As Dungeon Meshi is still currently being published it feels a bit early for me to try to post any sort of review but I feel like I need to make an exception in this case as Dungeon Meshi has evolved over its run from a little manga about a DnD party cooking monsters into one of the absolute best pieces of fantasy Ive ever experienced in any medium. 220https://i0.wp.com/beneaththetangles.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/02/dmc11.jpg?fit=7192C397ssl=1 As its progressed Dungeon Meshi has consistently developed its world around a deep dive into a single aspect of its universe dungeon exploration exploring that topic from ecological political economical and sociological angles intertwining them into an incredibly realistic backdrop for a main plot and characters that are equally as complex welldeveloped and totally engaging. It does all this at one of the most perfect paces Ive ever seen in any media it starts out as a cute little generic fantasy manga with a simple premise broke dungeon explorers decide to eat monsters as they rush through a dungeon to try and revive their healer who was killed by a dragon deep in the dungeon on their last excursion. From this base every single chapter develops and builds upon at least one element of the series be it the world the monsters the characters the society etc. etc. and once youre past the slower early chapters it chugs along at a pace where its never too slow as to grow stale but never too fast as to become overwhelming which has pushed the plot to a level of extremely satisfying complexity where all the pieces and players on the board have been so well defined that nothing feels underdeveloped or lost in the details. 220https://www.toonix.xyz/cdnmangaraw/dungeonmeshi/chapter54/01.jpg Beyond the excellent central narrative and world building it also boast a fantastic cast of characters as welldeveloped as they are lovable all of them with believable character flaws and personal ideologies that clash and cooperate with one another constantly to create believable and interesting dynamics both among the main characters and the diverse supporting cast that drift in out and around their journey through the dungeon. 220https://i0.wp.com/beneaththetangles.com/wpcontent/uploads/2019/03/rdmc2c.jpg?resize=7682C379ssl=1 The art in this series is exceptional with the mangaka particularly excelling in character and monster designs. The monsters can range from cute to bizarre to disgusting to threatening behemoths and all are given a level of detail that really helps them jump off the page. This detail even carries over to the humans and humanoids where speciestospecies and individualtoindividual differences are extremely well defined completely avoiding the issue so much of the medium has with everycharacterlooksthesamewithdifferenthairsyndrom. Shes also exceptional at using facial expressions to drive home the narrative almost as much as the dialog itself akin to what Ive seen in series like One Piece. 220https://64.media.tumblr.com/9965f23c33fe264e26ddaf37eb3c63ec/tumblrpag3mhtTpz1r395zqo2500.png At the mangas latest chapter where the story has progressed to a scale of global interspecies geopolitics that hinge upon decisions and actions tied up in magical/biological processes so morally grey that youre not even sure if the story has a hero anymore the only thing more insane than looking back at how simply and humbly the series began is how well it avoided ever feeling jarring at any point climbing to the ridiculous height its currently at and this upwards trend has shown no signs of slowing down. Id like to say that I couldnt see a way that we werent marching towards an extremely satisfying conclusion but as every manga reader is well aware even some GOATcontender candidates can fumble right before they hit the finish line and if Dungeon Meshi falls prey to this same curse Ill update this review and my rating as I feel necessary. But at current Dungeon Meshi is nipping at the heels of the alltime best manga and anime that Ive ever experienced and I feel like anyone looking for truly fantastic twist on old fantasy tropes would love to dive into this dungeon alongside our main cast because its a far deeper journey than anyone could have expected. 220https://lorgislason.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/meshidemon21.png?w=656