I love how the show hyped up Kabru and his party as if they had main character energy for the entire first half of the episode, only for Laios’ party to come across them slumped, and surrounded by ghosts and cursed gold in the dungeon.
Read our Delicious in Dungeon Episode 4 Review.
Delicious in Dungeon Episode 5 Review
Well, it seems like the dungeon really is changing. It wasn’t a total fluke when Laios a few episodes earlier thought the living armor statues were acting funny. Now, we apparently have more adventurers going missing (or turned into zombies via possession by ghosts) and as Senshi mentioned last time, the migration of monsters to higher floors.
I have to wonder if this “mad wizard sunk the castle and all of its inhabitants” story isn’t some elaborate troll conjured by the dark magician himself just so that he can harness more souls for his cursed magic. Either that, or there really were just a lot of adventurers within their world who had nothing better to do than aimlessly wander a dangerous (and somewhat shady) castle with no real goal in mind.
I know the commonly spoken purpose seems to be defeating the dark wizard and laying claim to the old king’s innumerable treasures, but has anybody even gotten close since learning about this mission? Everybody we’ve met seems to have their own singular goals in mind, or we hear whispers about people who have gotten too close disbanding, or going missing like the gossip Kabru’s group heard in the tavern.
Also, I know Marcille doesn’t have much experience under her belt, but what the hell kind of school did she go to that Falin – a mere human mage – has more magical talent than an actual elf? Especially in a (fairly accurate) fantasy world?
Like I like Marcille a lot, she is basically a walking meme at this point while consuming the dungeon food but where is this elf’s magical ability? All Marcille seems to know how to do is blow things up and make weird faces. Did she get so complacent due to Falin’s magical prowess that she never thought there would be an off-chance that she would actually have to carry the group magically in Falin’s absence?
Real World Magic Included in the Dungeon
I love the worldbuilding in this show and the real-life (mythical) creatures and charms it speaks about. Last week I didn’t mention this, but in most old texts (all the way up to 200 years ago) there are still spells and formulas for creating golems using alchemical signs and commonly found materials. I actually have a few in my digital library and have been tempted to draw some of the sigils out of sheer curiosity, but for the most part have stayed away from attempting to create sentient life.
Although as Senshi demonstrated, it is fairly easy to animate and re-animate formed beings through commands or certain objects to control their movement and at higher levels – their willpower. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or even Bleach:TYBW display the type of magic I have in mind as I am typing this, and what my old books speak of.
Maybe I’ll share some of the pages one day whenever I get around to talking more about those series on the website.
I loved the use of the old map in this episode and how it had the fantastic beasts drawn on it. On older maps (like Monti Urbano’s 1587 planisphere) it even showed which beasts or creatures were in what regions of the world, which lines up with the “lore” and legends of those places today.
(Note: Terra Del Fuego is now called ‘Antarctica’)
Anyway, I wanted to just touch on the charm of holy water Senshi made to ward off the spirits.
Usually during a possession or haunting, most paranormal researchers state that there is a chill in the air. This chill is usually felt if one becomes possessed by the spirits and as we seen, Laios had visions of Falin while losing consciousness and Chilchuck even saw his deceased father across the River Styx when he was ‘between worlds’ so to speak.
I don’t know if Senshi has inherent magical power because he is a dwarf, but dwarves are apparently great at building and crafting things so that’s probably why most of his recipes and concoctions work out.
Real-World Spirit Purification Methods
Fire is actually thought to be a universal cleanser, and usually people burn things down or use smoke to ward off perceived evil or unwanted spirits.
Salt is another one that was mentioned, and I know in Japan especially there is a practice of carrying salt in one’s pocket and once reaching the doorstep of your home, sprinkling it over your shoulders so that the deceased do not follow you inside after attending funerals. Salt purification is present in both Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies.
Mori-shio is another Japanese practice of leaving salt either by the doorway or all four corners of a room to purify it and prevent the entry of evil spirits. Japan is of course not the only country that does this, but I thought it would be prudent to mention since I talk a lot about Japan and it’s (pop) culture on this website.
There was even mention of the golden scarab beetle commonly associated with Egypt, and alcohol (distilled ‘spirits’) while showing a lucky white snake on screen. (The snake could have also been alluding to Orochi and the sacred sake legend.) However, I’ve never actually heard of sugar being used to ward off anything – is that something you’ve ever heard about in your neck of the woods or culture?
Let me know what you thought about this episode, especially since there was a lot going on in the background despite it being mentioned casually. Do you think we’ll be getting even more dark wizard lore soon?
次のエピソード:
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Delicious in Dungeon Episode Reviews and Discussions!
☆ In Asian Spaces
In Asian Spaces 