Warning: Contains spoilers for Delicious in Dungeon episode #23.One of the most enigmatic characters in Delicious in Dungeon has always been the resident chef of the Touden party, Senshi. While largely existing as comedic relief, it was always odd how he knew so much about cooking monsters, and as pointed out in episode #22, he said he had been in the dungeon for ten years, even though the dungeon only surfaced six years ago.

There’s always been a lot of mystery to Senshi’s character, and Delicious in Dungeon has finally delved into his backstory. Senshi’s backstory answers the biggest mysteries about his character and also explains some elements of the wider lore, and in doing so, Senshi easily becomes one of the most tragic characters in all of Delicious in Dungeon.

It’s a far darker story than most people probably expected out of Senshi, even knowing that Delicious in Dungeon has surprisingly dark undertones, as a whole, but that’s a big part of why it works so well.

Senshi’s Backstory Makes For Delicious In Dungeon’s Darkest Story Yet

Senshi becomes Delicious in Dungeon’s most tragic character

Delicious in Dungeon episode #23, “Griffin Soup/ Dumplings -1-”, continued the story of Senshi and his old mining crew discovering the dungeon years before it appeared on the surface. Despite his apprehensions, Senshi went along with the rest of the crew as they were almost hypnotized by their lust for gold, and they ran afoul of a griffin who killed one of them in cold blood. The dungeon had shifted and taken away their exit when they tried to leave, and because of that, Senshi and his friends were forced into hiding as the griffin killed them one by one.

The mining crew eventually dwindled down to Senshi and two others, all of whom were starving. At one point, the others fought about Senshi out of view from him, but only one returned and said the griffin killed the other before he killed the griffin. Senshi ate a bowl of griffin soup before the other dwarf disappeared, and in the years that went by since then, Senshi lived in fear of the idea that he was forced to eat one of his companions to survive, although Laios would eventually discover that Senshi had eaten a hippogriff transformed into a griffin.

What Senshi’s Backstory Reveals About Him & Delicious In Dungeon, As A Whole

This Is Much More Than A Comedy Adventure Series

Senshi’s backstory is an incredibly dark one, and it says a lot about Senshi and Delicious in Dungeon, as a whole. Senshi’s insistence on maintaining good eating habits, mostly in having a proper diet, had always been played for laughs, but Delicious in Dungeon episode #23 makes it clear that Senshi’s attitude about food was to make sure no one would be in the same position he was in: starving and possibly reduced to cannibalism. That does a great job of fleshing out Senshi’s character, and it does so in the most tragic of ways, as well.

Senshi’s backstory does a lot to flesh out the lore surrounding the dungeon, as well. Throughout the series, Laios’ party have had far different experiences with the dungeon than other parties, and according to Senshi, it’s because the dungeon in Delicious in Dungeon reacts negatively to those filled with greed, something that furthers Kabru’s comments on the dungeon being sentient. As dark as Senshi’s backstory was, it excellently fleshed out the characters and overarching lore of Netflix’s Delicious in Dungeon, and overall, it’s another hallmark of why the writing in the series has only gotten better with every episode.

Delicious in Dungeon releases new episodes Thursdays on Netflix.