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Since its premiere on Netflix, Scrumptious in Dungeon has been delivering a cornucopia of mouthwatering meals, a dollop of sidesplitting humor, and a pinch of eldritch horrors. However one factor in Studio Set off’s fantasy anime that’s arguably endeared itself probably the most upon its weekly viewers is its protagonists’ relatable depiction of the neurodivergent expertise.
Warning: The beneath article incorporates gentle spoilers for Scrumptious in Dungeon.
Scrumptious in Dungeon, by manga creator Ryoko Kui, follows an odd couple occasion of adventurers named Laios, Marcille, Chilchuck, Senshi, and Izutsumi as they scour the depths of a deadly dungeon to rescue their spellcaster, Falin. To maintain their power up, the group cooks up no matter creepy crawly creatures they arrive throughout as a meal — be they basilisks, golems, or residing armor.
Though their monster-of-the-week feasts routinely mortify his cohorts, the proverbial dinner bell is music to the ears of Laios. In contrast to his occasion members, Laios is hyper-fixated with the monster they encounter. This manifests itself in Laios changing into the occasion’s defacto ethologist, spouting encyclopedic information concerning the behaviors and patterns of the dungeon’s pantheon of beasts from a home made dungeon connoisseur guidebook he retains nestled inside his breastplate.
Whereas Laios’ affinity for monsters is invaluable to his occasion’s survival within the dungeon, it is also often grating for his compatriots. This all involves a head within the present’s seventeenth episode when Laios falls out with a former occasion member named Shuro, whom he thought-about to be his first pal. Throughout their row, Shuro admits he couldn’t stand to be round Laios, calling him “extremely careless, thickheaded, and awkward,” including that Laios’ lack of sick intent made issues all of the extra irksome. When Laios asks why Shiro by no means mentioned something beforehand, Shuro replies that he gave him the chilly shoulder “in methods most individuals would choose up on.” Shuro additional underscored his frustration with Laios by telling him to “get higher at studying the room.”
oh …. oh wow pic.twitter.com/rtpUN9eSNe
— amber ♡ (@tanijrou) April 28, 2024
Save for characters like Mob Psycho 100’s Shigeo Kageyama, anime followers have not had a big pool of heroes to level to as an genuine portrayal of the neurodivergent expertise and the anxieties related to social interactions. Very similar to Laios, the mild-mannered Shigeo is taken into account socially awkward within the present and is routinely on the receiving finish of the chorus that he ought to “get a clue.” That is why Laios’ retort to Shuro, who justified his passive efforts as a complacent try and spare Laios’ emotions, was each cathartic and resonating for viewers. In actual fact, Scrumptious in Dungeon resonated with anime followers a lot that they took to social media to reward the present for its neurodivergent illustration, even when Laios isn’t referred to particularly as neurodivergent inside the collection.
“As somebody with autism, Laios’s response is so insanely cathartic in how upsetting and irritating it’s to seek out out somebody dislikes you and would not belief you sufficient to inform you brazenly,” @RetroHurricane wrote on X/Twitter.
“Laios’ characterization has been one of many greatest nice surprises with this present,” X/Twitter user Kelly Onelani said. “I can solely consider Mob getting this remedy (‘get a clue’ ‘learn the room’) however to be sincere it went over my head when first watching [Mob Psycho 100] as a result of he’s a child. With Laios being an grownup it REALLY hits you.”
“I’m actually glad that Laois’ response to Shuro right here was anger/frustration,” user @unhealthydoc said. “I believe far too usually autistic/disabled individuals should be amicable even after they’ve been handled poorly. Even when being informed ‘I’ve by no means been your pal and also you annoy me.’ ”
Whereas viewers are unsure whether or not Laios was at all times supposed to be learn as neurodivergent, of us on the r/DungeonMeshi subreddit have posited that Laios being neurodivergent shouldn’t come as a shock, contemplating Kui’s depiction of characters readers consider to be on the spectrum previously along with her fantasy anthology collection Terrarium in a Drawer.
Followers aren’t the one ones who felt seen by Laios as a neurodivergent anime character. Laios’ voice actor, Smosh’s personal Damien Haas, took to X/Twitter to specific how recording for the character — in episode 6 particularly — held a variety of weight for him as a relatable “neurospicy expertise.”
“Emotionally, recording this scene had extra weight for me than you may count on,” Haas wrote. “That is all too relatable of a neurospicy expertise, so it meant a helluva lot to me.”
In our evaluation of Scrumptious in Dungeon, we gave the present an 8 out of 10, writing “Though the broader arc of its story continues to be rising, the episodic delights, dynamic forged of characters, intriguing setting, and plush manufacturing of Scrumptious in Dungeon are a lot to feast on for now.”
Scrumptious in Dungeons’ Season 1 finale will air on June 13.
Isaiah Colbert is a contract author for IGN. You possibly can comply with them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
