ahhhh dungeon meshi

so fine, here it is: why do some people seem to be afraid of the idea of Falin showing the bare mimimum of politeness to Shuro lmao. every time i see a shitpost where Falin ignores Shuro in some over-the-top way, or is even outright callous to him, it feels so weird. what character is this. that's not how Falin acts at all. that's pretty much the exact opposite of how Falin acts!! it's arguably what her entire character arc is about, the fact that she's nice to Shuro (and everyone else), so nice to Shuro (and everyone else) that she'll ignore her own needs and desires for the sake of other people- the inciting incident of the entire story hinges on her being self-sacrificing to a fault!!! the conclusion of her character arc is gently rejecting Shuro's proposal in order for her to live the life she wants to live, because that's a huge deal for her! i should be fine accepting it as the whole normal exaggeration of traits for a joke, but this is literally Falin's big Thing!!!

buuuuut also i wouldn’t say Hien is necessarily hiding that part of herself. there isn’t canon confirmation, no (these two get so few scenes in canon lol) but the impression i get from Hien is that she isn’t trying to conceal that part of her personality, she’s just keeping it separate from her work. she’s cool but when she’s on the clock she’ll be serious. we know she’s pretty loyal to the Nakamotos so it makes sense that she would want to give her best for them. and Benichidori… well, we know what she’s like from her character comic. she’s constantly wearing a mask, emotionally and physically (if we consider makeup a mask), because she’s horrified about the idea of people around her judging her. she’s definitely hiding that part of herself

something i've noted about Daya which is essentially impossible to notice without looking at Ryoko Kui's side art- when she's not dungeon-ing, she shows a preference for dresses and, dare i say, has "girly" tastes. it's more apparent in the "modern" drawings and special illustrations but even in the side art taking place "in canon" (ex: the green dress with a belt) that seems to be so. even in the themed special illustrations she'll typically have some extra details in her outfit- for the Santa illustration, she gets those pom-poms on her shoes and those lacy gloves, for the Daydream Hour cover, she gets those ruffled long bloomers (not sure if this is the right phrase for that lol)

this one might be stretching it but even here you can see her outfit has details Namari's doesn't (the little bows, the ruffled hem and sleeves)

as i said, from the main series alone you probably wouldn't be able to pick up on this... with one exception. during the Treasure Bugs segment, Kabru's party is excited to find the box of "treasure," but specifically for its monetary value

(even Rin's rare show of excitement is later clarified as a desire for cash lol)

but poor Daya really did just want the necklace

Daya and Kabru's dynamic is interesting especially when you remember Rin's scornful "what, are you going after dwarves now" comment