, the fact is that dungeon meshi is a step in the right direction even if it's not good enough it's a start.

For the piss on the poor crowd: The good parts of Dungeon Meshi don't erase the bad parts, the bad parts don't erase the good parts.

[room-surprise]

do you know or have thoughts on why the dm characters sometimes reference ‘hell’ (as in ‘what the hell?’) given how the series handles religion? is that an anime thing or translation thing or…???

This is such a great question, and fun to answer, so thank you for writing to me!!! I think there's two things happening at the same time: What does hell really mean in English, and what are the characters actually saying in the original Japanese?

If the characters say hell in the original manga or in any translations, I think it is pretty safe to assume that they aren't referring to the Christian hell specifically, since it doesn't appear to exist in the Dungeon Meshi world. They are instead referring to the generic concept of a hell.

NON-CHRISTIAN HELLS

Hell is a word that can refer to a "bad afterlife" in many different world cultures. Obviously all of these cultures have their own names for these places, but when they are translated into English they are frequently referred to as "Buddhist hell", "Hindu hell", "Nordic hell", etc.

The word "hell" was adopted by Christians to describe something in their religion, but does not originate with them.

The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, to refer to a nether world of the dead. The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, and they all ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun xaljō or haljō ('concealed place, the underworld'), and can be traced back even further to Proto-Indo European.

When the Germanic peoples were converted to Christianity, the word "hell" was adopted to refer to the Christian underworld. Before that time, hell was called many different things by the Christians, including "Sheol" (grave, death, pit, underworld), "Gehenna" (valley of wailing), "Hades" or "Tartarus." (The first two are Hebrew words, and the latter two are Ancient Greek. All of these words are attempting to describe similar things, a bad afterlife.) These Germanic cultures (most of Northern, Western and Central Europe) are the primary cultural influence of Dungeon Meshi's Eastern and Northern Continents, where the story takes place, and where most of the characters are from. So the word hel/hell would be native to the region, and logical for the characters to use both as a swear word, and also as a reference to whatever afterlife they might believe in.

WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY SAYING THOUGH?

Dungeon Meshi is, for better or for worse, written in standard, contemporary Japanese, without any particular emphasis or attempt to sound "old fashioned" or like it is "fantasy", so any changes or additions made in translation to make the dialog or narration sound that way are just that: additions and changes. The changes made during translation aren't inherently bad, but the original text is very neutral, and open to interpretation. For example, Yaad calls Laios "tono/dono" in Japanese, which is an honorific that has no direct English equivalent, but is used between two people of similar social status, when one wants to be extra polite to the other. It does not imply nobility, but respect higher than "mister" and lower than "lord." Most English translations have rendered this as "Sir Laios" which isn't literally what Yaad says, but conveys the idea with something that "feels right" for the setting. It may be that in Dungeon Meshi the characters are literally saying the English word "hell/heru" in Japanese (ヘル), the word jigoku (地獄), which is the Japanese word for Buddhist hell, another word for a specific different underworld or afterlife, they are saying a Japanese swear word, or just using casual/impolite language that doesn't have a direct translation into English, and so needs to be localized into something that will make sense in English.

The last one is most likely what is happening, and I can think of a couple of common phrases that would most likely be translated into "What the hell?":

The polite, neutral way to say "What's that?" or "What [should I] do?" is "Nan-darou? (なんだろう?) or "Nani?" (何), which just means "What?"

The more casual, aggressive, masculine way of saying it is "Nani-kore?" (なにこれ？) which doesn't mention hell in any way, but translates to something like "What the hell?" or "What the fuck?" It's more rude because it's casual speech, but doesn't literally use words for hell or fuck in it. It technically means the same thing as "Nan-darou?" or "Nani?" But translating it the same way would be ignoring the context and tone of the words.

Another thing that's often said in Japanese is "Uso!" (うそ！) Which literally means "lie" or "not true", but in conversation it’s often used to say things like "you're lying!", "For real?!", "really?", or "No way!"

Often these exclamations of "Uso!" don't have anything to do with lying or untruths, they are meant to express surprise (this can't be happening!) or a response to someone talking about an outrageous and terrible event they experienced, like saying "No way! I can't believe that happened to you!" It's also sometimes translated as "What the hell…" or "Unbelievable…"

If the translators tried to keep this sort of thing literal, the manga would be full of lines like:

CHILCHUCK, running for his life from a mimic: What's this?! (Nani-kore?!) (He isn't literally asking what the mimic is, he is expressing surprise, so he should shout some curse words in English like hell, fuck, shit, etc.)

MARCILLE, horrified by the chimera: Lie! (Uso!) (She isn't just saying the word "lie" with no context, she is expressing shock, horror and disbelief at what she sees, so she should say something like "No, that can't be..." or "Impossible...")

I am not an expert in Japanese, but I hope that all of this is helpful to you, anon, and anyone else that's interested in this sort of thing!