Sometimes, a thing reminds you of something completely different and it ruins your day. As I was watching Delicious in Dungeon episode 19, all I could think about was how disappointed I was that the Nekopara anime adaptation wasn’t a full-blown ecchi.
Catgirls are the Best!
As Delicious in Dungeon episode 19 begins, Izutsumi (Asebi) still has Marcille on the floor, demanding she help her break her curses. Personally, if I were a mage who could use black magic and a cat snuck up on me, I’d leave this life faster than a Boeing whistle-blower. But the party is more compassionate than I am, so they offer the starving and worked-up Izutsumi a meal. Marcille tries to break one of her curses and knowing that the degenerates around her eat monsters, she specifically tells them not to feed her food made out of monsters.
Senshi agrees and proceeds to feed the poor Neko a meal consisting of monsters. However, she’s a picky eater. Because of this, she picks the monster mushrooms from her plate and discards them on the ground. This further adds to everyone’s shock over how bad her table manners are.
Now, maybe I’m biased and think the cat girl’s hot. So, I overlook her bad behavior. That bias could also come from the fact that I’ve spent one too many nights slumped over a table at a random street-side taco joint in Mexico licking taco juice off my plate. But her table manners to me just looked like those of someone who was ravished.
Senshi, on the other hand, decides that this is an affront that cannot stand and confronts Izutsumi, causing her to move. Her movement in turn causes Marcille to lose control over the spell she was trying to undo and releases a paper yokai, which the group subdues fairly easily.
Curses, Souls, and Nightmares
It’s revealed that Izutsumi’s main goal in accosting the group is to get rid of the curse that turned her into a catgirl. Why would someone do such a thing? I don’t know. I can’t even begin to reason about that decision. This is how Twitter peeps must feel when they hear someone defending Rudy from Jobless Reincarnation — it just makes no sense. I mean, just look at those fangs, the chest floofs, and the tail.
But, much to her disappointment and my joy, the party lets her know that they can’t do that. Her assumption that they can because they’re hunting down Falin to change her is wrong. Once souls become so intertwined, they can’t be separated.
And something else that often can’t be separated from one’s soul is regret, which is currently weighing heavily on Marcille. In her mind, the use of black magic caused Falin to turn out the way she did. Her state of mind has her so run down that she’s even being attacked by nightmares. To help her out of that situation, Laios has to enter her dream and save her. Which, thanks to Falin, he knows how to do.
But his attempts to rile Marcille to save herself fall flat as they’re attacked by what he believes to be a Wurm. Initially, he behaves so poorly that it only further aggravates Marcille. However, his folly is what makes Marcille admit that she blames herself for what happened to Falin. Laios also correctly concludes that she’s worried about all her loved ones passing before—the gift of longevity, I suppose.
Right at the very end, when the Wurm manages to capture Laios, Marcille rebounds and manages to save him with the help of a forbidden book. However, not in the way that most people would use it.
Delicious in Dungeon Episode 18 Wrap-Up
Once the day is saved, Laios takes clams out from Marcille’s pillow, and those turn out to be Nightmares. And that was the first scene in the show that made me go, “What?” Most people can’t sleep with a single lump in their pillows. Yet, Marcille somehow slept with multiple clams in hers. #JustElfThings, I guess.
Stress kills you. “Suck it up” is just another phrase for “early grave.” People who argue against that are the kind that usually thinks dinosaurs are a hoax, the world is flat, and “they came out fine.” But, like it or not, stress will get you. From increasing the likelihood of heart disease to lowering your cognitive function and lowering your immune system, it will take its toll.
Marcille’s distracted state, which allowed her to fall prey to nightmares, is solid proof of that. Since nightmares feed on negative emotion, that was a situation that was feeding off itself and spiraling. So, kudos to the show for once again being on point.
Screenshots via Netflix
© Ryoko Kui, KADOKAWA/Delicious in Dungeon PARTNERS
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