#the same also goes for senshi and his knowledge of living in the dungeon and cooking monsters and everything

[sullina]

One thing that i personally find just so refreshing in dungeon meshi is the fact that Laios' special interest in monsters and his detailed knowledge of them is NOT reduced to a punchline of "this weird character deriving joy of their special interest and wanting to share in that joy is so cringe and funny, like, read the room weirdo lol" like how you would see in a disney channel show (the one side character from wizards of waverly place somehow comes to mind. The one who really liked food themed clothing and often made that stuff herself. It's an incredible talent, but the show only ever called her weird and cringe and the fact that she seemed to be unaware that she was weird was only ever a punchline for the audience to laugh at)

But no, Laios takes a great interest in monsters, and instead of a punchline, his knowledge is treated as a vital part of the teams arsenal.

In any other anime or show, Laios would be the weird punchline side character whose sole purpose would be to make the cool main characters look cooler, and anytime he would propose a plan, he wouldn't even get to finish, because the only plan the Cool Main Cast is interest in is "hit it until it dies". And the times when that plan fails, it would be weird side character who would tell them the weak spot of whatever monster they're fighting, they win by exploiting that weak spot, and the character who GAVE that vital information is never acknowledged in that victory.

But not in dungeon meshi, and i just. I'm so glad about that, because yeah, information and knowledge actually IS vitally important! You can't win against things like monsters with violence alone, because 9/10 times, they'll have you beat in the brute strength department!

At several parts of the story, Laios' knowledge saves the team, the earliest example i can think of being the kelpie scene, with Laios being the first and only one to realize that the kelpie was gonna drag Senshi underwater. It's also the same scene where it's shown that while Laios loves monsters, he is also fully aware, perhaps even more so than most, that monsters are still dangerous.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #laios touden #the same also goes for senshi and his knowledge of living in the dungeon and cooking monsters and everything #but i feel like with laios it's still different

[dunmeshi-darlings]

I was inspired by those cute little mouse Beast-Man Kui drew.

How about a super tiny mouse Beast-Man (based on a Half-Foot I guess to make them extra tiny as opposed to a Tall-Man Beast-Man) joining the Laios party?

Who would let them sit on their shoulders? Would Izutsumi try to hunt them? Would Senshi let they hide in his beard? (I'm imagining just a tiny pink nose sticking out there now)

Oh good heavens anon this sounds absolutely adorable! i wish this was a thing in dungeon meshi because i would love to see adorable little mouse beast-men.

He would adore you and ask all kinds of questions, asking if he can look at your whiskers and tail, he would ask questions about what its like living as a mouse beast man.

Laios would offer to carry you around in his backpack, Hanging out in his pack as you read through his monster manual impressed with his knowledge as well as how strangely good he is at drawing...at least when drawing monsters

Marcille would find you absolutely adorable and and tiny, and if you have ever wondered what it feels like to be a purse dog you will find out as she will carry you around and dote on you. even if you get mad at her she cant help but find you adorable and try to give you scratches.

Chilchuck has to constantly get onto her and remind her that you are not in fact a small purse pet and are instead a living sentient person and you deserve respect and not to be treated like a pet. Much to her embarrassment and her forgetting that sometimes, she says she cant help it your little face is too cute.

Chilchuck actually treats you like a regular grown person, he doesnt infantilize you or anything like that. He is incredibly curious about how you seem to be related to half-foots but not the same. That maybe the fact your a beast man changes some things up and you are your own unique race.

He makes sure to help keep you out of trouble in fights, he already knows he isnt good in a fight so he can only imagine the amount of trouble you would have. He would always make sure to get you to a safe spot or keep you hidden so you dont get hurt or anything.

You are absolutely correct he lets you hide in his beard, your little mouse nose sticking out as he goes about his work or cooking. bringing various bits of food down to his beard for you to taste. Him making you his official taste tester as he cooks to make sure it all tastes good.

He also often asks you to help him with the cooking, mostly retrieving ingredients and bringing him his tools he needs for the cooking as he goes about cooking. you are his favorite little assistant chef.

You ever see tom and jerry? yeah thats whats going to happen, you two are going to pick and mess with each other constantly. she chases you around like a regular cat, and you harass and poke at her and take bits of her food when she isnt looking.

Dont be mistaken, you two are the closest in the entire group. bonding about being beast men, your experiences being viewed how you are, and as well as just being inftantalized. You two would be ride or die for each other and would kick the ass of anyone that tried to mess with the other one. you two are the only ones allowed to mess with each other.

#dungeon meshi #laios #chilchuck #marcille #senshi #izutsumi

[sonoda-oomers]

big fat spoiler warning for chapter 74 onward and just the manga in general but i wanna talk about dungeon meshi and the dynamics between authority and deviance

i would say this is the main theme dungeon meshi depicts but it’s been unfolding slowly. particularly themes of deviance have always been there, through the absurdity of eating dungeon monsters and senshi’s lifestyle, but to the audience at first the absurdity served to contribute to the manga’s humor. as the story progressed, the authority aspect slowly revealed itself, starting with the party’s fear of being persecuted for using ancient magic... and the tone became darker and darker until you ended up watching marcille be humiliated and insulted for her mixed race and you realize oh wow things are fucked up fucked up

after reading the clusterfuck that is ch74 the first thing that came to my mind was irony. the canaries insult marcille for things out of her control, for information that she had no agency in revealing let alone deceive anyone with (it was chil who gave it out, and without his agency too), and it felt like they were making a horrific show out of toying with her for no reason. thing is, while they mock marcille for her deviance, we already know the canaries is a party made out of deviants: most of them are considered dangerous individuals valued by the elven court for their abilities. to somewhat escape the label of deviant they were re-employed by authority and became an agent of it, and so they felt justified belittling marcille even though the only thing that separates her from them is she’s only half elf. the whole ordeal is horrific and tragic.

even before the events of ch74, the main cast of dungeon meshi has always also been a party of deviants. senshi’s lifestyle marks him out the most, but personally what i’ve always focused on is how laios and falin are clearly neurodivergent and their neurodivergence plays a huge part in not only their personal character arcs but also the story at large. needless to say, they have always had difficulty getting along with their peers, due to the different ways they perceive and interact with the world and the people in it. during the events of dungeon meshi, falin suffers a bit from damsel disease so her influence is mostly motivating other characters (but one of them is marcille so ig that cancels out????), while laios’ fixation on monster knowledge goes mostly unacknowledged and even belittled by the same people whose lives were saved by said knowledge. the way people in the world of dungeon meshi treat laios and falin plays very well into the themes, depicting “authority” as a social concept instead of one visible villain.

as the plot progressed to introduce the canaries the power struggle was made clearer: long-lived races have a sense of superiority over those who don’t live as long. but this power dynamic is not simple and even: the elven court in particular has become a very visible and aggressive oppressor, staking their claims over land and even magic practices. it’s very interesting, however, that the story of dungeon meshi explores these power struggles only in the confines of “the island”: the one group representing the elven court on the island is also very much surveilled and persecuted by the authority they represent. as a result, these political topics are brought down to a very personal level: the prejudices of the elven world are reflected in how the canaries treat marcille’s origins and agency. all these prejudices exist in every regular person, willingly or not they’re all part of the cycle of abuse, and they’re all subsceptible to the thirst for authority.

marcille’s wish to even the lifespan of all races is something that can affect the whole world as it is, but at the same time it was made up only from her perception of the world and how she feels for the people closest to her. this is also reflected in the act of becoming dungeon master itself: while the wish can affect anything, the actual position gives one power over a world that, while insanely manipulable, is completely closed off and stunted as it denies outside feedback that would cause it to change and grow. this image can be applied to all sorts of conflicts in the dungeon meshi world: how people treat laois and falin, the governor’s greed, how the canaries treat marcille, etc.

people are engaged in this constant battle for the seat of authority, for the ability to cast aside the feelings and needs of others and exile deviants who don’t fit into their ideal, to make up for what they’d gone through themselves as deviants, to be allowed to remain as stunted and unchanging as the authority who oppressed them. but very few people actually recognize the terrifying void in the closed off world offered up by the illusion of authority, even people like mithrun who supposedly know better: in perceiving marcille as a deviant, dismissing her as a person with agency and reasoning and motivations independent of authority figures, and arrogantly assuming what she wants, he only managed to piss her off and set off what he wanted to stop.

only by forcing a path out of the dungeon’s closed off world, only by valuing and seeking help from other people, only then was change able to go forward. rip delgal he was a real one

#spud.txt #kas overthinks media #dungeon meshi #at some point i thought dm was like an absurd gag manga that became more serious as time went on but now i'm like... Dang #the signs have always been there scoob...