The chapter that launched a thousand ship(per)s. And then some…

The notion of a dungeon ecosystem is a rather prominent feature in Dungeon Meshi.  Usually it’s been Senshi who’s brought it to the surface, but this time around we get a sense of how Marcille is focused on the idea.  We see a very direct continuity here, with things picking up immediately where last week left off – to wit, Laios being wracked by the agonies (thoroughly deserved, it must be said) of his foolhardy dining choice.  Marcille slept through her assignment to give him some healing boosters during the night, but Laios has more of less gotten through the worst of it.

Marcille gets to thinking about how meticulously this dungeon seems to have been designed vis a vis the interactions of adventurers, monsters, and magic.  And it gets her thinking back on her school days.  The most obvious takeaway here is that despite being an elf, Marcille may not be as old as one assumes.  Her numerical age isn’t revealed, but at least in elf years she was young enough to have been in school with Falin (though a bit ahead of her in physical maturity and grade level).  Marcille reflects that she was the best female student in her magic school’s history (Chilchuck is skeptical), but the meat of this flashback is her interaction with the mud-covered, isolated student named Falin.

Falin has an important role in shaping Marcille’s path, clearly, above and beyond their connection to Laios.  Whether Chil’s suspicions are correct or not, Marcille was pretty much a know-it-all.  And it was Falin who showed her that she didn’t know nearly as much as she thought she did.  And gave her probably her first exposure to a dungeon – full of spirits and “stale” magic – and the idea that all its inhabitants were critical for its ultimate survival.  There’s obviously some important connective tissue between where we leave them here and where we met them in the premiere, but no question this was an important milestone in Marcille’s life.

Back in the present, Chilchuck steps in as the de factor tactician of the group in Laios’ infirmity, and plots their course towards their ultimate encounter with the red dragon.  Marcille asks for a short delay in their departure so she can cleanse herself, and wistfully muses on how much harder things are now that she’s the only female member of the party. Senshi, you assume, probably doesn’t give a toss but Chil is clearly uncomfortable with this level of physical intimacy.  Unfortunately when Marcille pours her leftover boiling water back into the lake, it attracts the attention of an undine – an elemental water spirit that’s first mentioned in medieval European encyclopedias of folklore (and some years later, in my D&D materials).

Ichigo Kanno is back, for the first time since Episode 3.  I totally respect his talent, but I still don’t like the Kanno effect where Dungeon Meshi is concerned.  I don’t think he animated this entire episode but the undine sequence was definitely Kanno’s work, and while the action passages were unassailable, the character work continues to be a distraction for me.  Distinctive artists are what make anime really great, but not every artist’s style is going to be a match with every property.  Just my two cents – YMMV.

Not for the first time, the practical import of Falin’s absence is keenly felt here.  Wounded in fighting the undine, Marcille is in real trouble –  even after Laios rouses himself to lend a hand and lead their escape.  She loses a lot of blood and magic, and no one else in the party can do much about it.  All they can do is feed her – Laios hits on the idea of yakiniku once he confirms that Senshi has saved the kelpie’s liver along with the rest of the meat.  That can help blood production, but there are no shortcuts to getting her mana back.  That leaves the group vulnerable not only to potential injury, but unable to cross the watery obstacles between them and the red dragon.  They’re about to have company however – and none too thrilled that someone is grilling meat in this location.