DISCUSSION: Episode 14

arya48, 2 months ago

Kinda just echoing what everyone else is saying, I really don’t like Kabru’s party lol, none of them pass the vibe check for me, Kabru is such a narcissist, he truly believes himself to be the protagonists of this world and his party seem completely bought into his delusion. He seems very observant but also draws the most cynical conclusions from his observations.

I am also slightly bummed that it seems we’ll be getting more of dealing with these guys instead of pursuing Falin and solving that mystery. Maybe I’ll grow to like these new characters or appreciate them at least, I trust the show enough to trust that whatever happens next will be interesting and make for an engaging watch.

MentalEdge, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Shuro and his party are all great, and Laios’ party will be picking up their fifth member soon.

The girls that follow Shuro around are all genuine, although we’ll learn that their loyalty to Shuro stems from some seriously fucked up shit in Shuro’s family.

Kabru’s party is just one of five (IIRC) parties that the story will eventually center around. (We’ve already met the Tansus, but there’s one more, teased in both OPs)

Also, can you imagine how satisfying it’s going to be, if Kabru figures iut that the Toudens aren’t some malicious self-centred schemers (like he is and therefore seems to think they must be) and are in fact just weird but wonderful people?! 🤣

arya48, 2 months ago

Also, can you imagine how satisfying it’s going to be, if Kabru figures iut that the Toudens aren’t some malicious self-centred schemers (like he is and therefore seems to think they must be) and are in fact just weird but wonderful people?! 🤣

That would be so cathartic, I hope we get a moment like that.

wjs018, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Lots of Kabru hate in this thread so far. I don’t get it. He is an ambitious and goal-oriented person. He even has a noble goal of ending the dungeon’s curse to prevent monsters from spilling out and killing people. He will see it done, no matter how many people he has to kill to make it happen! Wait…

I really like Kabru (maybe not as a friend though). He is a bit like an adventurer version of Sherlock Holmes. He seems to be extremely observant and has a lot of insight into people. However, he doesn’t seem to have his version of Watson nearby to help act as his conscience. I am curious to know what the endgame he has in mind if/when he comes into contact with Laios’s party. He doesn’t seem like the type to simply want revenge for a perceived slight. I get the feeling there are machinations at work below the surface with his character that we don’t have insight into yet.

As for the other members of his party, Kuro and Mickbell were fun. I laughed at her basically saying “OK Boomer” to the idea of Chilchuck. Also, Kuro is a good boy, a very loyal boy. It was a nice touch that he was simply confused while under the illusion. I assume its because what he was seeing was not matching up with what he was smelling. The last one I wanted to mention is Rinsha. I swore I recognized her voice, only to look it up and find out it was Megumin herself, Rie Takahashi. So, no wonder Kazuma Kabru wanted to prevent her from getting a spell off.

Finally, we got to see Shuro’s new party. Seems like he went with a different plan to try to get to Falin, reuniting with his fellow countrymen. I am looking forward to seeing more of this group as they seem quite capable. Also, I am not sure how Shuro is going to react when he hears about everything that has happened with Laios’s group while they were separated.

Edit: Forgot to mention that Dungeon Meshi had an exclusive interview with the mushroom monster that they published for April Fool’s. It’s in Japanese and I didn’t have the patience/energy to work my way through it, but the pictures were funny.

MentalEdge, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

Kuro is a good boy.

Unfortunately the real reason Mickbell and Chilchuck don’t get along, is that Chilchuck is a rights activist. He’s genuinely fighting for halflings to have a better lot in life, because they are often taken on as “pets” rather than full party members, used like disposable canaries for traps and monsters alike.

Mickbell has sort of become the kind of person who does that to another race, in his employment of Kuro.

I’ll be posting more character sheets as we finally meet much more of the cast again. Kuros page reveals one good thing Kabru has done, which is to teach Kuro to read in secret, because Mickbell won’t allow it for fear of Kuro becoming independent.

lvxferre, 2 months ago

I love the new OP. It’s fun, but it conveys really well that the party runs nonstop into troubles (getting “cooked”), while playing with the topic of the series.

Kabru for me is one of those characters that I love as a character - he plays a huge role for a side char, his antics are interesting to watch, and he fills a “character role” well, without being shallow. As a person though? I’d hate him, and I can’t help but agree with OP calling him “punchable”.

MentalEdge, 2 months ago

No character is a miss in terms of quality. And as sure as I am about disliking Kabru, I’m not so sure the hints that make me feel that way are that obvious to everyone. His flaws are very subtle, and as you say, he will indeed be a major character for the entire run of the story. A really well done one, too, as all characters in Dungeon Meshi are.

MentalEdge, 2 months ago (edited 2 months ago)

My dislike for Kabru and his gang is only re-affirmed.

Laios and his party leave them warded from ghosts, they get pissed for having their “treasure” stolen eaten.

Laios pulls them out of the water so their bodies can stick around to be found and revived, and they get even more pissed for having their ruined food “stolen”.

Rin is such a possesive witch crushing on Kabru over looks alone. Maybe she is only like that because deep down she knows Kabru will only ever give her attention as a way to manipulate her, and is desperately trying to prove herself wrong by getting him to look at her outside such a scenario. Still, she is arrogant despite her party’s general incompetence, and vindictive against the party that has literally only made sure she and her party get to live.

I never grew to like these people in the manga (though as characters they are great, and brilliantly written) and now they are pushing all my wrong buttons, all over again.

Like, FFS, Kabru is literally the only one with even half a brain, and he has to use it stopping his own party from killing itself. And that kiss to stop Rin’s spell… He knows she is head over heels for him, yet he doesn’t give a rats ass about sparing her feelings, and in fact takes pleasure in causing her discomfort by doing “the first thing that comes to mind”. Fuck you Kabru, you’re plenty smart to think of other ways to stop her chanting, you just thought this one would be funniest.

Let’s be clear about what happened here. Kabru’s party murders the corpse retrievers in cold blood, specifically to not resurrect them. He has his party dump them in the water, where the bodies will be consumed by monsters. This is murder-murder. Worse, it’s soul-trapped-in-dungeon-forever-murder. They may be shit people, but Kabru is acting like judge, jury and executioner, and literally nothing about him passes the sniff-test on him being a moral being.

https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/be146818-7531-4d9e-8b5c-2958a85cdfa8.webp

I’m frankly a little annoyed Rie Takahashi was cast for Rin. I hate having a twinge of abhorrence invade my normally 100% positive reaction to her. Still, gotta hand it to her, she does conceited bitch like she’s actually a horrible person, I’m already seething at that little hair twirl like it’s a pavlovian response.

And the little rant Kabru does in response to being called creepy for remembering so many details about people… He’s literally a psychotic drama-whore. What kind of person looks forward to crisis with glee?! The way his party subtly drop hints about how they think he is the “chosen one” just makes my skin crawl with the thought of how he must have fed the worst aspects of their characters to make this little mini-cult for himself.

Just look at this punchable piece of shit meeting the love-stricken Shuro. “Another fool I can use like a tool.”

https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/3ffe6fe4-ebcd-4239-b856-55d9498d5a5d.webp

Wow I wrote a lot about how I love hating these guys. On a less angry note, who is that the mad sorcerer is dancing with in the new OP??? Go re-watch episode 6 if you don’t recognize him.

https://sopuli.xyz/pictrs/image/0e9b631a-f036-4e8d-b868-8f974e93f43e.webp

earlgrey0, 2 months ago

They really nailed Kabru’s character in this episode. I genuinely think he’s one of the most terrifying people in the whole dungeon. Especially later

Late seriesWhen he starts working with the canaries. His sheer calculating callousness comes through well early and makes sense for the later team up.