Another entertaining way to run it is to put the setting in one of those worlds where (insert random nonviolent competitive event) is the Only Thing That Matters (Hikaru no Go, Prince of Tennis, or whatever) or even in a setting that's more or less purely social with a character built as an aberrant indestructable tank or whatnot.
Also, terrible crossover - Hikaru no Naku Koro Ni
For that matter, I notice that all of the dungeon crawlers to date that partook of a recognizable world did so straight - no crossovers, no altverses - nothing like that. This has meant that those protagonists that knew what the deal was with their destination (the gurps/buffy, the shadowrun/ME, the DH/ME, the Anima/SM) came out the gate with a lot of highly accurate information with which to make long-term plans. Having a world that presented initially as a recognizable world, but then had a major crossover or altverseness that revealed at just the right tim to really mess with the protagonist would be cool, and it could let you double-dip on one of the more the awesome bits of Dungeon Crawlers - that bit at the beginning where the protagonist is doing terribly risky things in a desperate scramble to power up fast enough to maybe be able to take the next terrifying foe that shows up.
Also, terrible crossover - Hikaru no Naku Koro Ni
For that matter, I notice that all of the dungeon crawlers to date that partook of a recognizable world did so straight - no crossovers, no altverses - nothing like that. This has meant that those protagonists that knew what the deal was with their destination (the gurps/buffy, the shadowrun/ME, the DH/ME, the Anima/SM) came out the gate with a lot of highly accurate information with which to make long-term plans. Having a world that presented initially as a recognizable world, but then had a major crossover or altverseness that revealed at just the right tim to really mess with the protagonist would be cool, and it could let you double-dip on one of the more the awesome bits of Dungeon Crawlers - that bit at the beginning where the protagonist is doing terribly risky things in a desperate scramble to power up fast enough to maybe be able to take the next terrifying foe that shows up.