‘Delicious In Dungeon’ review: Less meals, more Marcille in “Raspberries/ Grilled Meat”

A watched pot never boils, but that doesn’t take into account a hidden undine in the water. Delicious In Dungeon episode 8, “Raspberries/Grilled Meat” shifts the focus back to Marcille while Laios is still recovering from his misadventure in “Kelpie/Porridge/Broiled with Sauce.” Additionally, we get to learn more about her relationship with Falin.

The focus on Marcille is something so special to me. It’s easy to regulate her to the one member of the party who’s always disgusted with their meals — and while that does make a big part of her character, she’s so much more than that. The first half of the episode explores Marcille at school. To see her learning and talking about magic with other mages is a nice departure from the current Marcille that we all know and love. She’s a well-respected mage at the school who knows a lot about magic, but not everything. It’s through that she meets Falin and their friendship sparks. Falin teaches her things that she might not have known otherwise and even, in my opinion, solidifies Marcille’s desire to research dungeons. Dare I say this is the episode that launches a thousand ships? 

Keeping the dungeon ecosystem in check isn’t new to Delicious In Dungeon — the topic is touched upon in both “Stewed Cabbage/Orcs” and “Kelpie/Porridge/Broiled with Sauce” — but this time, it focuses solely on Marcille’s mindset about it. It’s through her meeting Falin, not Senshi, that she realizes the importance of keeping the ecosystem in a dungeon in check. Despite her fear of the slime, Falin tells her that it’s a much-needed organism within the natural dungeon. This small interaction between them sticks with Marcille throughout her journey of wanting to build a safe dungeon. It’s this conversation that allows Marcille to note how advanced the dungeon they’re exploring actually is. 

Only one meal was technically made in this episode: grilled kelpie meat. But, the focus on one meal being cooked and eaten works perfectly for a high-intensity episode. The meal comes together as a way to help Marcille after the incident with the undine and showcases an important lesson: food is a way to show you care. This is a meal made specifically to help Marcille as much as it can. And at the end of the day, that’s what sharing food is meant to do which makes this meal special for the adventuring party. 

The animation style in “Raspberries/Grilled Meat” is a little different from last week’s episode. Ichigo Kanno is back in an obvious way. The shapes he uses in the second half of the episode against the undine make the scene feel that much more dire. The expressions on Chilchuck, Laios, and Senshi from the sidelines are silly to say the least, and Chilchuck’s movements while freaking out about Marcille are entertaining. This change in animation is subtle but once you notice it, you notice it. It’s obvious that the animators at TRIGGER are having a fun time with each episode which, in turn, makes the audience enjoy it that much more. 

“Raspberries/Grilled Meat” is a wonderful exploration of both Marcille’s character and her relationship with Falin. Delicious In Dungeon proves once again that the devil is in the details. With the focus on each character’s journey, the present makes a lot more sense. As the audience, we’re getting parts of the whole picture at the right times so we’re able to answer questions that might have popped up earlier. 

Delicious in Dungeon is available now on Netflix.

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Featured images: © Ryoko Kui / KADOKAWA / “Delicious in Dungeon” PARTNERS, Netflix