As I better acquaint myself with the wide variety of manga out there, there have been occasions wherein my brain asks, with no small amount of incredulity, "Wait a minute, this is actually a thing?"
Example one would be when I read the first volume of Monster Musume, which served as my introduction to the harem genre. While there was a time I would have enjoyed the offerings of this genre, that time is now past. So it goes.
Example two is Delicious in Dungeon, a Christmas gift from an anime-manga loving sister-in-law. One who not only knows that I have started to venture into the realm of manga, but also knows that I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for well over a decade.
Here we have two great things, manga and D&D, that taste great together. But there is more, so much more. Delicious in Dungeon is rooted in something known as the gourmet genre. Which means the focus is, for the most part, on recipes, ingredients, and preparations. You know, foodie stuff.
But first, the backstory: One fine day the floor in the catacombs of a small village gives way. A man crawls out of the sinkhole and tells the villagers that he was the king of a wealthy country that had been entombed and hidden by a lunatic magician. His dying words are that whoever, or whomever, defeats the magician will have the country, and its riches, bestowed to them.
And so the treasure hunt begins... only there are all kinds of dangerous and deadly monsters and traps lurking in the world beneath those catacombs.
Laios and his adventuring companions run afoul of one such monster, a large red dragon, and get their collective backsides whooped good and hard. Victory is quite literally tossed from the jaws of defeat, when one of the team, trapped inside the red dragon's mouth, teleports the rest to safety.
Now Laios, and the few who decide to return with him, is in a race against time to save the team member that saved them. That said team member also happens to be his sister only adds to the urgency...
Short on supplies and coin, Laios makes the bold and brash decision to eat the monsters they kill on their journey. Only not every member of the team is okay with this. Until they cross paths with a monster chef of a dwarf named Senshi, that is. He is able to make the distasteful concept of eating monsters into a rather tasteful reality.
Because Senshi, you see, knows a thing or three about how to turn monster remains into a meal. He also relishes the chance to cook a red dragon, so he is quite happy to join Laios's team. Amusing shenanigans ensue, of course.
The only downside to this first volume is how the fate of Falin, Laios's sister and presumed red dragon snack, remains TBD. While all this entertaining monster killing and cooking was going on, the memory of the traumatic ending to The Final Prayer (aka The Borderlands) refused to be ignored. Which added some bitter zest to this gastronomic-themed adventure.
More, please...
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