Dungeon Meshi, at first glance, is a lighthearted fantasy manga centred around cooking. There are numerous reasons why I love this story, and the way the author subverts your expectations is one of many. Usual comedy stories that attempt to make their audience take them more seriously introduce a dark twist. While in other stories the sudden tonal shift can throw people off, Dungeon Meshi had a dark undertone present from the very start, seen in their cavalier attitude towards death. The mangaka strikes the perfect balance between humour and seriousness, allowing the lighter scenes of adventuring to give more weight to the heavier emotional and action-packed scenes.
Getting further into the manga, the realisation occurs that this is not a story about cooking; It's about eating.