The cooking/dungeoncrawler mashup you didn’t know you needed. Iron Chef? More like Adamantine Chef!

Anime has a reputation for magical girl fairytales and over-the-top power fantasy combat shows. You get your occasional Death Note or Cowboy Bebop mixed in for something a little more stylish or weighty. But one of the truly delightful aspects of anime is that once in a while they try something really, REALLY weird (OK, that part’s actually pretty common) and it WORKS (which is the rarity).

I present you: Delicious in Dungeon (also known as Dungeon Meshi).

When an adventuring party is loses a battle against a dragon, the survivors regroup to go rescue one of their own who got eaten (they plan a resurrection). Broke and without supplies, they resolve to venture into the dungeon once again and hunt monsters for sustenance.

Enter Senshi.

The three dungeoneers have no idea how to turn dead monsters into meals, but their new friend, a dwarf named Senshi, does. While he’s tough and strong and looks like a horned helmet wearing funny nose glasses, he’s also a master chef. He roves the dungeon’s upper levels with a backpack full of pantry ingredients, a large wok, and a mithril chef’s knife.

The show is bonkers. There’s the overriding urgency of rescuing a companion before there’s nothing left of her to resurrect, the slog of monsters and traps hindering their journey, and it’s intermixed with cozy campfires and detailed lessons on dungeon cooking to the point where, if any of these creatures were real, you could cook along with the show. There are even “TA-DA” moments displaying the finished spreads before everyone digs in, with clear labels as to the names of the meals.

And it all works because of one dwarf.

Senshi is the group’s mascot, coach, guide, teacher, and (naturally) chef. The various other party members have different levels of excitement/acceptance/reluctance to sample food made from creepy monsters. But through it all, Senshi shows patience, kindness, and a willingness to share his wisdom with his companions. He practices sustainable dungeoneering, takes only what he needs, and doesn’t let anything go to waste.

Most fantasy fiction either glosses over the slow moments of a long journey or peeks in on them when there are pivotal interpersonal moments to witness. Delicious in Dungeon takes those campsite meals and turns them into the whole reason their show works. You get to see a whole different side to the main characters because of this focus on the cozy moments between exploration and battles.

Other dwarves in the show’s universe are more typical of regular fantasy fare. It’s just this one glorious madman who thinks he’s Bobby Flay in Gimli’s body.

Oh, and the show still works if you’re not into cooking shows. There is plenty of meaty plot and character development.

As of this posting, you can watch Delicious in Dungeon on Netflix.