Delicious in Dungeon author interview stirs drama for “shattered headcanons” but it’s really just the creator keeping a healthy distance from fandom 

Ryoko Kui, the manga artist behind the hit fantasy gourmet series Delicious in Dungeon recently gave an interview to Western media at Anime Expo 2024. The interview, published by ANN, has caused a stir among fans across social media, as it touches on a lot on fandom-related topics such as queer shipping, fanservice and headcanons about neurodivergent characters. To be more precise, the questions touch on these topics, while Kui’s answers seem to do their best not to. 

In the interview, the artist dropped some playful trivia that likely countered a lot of peoples’ expectations about her – such as the fact that she’s a picky eater (who would have known) and that she hasn’t played a single D&D campaign in her life. However, when it came to questions related to popular fan theories, Kui opted not to lean into the conversation so much. 

A lot of Dungeon Meshi fans headcanon party-leader Laios Touden as autistic due to his perceived difficulty in picking up on social cues and overall awkwardness, and the interview goes into whether he was consciously presented as an autistic man. In response, the author says Laios is a character she sees as relatable for herself and the majority of people. In this sense, she calls him “normal” with “nothing special” about the way he’s written. Kui goes on to say that Laios is not the only one with problems, “Some people might say Laios is a little bit autistic, but Shuro has his own difficulties. Everyone has their individual problems. It’s not just Laios or Shuro; the problems are mutual.” 

Labeling characters a certain way is simply what fandoms love to do, especially in the West, but Kui steers clear of doing so, while at the same time leaving fans with enough room for their own interpretations. 

On the other hand, when asked to “describe the sex appeal of Senshi” (a character generally sexualized due to frequent scenes where his underwear is showing), Kui notes that she doesn’t regard these scenes as “fanservice” and goes on to explain that the character was inspired by a neighbor from her past who used to hang out his laundry in nothing but his underpants. “He didn’t care what other people thought. I found that vibe interesting. So, Senshi is a similar type of person who really doesn’t care what other people think about him.” She makes it clear she’s not sexy-coding the Dwarf, but doesn’t condemn fans either. 

Similarly, the Delicious in Dungeon artist makes no black or white statement when asked about the relationship between characters Marcille and Falin. 

With the distance between creators and audiences gradually disappearing in recent years, fans of media have grown used to creators closely listening to their voices and even directly responding to them at times, which may be why the nature of Ryoko Kui’s answers surprised some people.  

However, the mangaka appears to be attempting to maintain a healthy distance from the fandom and keep her autonomy as the creator of the source material. Her comment on the topic of the shipping of Marcille and Falin conveys this stance: “When I draw my manga, I try to develop it differently than the fans’ expectations. If I care too much about how the fans will react, I think the story might become less fun or interesting. So, I try not to think too much about how readers will react. In general, I’ll just leave the reader’s imagination, like how they react or how they conceive my manga.”   

For more background information about Delicious in Dungeon, check out our article about Ryoko Kui’s favorite video games.