Monster Biology and Dungeon Ecology 101: How a "food" anime teaches SCIENCE [Delicious in Dungeon]

Welp. Didn't expect the tonal shift in the most recent episode :) I just like the anime

talking about how it’s a silly lighthearted adventure Episode 11:

Speculative biology so tasty...

To be honest, I think the timing may have been good for Dungeon Meshi. This nuanced approach is something the author did on every level, making the story rather slow burn - and the first major payoffs have just started to hit the anime, just as Fieren reached its finale. Viewers hungry for more after that will find Dungeon Meshi's finished cooking its first course! As for the future, we've got a lot more of this pseudobiology to see! Though at about halfway through the full story, it transitions from examining the biology of individual monsters, to that of dungeons as ecosystems/superorganisms, and their relationship with humans. Even getting into the sociology and philosophy of what food means to people.

Dungeon Meshi scratches the same itch that Monster Hunter does for me, the intricate ecosystem created in both of these worlds makes them some of the most appealing fantasy worlds ever made.

I really want to see more fantasy stories with biology/ ecology concepts. It's always a bit weird when monsters are a narrative force acting against humans, rather than part of an ecosystem (and surely wary of human civilisations).

Chefs are just hungry Alchemists.

As someone who loves studying biology, Delicious in Dungeon is my all-time favorite! Not only is the ecology and biology fascinating and solidly thought out, the art and story writing are truly top notch!!

This (comic book) series has been very popular online for many more years than Frieren's has even existed, so the little jab at the end is a little funny.

Wake up a new underrated Channel popped up in your recommendation!

bro i was watching a video about dungeon meshi and the old sharlayan night music caught me off guard. insta sub

I find this series is fascinating because it is the rate fantasy romp that manages to apply rationalistic naturalism to the fantastic in a way which neither kills the sense of magic nor makes the setting seem become a cheap veneer that flakes off on close examination. The world is rich & interdependent, in a way that doesn't just lurk Round waiting for player characters to stumble upon it. Nor does it turn magic into Science But Sparkly - the origins of magic in dungeons. from SPOILER, offload that into extradimentional weirdness rather than anything too complicated. It's mysterious and scary and kinda unknowable, understood in broad strokes but never reduced to "the ruleset of the universe you can master like a minmaxer".

Dungeon Meshi's biological approach to their monsters reminds me a lot of Monster Hunter, my first impression after reading the manga is that it's "Monster Hunter with magic and a lot more cooking".

This video explains exactly why i love, love, LOVE dungeon meshi compared to any other fantasy media rn. I am also a spec zoology and paleo nerd, general animal lover, so seeing a fantasy show explain monsters in a technical sense rather than explaining them away as demons from another realm or some advance magic sorcery shit-- just like mentioned in the video, they aren't just obstacles to get over, the mosnters and fauna are part of the dungeon, part of the world of dungeon meshi. No hate on anyone who does likes frienren and whatnot, i see the appeal and i have watched like 10+ episodes before dropping it, but it honestly just made me really bored. I like character driven stories, and the generally slow pacing it has to make us soak up all the scenes and dialogue as well, but the world of frienren felt really lacking and just forgettable to me. When i first saw the solar dragon, i was excited to see maybe some sun or fire related dragon stuff, but was met with a weirdly anatomically structured dragon who was just another obstacle. Every time frienren is maybe shown researching or doing her potion hunts, i wish it explained a little more about how frienren operates and does stuff, i want to see her knowledge outside of being op in combat. I do like their magic system somewhat, refreshing to see new magic be added and not old magic needing to be rediscovered by the main cast to defeat the big bad. TLDR, Id wish more fantasy media was a little more into the biology, botany and zoology of the world theyre making instead of being so so heavily focused on the race wars they have between elves and orcs

I love fantasy settings with detailed and well explained biology and ecosystems

by the way wait until you see the rest of the story lmao (i read the manga a long while back, super cook read tbh) also this is honestly a super cool take and video!! ty for the upload :D

The funny thing is thst you "think" you know what the show is about. But... you don't lol. Not even close if you read the manga. Finished it and it was masterpiece. The "shift" didn't happened still, and wont until... spoiler...

An amazing anime! I love the breakdown.

Love when biologist write fantasy.

WARNING THIS MANGA ONLY STARTS LIGHT HEARTED IT GETS DARK