5 | The recent Dungeon Meshi discourse is dumb [RANT]

I'm currently reading the ANN interview featuring Ryoko Kui, creator of Dungeon Meshi, that sparked a ton of discourse the past week within the fandom. It's in regards of his neurodivergent coding, asking <-- (keyword) whether or not he was intended to be autistic.

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Interviewer's question:

"A lot of fans had a strong reaction to Laios and Toshiro's confrontation with one another. Quite a few fans on social media seemed to relate to Laios' difficulty with reading social cues and related it to their own experiences on the autism spectrum. Did you envision Laios as autistic when conceiving his character? How would you describe the friction between Laios and Toshiro?"

Kui answered as follows:

"So my understanding is Laios is a really normal person; there's nothing special, and everyone can relate [to a person like him]. I also relate to him, so I don't think I'm writing anything special [regarding Laios]. That's why I think people can relate to or appreciate him. Some people might say Laios is a little bit autistic, but Shuro has his own difficulties.

Everyone has their individual problems. It's not just Laios or Shuro; the problems are mutual. We always need to try to understand and learn from each other. Sometimes, you might hurt another person, but that's the process we need to understand other people."

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There was absolutely no implication that the interviewer is trying to push an incredibly popular headcanon but rather, ask if it was intended or not. It's quite literally the most normal question ever, with absolutely no ill intent or expectation behind it. A simple thing to be curious about, as a lot of fans have resonated with her character and wonder if he was written intentionally to be autistic. A lot of others have taken 'normal' from Kui herself and ran away with it as to discredit the headcanon, and ignoring the rest of the answer from the lady herself. She didn't even express any negativity towards the headcanon or interpretation of Laios. She says that everyone could relate to a guy like him, even herself. Even if she personally perceives him as normal. In fact, it's actually charming that she created a character that everyone could see themselves in. No matter who you are, what you struggle with and what not. It doesn't mean that the character fits only one category only or is exclusive to specific group.

In the same interview, regarding Marcille & Falin's relationship she says:

"When I draw my manga, I try to develop it differently than the fans' expectations. If I care too much about how the fans will react, I think the story might become less fun or interesting. So, I try not to think too much about how readers will react. In general, I'll just leave the reader's imagination, like how they react or how they conceive my manga."

(SIDE NOTE: I also do find issues with how people take this as a way of disproving of FarCille, but I honestly do not care enough to dive into that can of worms. I'd rather not, since this blogpost is already taking a lot out of me.)

She would rather have her readers fill in the blanks themselves. Find meaning in her work and connecting the dots themselves. It's vague. It's a non-answer. An author doesn't always have to have an answer to everything within their works/regarding their works. I think it's nice that she's not uptight on how her story is perceived and would rather have the readers make up their own interpretations. It's something that not a lot of people do nowadays. People have completely lost their ability to use their imagination, fill in the blanks themselves and make up their own conclusions. To find meaning within a work. HOWEVER, that seems to be such a huge issue amongst people? I'm baffled on how others aren't willing to move on with their lives. I wonder how they don't feel ridiculous arguing and jumping others for simply having a different opinion? Arguing is a natural part of being human, but one of these days, someone might die because their cholesterol levels are far too high.

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This is where I'll conclude this entry.
It's incredibly tiring to complain about something that shouldn't even matter. At the end of the day. But since other nerds are insist on arguing about this, I just had to let out my frustration onto here.

[EDIT (8/17/2024, 7:01 p.m.): I forgot to mention. I think it's a bit hilarious that Fear & Hunger and Dungeon Meshi have a similar fandom, as well as similar creators who give them massive non-answers. F&H and DunMeshi also have a similar premise, but incredibly different atmospheres.]