Another week, another stellar episode of Delicious in Dungeon.

Episode 7 is a terrific Neapolitan of elements I enjoy from the series: fun world-building, great character work, and interesting dungeon ecology.

The sense of a lived-in place is very strong here. The large indoor lake makes for an interesting and relatable obstacle for the party. Water features always create big challenges for traditional adventuring parties, and I like that even the solution isn’t a complete solution. Marceille’s magical fix is a smart use of utility magic, yet Senshi is so grimy that the magic doesn’t stick. Simply stupendous, and that tells us so much about who the cast is and how they view the world. It’s also very much a scenario I find matches my tabletop roleplaying experiences, as I’ve frequently befuddled players with seemingly simple challenges such as a wide river or a collapsed bridge, and watched them fumble about for hours to get across. Having the whole episode be about merely crossing from one end to another is spot on.

All of the adorable character sequences between the cast are great too. Marceille fixing up Senshi’s beard is a delight, even if it is montage-by-way-of-slideshow. Senshi’s big poofy beard taking over once cleaned, Laios getting a stomach parasite from eating a parasite, it’s all hilarious and charming.

The dungeon ecology aspects are a hoot as well. I think the revelation that Senshi is perhaps overestimating his impact on the ecology is a nice note that we don’t often see. We need to care for the environment and respect it, but we must also caution ourselves not to think we completely understand it or our place in it. The world is always larger than we realize. Couple that with Senshi learning that perhaps he trusts monsters more than people – hence allowing himself to be vulnerable with Marceille – and it’s a winner all around this week.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Delicious in Dungeon is currently streaming on Netflix.

Delicious in Dungeon is currently streaming on
Netflix.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.