A review by saramarie08
Delicious in Dungeon, Volume 1 by Ryoko Kui
4.0
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Laios' entire party is wiped out by a dragon, but his little sister manages to cast a teleportation spell on everyone except herself. The three remaining members are transported outside of the dungeon, but without any of their provisions or other supplies, including their money. Laios is determined to go back in and revive his sister before she's fully digested by the dragon, but without food or money to buy more, he turns to a more unsavory (or maybe it is savory?) option - eating the monsters and plants foraged from inside the dungeon. Along the way, they meet a dwarf who has made a lot of progress in figuring out which monsters and plants are edible, but not so much headway in conquering the dungeon. Together, they eat their way through the dungeon, one floor - and monster - at a time.
This is an interesting food manga, perhaps for those places where students want Food Wars. As Dungeons and Dragons is gaining renewed popularity, this would be a good one to have on hand for students looking for something that would tie into their campaigns. I appreciated the stat bonuses after each meal so readers can know just how beneficial each meal was for the adventurers. The story itself is your basic level-grinding adventure that is common in Isekai stories or lots of other dungeon crawlers, but the main way this one stands out is in its attention to the culinary aspects of dungeon adventures. In this, it is pretty thorough, and readers will see lots of different cooking techniques that just might get them interested in cooking in real life. Hand this one to the kid D&D campaigns who is always cooking for the party, or even the dungeon master themself.
The illustrations in this story employ lots of the "chibi" aspects where everyone is drawn with cute but small proportions. There are some scenes that are immensely detailed and immersive. The fantasy creatures are all really interesting and well designed.
Yen Press rates this for Teen. Aside from some fantasy violence (very little bloodshed on the page), this would be a fine title for younger teens, and still engaging for older students as well.
Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12
Laios' entire party is wiped out by a dragon, but his little sister manages to cast a teleportation spell on everyone except herself. The three remaining members are transported outside of the dungeon, but without any of their provisions or other supplies, including their money. Laios is determined to go back in and revive his sister before she's fully digested by the dragon, but without food or money to buy more, he turns to a more unsavory (or maybe it is savory?) option - eating the monsters and plants foraged from inside the dungeon. Along the way, they meet a dwarf who has made a lot of progress in figuring out which monsters and plants are edible, but not so much headway in conquering the dungeon. Together, they eat their way through the dungeon, one floor - and monster - at a time.
This is an interesting food manga, perhaps for those places where students want Food Wars. As Dungeons and Dragons is gaining renewed popularity, this would be a good one to have on hand for students looking for something that would tie into their campaigns. I appreciated the stat bonuses after each meal so readers can know just how beneficial each meal was for the adventurers. The story itself is your basic level-grinding adventure that is common in Isekai stories or lots of other dungeon crawlers, but the main way this one stands out is in its attention to the culinary aspects of dungeon adventures. In this, it is pretty thorough, and readers will see lots of different cooking techniques that just might get them interested in cooking in real life. Hand this one to the kid D&D campaigns who is always cooking for the party, or even the dungeon master themself.
The illustrations in this story employ lots of the "chibi" aspects where everyone is drawn with cute but small proportions. There are some scenes that are immensely detailed and immersive. The fantasy creatures are all really interesting and well designed.
Yen Press rates this for Teen. Aside from some fantasy violence (very little bloodshed on the page), this would be a fine title for younger teens, and still engaging for older students as well.
Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12