i feel like i havent properly defined the deep rooted love and appreciation that i have for animation as an art form and story tool on tumblr so i need to yap just a bit about Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon)
This show does something i could talk about for hours, simple in theory, difficult in practice.
Everyone Exists In The World!!
silent stories are given to us visually, societal expectations are quirked in their own directions. the show gives us exposition but theres still things we learn just by seeing.
For being a show that starts with a dead king, deals in forgotten magic, delves into the mysterious dungeon kingdom, and calls upon a chosen one protagonist....there is specific care being taken to not have the world feel like it just started existing.
Every character has a past. not just in the sense of lore, but in being allowed to have grown up outside of when we met them.
they have habits, traits, preferences. things that are drawn attention to, and things that never draw attention.
marcille has alot of them so the detail scrape in my head loves her.
on top of her bag and staff, marcille also carries a spellbook and component pouch for spell casting.
marcilles clothes are sewn in some places so they're less flowy, allowing her to traverse the dungeon without snagging as much. at the same time, its clear that it wasn't marcille that sewed this. it was chilchuck.
she twirls her staff in hand CONSTANTLY, something that nobody should or does care about except Me because I Know that staff is perfectly weighted to be twirled with the wood grain. this specifically. im kind of obsessed with just how much That Staff in particular is good for twirling and gets twirled. details make me happy.
Another think they do SO well is pay active attention to weight and inventory. spices in the cooking show arnt infinite. characters that have more physical strength carry more dry goods.
the attention to weight isn’t even inventory limited.
chilchuck who is a lockpick and a half-foot removes light armor just to disable traps and when he’s carrying a water skein he’s punished by traps he’d normally overlook.
it’s such a wonderful show to dissect for all the little things to appreciate.
foley artists and animators working carefully to give fantasy foods different textures, thought processes being realistic in not having the answer right away for plot reasons but instead leading through logical course of action, it’s just wonderful.
characters look different, act different, were raised different, they don’t just exist because the story says so but because the story validates their off screen history.
