Delicious in Dungeon vol 4 by ryoko kui

While the adventurers have finally reached Level 5 where the Red Dragon has been dwelling, Namari and her party reach the surface and resolve the tasks of their party. Namari's benefactor report to the Lord of the Island, and we learn some background about the dungeon and some hints as to who might be the creator of the dungeon. Back inside, Marcille, Laios, and Senshi hatch a plan to take on the Red Dragon. Initially, Chilchuck wants nothing to do with it, but he gets sucked into the planning phase and agrees to help. Then, it's time to find out if Falin can be revived, and someone in the party has been harboring a secret that will help, but terrifies the rest.

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In this volume, the narrative style shifts in a good way. The charm of the series has been about the characters going through their adventure, both in the dungeon and culinarily, but now we are getting into a full adventure story with complicated characters and starting to see more of what motivates each of these folks other than reviving their fallen party member. There is a lot less humor in this volume and hardly any culinary exploits, so some readers might be disappointed in the shift, but I don't think Kui is abandoning those things all together. There were some necessary plot points and background pieces that had to be delivered in order to progress the overall storyline, and I appreciated every moment of it. I hope future volumes can be a little more balanced and there can be a hint of the trademark humor that makes this series so beloved, but I'm also understanding of how needed all of this volume was as well.

Sara's Rating: 10/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3

Publisher: Yen Press
Publication Date: February 27, 2018​
ISBN: 9780316446402 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 10/10, Suitability: Middle School, Suitability: High School, Manga, Dungeon, Action Adventure, Fantasy, Culinary, Yen Press