Delicious in Dungeon

Plot

In a fantasy world of dungeon exploration, guilds go out on expeditions to raid dungeons, hoping to find the mysterious Golden Kingdom claimed to be the treasure of the dungeon. The story starts with a failed mission, where six members of a team try to take on a dragon but end up escaping at the cost of losing a member to the dragon’s stomach. After this, two team members leave to join another team, leaving only Laios (a human swordsman), Chilchack (a halfling locksmith), and Marcille (an elven spellcaster) to grieve over Laios’ sister, Farin (a human spellcaster). Feeling indebted to their close teammate Farin, who used magic to teleport the team outside to safety, the remainder of the team brainstorms how to get back to the dungeon level with the dragon in time to save Farin from digestion. Very similar to a roleplaying fantasy game like D&D, the team members must consider the cost of weapons, defense, recruitment fees for more team members, and food. With their money, equipment, and supplies left behind in the dungeon, their mission seems impossible, until Laios suggests they save money and time by finding food to eat within the dungeon. This way, they do not have to downgrade their equipment for money and also do not have to return to the outside every time they need more food. Secretly, Laios has wanted to eat dungeon monsters for a long time. However, this is typically never done and Chilchack and Marcille are opposed. Laios reassures them that he has a book of what is edible and recipes on how to cook, and they head off to the first floor of the dungeon. The first floor is filled with adventurers and is like a market, and this is where the team meets and joins Senshi, a dwarf who has 10 years of experience sustaining himself from the dungeon.

Every chapter of the manga shows this team of four traveling through the dungeon, introducing environments (such as forests and lagoons) filled with new creatures. These creatures are typical fantasy role-playing game monsters, such as walking mushrooms, screaming mandrakes, huge scorpions, mimics, golems, and slimes. Some, such as the mandrakes, mushrooms, and scorpions are not too difficult to imagine as recipe ingredients, yet others such as slimes and golems showcase Ryoko Kui’s creativity, as slimes become jerky and golems are walking gardens, growing lettuce, turnips, and other vegetables on their back. Each chapter advances the team through a part of the dungeon, and also provides a realistic-looking recipe explanation to the meals they create. The pros and cons of these meals, and the reaction of the characters, especially Marcille, provide much of the humor for the manga. Advancing through the dungeon involves tasks such as dismantling traps, and finding ways to cross the underground lagoon. The manga focuses on world-building detailed fantasy environments, and captures a daily-life snapshot of fantasy dungeon raids and those who embark on them.

Characters

Laios (ライオス, Raiosu)

A human knight who must venture deep into a dungeon to rescue his sister Farin before she is digested by the red dragon that defeated his party. Laios is a very strong fighter and the leader of the party. He is a very calm and gentle person who is excited to try different monster meals. He often uses the knowledge gained from cooking monsters to develop techniques to defeat them. He tends to speak very quickly when excited.

Kensuke (ケン助, Kensuke)

A mollusk monster from the 'living armor' monsters that now lives in the handle of Laios' sword.

Marcille (マルシル, Marushiru)

An elven magician who fights with magic cast from a tall wooden staff. She is a cautious, mildly unconfident person who is usually hesitant and even sometimes unwilling to eat monster. She is an original member of Laios’ party.

Chilchack (チルチャック, Chiruchyakku)

A halfling locksmith with good dexterity and keen senses. Chilchack disables traps, finds hidden pathways, pickpockets, etc. for the group. He is a fairly calm and laid back person, but doesn’t like it when other people take over his job or take dangerous risks. He typically fights with bow and arrow. He is an original member of Laios’ party.

Senshi (センシ, Senshi)

A dwarf warrior who joins the party so he can fulfil his dream of cooking the red dragon Laios and his party have set out to kill. Senshi has an immense knowledge of the dungeon and the monsters within it, and is an expert chef. He typically fights with a large axe but always carries a pot and cooking utensils. He makes sure the party are well fed and have a balanced diet.

Farin (ファリン, Farin)

A human spellcaster and Laios' sister, who was eaten by a red dragon at the bottom of the dungeon after using her magic to teleport the rest of the party to safety. Laios and his party are on a journey to rescue and revive her before the month-long digestion cycle of the dragon ends and she dies.

Release

Ryōko Kui began publishing the series in Enterbrain's Harta magazine on February 15, 2014. North American publisher Yen Press announced their license to the series on October 28, 2016.

Reception

Volume 1 reached the 11th place on the weekly Oricon manga charts and it was the 87th best-selling manga volume in Japan from November 17, 2014 to May 17, 2015, with 315,298 copies sold. As of August 16, 2015, it had sold 381,614 copies. Volume 2 reached the 3rd place on the charts and, as of September 17, 2015, had sold 362,906 copies.

The manga was chosen as the 13th best manga of 2015 in the Book of the Year manga ranking of Da Vinci magazine. The 2016 edition of the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook ranked the series at number one on its list of top 20 manga for male readers.