Dungeon meshi is like super thought out, so if there reason why there’s no fat elves?

Diversity talk around Dungeon meshi makes me feel insane because all that was done is drawing normal looking white people. I can count the people of color on one hand and most of them are ambiguously brown, and on the other hand I can count the fat characters and most of them are specific fantasy races.

Ryoko Kui has a remarkable art style and everyone is drawn with love and I really admire it, but I feel like it shouldn't be the pinnacle of diversity for some of you. Falin isn't fat, she's just a big normal looking lady. Laios also isn't fat, he just has a regular looking muscular build without the dehydration six pack. The fat characters we do see are dwarves and orcs, which seem to make it look like the only way you can be fat is to a specific fantasy race. That may sound like a reach and may actually be a reach, but it is a little sus to me </3.

Characters like leed, namari, and senshi mean a lot to me but I wish we saw more fat humans or elves or etc. I know Ryoko Kui does explore more body types for different races in the art books but I'm a little disappointed it wasn't in the actual manga.

Not to mention the lack of black people 😭 Like I'm usually not expecting to see black people in anime and manga, I know that I can't always be asking all that from this kind of stuff, but seeing Kui actually draw black people in some of her studies in the art books and not seeing them present in the manga made me a little sad 😭. Like the brown characters we do have are KiKi, KaKa, Thistle, Kabru, and Cithis (plus a few extras that show up for like 2 seconds). Most of them are ambiguous, talking about the elves. Like we have brown elves but also we have pitch black elves, that makes me think they are only brown cus they are dark elves.

People like to argue like "Oh but it's fantasy and these are fantasy races so what do you expect?" but I think there is something to be said how it's always white people in these fantasy settings and brown and black people taking a backseat. I love dungeon meshi, I really do, but it is in no way revolutionary, it is just the standard.

IN MY OPINION ANYWAYS!

I really really like Ryoko Kuis art n especially her art that puts obvious emphasis on physicality and eroticism (shocker!)

But also its a little... hard to understand? (For lack of a better word bc this feeling is not negative its just confused) why people are always positively singling out a particular few of her drawings every once in a while, drawings that feature conventional anime girls with exaggerated chest-waist-hip ratio and very scantily clad or naked, in twisting sexy poses. I dont think theres anything wrong with erotic art but i do believe hers is fairly... standard as far as manga art goes? She does sometimes include fat or dark-skinned women, but fat women are rarely if ever objects of fatal allure like skinny women are and dark-skinned women appear often clad in somewhat stereotypical skimpy attire. I can say for sure that if a male mangaka drew the same art people wouldnt go out of their way to praise it... this isnt to say "YOURE PRAISING WOMEN AND PUTTING DOWN POOR MEN" just that i dont understand how this art is suddenly made revolutionary because a woman drew it

Genuine question i suppose? Id really like to understand

Do you have any tips for developing a healthier relationship to being fat? I'm fat and have a uhhhhh very negative relationship with the physical appearance of my body, despite treating my body well on a physical level. I read a ton of fat liberation stuff and fat positive studies and while logically I know that being fat isn't bad and has no bearing on morality, personality, etc, I still can't seem to apply this reasoning to myself. Most of the content on the internet is geared towards cis abled woman when I'm a trans disabled man, so that probably contributes to some extent, but idk. It also doesn't help that attraction-wise I'm definitely drawn to people who are the exact opposite of me physically (tall, lanky, angular, etc). I've been trying for years to even just be okay with my appearance and none of the common advice has worked. I pretty much only feel okay with myself when I forget that I have a physical body. Your fat positive content makes me really happy and you seem to have a positive relationship with your body, so I thought it was worth asking if you had any tips for me or anyone else who might need them.

Feel free to disregard this message if it makes you uncomfortable! You don't know me and I don't want to put my feelings on you. I appreciate any response you might give, but I also don't want to breach any boundaries. I hope you have a nice day!

-🧪

Hello!! I've been thinkin about this question since you sent it yesterday, it's a very good question but also a toughie 😅 The thing to keep in mind is that internalized fatphobia isn't a problem caused by personal problems, it's almost entirely a societal thing. I've been working on my body image issues for a long long time now, and honestly sometimes I do still feel down about my fatness. BUT it gets easier and easier as you get older, I promise you that! Especially if you keep working on it. So here are some tips I can think of:

Try to consume a lot of body neutral media! For me, body positive stuff can get a little grating and actually do the opposite of its intended purpose, because the constant focus on "everyone is beautiful!! Love your fat body!" can start to feel... I don't know, like it's drawing attention to it too much, and making it less normal. I like media in which fatness is portrayed as normal and doesn't get alienated so much, even in a positive way. A few good recommendations I can think of off the cuff are Dungeon Meshi (can't help plugging my fave manga heheh, Ryoko Kui is just so loving in her portrayal of different body types), Steven Universe, Hairspray, and Porco Rosso. Couplagoofs on Instagram, tiktok, twitch and youtube are really good influencers for this, watching their content has helped me a lot with my own body image! I've heard that Shrill is a good show for fat representation, but I've only seen this one scene (which is very good) so I can't speak definitively about it's quality! If anyone else has any good suggestions, please reply with them 🙏

Stay off of tiktok until you feel more comfortable with your own body. Tiktok is kind of a trap, because it'll put a lot of really great diverse body neutral stuff on your fyp to lure you in, but then it'll shut you down with the most hateful shit you've ever seen. And if you're not on the body neutral side of tiktok, you'll be in skinny town USA thirst trap hell forever lmfao it's just like not worth it

Surround yourself with accepting people. It's especially helpful to seek out other fat/fat positive friends (especially of the queer and neurodivergent variety). Fat people are everywhere, we're way more common than society and media would have you think!! It's good to have people around you to remind you of that 😁

If you have the money for it, try going on a special shopping trip to find some clothes that make you feel really good. Go alone, unless you have someone who you feel 100% comfortable with, because this trip should be about your needs and whatever makes you feel happy with your own body. You don't need anyone else's opinion for that! I know that this bit of advice is a little cliche, but it's just what has helped me personally.

This might be just a me thing, but practicing with drawing fat bodies has probably done more for my body image than anything else. It forces you to spend a lot of time looking at fatness and really growing to understand it and accept it. I've got a pinterest board for fat poses that I've been collecting (which I've just realized only has feminine people in it, I need to fix that >:/ ). Fat Photo Reference is another good site for practice, but it requires a password, so if anyone wants to get in then just DM me! Self portraits are also a great idea for this, especially if you find fatness beautiful in other people but not yourself, like you've said! Maybe give it a shot on a day when you're feeling up to it 💛

I hope this helps!! I'm not an expert on this, so my advice might be just as cliche and unhelpful as everything else out there 😅 but this is all just from personal experience. Fatness is normal and healthy and beautiful, so I hope you can come to accept your own soon!! 🙏

yeah hi as a manga only fan way before the anime and barely remembers the plot, my hot take is that ummm.... laios should get assassinated or something so someone actually competent at resolving conflict between people like kabru can step up to the plate. yknow, the guy whose actually been doing all the legwork to keep war from breaking out? actually understands inherent power imbalances in society? unlike mister special interests over here, mister "everyone's innocent golden retriever 🥺" who unloads horrifying facts about the monster that killed kabru's mom and gives kabru a monster meal as a ~sign of friendship~ making his ptsd resurface. (maybe laios should learn how his interests are burdensome and painful to others and not dump them without warning on his so called friends? 🤔 nah, it's the moc that are wrong.)

also keeps little miss "lover of all races," "goes on her little tirade about how the orcs deserve their oppression to their face," as an advisor so dunno how trustworthy those policies are my liege! well at least he keeps kabru as his babysitter/therapist/boyfriend to do all the behind scene work! (wow another brown caretaker/white ship! how original! and wowie kabru how come you get stuck in this role for two whole ships! 😍 how original!!!)

oh and ryoko kui should come out and confirm laois isn't autistic too, just your average awkard guy with some overbearing interests, and actually the autistic one is kabru, cause yall got real selective with your coding there for a second (kabru has a narcissistic disorder? lol ok, dont cry cause of this post then)

talking about self inserts, saw a lot of people get real hot and excited at the sight of laios punching down toshiro, wishing they were him. so ryoko can confirm toshiro is autistic too as a treat 🤗. also to make up for the fact that the manga is mostly entirely in laios pov but she put toshiro enduring his microaggressions in the manga extras?? (like thats gonna be in the anime.)

dont worry tho, im not really trying to punish her, like forcing her to draw a fat female protagonist thats not attributed to race (according to her!). yall can cut the hype a bit. miss "shes so great at portraying race! cause everyone's racist!" yeah ok. explains why all the main protagonists are white.

anyway, glad I'm not apart of the fandom at all cause I'll hate to pretend I respect any of you! ❤️

Reading Dungeon Meshi, Chapter 3: Roast Basilisk

Intro

Welcome back to my re-read-through of Dungeon Meshi (aka Delicious in Dungeon) by Ryoko Kui, the freshest flavor of seinen fantasy you’ll find on the market today. For an introduction to the cast and the story so far, check out my entries for Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

In this installment, Marcille has a bad dream, Laius practices his mad chicken impression, and Senshi uses his battleaxe for a roasting spit.

Synopsis

Marcille wakes from a horrible dream in which her mother has served her a table laden with the noxious fruits of a dungeon harvest. Emerging from her Catapult Nightmare with the requisite bolt-upright shriek, she smells something mouthwatering, and spies a nearby party breaking their fast on grilled salt pork and bread. Senshi is indignant. The typical adventurers’ diet of dried meat, bread, and wine is decidedly unbalanced. Even a party with “enough to eat” can still be undone by malnutrition. Speaking of which, their own recent diet has lacked a vital nutrient: fat! It’s time to go monster hunting, and the monster du jour is basilisk.

Called “the king of snakes” the basilisk is a cross between a rooster and a snake, a two-beast combination which Laius admires for its balance and simplicity. Hunting down the nest, the party discovers a handful of newly laid eggs, an excellent source of fat that should complement their chicken dinner nicely. (Eggs? Since when does a rooster lay eggs? But they look like snake eggs, not chicken eggs, so…best not overthink it…) No sooner have they wrapped up the eggs than a scream from nearby alerts them to the basilisk’s presence, as the monster gives chase to the party they saw earlier.

Laius immediately leaps into action – not by drawing his sword, but by spreading his arms and legs and letting out a mighty BAAAWK, doing his best to intimidate the foe and give the other party a chance to escape. (Marcille and Chilchuk agree to pretend they don’t know him.) While Laius has the basilisk distracted, Senshi comes round behind the monster, and he and Laius rush in at the same time. The two heads of the beast are momentarily paralyzed with confusion as it tries to deal with both threats at once, and in that moment the dwarf and fighter strike, and the basilisk is down.

A member of the other party had taken a hit from the basilisk’s venomous spur, and he’s not looking well. Fortunately, Senshi can concoct an antidote from the beast’s blood…if he can be persuaded to! The poor fellow might be on death’s door, but the dwarf insists that antidotal herbs taste better when cooked, and it’s a wee bit early for lunch. Only after everyone engages in some grand performative theater about how hungry they are does Senshi agree to grace them with…roast basilisk! 

Stomachs are filled, the wounded are healed, Senshi doles out some life advice about nutrition and exercise, and the other party part ways with our heroes encouraged and invigorated – only to get wiped out by man-eating plants a few days later.

Thoughts

In this chapter we go beyond the hunting and the cooking of the dungeon’s denizens and consider the nutrition problem. Not only do you have to kill the things (without getting yourself killed), prepare them in such a way that they are rendered both palatable and digestible, and preserve the dungeon ecosystem; you also have to get the right variety in your diet, lest you suffer malnutrition. Such attention to detail is one of the major selling points of the series, and shows off the mangaka’s enthusiasm for expanding on her central premise. I almost wonder if Laius is at least partly an author surrogate, his wide-eyed (wild-eyed?) ardor for monster anatomy acting as an outlet for her own absorption in the subject. I usually don’t like using a story to psychoanalyze its author, but in this case I’ve got to imagine that Ryoko Kui truly enjoys setting up and solving all these little puzzles. I love how caring she seems, always having Senshi mother everyone and dole out good advice. You can just see her lying awake at night worrying about her characters – are they getting enough to eat, do they have a balanced diet, are they exercising, are they sleeping right?

Oh yes, and are they playing well with the other adventurers? Yet another example of attention to detail is the regular inclusion of other adventuring parties. A less thoughtful (or more minimalist) author might have used the survive-in-the-dungeon scenario to downplay the social aspects of the story, isolating the heroes in a narrow tunnel of monster encounters and survival challenges. In Dungeon Meshi, no matter how deeply the party delves, they’re always encountering other wanderers in the dungeon, several of whom are gradually woven into the larger plot. Now, some mangaka multiply characters when they’re running out of ideas (I’m looking at you, Tite Kubo), or keep the story going with a succession of villains-of-the-week (I’m looking at you, Rumiko Takahashi). Thankfully (thus far) this series has been guilty of neither. Whether they come and go in the course of a chapter (like the unfortunates in this installment), or come to play a bigger role in the story (like others we’ll meet later on), every new introduction feels thoughtfully crafted, planned and designed to enrich the story and bring something fresh out of the main characters and the setting. After all, this wouldn’t be nearly so fun if we didn’t get regular opportunities for our heroes to impress other people with their weirdness.    

One particular bit of Laius-weirdness that comes out in full force in this chapter is his total lack of vanity, an indispensable virtue when survival demands methods that are not always dignified. Performing an enraged chicken impression might not be what most warriors sign up for when they get into the business, but the willingness to adopt unorthodox tactics can often spell the difference between victory and defeat. Flexibility in the face of new challenges, openness to strange experiences, readiness to throw oneself heart and soul into the task at hand, no matter how bizarre or inelegant – these are the traits required of a man when madness is on the menu. And the secret ingredient to all these virtues is the one great virtue of humility. Not mere self-abnegation, but true self-forgetfulness, a state of pure focus possible only to those who have completely given themselves up to something beyond themselves. Laius has doubly given himself up – on the one hand to the quest, to the rescue of his sister –  on the other to his vision of integrating organically into the food chain of the dungeon. Any man with a vision, a quest, a vocation, a high calling, must be ready to do the same.

Finally…well…good advice can’t save everybody. Even with renewed hope and the best intentions, there will always be the would-be heroes who die obscure deaths far from home. Never forget that the protagonists are often just the lucky ones. Never forget to be grateful.

Volume three of Dungeon Meshi is available for purchase on Amazon.

Freedomland

Sweat pouring down my face as I try to wipe it out of the corner of my eye. Feet hitting the hard pavement. Labored yet controlled breaths. Moving my body as an act of self-care and radical resistance. No bra, no shame. I made a bold move and decision to run freely in my neighborhood. Usually, I cover up with a hoodie, ashamed of my body and the way my abundant breasts move. Drawing attention to places of deep pain and objectification; I cover them always. In the middle of 100F weather, I wear hoodies as a protective garment. Today, my soul feels liberated and my external appearance demands the right to be free. 

Continuing to pick up the pace, I feel determined and free. Wind wisps by. Cars slow down to let me pass. Older women in their yards shake their heads; I can only wonder what they’re thinking. Fueled by conversations and sounds of liberation blaring through my earbuds, I press forward. It’s imperative that I drown out the sounds of white supremacy by the chorus of Sweet Honey and the Rock and African drums calling my spirit “home.” 

As I turn up Rainer Avenue, 3 little white children stop playing in the yard, come to the edge of the grass, and look at me approaching. They are silent. The oldest of the three, no more than 4 years old, grabs a stick from the yard and holds it as if he’s protecting them from the monster they see approaching. I can see steam coming out of his ears as he tries to discern who and what I am. Black? “Queer” (to his understanding)? Woman? Man? Fat? Alien. 

In that moment, I attempt to connect with his little soul. Pulling out my earbuds, slowed paced, I waive and softly utter a “hello.” The look of contempt and hatred pour from his eyes. “I do not belong on his street,” is the message he is clearly giving me. 

I stay focused on my health and recovery, this healing journey to get my body in sync with the emotional and psychological healing work I have been doing deeply saturated in the white supremacist world that has created a “kingdom” for this little boy and subjects me to the status of “alien.” Indeed, I am a reflection of the Holy Other. But he does not know this yet. To him, I am different; an enemy (of the state). He has no clue that I am a complete reality away, joyfully running on greener pastures in a freedomland where his hatred is rejected.

This semester, I have the honor and privilege of taking a course at Wesley Theological Seminary. The course, “The Black Theology of James H. Cone,” has been cultivated by Dr. Josiah U. Young, a student of Cone. Each week, I leave class with even deeper ruminations of the soul and a desire to connect with my community to explore these deep theological questions. 

During a morning check-in, Kui and I had the opportunity to connect about the issue of theodicy (why a “good God allows evil) and freedomland. We engaged a conversation, deconstructing the existence of folks of the African Descent on this land, stolen land called America. I have long asserted that it has been by design and intention that Blacks on this land, with roots in the Slave Trade, will forever be an internally displaced people. It was by design, systematically and systemically, to keep us from having a clear path to our “roots,” in African and beyond. Reparations were never intended to be granted because we were less than, not human; or in the eyes of that little boy: alien. We do not belong because we belong to the will of the Oppressor.

How then do we reconcile this idea of being a forever internally displaced people and the “God of our understanding,” often the Christian God. Why does God allow this to happen? To continue? To allow interlocking supremacy systems to prevail at bringing guns, violence, drugs, and brokenness into our communities? Why is it possible for little white children to feel comfortable staring down Black adults with hatred and contempt in their hearts? Where is God in that action? Is suffering ever redemptive? Why would God, the God of our Ancestors, allow us to be a forever internally displaced people without a home on this earth? Is the only “home” we should be allowed to know a promise in the afterlife? This promise that was given to us by the religion of the Oppressors?

Across the country, people of color are ready to go “home,” in search of that freedomland. In search of a place free from the watch of the State. Free from turned heads when they see me approaching, jogging, with my “#blacklivesmatter” hoodie on. Free to do whatever this ground of self-determined because collectively decide. Free to create, express, worship, and just be. The freedom to self-organize, self-determine, and practice collectivism for the liberation of our people is the core of Black Power. 

This is not so different that the freedom express by Marcus Garvey and expressed by the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association). This is the same freedom Minister Malcolm X proclaimed. And yes, it is even the same type of freedom that Dr. King believed was possible: a place where the inherent worth and dignity of all persons could be affirmed in the Beloved Community. It is the place that my African ancestors, on this land, dreamed about after a long day’s work, without rest. It is this place that is calling our kindred spirits, home. It is the same freedomland James Baldwin was able to manifest on this earth in his Paris home but even still, he had to endure being a stranger in the village...

What is the cost of moving towards settling home on this land? I continue to ponder as I consider my own “homecoming,” returning back to Bel Air. In many ways, the Prodigal Daughter, has returned “home.” More on that later...

It is at this place of “home,” this freedomland, that necessitates a self-determined Black people, those of African descent, to explore the God that is within us. It is a place free of denomationalism and oppressive dogmatics. It is on this freedomland where we can proclaim, without saying: Black Lives Matter, Women’s Stories Matter, Queer Lives Matter. It is on this land where we can connect freely and openly. Where we can run without fear of being gunned down by the State. Where we can embody a world we only thought possible in our dreams. 

I believe that once we get to this place, a place so fundamental, home; we can truly feel the presence of the emancipatory presence of the Liberating God. Through this soul-force, satyagraha, we will transform our world by the transformation (and dare I say transfiguration) of selves. 

Until then, we must continue to work towards this idea of home and freedomland however, wherever, and whenever we can. Yes, we’re on our way...to freedomland!