| Delicious in Dungeon | |
 Firsttankōbon volume cover, featuring Laios Touden (front), Senshi, Chilchuck Tims, and Marcille Donato (back) | |
| ダンジョン飯 (Danjon Meshi) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Ryoko Kui |
| Published by | Enterbrain |
| English publisher | |
| Magazine | Harta |
| Original run | February 15, 2014 –September 15, 2023 |
| Volumes | 14(List of volumes) |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Yoshihiro Miyajima |
| Written by | Kimiko Ueno |
| Music by |
|
| Studio | Trigger |
| Licensed by | Netflix |
| Original network | Tokyo MX,SUN,KBS,TVA,AT-X,BS11 |
| Original run | January 4, 2024 – present |
| Episodes | 24(List of episodes) |
 Anime and manga portal | |
Delicious in Dungeon (Japanese:ダンジョン飯,Hepburn:Danjon Meshi;lit. 'Dungeon Meals'), is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byRyoko Kui. It was serialized inEnterbrain'sseinen manga magazineHarta from February 2014 to September 2023, with its chapters collected in 14tankōbon volumes. The story follows a group of adventurers in a fantasy world who, after failing to defeat a dragon that consumed one of their own, embark on a journey through a dungeon to revive her, surviving by cooking and eating the monsters they encounter along the way.
Yen Press has licensed the series in North America. Ananime television series adaptation produced byTrigger aired from January to June 2024. A second season has been announced.
In a fantasy world ofdungeon exploration, adventuring parties set out on expeditions to raid dungeons. Many hope to find the mysterious Golden Country located in one dungeon, discovered after its king crawled to the surface and promised his kingdom to whoever defeats the "Lunatic Magician". Those who are killed in the dungeon are able to be revived depending on how intact their bodies are. The story begins as a group of adventurers unsuccessfully attempt to slay a reddragon, which consumes Falin Touden, a "tallman" (human) spellcaster. Falin uses magic to teleport her party to safety. The remaining members of the party—Laios Touden, a tallman swordsman and Falin's brother; Marcille Donato, anelven spellcaster who met Falin in school and has since become a close friend, and Chilchuck Tims, ahalf-foot locksmith—seek to rescue Falin before she is digested. With most of their supplies left behind in the dungeon, Laios, who is fascinated by the ecology and creatures of the dungeon, suggests they sustain themselves by eating monsters, to which Marcille and Chilchuck reluctantly agree. Inside, they are immediately joined by Senshi, adwarf with many years of experience surviving in the dungeon by cooking monsters and harvesting food. They are later joined by Izutsumi, an eastern tallman who seeks to undo a curse binding a cat soul to her own. The story details their travels through the dungeon, the environments, traps, and monsters they encounter, and the meals they create.
Ryoko Kui said in an interview that she had been apicky eater since childhood. She explained that as a child she enjoyed thinking about which monster was the strongest while drawing pictures of monsters, and she used those memories when creating the manga.[2] Initially, she planned to write a dungeon-exploration manga as a hobby, but after receiving support from her editor Masaru Hiroi, she decided to make it a long-running series. Kui initially wanted to serialize a science fiction manga titledNō no naka wo kaku (脳の中を描く;lit. 'Drawing inside the brain'), but Hiroi repeatedly rejected this idea and noticed her work on the desk that would later becomeDelicious in Dungeon. In the manga's original draft, there was far too much material, so the editors had to cut many parts. Kui had wanted the characters to speak invarious languages, but she was concerned that such elements might bore readers and distract from the story, so she removed them. Because she wanted the entire story to take place solely within the dungeon, she initially did not want to give the characters surnames or name the country where the dungeon is located; however, as the story progressed, Hiroi asked her to add more characters and expand the world.[3] Before the manga was serialized, Kui read fantasy works likeThe Neverending Story andThe Lord of the Rings, and she began readingDungeons & Dragons rulebooks and playing role-playing games likeLegend of Grimrock for inspiration.[4][5] She specifically mentioned that the 1990 gameWizardry VI: Bane of the Cosmic Forge was the biggest source of inspiration for the manga.[6] The title for the manga series was chosen by Hiroi.[4]
For the anime adaptation, Ryoko Kui preferredYasunori Mitsuda as the composer, since she likedthe soundtrack he made forChrono Cross.[5] Director Yoshihiro Miyajima said in an interview that he had been familiar with Ryoko Kui's works since 2011 and that when the manga began serialization in 2014, he had dreamed of one day creating an anime adaptation of the manga. He frequently consulted with Kui on the anime adaptation and sought her thoughts on the characters' inner perspectives.[7] Miyajima said thatDelicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible which provides detailed information about the world of the manga, was very helpful to him.[8] Character designer Naoki Takeda also joined the project as a fan of the manga series. They consulted professional food designer Mao Momichi so that the foods in the anime would look delicious while retaining their "monstrous" vibe. About a hundred voice actors were invited to audition for each of the characters Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, and Senshi. According to Miyajima, finding an actor to voice Laios was difficult because they were looking for someone who could naturally express Laios's "eccentricity".[7] To help them understand what it's like to eat dungeon food, the staff provided them withinsects to eat.[9]
Written and illustrated byRyoko Kui,Delicious in Dungeon was serialized inEnterbrain'sHarta magazine from February 15, 2014,[10][11] to September 15, 2023.[12] Enterbrain collected its chapters in 14tankōbon volumes, released from January 15, 2014, to December 15, 2023.[13][14]
In October 2016, North American publisherYen Press announced it had licensed the series.[15] The 14 volumes were released from May 23, 2017, to July 23, 2024.[16]
Delicious in Dungeon received ananime television adaptation produced byTrigger.[17] It is directed by Yoshihiro Miyajima, with scripts written by Kimiko Ueno, character designs by Naoki Takeda, and music composed byYasunori Mitsuda and Shunsuke Tsuchiya.[18][19] For the firstcours, the opening theme song is "Sleep Walking Orchestra [ja]", performed byBump of Chicken, while the ending theme song is "Party!! [ja]", performed byRyokuoushoku Shakai.[20][21] For the second cours, the opening theme song is "Unmei [ja]" (運命; "Destiny"), performed bySumika, while the ending theme song is "Kirakira no Hai" (キラキラの灰; "Twinkling Ash"), performed byRegal Lily [ja].[22] The series aired its first season in two consecutivecours from January 4 to June 13, 2024, onTokyo MX and other networks,[23][24] withNetflix licensing it for streaming andsimuldubbing worldwide weekly.[25][26][21] A second season was announced in June 2024.[27]
Additional comics, sketches, and full color illustrations drawn over the course of the series' creation were released as five short artbooks published withHarta volumes under the nameDaydream Hour from August 12, 2016,[28] to August 12, 2022,[29] with unpublished illustrations released onHarta's official website for a limited time on May 11, 2020.[30] A compilation artbook,Doodles by Ryoko Kui: Daydream Hour (九井諒子ラクガキ本 デイドリーム・アワー,Ryoko Kui Rakugaki Hon Daydream Hour), was published on January 15, 2024.[31] Yen Press released it in English on May 27, 2025.[32]
On August 1, 2017, astop motion animation, subtitledSenshi's Easy Cooking! (センシのかんたんクッキング！,Senshi no Kantan Kukkingu!), was released onYouTube to commemorate the release of the manga's fifth volume.[33] On September 5, 2019, an animated commercial produced by Trigger was released to promote the manga's eighth volume.[34]
Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible (ダンジョン飯 ワールドガイド 冒険者バイブル,Danjon Meshi Wārudogaido Bōken-sha Baiburu) art and reference book was released in Japan on February 13, 2021.[35] It was released in English by Yen Press on August 23, 2022.[36] An updated and expanded version,Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible, Complete Edition (ダンジョン飯 ワールドガイド 冒険者バイブル 完全版,Danjon Meshi Wārudogaido Bōken-sha Baiburu Kanzenban), was released in Japan on February 15, 2024.[37] Yen Press released the later edition on July 22, 2025.[38][39]
An exhibition event showcasing replicas of the food from the series was held at Shibuya N-space from January 18–21, 2024.[40][41]
Volume 1 reached the 11th place on the weeklyOricon manga charts[42] and it was the 87th best-selling manga volume in Japan from November 17, 2014, to May 17, 2015, with 315,298 copies sold.[43] By August 2015, it had sold 381,614 copies.[44] Volume 2 reached the third place on the charts,[44] and by September 2015, it had sold 362,906 copies.[45] By August 2017, the first four volumes had over 2 million copies in print.[46] By October 2023, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation; after its anime adaptation premiere, the number of copies in circulation increased in half a year to 14 million by March 2024 (including digital copies).[47]
The manga was chosen as the 13th best manga of 2015 in the Book of the Year manga ranking ofDa Vinci magazine.[48] The 2016 edition of theKono Manga ga Sugoi! guidebook ranked the series at number one on its list of top 20 manga for male readers.[49] The manga was nominated for the 9th to 12thManga Taishō Award from 2016 to 2019.[50] A panel atSan Diego Comic-Con 2018 highlighted it as one of the "Best Continuing Series for Kids/Teens".[51] It was also ranked second on Amazon Japan's Best-Selling Kindle Book Rankings for 2018.[52] In 2024, the manga won the 55thSeiun Award's Best Comic award.[53] It also won theJapan Society andAnime NYC's first American Manga Awards in the Best Continuing Manga Series category in 2024.[54][55] It won theHarvey Awards in the Best Manga category in the same year.[56][57]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 100% of six critics' reviews are positive.[58] In the Anime Corner awards of Winter 2024, the anime won Best Adventure and Best Comedy, based on 62,120 votes.[59] At the9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2025, the series received 16 nominations includingAnime of the Year, but failed to win any awards; it was the current record for an anime series in a single edition to receive the "most losses without a single win" inCrunchyroll history. This outcome led to speculation about a potential bias against non-Crunchyroll platforms, with many fans questioning whether the series was deliberately overlooked.[60][61]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 30thManga Barcelona Awards | Best Anime Series Premiere | Delicious in Dungeon | Won | [62] |
| Abema Anime Trend Awards | Abema Special Award- Best Food Animation | Won | [63] | ||
| 2025 | 11th Anime Trending Awards | Anime of the Year | Nominated | [64] | |
| Best in Adapted Screenplay | Kumiko Ueno | Nominated | |||
| Best in Animation | Delicious in Dungeon | Nominated | |||
| Best in Character Design | Naoki Takeda | Nominated | |||
| Best in Episode Directing and Storyboard | Episode 11: "Red Dragon I" | Nominated | |||
| Best in Sceneries and Visuals | Delicious in Dungeon | Nominated | |||
| Best in Soundtrack | Yasunori Mitsuda | Nominated | |||
| Best in Voice Cast | Delicious in Dungeon | Nominated | |||
| Action or Adventure Anime of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Fantasy or Magical Anime of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Best Voice Acting Performance - Male | Kentarō Kumagaias Laios Touden | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Acting Performance - Female | Sayaka Senbongias Marcille Donato | Nominated | |||
| 9th Crunchyroll Anime Awards | Anime of the Year | Delicious in Dungeon | Nominated | [60] | |
| Best New Series | Nominated | ||||
| Best Comedy | Nominated | ||||
| Best Animation | Nominated | ||||
| Best Background Art | Nominated | ||||
| Best Character Design | Naoki Takeda | Nominated | |||
| Best Director | Yoshihiro Miyajima | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Character | Senshi | Nominated | |||
| "Must Protect At All Costs" Character | Nominated | ||||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (Japanese) | Sayaka Senbongias Marcille Donato | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (English) | SungWon Choas Senshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (Arabic) | Lama AlSayyaghas Marcille Donato | Nominated | |||
| Nawar AlMahairias Laios Touden | Nominated | ||||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (German) | Magdalena Höfneras Marcille Donato | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (Castilian) | Jorge Peñaas Senshi | Nominated | |||
| Best Voice Artist Performance (Portuguese) | Bruna Laynesas Marcille Donato | Nominated | |||
| Japan Expo Awards | Daruma for Best Original Soundtrack | Yasunori Mitsuda | Nominated | [65] | |
| 20thAnimaniA Awards | Best TV Series: Online | Delicious in Dungeon | Nominated | [66] | |
| Best Director | Yoshihiro Miyajima | Nominated | |||
| Best Studio | Trigger | Nominated | |||
| Best Anime Song | "Sleep Walking Orchestra [ja]"byBump of Chicken | Nominated |
Composition and Arrangement: Yasunori Mitsuda, Shunsuke Tsuchiya
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