Lori

pictured is me (left) and Dai

• slow-paced fights that are at least 50% the cast talking loudly about their powers and politely listening
• ridiculously close saves and characters going "that attack definitely killed them!" like 1-2 times an episode
• inequal treatment of women (.......)

that was REAL 90s ACTION SHONEN!! for all the good (and bad) that entails

In seriousness that was probably the fastest i'd ever knocked down such a long series (100 eps)! usual Shonen Woman Treatment aside (and even then I was surprised at how it managed to keep almost all of the female cast relevant to the very end, even if not to the same intensity as their male counterparts) it was a genuinely compelling, fun watch that felt pretty well-aged in the writing department. I got a great cast with one of the best deuteragonists I'd ever had the pleasure of following, some extremely entertaining and interesting villains, and tons of intense action with twists and turns that rewarded my longterm dedication.

The "hero must defeat the dark lord" setup is deceptively straightforward and unassuming, but in execution the narrative progression felt anything but derivative or boring, regularly finding new scenarios and challenges to throw the heroes in, with seemingly no end of ways to shift the battles and keep them interesting. Compared to a lot of newer series it manages to be very structurally engaging in execution and doesn't actually feel like it's mindlessly ticking down some kind of story/fight checklist, even though the premise is literally "defeat the six evil captains oooo". Chekhov's gun is played to great effect here too, where it doesn't feel like there's a single wasted idea or character; everything gets wrapped up well by the end of the series. i left with a lot of fuzzy feelings after this long journey and ended up ugly crying at least three times!

I'd seen this series heralded as a real shonen classic and while I hadn't read the manga (I hear from serious manga fans that they did cut and trim some things), I certainly was able to understand and appreciate the appeal through Toei's work on the recent anime. It made for one hell of an adventure, a great binge, and i'll even say it's become a new favorite for me :) and I'd never played a Dragon Quest game in my life actually but you bet I made a soy face at the few references I did get!!

Anyway the vibes were so impeccable it made me feel a greater compulsion to play Dragon Quest, so I'm bumping XI up on my list :]

Dungeon Meshi was soooooooo good. So so good I almost wanna reread it all again already

Its popularity is wholly deserved. There's just something about a dungeon crawling adventure story slash cooking show! The characters were all so much fun to see interact and really became my best friends by the end of it all.... The artstyle was super appealing and charming.... It plays strongly to the strengths of a somewhat episodic narrative, but then the plot and mystery picks up and gets insane in the best way possible. The themes were full-circle, elegant, and beautiful. There's just so much to love! But what really stuck out the most to me is the worldbuilding...

I'd talked about it with others before, but Dungeon Meshi just has such a refreshing and inspired take on high fantasy. A good chunk of fiction, especially isekai and whatnot, I feel like tends to "borrow" traditional fantasy elements as like surface set dressing. Elves, goblins, magic, etc. All the conventions and Tolkienisms are there, but seemingly out of obligation, rather than because the author has a lot of love for those concepts. Ryoko Kui on the other hand is apparently a stated fan of Wizardry and Baldurs Gate, and it definitely shows going through the work! Dungeon Meshi runs down a checklist of fantasy dungeon crawling staples, but offers its own loving spin on them; the author is never content to just let concepts like a half-foot, a mimic, or even just the idea of a dungeon speak for themselves just because of the years of pop-culture osmosis. Every idea in the series' fantasy world is presented to you with a fresh lens as you learn more about them alongside the characters, helped by its ingenious premise and structure. From the way it addresses the nature of resurrecting the dead to the anatomy of a suit of living armor, it's a series that really captures a strong sense of wonder and adventure in its world. That's a feeling that I think gets easily taken for granted in traditional fantasy-inspired settings these days; largely because many other series fail to create a compelling, exciting world in their own right, and settle for lifting concepts without injecting any new life into their excavated husks. There's so much honest love for the crafted world and its players, and it's a real treat all around.

I've said that despite the story wrapping itself up perfectly, there's just so much to Dungeon Meshi's world that I'd love to see more stories in the same universe; not only that, but many characters are shown or implied to have their own life scenarios that could be worth exploring beyond the bounds of Laios and his party. I think it's a testament to how compelling the world and character writing are that I'm thinking "I want to see more of this place." at the end of a wholly completed narrative. I guess you could say I'm uhhh ahhh hungry for more hahaha ooooo...

READ AND/OR WATCH DUNGEON MESHI!!! but maybe don't do it on an empty stomach...

just a little warmup while I prepare myself to work on commissions :] featuring the best power copier to ever do it taking the role (powers) of one of shonen manga's strongest