REVIEW: ‘Delicious in Dungeon’ Episode 22 — “Griffin/Familiars”

While the recent events within the dungeon gained the outside world’s attention, the party relaxed momentarily as they caught their breath in the Golden Country. But with the group revitalized, it is time for them to set out in search of their missing party member and the Lunatic Mage in Delicious in Dungeon Episode 22 (Dungeon Meshi), “Griffin/Familiars” from studio trigger.

Before departing the Golden Country’s tranquility, the party learns more about the Lunatic Mage, Thistle (Yû Kobayashi, Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story). While we learn the early history of the antagonist who rules the dungeon, key details are omitted. We see Thsitle’s descent into madness but don’t learn why it occurs. We know black magic is involved, which further solidifies why the art has such a harrowing reputation.

This first look into Thsitle’s past draws the viewer’s attention without answering all the questions. It puts a human face and name to the character as we see a brief montage of her growth from childhood to a mage standing at their king’s side. How the visuals portray the mage’s slipping into madness gives the moment weight while maintaining the feeling of incompleteness. What we see doesn’t directly link the character to her present state, implying there are more steps to discover as the show moves forward.

Before the group departs, they are given a piece of advice. If they are determined to confront Thistle, they should first seek out the Winged Lion. This is the same creature that prophesied a warrior bearing a winged sword would save the Golden Country. With this new objective ahead of them, the group sets out. Only moments after their departure does Thistle appear, demanding to know who the villagers are just speaking to.

This final moment feels important for a less-than-obvious reason. while the ominous presence of Thistle and how the character’s arrival is framed focuses on the fact that she is hot on the heels of our heroes, the question brings important details. Thistle knows someone who shouldn’t be was there, but not who it was. Thistle has been presented as being neigh all-knowing in her control of the dungeon. That she only has imperfect knowledge of what has transpired in the Golden Country removes some of the awe from her pervasive control of the dungeon, limiting her to a new extent.

After another brief, ghost-propelled trip back into the dungeon, Delicious in Dungeon Episode 22 sees the party arrive in a dwarven reservoir. While the cavernous location provides a navigational challenge, it also seems to have a decidedly negative effect on Senshi (Hiroshi Naka). Initially thought to be suffering from teleportation sickness, it quickly becomes clear that something about their current location upsets the dwarf. This behavior begins to make Chilchuck (Asuna Tomari, 86) wonder about Senshi’s mostly unknown past.

The group’s arrival in the reservoir also delivers a fantastic little moment of humor. No longer under the effects of the beast-calming barrier, Izutsumi (Mitsuho Kambe) returns to her normal self. There is a moment of disorientation as she comes to her senses, followed by a hysterical moment of embarrassed terror as her behavior in the Golden Country all comes rushing back to her. The animation delivers this fleeting moment splendidly as it allows the show a touch of humor before a new danger arrives.

The party’s problems soon intensify when a griffin appears and attacks them. The creature’s presence further strains Senshi’s delicate state, causing the adventurer to panic. As he flees blindly away from the flying predator, he triggers the creature’s chase instincts, causing it to abandon its fight with Marcille (Sayaka Senbongi, Kaiju No.8) and Laios (Kentarô Kumagai) to carry the frantic dwarf back to its nest.

As the griffin flies off with their party member, the group is left to puzzle out how to pursue. Thanks to the massively high vaulted ceiling of the reservoir, the griffin’s nest could be anywhere. Luckily, Marcille realizes she can craft familiars using their food to search the massive space.

Like many of the show’s fantastical elements, Delicious in Dungeon Episode 22 does a great job of grounding how the familiars function. While Marcille’s initial design for her flying helpers is cute but clunky, revisions to streamline and improve the creatures through aerodynamics and other concepts improve their performance, allowing them to save their beleaguered comrade. The continuing commitment to avoiding solving problems simply with unexplainable magic provides the series with its most stand-out element.

Once Senshi is back with the party, Chilchuck broaches the topic of Senshi’s past. With numerous elements of his story not lining up and his clear familiarity with both the reservoir and the griffin, it’s obvious that the cook has a deeper history with the dungeon than he has let on. As the episode closes, Senshi begins to tell his tale.

Delicious in Dungeon Episode 22 is an excellent entry in the series. It skillfully blends action, humor, and character-building, allowing its many ingredients to complement each other rather than conflict, as they often do.

Delicious in Dungeon Episode 22 is streaming now on Netflix.