The Mouth-Watering Delicious in Dungeon Exhibit Comes to NYC

Delicious in Dungeon was one of the breakout series of 2024, combining dungeon adventure with gourmet, locally-sourced meals. The arrival of an art exhibit centered on author Ryōko Kui in New York City was met with great excitement, and many fans were eager to check it out. The exhibit at the Chelsea Walls Gallery on 10th Street was inspired by a similar show in Japan and featured artwork spanning Kui's entire career thus far.

The exhibit's opening featured manga panels showcasing all of the one-shots Kui created before the serialization of Delicious in Dungeon. For visitors unfamiliar with her other work, it's surprising to see just how many she's produced. Those displayed were based on three different collections, The Dragon's School is On Top of the Mountain, Seven Little Sons of the Dragon, and Terrarium in Drawer (currently only Seven Little Sons of the Dragon is available in English, published by Yen Press), with all of them highlighting the level of variety in her art. A few of these one-shots were fantasy-based, with panels prominently featuring dragons or monster anatomy, showing that even before Delicious in Dungeon, Ryōko Kui had a lot of those specific interests. But she has also worked on one-shots with topics ranging from the tales of a struggling artist to a cat performing a makeup routine, each piece showcasing her ability to convey different styles and moods, as well as her impeccable skill in creature design.

The displays also featured excerpts from Kui and some of her editors, which went over the creation of these one-shots. A couple mentioned how some of these one-shots began life as doujinshi or web comics. One of the most interesting bits of information shown at these displays was that Delicious in Dungeon itself was initially a one-off doujinshi that Kui created, and became a full series only after her editor at Kadokawa was impressed by the work she submitted.

The greater part of the exhibit, of course, was dedicated to Delicious in Dungeon, and was appropriately elaborate. Showcasing various illustrations from throughout the original manga, as well as several draft versions of each of the manga's volume covers, each included excerpts of Kui's thought process for the theme behind each of them. There was also a display of Laios' armor, as well as a life-sized replica of his sword Kensuke, and while it looked pretty cool on its own, far more impressive was seeing that it retained the tentacles and big eyes that make up Kensuke's actual body within the sword, a level of attention to detail it's hard not to admire.

One of the best (and most dangerous) parts of the exhibit, however, was towards the end, where it featured displays of recipes and descriptions of dishes from the series, as well as replicas of the dishes themselves. The monster cooking segments in Delicious in Dungeon are effective at actually making the dishes look tasty, but these replicas were so detailed that they immediately made me regret not having lunch before I got there.

If there's anything that felt like it was missing from this exhibit, it was the lack of a cafe or any actual food based on Delicious in Dungeon's monster cuisine, which, given the main hook of the series, does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity. On the bright side, visitors could get their hands on a commemorative plate featuring the main party serving up some food, so at least Laios and the gang can adorn fans' kitchens.

Despite that bit of oversight, this exhibit was an otherwise excellent tribute to Delicious in Dungeon and Ryōko Kui's career as an artist. After getting to see so much of her artwork on display, fans should even more interested in seeing what other works she produces in the future.