is a Japanese anime television series produced by Satelight. It follows Memempu and her father Gagumber as they travel across the unmarked Labyrinth filled with dangerous Kaiju within the Underground in search of a white tower in the middle of a meadow. It is directed and written by Jun'ichi Wada, with character designs by Yūji Iwahara, and music by Tatsuya Kato. An anime television series adaptation produced by Satelight aired from October to December 2021.
It is an adaptation of the novel Sakugan Labyrinth Marker, written by Nekotarō Inui, which was submitted to , a 2018 collaboration between DeNA, Sotsu, and Nippon Cultural Broadcasting that accepted story submissions from the general public for adaption into anime. Sakugan Labyrinth Marker was the runner-up in the "Science-Fiction/Robot" category.
Plot The "Labyrinth" is an expansive space deep underground where humans live in clusters known as "colonies." Over the years, the surface has become a distant memory—even perhaps only a fantasy to those who have never experienced it.
Making sure humanity survives the harsh conditions of the underground, a colony's citizens can take on a variety of specialized jobs. These include "Workers," who mine precious ore to fuel the colonies, and "Markers," who journey into the Labyrinth's surprisingly lush environment to bring back information that eases navigation. However, humanity also faces a threat to its existence—creatures called "Kaiju" whose sizes range from that of a small child to an enormous building, and are hostile to any human they see. Moreover, Kaiju that are large enough can force their way into the colonies, further increasing their threat level.
Memenpu is a nine-year-old college graduate whose inventions benefit the Workers in her local colony. Recently, however, she has been dreaming of a place with a never-ending ceiling not bound by bedrock. These aspirations fuel her desire to become a Marker and explore the Labyrinth's vast unknown in search of such a fantastical place. Despite her father Gagumber's vehement disagreement, a certain incident with the Kaiju jumpstarts a dangerous adventure.
Characters
Gagumber's nine-year-old daughter. Memempu is incredibly intelligent for her age, having already graduated from college with seven doctorates. She often sees visions of a towering structure somewhere on the surface in her dreams and seeks to become a Marker to find this place despite her father's resistance. As such, the two are often at odds with each other, with Memempu seeing Gagumber as a bumbling deadbeat.
Memempu's single father in his thirties, a former Marker turned ore miner once known as "Gale-Force Gagumber" who actively resists Memempu's desire to become a Marker and find a way to the surface, seeing her as too young to attempt such a dangerous journey despite her intelligence. His wife, Memempu's mother, left them some time ago. He owns the Mark Bot "Big Tony," a mining machine that can shift between a humanoid form and a tank-like vehicle form that he and Memempu use to explore the Labyrinth. His implanted chip possesses an illegal function known as "Gale," which allows him to briefly boost his reaction speed to inhuman levels at the cost of potential nerve damage.
A notorious thief wanted throughout the Underground who navigates the Labyrinth on a high-speed all-terrain motorcycle. She encounters Gagumber and Memempu in the Italian-themed Jolly-Jolly colony, saving Gagumber's life in exchange for an exorbitant sum of money he later says that he does not have. As a result, Zackletu claims she will follow the father-daughter pair to the ends of the world until she receives her payment with interest. She is the younger sister of Rufus, Gagumber's late former partner.
A hacker who leads the Yuri Team, a group of orphans from the colony AreYaar who were deemed worthless by the colony's government. After Gagumber helps to expose a corrupt official, Yuri develops a new respect for him and decides to follow Gagumber and Memempu in order to spread his "justice" throughout the Underground. Yuri pilots a customized Bot, painted red, that is equipped with hacking and electronic warfare devices such as an EMP weapon. His hands are mechanical prosthetics.
An unflappable agent from the Bureau of Regulation tasked with maintaining law and order in the Underground. He also seeks to preserve old knowledge for future generations and has a passion for subjects such as history and nature.
Memempu's friend and "partner," a young Marker who supports and encourages Memempu's dreams and acts much like an older sister. As a Marker, she is officially partnered with her father, Walsh. Tragically, she loses her life when she and her father move out to intercept an attack by a Type 1 Kaiju, but their deaths further inspired Memempu to become a Marker.
Gagumber's former Marker partner who years ago was killed by an unknown entity after Gagumber abandons him. His death sobers Gagumber's reckless attitude and causes him to retire from being a Marker. Zackletu is his younger sister.
He is the masked leader of a group called Shibito, a terrorist group against the Bureau of Regulation.
She is a member of Shibito and skilled at swordsmanship. DJ K
A famous personality of the popular radio program "Good morning/evening K" that runs in the underworld. The radio is an invaluable source of information about other colonies and news, and there are many hidden fans of the show among the Markers.
A legendary and mysterious Marker recognized as one of the greatest of her kind, having mapped a large portion of the known Underground herself. She sends Memempu a pendant containing a map of the Underground to lead her towards the place in her dreams. She has also been following Gagumber and Memempu's group for unknown reasons.
Media Anime The anime was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020, but was delayed to October 2021. The series aired from October 7 to December 23, 2021, on Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS11.
The opening theme song, "Kо̄kotsu Labyrinth" ("Enchanted Labyrinth"), was performed by Masaaki Endoh, while the ending theme song, "Shine", was performed by MindaRyn. Crunchyroll streamed the series outside of Asia. Bilibili streamed the series in Southeast Asia.
On October 28, 2021, Crunchyroll announced the series will receive an English dub, which premiered on November 18.
Episode list
Manga A manga adaptation by Keisuke Sato began serialization in Square Enix's Manga UP! website on August 13, 2021.
See also Mebius Dust, the grand prize winner of the "Kids/Game" category of Project Anima The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians, the winner of the "Another World/Fantasy" category of Project Anima
Notes
References
External links