At this year’s Anime Expo, Studio Trigger brought news of the highly anticipated anime adaptation of Delicious in Dungeon, the Japanese fantasy comedy seinen manga series written and illustrated by Ryōko Kui. The series is set to premiere January 2024 on Netflix. Delicious in Dungeon follows the adventure of Laios, a skilled fighter, alongside the elven mage Marcille, the dwarf Senshi, and the lockpick Chilchuck. Together, they embark on a perilous quest into an endless dungeon in search of his fallen sister, fighting monsters, starvation, and corruption.
Ryōko Kui’s manga has gained a large following in Japan and internationally, selling more than 8.5 million copies. Fans eagerly await to see Trigger’s animated adaptation bring the popular series to life next year. During Anime Expo 2023, I got more details about Studio Trigger’s new series from the voices of Laios and Marcille, Kentarô Kumagai, and Sayaka Senbongi.
When asked how they prepared for their respective roles, Kumagai looked for ways he could relate to his character. “At first, I thought, ‘How can I relate to this character?’ With Laios, he is an older brother, like myself. I have a little sister. So I used my perspective as an older brother to prepare for this role. Also, my character is a bit of a unique, strange character at first. From then on, he goes quite flat. So from there, I got into it and just went with the characters”.
As for Senbongi to prepare for the role, she looked towards the manga for insight into her characters. “For my character, since a lot of eating is involved and the series is about eating, I first read the manga to prepare. But also, my character eats a lot of slime. So I thought, ‘What can I find in the Japanese food world that is similar to slime to understand the eating of slime better?’ So I would eat contents like jelly to get more perspective on my character”.
If the success of the Delicious in Dungeon manga indicates fans’ excitement about this new adaptation, it’s clear that this will be one of the hottest anime of the winter season. With its blend of fantasy, adventure, and love of food, fans are in for a treat. Kumagai and Senbongi comment on their hopes that fans will receive the series well and enjoy their characters’ journey.
Kumagai hopes fans enjoy his character’s growth and the underlying themes. “First of all, with my character, there are a lot of comical parts with my character. But there is also an underlying theme that is a lot more complicated. I look forward to taking this journey with the fans as they watch anime. Personally I am very excited about how my character grows, and I hope fans will enjoy that as well”.
As for Senbongi, she is looking forward to fans enjoying how the show expresses a love of food and the circle of life. “My character is very into eating, So the whole aspect of taking a life to receive a life and the depth that comes with that. But then also the fact this is a journey about four members and how they interact as a group is very important. Of course, this series has a lot of comedy, But I look forward to fans seeing how the group will rely on and depend on one another”.
Delicious in Dungeon is coming to Netflix in January 2024.