REVIEW: ‘Delicious in Dungeon’ Episode 11 – “Red Dragon I”

With a plan ready, the party begins confronting the red dragon. But the situation may be worse than they thought. With the plan quickly going awry, how will the group slay their foe? Or will they join Falin in the dragon’s gullet in Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi) Episode 11, “Red Dragon I?”

Adaptability is an admirable trait. It is a struggle to acknowledge when something needs changing. It is all too easy to go with what works. This series chooses to adapt in a significant way. For the first time, there is no cooking sequence in an episode. Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 allows its narrative to focus on the big moment the entire series has been building towards.

While that may seem like a no-brainer, it isn’t hard to envision a world where the battle is cut short. Their search for Falin paused to roast up some fresh dragon steaks. Especially given how much the narrative focus of the series clashes with the series’ personality in the early episodes. Happily, it seems the series has grown since then, understanding what’s important in the moment.

Opening this week’s episode, we see Marcille (Sayaka Senbongi) struggling to control her panic. With the final touches set on her magical trap, there’s nothing left to do but wait. Senbongi does a great job delivering the stress in the mage’s voice. The animation also builds up the intensity of the character’s fears. Her unsteady mindset is illustrated wonderfully through her shaky movements. As she anxiously awaits her teammates’ return, the moment ends with a note of resolve. She knows she cannot falter now if she ever wants to see Falin again.

From the tense but quiet opening, Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 cranks up the energy as Laios (Kentarô Kumagai), Chilchuck (Asuna Tomari), and Senshi (Hiroshi Naka) make contact with the dragon. There is a brief moment where everything goes according to plan. But the moment is soon lost when the heat of the dragon’s breath becomes too much for Senshi’s cookware to handle. Forced to change their planned escape route, the trio struggles to keep ahead of their monstrous pursuer.

As expected, the dragon dominates this episode from a visual standpoint. Despite the heavy comedic tone of the series overall, the animation doesn’t shy away from the dragon’s imposing nature. Its prodigious girth and brutal fire attacks are all brought to life skillfully. The creature’s intimidating nature can never leave the viewer’s mind. The best element of Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11‘s antagonist is an extra detail given to its flame breath.

Early in the encounter, Laios explains that the dragon’s fire breath is created from sparks caused by the dragon clicking its tongue on the inside of its teeth. This adds extra emphasis to the dragon’s attack. The episode always highlights when the clicking happens, causing the viewer to brace from the powerful rush of flames that is to follow.

This extra detail also keeps the dragon in line with the grounded approach that the series has taken with so many of its monsters. It would’ve been easy to overlook such a detail in the moment’s energy. But while Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 is willing to let some aspects of its formula slide, this one stays. It’s the right call.

When the moment finally arrives, Marcille drops a building on the pursuing dragon. Intending to trap the dragon for an easy kill, the plan goes horribly wrong. The dragon easily escapes from the rubble, leaving the party with few options. Then things go from bad to worse.

As the dragon once more begins to stalk the streets, Laios and Chilchuck get close to it by feigning death. Close to the dragon’s vulnerable spot, Laios can feel victory at hand. Until his sword leaps from his hand, propelled by the monster living in the hilt, blindly attempting to escape the dragon.

This moment surprises the viewer as it’s the first time the monster’s presence has been allowed to negatively impact the party. But it makes sense. With nothing to gain and everything to lose, the monster wants nothing to do with the apex predator lumbering over it.

Without his sword, Laios has no way of slaying the dragon. With him, Chilchuck, and Senshi taking refuge under the dragon, the moment devolves into a farce as they attempt to divine what to do next.

The comical nature of much of the discussion here never undercuts the tension of the sequence. While the scene is absurd, it is saturated with the scenario’s panic, making it feel like an extension of the moment rather than an unwanted intrusion.

Senshi’s adamantine cooking knife allows them to fight back in a small way. Though the blade isn’t long enough to do true damage to their foe. Knowing they must retrieve Laios’ sword, Senshi hurls himself before the dragon, attempting to get the sword back for his friend.

The visual delivery of the dragon’s clawed foot crashing down on Senshi contrasts sharply with the manic nature of the previous discussion. This moment hurts. Studio TRIGGER goes all out to make everything about this shot stay with the viewer. The force of the blow shakes the world as Senshi is seen protruding out from between two scythe-like claws. It takes Chilchuck’s intervention to successfully retrieve the sword, removing him and Senshi from the fight.

With just Laios and Marcille left, Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 sees one final plan hatched. The plan highlights Laios’ courage and unwavering desire to save his sister. However, an unfortunate narrative decision hurts the presentation of this moment.

While Laios is hanging from the dragon’s face, the episode cuts away for an extended flashback to when he and Falin were children. Though this scene is nicely crafted in and of itself, its placement here doesn’t work. Had they slotted the moment in just before Laios rushed out, its gentle tone and warmth would’ve been welcome. It helps reaffirm why the fighter cares so much for his sister. Sticking it in the middle of his life-or-death struggle causes the flashback to detract more than it adds to the moment.

Once the final blow is struck, the group sets about the unpleasant task of searching for their friend’s remains within the dragon. As the credits roll, we do not know whether the party will recover enough to bring Falin back.

With their series-long goal hanging in the balance, Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 maintains the tension that permeates the rest of the narrative until the very end. This is a fantastic ending for a memorable episode filled with tension, creativity, and a dash of humor.

Delicious in Dungeon Episode 11 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.