Popverse's top stories of the day

• My New Years Resolution is to watch less anime in 2025 - but to enjoy it more
• Sam Wilson has always been the perfect successor as the MCU's Captain America and Brave New World will show that
• Is Severance enough to make AppleTV+ a real player in streaming?

We can’t get enough of Delicious in Dungeon. The show combined beautiful animation from Trigger with quirky humor and the best depiction of a tabletop party’s dynamics we’ve ever seen to create one of the breakout hits for Netflix’s growing anime library. However, now that the first season has finished and we’re waiting patiently for Trigger to cook up season two, fans are wondering how things end in the Delicious in Dungeon manga.

We’ll be discussing some pretty heavy spoilers for the Delicious in Dungeon manga ending here, so proceed with caution.

How does the Delicious in Dungeon ending go in the manga?

The central quest in Delicious in Dungeon is returning Falin, Laios’ sister and the rest of the party’s close friend, to her human form after she was transformed into a chimera early in the manga. After they’ve defeated the Winged Lion and restored the kingdom at the heart of the dungeon, there is still the small matter of how to save Falin. Which, because this is Delicious in Dungeon, means working up a healthy appetite.

The final episode of Delicious in Dungeon season one gave a good indication of where this is going. In order to free Falin from the Mad Mage’s curse, the crew has to eat her dragon body. The Flaigon, as they call it, requires a whole team of hungry stomachs to consume, but fortunately, Laios and the team have made plenty of friends along the way. Thanks to Falin’s power of recovery and will to live, the plan succeeds and everyone lives happily ever after – almost.

See, the final battle resulted in Laios suffering a terrible curse – his deepest desire will never come to pass. Most people think this means Falin will never be returned to life, but there is one thing Laios loves more than even his sister; monsters.

That’s right. As a result of the curse placed upon him, he will never see a living monster again. He will never again meet them, cook them, taste them. Our neurodivergent hero will never be able to indulge in his special interest, which is a bigger burden than most people think. Sure, he gets a whole kingdom and the title of The Devourer, but his reputation for eating monsters means that they all avoid his kingdom at all costs.

This means that his people live in unparalleled prosperity and peace. Plus, Laios’ knowledge of food preparation means that his people eat better than anyone else on the continent. Marcille and Kabru stay with Laios for at least several years after the events of the manga, serving as his advisors. The rest of the party has gone their own ways but are presumably alive and well. Everyone is happy – except the man at the center of it all.

We do love a bittersweet ending.

Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:

• Upcoming movies
• Upcoming TV shows
• Upcoming comics
• Upcoming games
• Upcoming comic conventions