‘Delicious In Dungeon’ review: “Red Dragon I” heightens the stakes

The heat is kicked up a notch on Delicious In Dungeon episode 11 this week, now that a dragon is in the kitchen! The time to face the red dragon has arrived in “Red Dragon I” and it did not disappoint. “Red Dragon I” is an intense ride as our main party finally puts their plan into action. Not only do we see Marcille’s magic in action, the rest of the crew tries their best to beat the red dragon. 

Who has a better story than Laios the Legless? Horrible Game of Thrones puns aside, Laios is my shining star  in “Red Dragon I.” His plan might have worked on paper, but when faced with the reality of it falling apart, he manages to think quickly on his feet in order to figure something else out. He cares for the entire party. Even if saving Falin is the ultimate goal, it’s obvious he plans to keep the rest of his friends safe.

I’ve mentioned before that while Laios is a little freak who wants to eat monsters, he’s so much more than that. “Red Dragon I” shows just how much he cares about his friends. Because of this, he is willing to have his leg bitten off by a dragon in order to protect them. If that’s not a major shonen protagonist for you, I don’t know what to tell you.

“Schrödinger’s” Falin is an accurate way to describe her before and during this episode. Until now, the party worked with the knowledge that they need to get to Falin before she is digested. But there is a possibility of that happening before they get to her due to the red dragon’s odd movements. She is both alive and not alive until the very moment Laios cuts into the dragon’s fuel sack. It is a chilling moment when reality crashes down on them and both Laios and Marcille are forced to come to terms with the truth of the matter. 

The stylistic choices in “Red Dragon I” work exceptionally well. Delicious In Dungeon is, at the end of the day, a quirky manga filled with fascinating choreography during the fight scenes. This kind of action doesn’t always transfer to anime that well, but TRIGGER is putting their own spin on it to make it work. Similar to how Ichigo Kanno’s style was obvious in “Living Armor” and “Raspberries/Grilled Meat,” Ogura Nobutoshi’s touch is in every scene in “Red Dragon I.”

The stylization brought the fight scenes to life in a way that would not have worked with any other animator. The movement is smooth even with how off the rails the episode goes. Each expression on Laios, Chilchuck, and Senshi’s faces are clear enough, we know exactly what they’re going through while fighting. Additionally, the animation of Marcille’s healing magic is really eye-catching. There was something so gruesome about it and the staff didn’t shy away from showing that. 

TRIGGER has been allowing different animators to show their abilities each week — a risk that they pull off flawlessly. Of course, there is the obvious TRIGGER animation of it all, but each animator leaves their marks on each episode. It’s a wonderful way to showcase all of the brilliant people on staff and I doubt any other studio would have been able to make it work with Delicious In Dungeon. 

It’s easy to typecast Delicious In Dungeon as a fantasy slice-of-life anime. However, “Red Dragon I” proves that it’s so much more than just that. “Red Dragon I” is an exercise in stamina. Not only for the main adventuring party, but for watchers, too. The only question left to ask is what happens now? Falin’s fate is now clear, and the main party is in limbo on what to do. Not only that, how will the party use up all the dragon meat before it goes bad? 

Delicious in Dungeon is available now on Netflix.

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