Dungeon People

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by . It has been serialized in Futabasha's ' website since June 2020, with its chapters collected in six volumes as of May 2025. An anime television series adaptation produced by OLM aired from July to September 2024.

Plot

A young girl named Clay travels to a dungeon in search for her missing adoptive father, but ends up being hired to work in the dungeon by its owner: a young girl named Belle. During her time there, she learns more about the dungeon's past while continuing to search for clues of her adoptive father's whereabouts.

Characters

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: A thief who went to a dungeon in order to find her adoptive father, who had been missing for three years after entering a dungeon. During the challenge, she accidentally discovered that the dungeon was operated by a powerful young girl named Belle. After losing to Belle, she then accepted her invitation and became her employee to help operate this dungeon.
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: The operator of the dungeon and also the boss of the tenth level. Despite resembling a young girl, she has outstanding abilities. Her full name is Beilleheila Langdass, though she prefers her nickname.
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: A dwarf and an employee of the dungeon. He is responsible for managing the dungeon's treasure chest finances, weapons manufacturing, and on-site construction supervision.
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: The previous operator of the dungeon, who passed away prior to the story's events.
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: The chief of the thieves' guild. He used to be an assassin.
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: The chief assistant of the thieves' guild.
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: The leader of Ice Wolf's Fang.
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: A member of Ice Wolf's Fang.
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: Clay's adoptive father, who taught Clay many combat skills. He went missing while challenging Belle's dungeon three years ago. His whereabouts still remain unknown.
;Shieldmurg, Bandeg, and Bondog
: Voiced by: Luis Gallindo (Shieldmurg), Cyrus Rodas (Bandeg), John Hallmark (Bondog) (English)
: A trio of goblins that Clay meets in the dungeon. Shieldmurg is a high goblin compared to his brothers.
;Kraitze
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: One of the monsters who works in the dungeon. He resembles a reaper, but isn't all that intimidating.
;Reilmond
: Voiced by: David Wald (English)
: A large reptilian monster who resides in the dungeon. Despite his intimidating appearance, he is also quite humble.
;Parappoparo
: A gray dragon who was recently recruited as one of the dungeon's new employees.
;Fuuka
: A large cat-like monster who was recently recruited as one of the dungeon's new employees. Although he can't move, he possesses powerful skills.
;Teruru
: A cyclops who was recently recruited as one of the dungeon's new employees. He is also a cook.
;Helldande
: A monster that resembles a large knight. He was meant to be one of the dungeon's new employees, but was not interested in the job and only wanted the magic gems for his own gain. As a result, Clay and Belle had to kill him.
;Lugrant Haim Hasreid
: The prince of Frairelvant. He challenged Belle for ownership of the dungeon after he became the new ruler, but lost. He is known to try and dig up information on his opponents.
;Hiem
: Lugrant's butler.
;Lestence
: A swordsman who works for Lugrant.
;Algred
: A warrior who also works for Lugrant.
;Kiska
: A sorceress who is also one of Lugrant's subordinates.
;Pekkomo
: Voiced by: Andrew Love (English)
: The boss of the ninth floor. He only acts intimidating when fighting adventurers.
;Binky
: Voiced by: Elissa Cuellar (English)
: A cat-like creature who is also one of the dungeon's inhabitants.
;Hilkemast
: The leader of a gang of murderers.
;Buggs
: A member of Hilkemast's gang.
;Atoto
: A member of Hilkemast's gang.
;Millielent
: An adventurer who joined Hilkemast's group so she can expose their true nature, but fails when they were aware that she was a spy in the first place. She is saved by the dungeon's owners before they can harm her.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by , ''Dungeon People'' began serialization in Futabasha's ' website on June 19, 2020. The first volume was released on February 18, 2021. As of May 2025, six volumes have been released.

In November 2021, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it licensed the series for English publication.

Volumes

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in August 2023. It is produced by OLM and directed by Sayaka Yamai, with Toshimitsu Takeuchi supervising the scripts, Hiroki Nakayama designing the characters, and Pieru and LASTorder composing the music. The series aired from July 6 to September 28, 2024, on the Animeism programming block on MBS, TBS and BS-TBS. The opening theme song is performed by TrySail, while the ending theme song is performed by Akari Nanawo. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, Australia and British Isles for streaming on Hidive. Tropics Entertainment licensed the series in Southeast Asia for streaming on Tropics Anime Asia YouTube channel.

Episodes

Reception

The manga was one of 50 nominees for the 2021 Next Manga Awards in the digital category. In 2024, the series, alongside ''Oblivion Battery'', won the Grand Prize in the "I Want to Read it Now" category of the 2nd Rakuten Kobo E-book Awards.

Anime News Network (ANN) had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Richard Eisenbeis found it "competent in all areas" of story and visuals but wasn't pulled in by the humor, the main character's quest or the bureaucracy workplace setting. While finding the contrast of "blood and dismemberment" with the "cutesy art style" and Clay's cerebral fighting strategy memorable, he concluded that: "Still, in the end, it's safe to say that this one isn't for me. It's not bad. It just doesn't catch my interest." Rebecca Silverman wrote that: "The art and animation aren't great (though I am a sucker for limited use of color, like we see in the beginning), but the delivery seems like it may be more important to the humor for this one. I'm willing to give it a second episode to see how it plays out." Nicholas Dupree was baffled by Clay's story being told seriously with "multiple high-stakes battles" and "bloody violence", and felt out of place with the "soft and cuddly" aesthetic meant for a "low-stakes comedy". He critiqued that the setup could have been better as Clay learned about the logistics of the various dungeons, concluding that: "Perhaps episode two will do some of that, but I doubt I'll stick around to find out. First impressions are important, and nothing in this premiere impressed me enough to want to continue." The fourth reviewer, James Beckett, commended the "lively and consistent" animation and the character traits of both Clay and Belle, but was critical of the "generally unambitious presentation" and a couple of dark tonal beats interrupting the comedic story structure, saying: "It's a perfectly okay first episode, but I'm not convinced that ''Dungeon People'' is one of the anime you absolutely have to keep up with this summer."

Fellow ANN editor Kevin Cormack reviewed the complete anime series and gave it a B+ grade. He praised Belle and Clay's comedic friendship and the "super-cute, simple character designs," but was critical of the slow pacing and the "occasional unexpectedly dark subject matter" disrupting the relaxed vibes of viewers, concluding that: "''Dungeon People'' is a cute, cozy mash-up of the fantasy and workplace comedy genres that mostly succeeds at what it sets out to do. While not as relentlessly creative or compelling as this year's earlier ''Delicious in Dungeon'', ''Dungeon People'' maintains a pleasant, gently entertaining vibe of its own, with plenty of fun ideas to explore."

Notes

References

External links

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{{Animeism

Anime series based on manga
Animeism
Fantasy anime and manga
Futabasha manga
Japanese webcomics
OLM, Inc.
Seinen manga
Sentai Filmworks
Seven Seas Entertainment titles
Subterranean fiction
Webcomics in print