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“Delicious in Dungeon,” a magical-quest saga with a gleeful emphasis on cooking and biology, combines the aesthetic, kinetic pleasures of anime with the food-nerd pleasures of Serious Eats. First we discover the kraken, then we slay the kraken, then we observe security in dealing with seafood, then we find out about parasites and the cooking strategies that kill them, then we eat.
So far 15 episodes of the present, based mostly on the manga by Ryoko Kui, are on Netflix, with new installments arriving Thursdays. As with many adventures that embrace cloaks and swords, “Dungeon” (in Japanese, with subtitles or dubbed) follows a ragtag crew. The angelic Falin has been eaten by the Red Dragon, and now her brother, Laios, and mates Marcille and Chilchuck are decided to seek out the dragon, slay it and rescue her earlier than she could be fully digested. Along the best way, Laios and mates meet Senshi, a gruff and bearded dwarf who’s a gifted chef and educated ecologist. They resolve that their journey may also embrace consuming all of the monsters they encounter — and lo, they encounter many monsters, together with crops, fungi, creatures and spirits.
How ought one truss the rooster half of a half-chicken, half-snake basilisk? How can mud-based golems be repurposed as cabbage gardens? What are the gnarly ethics of consuming demi-human creatures? “Dungeon” shines as food-fantasy reverie, with Senshi explaining each the physiology of magical creatures and outlining the tastiest strategies for making ready them. Cook these coin-bugs belly-side down, and ensure to swing your jar of holy water via a number of ghosts to get the creamiest sorbet.
Anyone who has ever pored over a map at first of a fantasy ebook or wished Wookieepedia included extra in regards to the meals chain will discover ample pleasures right here. “World-building” is just too delicate a time period to explain the scope of element in each episode of “Dungeon,” although I do want Netflix provided more-detailed translations of the numerous, many diagrams. The lush rating and wealthy, evocative visible language add a way of grandeur and occasional maturity to the present that the narrative and dialogue can’t generate on their very own.
I might take or depart the broad plot of “Delicious in Dungeon,” however the charms of all its little asides add up. A montage of Marcille lastly convincing Senshi to wash is so poignant and darling I watched it twice, and all of the methods animation can convey tastiness make even probably the most indulgent live-action meals reveals appear barren compared.
