English Dub Review: Delicious in Dungeon “Cleaners/Dried with Sweet Sake”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Chilchuck figures out a way to escape the dungeon, but their ascent is halted by an unexpected encounter with an old friend in dire need of sustenance.

Our Take:

Much to our relief, the party can finally escape the inescapable dungeon designed by the Mad Mage, thanks to Chilchuck’s intelligence. However, they still have a ways to go and more monsters to consume to reach the surface. The episode sees Laios and the crew encountering a slew of tiny slugs called Dungeon Cleaners while hiding from one of the dungeon’s dragons. These small, harmless creatures can restore broken pieces of a dungeon, including the wall in which the party hides. Unfortunately, the slugs aren’t as edible as the other monsters. The characters explaining the Cleaners’ purpose resemble something from an educational program you’d watch on specific channels like Discovery or Animal Planet. Like the food aspect, this sequence was another amusing callback to the format that differentiated the series from other dungeon-crawling contents.

Afterward, the crew finally reunited with Shuro, with Kabru and the others following suit. But, of course, knowing Shuro’s eagerness to find Falin, the samurai wasn’t in the best condition. So, the parties worked together to create a special meal for him while getting up to speed as to what was happening. The crucial part of the conversation was between Laios and Shuro, in which Laios told him they used black magic to revive Falin. Unsurprisingly, Shuro didn’t take it too well, as he knows how dangerous black magic can be, and based on the episode’s conclusion, he may be right.

The second half of Delicious in Dungeon is doing an excellent job of maintaining its momentum through its pacing so far. It manages to keep the plot and characters engaging without including any minor fillers that could slow it down. More importantly, it maintains the right balance between humor and drama in its cuisines and character moments without treating the drama as a throwaway aspect. I know I’ve been saying this a lot, but I just don’t know how else I would describe my appreciation of this delectable series.