“Delicious in Dungeon,” a magical-quest saga with a gleeful emphasis on cooking and biology, combines the aesthetic, kinetic pleasures of anime with the food-nerd pleasures of Serious Eats. First we find the kraken, then we slay the kraken, then we practice safety in handling seafood, then we learn about parasites and the cooking methods that kill them, then we eat.
So far 15 episodes of the show, based on the manga by Ryoko Kui, are on Netflix, with new installments arriving Thursdays. As with many adventures that include cloaks and swords, “Dungeon” (in Japanese, with subtitles or dubbed) follows a ragtag crew. The angelic Falin has been eaten by the Red Dragon, and now her brother, Laios, and friends Marcille and Chilchuck are determined to find the dragon, slay it and rescue her before she can be completely digested. Along the way, Laios and friends meet Senshi, a gruff and bearded dwarf who is a gifted chef and knowledgeable ecologist. They decide that their journey will also include eating all the monsters they encounter — and lo, they encounter many monsters, including plants, fungi, creatures and spirits.
How ought one truss the chicken half of a half-chicken, half-snake basilisk? How can mud-based golems be repurposed as cabbage gardens? What are the gnarly ethics of eating demi-human creatures? “Dungeon” shines as food-fantasy reverie, with Senshi explaining both the physiology of magical creatures and outlining the tastiest methods for preparing them. Cook those coin-bugs belly-side down, and make sure to swing your jar of holy water through several ghosts to get the creamiest sorbet.
Anyone who has ever pored over a map at the beginning of a fantasy book or wished Wookieepedia included more about the food chain will find ample pleasures here. “World-building” is too mild a term to describe the scope of detail in every episode of “Dungeon,” though I do wish Netflix offered more-detailed translations of the many, many diagrams. The lush score and rich, evocative visual language add a sense of grandeur and occasional maturity to the show that the narrative and dialogue can’t generate on their own.
I could take or leave the broad plot of “Delicious in Dungeon,” but the charms of all its little asides add up. A montage of Marcille finally convincing Senshi to bathe is so poignant and darling I watched it twice, and all the ways animation can convey tastiness make even the most indulgent live-action food shows seem barren in comparison.
