Dungeon People


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

;Clay
;Belle
;Rangado
;The Old Master
;Renfringe
;Fūrin
;Fen
;Ratta
;Brans
;Shieldmurg, Bandeg, and Bondog
;Kraitze
;Reilmond
;Parappoparo
;Fuuka
;Teruru
;Helldande
;Lugrant Haim Hasreid
;Hiem
;Lestence
;Algred
;Kiska
;Pekkomo
;Binky
;Hilkemast
;Buggs
;Atoto
;Millielent

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 "Micro Revolution" performed by TrySail, while the ending theme song is "Blueprint" 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 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, 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."