Summary
The Dungeon inIs It Wrong to attempt to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?more popularly known asDanMachi,is undoubtedly one of thedefining elements of the series, serving both as a central location and as a mysterious force in shaping the world with the city of Orario at the top of it. As Orario is the only place with a Dungeon in the world, beings of different races convene there to explore this mysterious structure.
From the Dungeon’s architecture to the monsters within its depth, it acts as the crucible for adventurers, gods, and economic power. For a structure with so much significance, the Dungeon still has a lot of mysteries surrounding it. How did the Dungeon come to be? What purpose does it serve? What is theend goal of clearing the Dungeon? Does it have an end? The Dungeon inIs It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeonseries,is such a treasure trove of mysteries to be unraveled.
Origin Of The Dungeon
An Ancient Relic
The origin of the Dungeon is a question yet to be answered, both in the world ofDanMachiand from a storytelling aspect. The Dungeon is said to have been in existence for a very long time, even before the descent of the gods. Adventurers, in the absence of gods then, fought against monsters of the Dungeon with the help of spirits.
Even though the anime and the light novels insinuate its creation was brought about by divine intervention, its origin has never been officially explained. According to some of the myths and legends withinDanMachi, the Dungeon might have been formed as part of the primordial chaos from which the world came into being. This leads to the theory that the Dungeon is a remnant of ancient forces that existed prior tothe gods assuming their positionas overseers of creation. It could even be linked to the world itself.
Structure Of The Dungeon
Multiple Floors With Varying Dangers
The Dungeon upon which Orario was built is anything but just underground caves. The Dungeon is divided into multiple floors, with the complexity of each floor increasing the farther one goes, becoming more intricate and dangerous. The floors are designed like some sort of multi-tier maze, with each one having its own unique structure and challenge. The floors are divided into four: the upper floors, the middle floors, the lower floors, and the deep floors.
Upper Floors
The upper floors serve as an entry point for novice adventurers. With levels numbering from 1 to 12, the upper floors are filled with relatively weak monsters, such as goblins spawn. Though it is considered the easiest set of levels, it does not mean it is a walk in the park. Adventurers still prepare for traps, environmental hazards, and monster groups that spawn out of nowhere. A lot of adventurers use these levels to train and rack up experience.
Middle Floors
The middle floors, ranging from level 13 to 24, begin to show a different level of difficulty. The terrain of the levels also becomes increasingly complicated and much more difficult to survive in, forcing adventurers to adapt to harsh environmental conditions. The monsters on the middle floors are a tad above the ones on the upper floors, allowing the adventurers to have a smooth transition to this floor. Monsters like the Minotaurs and Hellhounds began to appear on these floors, and they spawn at an increased rate as well.
Lower Floors
The lower floors, containing levels 25 to 36, are notorious for being near lethal, housing high-tier monsters such as Wyverns and Goliaths that hunt intruders. There are also monsters like the Rex Amphisbaena and the Juggernaut, extremely dangerous creatures that give even Level 4 adventurers a hard time. Even the environment becomes hostile, as these floors tend to have a larger and more unstable terrain. Certain areas may flood, earthquakes may happen, or traps may be hidden in ways that are unusual for an adventurer.
Deep Floors
The difficulty of the other floors do not even hold a candle to the deep floors. These floors, floors 37 and beyond, contain monsters of such devastating power that would wipe out veteran adventurers in an instant. Also, it would seem that the very rules of the Dungeon start to break down on these floors, with spatial anomalies and otherworldly phenomena making it hard to clear such floors. It is in these deepest regions that the nature of the Dungeon begins to reveal its true face asmore than a simple labyrinth.
Monsters Of The Dungeon
The Strong And The Intelligent
Arguably, one of the most interesting things about the Dungeon is that it appears to regenerate monsters constantly. The monsters are not born but are spawned endlessly from the walls and floors of the Dungeon as if out of thin air, presenting a constant challenge to adventurers. The monsters come in all shapes and sizes, along with various abilities. Some of them, like the goblins, are rather weak and are usually used to rack up experience for fresh adventurers. Others, such as the Wyvern, can pose a serious threat even to seasoned adventurers in teams.
The Dungeon also includes floor bosses that guard transitions between levels. These bosses are downright terrifying, requiring whole teams of adventurers to defeat them. However, their defeat offers rare and valuable rewards in the form of magic stones and special materials, making the high-risk battle worthwhile for adventurers.
The monsters can also be classified by intelligence. Although most of the monsters that appeared until the lower floors act based on their instincts alone, those on the deep floors display a higher level of intelligence and are knowledgeable about the significance of retreat. Somemonsters evolve into beings known as Xenosafter being defeated numerous times by adventurers. The Xenos, unlike other monsters, possess intelligence, and some are even capable of speech. However, neither monster nor human accepts them. Even the normal monsters view them as enemies and attack them. Now and then, a monster with an intellect comparable to the Xenos is produced, but those ones are driven by their predatory instincts.
The Role Of The Dungeon In Orario’s Economy And Society
A Cave Of Treasure And Status
The Dungeon is not just a place to seek power and glory; it also serves as the economic lifeblood of Orario. Magic stones, which can be found at the core of most monsters, serve as a source of power for various technologies such as lighting, weapons, and transportation. Since it is a renewable source of energy, the Dungeon makes Orario an extremely valuable location, leading to the creation of industries such as blacksmiths, potion makers, armorers, and so on, that support adventurers. The magic stones, however, do not go unregulated. The guild serves as the regulating force for expeditions into the Dungeon, keeping Orario’s economy in check by managing the influx of magic stones and materials.
However, the Dungeon does not only affect the economy of Orario but also its society. A place that shows the true worth of an adventurer. Adventurers seek to get stronger, raise their rank, and even bringhonor to themselves and their Familias, a group of adventurers who are bound to a god. Those in the Familia are bestowed Falna, blessings from a god that grants them enhanced physical powers. These adventurers, usually called heroes, often want to create a name for themselves by achieving great feats and going ever so deep into the Dungeon, making the Dungeon a key component to assessing one’s social standing. This, combined with its economic significance, makes the Dungeon highly indispensable to the citizens of Orario and even the world.
The Deeper Mysteries Of The Dungeon
Is The Dungeon Alive?
The Dungeon is shrouded in a lot of mysteries, among which the most commonly discussed one is the living nature of the Dungeon. Many adventurers have observed thatthe Dungeon reacts to their actions, such as regeneration of walls and altering the difficulty of the monsters depending on the strength of those around them. It seems as if the Dungeon has a will of its own, trying to test those who dare to comb through it. It sometimes even reacts violently to certain actions, such as the defeat of the boss on a level, suggesting that the Dungeon is anything but a static labyrinth. Its very origin, which could answer this very question, is a mystery of its own. Its existence is a mystery, even to the gods who came down to the mortal world.
Another mystery is the origin of the Xenos. Unlike regular monsters, the Xenos have higher intelligence and a sense of purpose, yearning for freedom and the surface world. This hints at a deeperconnection with the human realmor even a divine origin. The biggest of the mysteries, of course, is whether the Dungeon has an end. So far, no adventurer has been said to have reached a final level, which makes it seem like the Dungeon goes on and on forever as the Dungeon goes deeper and deeper into the ground. Does that mean that it would link to another world entirely? Is there some sort of treasure or a catastrophic secret that may affect the world if adventurers get to the end of it? That is, if there is an end.
DanMachiis available to watch onCrunchyrollandHulu.
Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?
Based on a light novel series by Fujino Omori, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? is an action-fantasy anime that follows Bell, an initially weak adventurer who is the only member of the Hestia Familia. Looking to become stronger and protect those who matter the most to him, Bell regularly descends the dungeon, a seemingly neverending pit filled with monsters.
