“I really didn’t want to look at him”: Ryoko Kui Had the Most Bizarre Reason Behind Delicious in Dungeon’s Fanservice Scenes

Dungeon Meshi (aka Delicious in Dungeon) isn’t just another typical fantasy anime. Because, instead of having epic battles and dark story arcs that often become the base plotline of other shows from the same genre, Dungeon Meshi is all about cooking and eating — monsters! That’s right.

Although when you are starving, everything tastes amazing, luckily for Senshi, his culinary skills turn even the weirdest dishes into mouth-watering ones. While the first season’s jaw-dropping cliffhanger ending has set a very high bar for the next season, author Kui still had to answer her fans for the sexualization of one certain character.

Why was Senshi often seen in underwear?

What’s the reason behind all those Senshi underwear shots?

During Anime Expo 2024, Ryoko Kui, author of Delicious in Dungeon, took some time for an insightful interview with ANN’s team. Among all the sprawling questions, one certain question caught all the audience’s attention, for how Senshi is seen with his underwear exposed so often. In reply to that, Kui had a refreshingly candid answer.

Kui revealed that the inspiration for the underwear scenes of Senshi was derived from her childhood. She grew up in a city where an elderly man would often hang his laundry while wearing only his underwear. This quirky, little, insignificant memory inspired her to come up with this wild creative idea, but she still believes labeling it as “fanservice” is a bit off!

However, one might raise questions about Kui’s understanding of cultural norms and personal boundaries based on this matter. For some, the underwear scenes of Senshi might be harmless humor, but for others, they could be unsettling or even traumatic.

This dichotomy can make it difficult to understand certain complexities like artistic expression and individual sensitivities. So, thereby it makes necessary conversations about consent and representation all the more important.

Senshi does his own thing, regardless of what others think

As already mentioned, Ryoko Kui’s inspiration to make Senshi carefree actually comes from her personal experience. When she used to see that old man who hung his laundry, wearing only his underwear, she was not bothered by people’s stares at all.

Her own contrasting behavior between how she felt disgusted at first and how he didn’t give a damn later on, caught her attention. And as a fruitful result, she ended up crafting Senshi with so much unconventionally confident demeanor.

All of it certainly made Senshi a favorite to the fans since his uniqueness made him so loved in Delicious in Dungeon, and now further developments might have his story turning out to be even more compelling. Kui’s thoughtful character design approach gave birth to such a memorable figure as Senshi, and will hopefully continue to do so in season 3 of the anime.

Delicious in Dungeon is available to watch on Netflix.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire