Saturday 13 May 2017

Best DnD Related thing ever: Dungeon Meshi



So Comics, DnD and Cooking TV shows are several of my favorite things (ok I like graffiti, archaeology and the classics too). While researching if Japan has done anything with their version of the DnD genre since Dragon Pink I found this mind blowing awesome comic that has inspired me more than anything I have purchased in a very long time. I don't know if a official english version exists but I'm about halfway through this http://allmangascans.com/dungeon-meshi.

The story is about a party that escape a dungeon with their lives but no cash and the fighters sister has been lost deep in the dungeon. So the party cant afford supplies and decide to go anyway and the fighter with a halfling theif and a elf mage insists he can eat the monsters to survive on the way. I gasp with awe at the monsters and have got many new ideas from this for critters.

The dungeon is the remains of a cursed kingdom a evil wizard has sunk beneath the earth. Some levels are typical dungeons but the second is full of trees and towers and stairs and roots. Pretty quickly they meet a dwarf who lives in the dungeon and is wise in monster cooking secrets.

So when they go into eating monsters the fighter is quite knowledgeable about mythic properties and has read books. Others sometimes suspicious he knows too much or is a bit of a weirdo. The thief is the trap expert and there os one sequence the dwarf ropes him into schemes using hot oil casting traps to cook tempura and pendulums to chop monster carcasses. The poor elf lady is mostly reluctant and grossed out and surprised their concoctions taste good. there is a great moment when others come up with ways to harvest mandrake roots without killing dogs and she is freaked out she has been using old way. To prove she hasn't spent her life killing dogs needlessly she tries using a giant bat instead and it turns out her way produces a superior tasting mandrake root. The town adventurers come from and guild system is interesting. Most adventurers are teens and classically balanced parties.



Each monster has lovingly detailed depictions of preparation from slicing to cooking and garnishing. Then has a feature page with picture of the meal, recipes and nutritional information. Has many classic and new monsters and monster lore that is fascinating. There is lots of dungeon ecology involved also. There are pictures illustrating healing herbs, equipment, supply shops, weapons and more. The title pages look like menus.

I'm only half way through and this will change the way I see dungeons forever. And so far no creepy weird sex. Id like to see a engrish edition (but you can see the pages meant to be read R to L sometimes) and even a DnD edition using the art and made to fit this amazing life changing comic.

Just saw this that deserves to be here: http://imgur.com/gallery/BWnHF

3 comments:

  1. This comic is great. Later on they get into another party, but I love the focus on cooking.

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  2. I love it too and I have it also in my native language (italian).

    It's pretty detailed about dungeon ecology and very different from the classic JRPG.

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  3. this is interesting
    could use the table for all characters
    http://matt-landofnod.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/taking-bite-out-of-dungeon.html

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