Delicious In Dungeon Episode 1 Review: Eat Or Be Eaten

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 1 Review: The 1st episode of this much-anticipated series is finally here, and we saw an interesting story about loss, adventure and food unfold. So, how did this episode fare anyway? Find out below. 

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 1 Overview

From February 2014 to September 2023, this manga unfolded in Enterbrain’s manga magazine, Harta, and Yen Press snagged its rights for North America. On the other hand, Trigger is the one producing this anime series, and it’s hitting the screens in January 2024.

Yoshihiro Miyajima will be the director of the upcoming series, and the scripts will be written by Kimiko Ueno. The character designs are by Naoki Takeda, and the music is by Yasunori Mitsuda and Shunsuke Tsuchiya. The show is scheduled to debut on January 4, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. Netflix will start simuldubbing and streaming the series worldwide every week on the same day. The series will last for two consecutive cours. 

The opening theme song, “Sleep Walking Orchestra,” will be performed by Bump of Chicken, and the ending theme song, “Party!!,” will be performed by Ryokuoushoku Shakai.

I have tried my best to keep the review as spoiler-free as possible, but there are certain elements that I had to mention to give proper feedback.

– Delicious In Dungeon Episode 1 Review Contains Minor Spoilers –

Delicious In Dungeon Episode 1 Review and Recap – A Rescue Operation 

The episode starts with a lore about the Golden Country that sank underground because of a mage’s curse. One day, a man claiming to be the country’s king emerged from the ground, narrated this story and promised to give his kingdom to anyone willing to defeat the mage. From then on, many aspiring heroes with their guild try to go inside a dungeon filled with monsters connected to the fable of Golden Country.

Now, if you are interested in Isekai anime, you will realise this is quite unlike anything in a good way. The tone here is pretty comedic, even when right at the beginning of the episode, the sister of the protagonist gets eaten by a dragon. The logic here is that a dragon takes a very long time to consume their food, so there might be a chance that Laios, the hero, can go down to the dungeon again, defeat the dragon and save his sister. But he’s not alone, he is accompanied by his trusted partners, Marcille, a mage and Chilchuck, a lockpick. 

But how can they survive in a dungeon when they will have to come back up for necessary supplies and food every time? This is when Laios puts forward a wish of his that he never mentioned before – to eat the monsters available in the dungeon. 

The idea visibly disturbs his party members, especially Marcille, who is absolutely disgusted that she will have to eat these hideous creatures but still agrees to the mission. Thankfully, these amateurs get joined by an expert in dungeon cooking, Senshi, their 4th ally, who joins them so that he can finally cook a red dragon.

As I have mentioned previously, the tone is very lighthearted, and it does not reveal much in the first episode itself regarding the whole scenario of the dungeon. You only know very basic things about how everyone started their journey in search of the Kingdom and how they have set up bases inside the dungeon at different points. Laios also comes off as a good leader but, at the same time, is a bit clueless about social cues. This is apparent when he morbidly describes his yearning to eat the monsters. 

At its core, the anime is pretty entertaining, with lots of knowledge about the intricate ecosystem that lives inside the dungeon. We get info on the plants and animals that reside there, in detail and also the proper way to cook them without making them poisonous or unfit for human consumption. The recipes that Senshi comes up with are also very well-researched and give an insight into his passion for cooking the monsters.

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Verdict

I am very impressed with the first episode, and I love the weird but intriguing premise. Though you might never cook monsters, you will love the recipe demonstrations and watch the cooking process with as much delight as you do when watching a normal cooking show. As of now, the characters are also very likeable, and I especially loved the background music, which has an apparent medieval influence. 

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