Visual Book Reviews

I've only just gotten into visual books like comics and manga, so this page may not be as robust as others on my website!

My reviews are listed in chronological order of when I read the books, and the ranking list is based on my preferences.

My rankings are: I Love It/Pretty Good/A Good Read/Eh, It's Readable/Absolutely Not

  1. Dungeon Meshi (Ryoko Kui)

Dungeon Meshi - By Ryoko Kui (Published 2017) [Manga Issues 1~11]Discussion
Rating: I Love It!
Tropes: Faux-Mediveal Sword and Sorcery, Haunting the Narrative, Classic Adventure
Summary: Laios and his adventuring party awake outside the Golden Dungeon with the realisation that Laios' sister, Falin, has been left behind, and presumably eaten by the Red Dragon. With little to no resources left after being teleported out, half of Laios' party leaves for better pastures, and it is just him, Marcille, and Chilchuck left to rescue Falin. Not wanting to delay the rescue in order to stock up, the party forge ahead into the dungeon with the plan to hunt and eat monsters for their meals. Along the way, they quickly realise they are not so equipped to cook and eat monsters like Laios hoped he, at least, would; but they enlist a dwarf named Senshi who has the skills and knowledge to feed them for the journey ahead.
Review It's no secret that I enjoy Dungeon Meshi, but this is the first time I've gotten my hands on the physical manga, and reading it fully as the original story. Prior to the anime release, I had gotten snippets of the story online that had gotten me hooked, but had ultimately left the whole narrative disjointed for me. Possibly the only aspects of Dungeon Meshi that I had read in full were the bonus stories, that weren't necessarily connected to the main narrative, but did provide a good chunk of world building and supplemental info that really showed off just how much care Ryoko Kui had put into her work. With the anime release, I've obviously gotten to enjoy Dungeon Meshi in a far more realised form!

To discuss the anime in a side tangent here: so far, from both reading the manga and reading impressions from fellow fans online, the first season of the anime is pretty faithful to the story. I believe the anime reached about halfway through the overall run of the manga, so I've seen at least the adaptation of the story up until then, and I may or may not get past that point before the second season's release. I'll be grouping my reviews in arcs, which may or may not align with the general consensus of them online.

Dungeon Meshi is very clearly set in a faux-mediveal, sword and sorcery fantasy setting. Think Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons (I know the former practically made the latter, but I've ranted about that more times than I can count). However, the story jumps immediately into action. We get one page, or only 4 panels, of exposition that sets up the premise about the dungeon itself, and nothing of the rest of the world. When the literal next page showcases people in armour fighting a dragon and an elf blasting magic, a long spiel about kingdom relations and magical races isn't necessary to clue in the reader about the setting they're getting into. I really appreciate the confidence the author has in the audience that we don't need to be hand-held for the world building. I think a lot of fantasy authors get caught in the trap of having developed a complex fantasy setting, and needing to dump all that knowledge onto the reader right away for the reader to understand the stakes and character dynamics that are key in the world they've made. However, in Dungeon Meshi, any exposition dumps that arise are character driven flashbacks; which the visual medium gives a lot of space to showcase that developed world building without needing a single written word.

And of course, I have to talk about the characters. Each character in the cast is written very well, even the incidental characters that only show up for a page or two have clear personalities. Of course, we'll have to see if those traits persist, or if those characters undergo growth, but I was really impressed with this introduction of everyone that set such a strong foundation. Despite the physical challenges, a lot of the conflict and comedy comes from the dynamics; with Marcille being generally opposed to monster eating, Chilchuck being open but having strong reactions to his limits, and Laios being the excited and impatient puppy to Senshi's experienced but nonplussed embracing of eating dungeon beasts. I also really enjoyed that, while these characters have worked with each other for a while and and know each other in some familiarity (except with Senshi), they are still somewhat strangers to each other. It's clear that Falin truly was the glue that held them together, and now in her absence, they get the chance to learn about each other without the distraction of Falin keeping their attention. This dynamic avoids some major problems that crop up on ensemble casts that have shared histories; where the story would like to reveal key character back stories, but it would not make sense within the current character dynamics, as those secrets would have been revealed before the events of the story

Usually, the protagonist in most of these kinds of adventures is inexperienced in the world, leading to learning opportunities for the reader. But with Laois as the protagonist, it's so refreshing to have someone who has an interest and some knowledge in what he's doing. He's not an expert, which still provides those opportunities for us as readers to get that nitty gritty detail without breaking the fourth wall, but also means the narrative isn't inherently infantilizating him by making him clueless. Which highlights his and Senshi's autism working in tandem as they navigate the dungeon. Generally, Dungeon Meshi so far, has been the most character-driven work that I've read in a while. Even when something seemingly random gets thrown their way, it's used to showcase a character's dynamic, personality, skills, or lack thereof.

I can't wait for more issues to arrive and to continue reading. I totally recommend Dungeon Meshi to folks who want a well crafted and loved fantasy, especially if they need to scratch the Dungeons and Dragons itch.