{"id":87209,"date":"2026-04-30T06:57:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/the-delicious-in-dungeon-art-book-is-a-blissful-montage-of-dd-inspo\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T06:57:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T06:57:03","slug":"the-delicious-in-dungeon-art-book-is-a-blissful-montage-of-dd-inspo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/the-delicious-in-dungeon-art-book-is-a-blissful-montage-of-dd-inspo\/","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Delicious in Dungeon’ Art Book Is a Blissful Montage of ‘D&D’ Inspo"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Delicious in Dungeon<\/em> is far and away one of the most refreshing pieces of fantasy media to ever grace anime. While much of its mass appeal is owed to\u00a0Studio Trigger\u2019s sumptuous adaptation, a core ingredient\u00a0of its success is creator\u00a0Ryoko Kui, who\u00a0all but channels\u00a0shower thoughts one might have while <\/span>playing a role-playing game into a wacky, eldritch, dungeon-crawling gourmet manga rich with diverse character designs and world-building.<\/span><\/p>\n

But what happens to all the thoughts from her brilliant brain that don\u2019t make it to the page? Allow me to introduce you to\u00a0Doodles by Ryoko Kui: Daydream Hour<\/em>, an art book that doubles as a bible for your future Dungeons & Dragons<\/em> campaigns.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Doodles
\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mangaka explaining how the proverbial sausage is made isn\u2019t new. In fact, JoJo\u2019s Bizarre Adventure<\/em>\u2018s own Hirohiko Araki has penned two books\u00a0on\u00a0manga theory and practice, written expressly to craft<\/span> compelling stories and characters. While his \u201ctextbooks\u201d are geared toward readers\u2019 logical left brains, Kui\u2019s art book reads like a visual feast\u2014an omakase for the creative right-brained folks among us to marvel at and be enlightened by.<\/span><\/p>\n

As its name suggests,\u00a0Doodles by Ryoko Kui: Daydream Hour<\/em> isn\u2019t a high-concept essay\u2014it\u2019s a compilation of illustrations she drew in her free time while writing the manga. It\u2019s something to keep on a coffee table, as I have in my own home. It\u2019s also something I return to whenever I\u2019m in dire need of a moment of zen that can only be found by losing track of time, gawking at Kui\u2019s collection of full-color illustrations of her diverse ensemble getting up to shenanigans not depicted in either the manga or the anime.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Daydream \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Of course, nestled in the book are oodles of slice-of-life pages dedicated to best (cat) girl Izutsumi, whom Kui reveals she designed far before she ever planned writing the manga, knowing full well she\u2019d fold her mischief and the adventurer\u2019s madcap dynamic. As such, Kui regales readers with pages depicting Izutsumi as the human embodiment of a cat, ranking which of her fellow adventurers are the best cuddlers, her fickle threshold for pets, how she\u2019d wear a face mask, and how she is not immune to a fishing rod toy.<\/p>\n

Another of my favorite hallmarks of Kui\u2019s book of doodles is her meticulous attention to detail in crafting subtle distinctions among the series\u2019 assortment of fantasy races, ranging from tall-men, half-foots, dwarfs, elves, gnomes, orcs, ogres, and kobolds. She even expanded on the idea of the changeling episode, reimagining what her cast would look like if they were from different races (with or without a cunty bob) in a neat little grid.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Whenever I flip through the pages of Daydream Hour<\/em>, I can\u2019t help but feel giddy reading Kui\u2019s accompanying blurbs because I can practically feel her excitement of handily explaining her creative process and how she herself gets lost in the sauce, fantasizing about how her characters get on when they aren\u2019t main quest-lining their adventure. Like, girly, you don\u2019t have to feel embarrassed like you\u2019re sharing fanfiction. They\u2019re your characters! I\u2019m sat, regardless.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\t\t\t\t\"Doodles \t\t\t<\/div>
\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Ryoko Kui\/Yen Press \t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

And that\u2019s the real magic of\u00a0Daydream Hour<\/em>: it\u2019s a sketch book that feels like a sleepover conversation with your bestie after asking, \u201cAre you awake?\u201d before spending countless hours yapping about your hyperfixations. What\u2019s more, and arguably my favorite part of the book, is its wealth of depictions of diverse body types and dark-skinned characters (Hello, Ms. Cithis).\u00a0Seeing drawings of characters\u2019 morning routines, from Cithis putting on makeup and Thistle styling his hair to Laios\u2019 propensity for hugs and shaving so as not to look like his father, is mesmerizing to witness.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re in dire need of an alternative to rereading or rewatching\u00a0Delicious in Dungeon<\/em> for the umpteenth time ahead of its second season (currently in production), some D&D<\/em> character inspo, or just enjoy skimming cool fantasy illustrations, you can cop Doodles by Ryoko Kui: Daydream Hour<\/em> at Yen Press.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what\u2019s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n


\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Delicious in Dungeon is far and away one of the most refreshing pieces of fantasy media to ever grace anime. While much of its mass appeal is owed to\u00a0Studio Trigger\u2019s sumptuous adaptation, a core ingredient\u00a0of its success is creator\u00a0Ryoko Kui, who\u00a0all but channels\u00a0shower thoughts one might have while playing a role-playing game into a wacky, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":87210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_daextam_enable_autolinks":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/daydream-hour-ryoko-kui-delicious-in-dungeon-1200x675.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}