Delicious in Dungeon Volume 5

Delicious in Dungeon volume 5 is something of a restart for the fantasy adventure/food manga series by Ryoko Kui. Volume 4 was all adventure, as the group finally found and fought the red dragon they’d been seeking, which meant little room for new monsters and meals in that multi-chapter story.

Now, they need a new quest, and against their will, they’re given one, although it’s very similar to the previous. The lunatic magician that runs the dungeon takes Falin away from them again, as we learn a little more about the structure and purpose of the edifice. Personally, I don’t need to know why the whole place is there, who built it, or why, since I was just accepting it as part of the genre.

The group has to figure out their next plans before we can get back to monsters and meals. First, though, we check in with another dungeon party we’ve seen before in passing. They encounter a malicious group of corpse revivers before sitting down to some travel rations and discussing what they know of our main group. This conversation gives us more idea of the culture they’re all operating in and hints about where the story may be going in terms of a bigger goal.

Marcille starts teaching Laios magic to strengthen their party, and the team encounters dryads and a cockatrice. The emphasis is much more on the quest and the nature of the dungeon than creative monsters and ways to prepare them, which was my favorite part. I’m not sure I’m enjoying this new direction as much as the earlier books, but it’s typical for a manga series to add more depth and longer-running plots once it’s established.

The last chapter introduces our group to several other dungeon fighters, including a party led by a former member of their team. I’m curious about the interactions between them all, so I’ll keep reading for now.