Animehouse

If you want to be memorable, if you want to leave your mark on something, maybe a series like Delicious In Dungeon, you’ve got to be willing to break a few rules. Change up the character models, play with the tone and feeling, things like that. Yonemori Yuuki, Gun’Yasu Shunpei, and Satou Akihiro don’t even understand the concept of “rules” with this episode. Forget the restrictive and refined styled of the early episodes, forget “adhering” to anything- this is their episode, and they’ll be damned if they don’t make viewers aware of that idea.

I had talked in an earlier Tumblr post about my interest in this younger trio of staff members, and they really did deliver on everything I was hoping for them to. Yuuki boarded for an episode of Do It Yourself!! that did a lot to hone in on Purin’s isolation and separation from the people around her, and Yuuki brought a lot of that expertise and ability to today’s episode. It was really a match made in heaven in that sense, as the episode opens with Marcille and Falin finding themselves isolated in their own ways. With Marcille, you see that with physical distance in two different ways, for example.

I wouldn’t quite say that it’s “subtle” examples, but I think that Yuuki gets their point across thoroughly and effectively, really highlighting the less outspoken parts of Marcille’s character. In that sense, you really get a grasp that while superiority and ability have created a bit of a complex within Marcille, she still does value the people around her in her own way. With Falin however, that understanding does a complete 180. Though, that change in personality is almost entirely afforded by magic rather than Falin. But, the way that Marcille views magic, and how Falin interacts with and uses magic make it a far more earnest and valuable connection than you might think.

Though, all notion of subtlety goes out the window once they reveal the results of their dungeoniums. Marcille of course does better than all those other girls in the class, but Falin stuns Marcille when instead of her fire being put out, it turns into a massive column of fire. Here we get to see the first true colors of Marcille as a mage, and we get to see Yuuki and co really let loose with the episode. Yes the impact frames and animation prior to this cut were phenomenal, but I really wanted to hone in how soft and Little Witch Academia the models turned in this sequence. Such a stark contrast to earlier cuts in the episode, and the animation just screams Trigger. The way that Marcille hangs on certain moments but then flies through other pieces of her movement, it’s such a satisfying and fun style that Trigger’s cultivated.

Following that though is the real meat and potatoes (raspberries and grill meat? Like the episode title?) of the episode though- both in terms of character development for Marcille and Falin, but also in world building. Falin reveals the secret behind the roaring success of her dungeonium- dirt from a real dungeon. The sequence of Falin leading Marcille to the core of the dungeon is wonderfully done. It’s very whimsical and energetic, matching Falin’s character, but it’s also very aware of how up tight and “by the books” that Marcille tends to be. I think what I enjoyed most about this sequence was how it was able to bring Falin and Marcille closer through solely visuals. At times the pair have that distance between them solely due to the nature of Falin leading Marcille, but once Falin settles into enjoying the dungeon and wandering around it, we see the pair far closer together and interacting much more. To that end, I really love how well Yuuki is able to balance up close shots of the pair versus those that provide size and scale to the dungeon.

The real icing on the cake with these interactions though is Yuuki’s use of perspective and height between Falin and Marcille. In earlier images I showed how Yuuki used Marcille’s perspective and height to separate her from the rest of the girls in her class, and you see a similar thing happen here with Falin. Marcille is still looking down towards her, separated by understanding and sheer personality. However, once Falin exposes the secret of dungeons to Marcille, that perspective shifts. In order to become Falin’s friend, Marcille lowers her eye level to Falin’s, intentionally placing herself on the same level after coming down from her high horse. It’s a really great moment that Yuuki’s able to introduce into the episode, and just a great culmination of a bit of a backstory for Marcille (and Falin). I loved this little flashback in the manga, and I really feel like Yuuki’s been able to level it up in every meaningful fashion.

Also, for anime onlies, this sequence was really outstanding from a story perspective. Incredible work from Ryoko Kui to introduce a proper magical theory for the existence of Dungeons, and how it relates to natural ecosystems which Senshi has talked about. Even further, I was really blown away by how much this added to the dynamic of Laios’ party, as well as Marcille’s character. Suddenly, it makes her complaints and issues with Laios and Senshi far more hypocritical, and really exposes how Marcille views her own interests and desires. It really draws her closer to Laios in that sense, making her opposition to him all the more interesting. Really great work for such a fun and light little background story.

And now, we can finally get to the best part of the episode: the Undine fight. My god this was incredible. All the different character models, the quality of animation, Yuuki’s boards. It was truly on a different level as an experience. My favorite piece from it absolutely remains how Yuuki is able to drag that isolation and separation into Marcille’s fight with the magical creature though. Falin is shown to be a beacon of light and safety to Falin, and even though Laios is Falin’s brother, she doesn’t feel the same around him. That results in all these very wide and empty shots with Marcille forced to be on her own. It really shows how much of a rock Falin is in the lives of those close to her. Also, I really liked the use of faceless characters here from Yuuki. It’s not as strong a usage as some other storyboarders out there, but I definitely think that Yuuki thoughtfully made use of it in the episode.

Arguably, the aspect of this sequence that I was surprised I really liked was the soundtrack. A lot of times OSTs can just be background noise to present a sort of feeling for a sequence, but the music-slash-sound here worked wonders. It was incredibly strong in providing a sense of tension and fear while Marcille fought the Undine, so much so that it really caught me off guard- in a good way, of course.

Honestly, the whole Undine sequence is something that I could rave about for ages. There’s so much amazing work to it on all fronts- starting with Yuuki, and working all the way down to the very last animators for the fight. It’s an incredible testament to Trigger as a studio, and the incredible personality and pedigree that they command. I honestly wish we could see more of this in modern anime. The freelance economy and the total lack of value that studios have for their staff makes it hard to cultivate a strong style like Trigger’s in the modern age. Thankfully, Trigger remains a paragon of that ideal, and presents it in incredible fashion with series like Delicious In Dungeon.

Anyways, it wouldn’t be a Delicious In Dungeon Episode without food, right?

It’s kind of crazy how quickly you take for granted the quality of the food in this series. You just think “oh, it’s more food” or “huh, that’s a pretty interesting meal”. It feels a little disrespectful to the incredible and consistent work that’s been on display since the first episode. Regardless, the food does remain amazing to look at, and I enjoyed how Yuuki approached the ordeal. The use of perspective, and the continued separation of not just Falin, but of the entire party was really fun. Sticking Senshi in his own panel as he explains each cut of meat, stuffing Chilchuck and Laios together as the food reviewers in another, and then leaving the barely responsive Marcille to munch on her dinner by herself was very fun.

Delicious In Dungeon had sort of become a series that I wondered about a great deal each week. Mostly along the lines of “I wonder if this episode will be like X episode”. Similarly, one of the first things that I remember chatting about with BlueDash was how restrained the initial episodes of Delicious In Dungeon felt. This episode proved all those worries, thoughts, and conversations worthless. Trigger has caught their stride as we dive deeper into this dungeon, and every week is serving to remind me that this is Trigger we’re talking about- there’s no way I’d ever feel let down by their work.