Dead Mount Death Play

“Dead Mount Death Play” is what happens when You homebrew your own D&D setting… “with black jack and hookers''. If You get that reference we can be friends.

A powerful necromancer called the “Corpse God”, who transcended his humanity is defeated in combat. Before his demise he casts a spell that allows him to reincarnate to have a peaceful life. Well… didn’t work exactly as planned. He got thrusted into the freshly dead body of a 16 year old boy in today's japan. Thanks to a series of not so fortunate events he gets entangled with people from the underground. Despite being in a different ... world he still wants to find a way to live a peaceful life. Despite his goal, life has a strange way of keeping him on his toes.

To be fair it is a part one of the seasons and it kinda feels like it. All the episodes function more like a prelude and world building than anything else. Unfortunately it works to the detriment of the 12 episodes.
But let’s start with the main cast.

Corpse God - our main protagonist. In his former life he was hunted as an evil calamity and slain as such. Despite that it does appear he had some pretty good reasons to be a dick the people he killed. To no one's surprise he has a tragic backstory because… of course he does. Tragic backstories to MCs nowadays are a dime a dozen in manga and anime so I’m not even gonna pretend it’s interesting because it’s not. It’s the same generic shit You saw a million times… but with a skeleton. So I guess You haven’t seen this iteration all that often. Still boring. Despite being in a new world he’s tragically passive. Yes, he has a goal and even starts a business but most of the things that happen to him happen “to him” and not “because of him” which leaves him as a reactionary hero. Something I truly despise. He has no personality to speak of and, to my surprise, the show acknowledges that in the last episode and even gives a half assed excuse for it. It is more that most shows give about the lack of personality so i guess it’s a plus. As he is now he is another nerfed but still pretty OP, boring protagonist with no personality. A pretty good premise turned lacklustre execution.

Polka Shinoyama - the 16 year old boy who got killed and whose body is now inhabited by the Corpse God. Not much is known about him except he is an heir of a rich family, has more empathy than brain and is kind. His soul now inhabits a shark plushie, something he doesn’t seem to mind in the least. To be fair in the grand scheme of things he’s just a useless mascot who gets himself in ecchi situations once in a while.

Misaki Sakimiya - The girl who killed Polka. She’s a hired gun with a reputation of putting down other killers. She seems to be emotionally unstable and detached from reality. To be fair in the beginning, both in her design and character she seemed to me like an amalgamation of Junko Enoshima and Toko Fukawa from Danganronpa. Not a bad place to start and her character does go in a bit of a different route than those two. After getting killed, mostly by accident, by the Corpse God, she gets resurrected as a zombie. Something she’s perfectly ok with and even has some fun with her new skills. She is tragically underutilised in this show as she’s the best part of the main coterie.

Takumi Kuruya - an information broker who uses his drones and hacking skills to keep tabs on important things. Despite being suspicious of the Corpse God in the beginning he warms up to him rather quickly. He even helps with his fortune telling business venture. Not a very original character and as such is pretty much forgettable.

Now that we have the coterie out of the way, let's talk about writing.
It’s… well.. It’s everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
There is a plot somewhere there, hidden behind all the world building and characters introduction. It’s a shame that the plot isn’t run by the MC but everyone else. Let me explain. Our hero is stranded in a new world, has a goal in mind and even an idea on how to achieve it. But every dramatic thing that happens is a result of someone else's decisions and action. It’s more often than not that he gets involved by chance or because of the body he inhabits. He has little to no real power as a story catalyst. Like I said before: Things happen to him, not because of him. That changes a little in the last two episodes but before that he’s just there along for the ride.

Apart from that the story is actually pretty interesting. It starts out as almost a dark comedy reverse isekai but the longer the show goes on the more it shifts into a pretty solid thriller with its very own secret organizations fighting for power, assassinations and even some supernatural elements for good measure. It’s a solid idea.
The problem is that all that needed a set up. That’s what those 12 episodes are (I really hope so) - a setup to something more grand. Now don’t get me wrong, You can still have a good time watching them but at the end You will be left with blue balls and a WTF face. I honestly am a bit hyped for part two because I hope they will deliver on the type of thriller (maybe even a political one) that they set up.

All in all I think that despite its flaws and being just a prelude to more things to come it’s a solid watch. If for nothing else the premise and Misaki are rather enjoyable.

I hate an anime that doesn't take itself seriously..and this is one of em.

Other than its pace going obnoxiously fast, it's way too goofy for an edgy anime.

Every time I get invested in a moment, it awfully takes me out of it. In the middle of a serious conversation, random a silly goofy unnecessary humor breaks the whole vibe, and it's never even funny. It's as if it feels sorry for being "too edgy" in some moments, that it keeps trying to lighten up the mood by bringing "humor" into every scene...so off-putting.

Thought i was getting into something like Tokyo Ghoul, only to ... find a similar experience as with "Fire Force" and it's awful fan-service timings.

I'm surpriesd "Comedy" isn't even included for its tags.

Great animation, okay characters, okay plot, interesting enough, but could have been so much better. Disappointed.

Unfortunately this is one of those shows that peaks with the first episode. It started out strong with an interesting premise, then It quickly became generic and dull. I don’t mind a big tonal shift like they pull, but the quality sadly isn’t there afterwards. There is never any tension to any of the serious things that happen in all the later episodes, the main character is too powerful and there is too much levity for me to worry about what will happen. The comedy gets a smirk from me now and then at least. It’s not a terrible show, but it always leaves me ... wishing for more with each episode I watch.

This anime had probably very big potential at the start, it kinda throws old school anime vibe with proper story and character development. Well, that was bad assumption. It starts with great first episode, then it becomes dull.

While main character is somewhat enjoyable and more or less is properly built into story, the rest is kinda meh.

Characters 4/10 - Corpse God (MC) is enjoyable and in first half you can see some logic in that character. This fades away with more episodes. Regarding other characters I can't say much without spoilers, however it's important to remember: characters are not sticking to their role. Story ... is trying to describe to you some character, who is then behaving in different way 2 episodes after. A lot of it actually doesn't make sense.

Story 5/10 - The idea itself is great and world around MC too. However nobody took much care to properly develop it into some working status. Thus story becomes dull and boring. For me personally last 2 episodes were like "I have to survive those 2 episode to finish it." On top of that it looks like anime is trying to undermine itself, which is weird? It isn't proper comedy, it isn't proper action anime, it isn't proper isekai, it isn't proper fantasy. What it is then?

Animation/art 8/10 - Not much I could complain about. It looks nice and effects are fancy. Animation isn't part of the problem here.

Music/sound effects 6/10 - While I think OP and END are cool, it didn't blast me away and casual sound effects and music in anime itself are ok-ish. Nothing really special, nothing really bad.

This anime is basically trying to lure you with its first episode and then provides nothing. There is already announced another part, now there is question whether it's worth to even try it or not. This anime wasn't something truly horrible, however I think many people will stick to idea promised in first episode, which just simply isn't delivered. Maybe another part will deliver it, who knows.

The greatest inventions of the 2000s are back to rock our world...though this time it's kind of a mixed bag, to be honest.

If you aren't the classic connoisseur who reached out to the list of anime shows in the 2000s that are worthy of being deemed worth watching, you would've missed out on two shows that made the mark and are still talked about to this day: Baccano! and Durarara!!. That's right, acclaimed novelist Ryohgo Narita is back for a 3rd rondo at the anime scene once again after a decade of straight gas-lit successions with the anime adaptations of both shows, starting with the ... former in 2007, all the way to the latter in 2016. And he has returned with his newest and latest work: Dead Mount Death Play, which bears an uncanny resemblance to Durarara!! in terms of storytelling, but in a reverse Isekai setting.

The typical case of the typical "hero vs. demon lord" scenario, this is the story of the powerful necromancer, simply known as the Corpse God. At the heels of the finish line, the legendary hero known as Sir Shagrua Edith Lugrid is about to attempt the biggest undertaking of his life to slay the Corpse God, but amidst his best efforts, the necromancer uses a unique magic skill that reincarnates it to another world, in modern Japan in the city of Shinjuku, taking over a certain young boy by the name of Polka Shinoyama, who just had his throat slit by an assassin. Out and about from that harrowing incident, with a different and fresh new soul, the Corpse God aims for a peaceful life, only to familiarise himself with the Shinjuku underworld that targets him for the supernatural. In a world where obtaining a peaceful life is far from ideal, the Corpse God, via Polka Shinoyama, must make sense in and between the lines of hidden enemies that threaten his well-being, other than his soul transferring into a shark plushie, which I thought was the cutest thing ever.

In the world of the just and unjust, there is no equal to the ongoing battle of good and evil, which transcends time and place. Despite Polka's unknowing realisation of the Underworld, there is a troop of people willing to aid him: the legal bar-cum-illegal freelance agency Youtoukorou, headed by Lisa "Clarissa" Kuraki, along with the tech contractor Takumi Kuruya and, to the surprise of many, Polka's own assassin Misaki Sakimiya. Speaking about Misaki first, the first thing that you'll instantly know about her is her eccentric yandere personality, because she was a victim of her own circumstances, having lived off in an orphanage after the brutal killing of her family, only to grow up to become a hitman to take revenge on her family's murderer. She finds joy in working the bone-chilling assassin job, but with the encounter of the Corpse God through Polka, he kills her and turns her into a zombie after killing his original body to only then be revived, and that creates the infatuation of fascination from her to him, that Lisa/Clarissa orders her to look after him. The same task is given to Takumi, who is the tech nerd of the agency, who unleashes objects such as drones as part of his surveillance network around Shinjuku. Together, both Takumi and Misaki have a burden on their hands, but keeping tabs on him is easy as pie, for his Isekai power is just as able as it was back in his own world.

Nevertheless, external forces threaten to derail Polka's peaceful life on Earth. Take the Shinjuku Metropolitan Police, for example. Under the control of Tsubaki Iwanome and Kouzaburou Arase, they undertake Polka's case of weird and mysterious supernatural proportions that threaten the city's livelihood, and also have to deal with some weird beings flourishing around, like the Phantom Solitaire Ten'a Sorimura. It's very clear that there is behind-the-scenes work being done in an otherwise nonsensical fashion, and having to figure out the many plot points that lead to more questions and answers is a tedious job in and of itself. That's the story and plot for now, and with Part 2 coming back in Fall, it will bring back these Q&As again to make sense of the ever-changing landscape in Shinjuku, potentially to Japan's destruction. Joke or not, it remains to be seen.

I feel that ever since Geek Toys got a hold on producing the later Date A Live franchise with the Date A Bullet OVAs and Season 4 (and soon to be Season 5), that is easily the studio's best effort thus far, and it really shows in Dead Mount Death Play. That's because it has director Manabu Ono at the helm, doing the scriptwriting and series composition roles (along with his directorial input) all at once. It's not easy when a director has more roles than he/she can handle, and in this case, it foreshadows the limitations of what he can do at best. But being the director for shows like SAO: Alicization, he knew what Geek Toys could muster from Ryohgo Narita's source material and, as a result, produce some good animation and even some convincing scenes at times. It's very good, without a shadow of a doubt.

The music, on the other hand, is just alright. Sou has done better songs (i.e. ID:Invaded's OP song "Mr. Fixer"), though this OP "Nero" just sounds average and weird. Inori Minase's ED "Iolite" is also fine, which contributes to an average OST for Part 1 overall.

True to what manga readers have feared, the opening segments for Dead Mount Death Play can be slow and sometimes uninteresting, almost to the point of boredom. Even with the amount of foreshadowing that the series only starts to show up in the latter half of Part 1 here, you'd have to go through a somewhat deliberate start just to get to the interesting bits, and even then, it feels tacky and unfinished.

Here's hoping that whatever the manga has in store coming back for Part 2 in Fall, will justify whatever Part 1 here has made its foundations from...assuming you stay anime-only and don't read the manga after you finish watching this first half. I know it's good, but at this moment, it's half-baked.

Easily one of the best reverse-isekais I've seen. That said, the bar is quite low for isekais.

The story is very interesting and the plot goes forward, which in these is not a given. What you get in the trailer is not what you get in the series.
I'm not sure do I like the mismatch of fantasy and thriller/detective genres but at least it's something I haven't seen recently.

Characters are very stereotypically and painfully anime characters (wow, what a surprise). To me, it takes me a bit out of it. We have seen these characters many times in many different shows, which to ... me seems just lazy writing. But because the story is so complex and fast paced, it may be a good thing that the characters are easy to understand. And there are a lot of characters.
The characters with the mad/crazy/lunatic traits are intolerable, and there are more than one. This is clearly a show targeted towards edgy teenagers who ''are not like the other kids''.

The animation...... I hate it. On the action scenes it is almost god-tier but when there is no action it just regresses to slideshow quality. It is annoyingly clear where the animation focus has gone.

I usually don't write reviews, but felt like making a short one here. At first the series seems like a very generic isekai, minus the starting scene which while cool doesnt really make you care for the proceeding events and characters by itself. However, this is one of the cases of a series really hitting it's stride as it goes on. Polka while not a super interesting MC, his motives and values make him likeable enough. Misaki comes off as a pretty generic manic pixie dream girl but the show does at least give her some character moments here and there plus that aspect of ... her didnt end up nearly as overwhelming as it seemed it would be. The show's main strength comes from the fact as things go on you do get invested in all the characters and how the mystery is set up. I think the show honestly did very well in making a bunch of the characters all have different knowledge levels and making you interested in seeing how they uncover and go about uncovering things. Plus the mystery and way the plot progressed to that point honestly wasnt super predictable to the point of being boring. Overall I'd say while the series does give off the air of being very generic, edgy, and with no substance at the start; as it goes on it really does feel like there is a vision to the story and characters that gets you invested. Giving it a mixed feelings because I still don't think it's an amazing must watch, I still feel like there was more quality to this than I and others might have thought. Definitely will be interested in checking out season 2.

Here is my review of this anime in 2023!

Story (8)
The story is about a Corpse God who is teleported into another world where there is almost no mana there since no one can use magic. It's a different world and He become a kid that almost died in that world. The journey begins when He must adjust to that body and environment because there is several common sense that are different from his origin. Not only that, in the middle till the end episode you will see that He's not the only one who got into there.

Art (7)
The art in this anime is quite good. ... But I prefer if they make the graphic much smoother and the battle animation looks very intense. I like how they use the color to match the vibes.

Sound (8)
All the sounds that they used were suitable and adjusted to the animation.

Character (7)
The main and supporter character is quite memorable.

Enjoyment (8)
It's quite enjoyable to watch this movie in 2023.

Overall (8)
It's recommended to those who love action, adventure, and mystery anime.

Look, I'll level with you: I have no idea what the hell is happening in this anime.

It's a familiar feeling, one I experienced about 13 episodes into Durarara!

"Am I stupid? Is this supposed to make sense? Why does this all seem so much more complicated than it needs to be?"

Lots of characters, lots of competing motivations, a necromancer from another world, an unkillable guy covered in bandages, a fire...guy? Police guys, vaguely crime-associated guys, bartender ladies with silly glasses who hire out assassins, an assassin girl, a...shark lady?

It's a lot. And again, I'm not sure if the incoherence is intentional, or I'm ... just too slow to follow what's going on here.

Having finished the first run of episodes I can say this:

-It's not exactly dull, even if it doesn't make a ton of sense (...yet)
-I did finish watching all of the episodes, which is saying something since I'm perfectly happy to drop shows that aren't working for me

Ultimately your enjoyment may come down to patience and faith. If you're willing to wade through these first murky, complicated episodes maybe it'll all pay off down the line (that's the part where faith comes in).

Otherwise, I'd only recommend this for:

-Fans of Durarara!
-Fans of reverse isekais that aren't especially interested in being a reverse isekai
-Fans of silly, French-adjacent antagonists who do magic tricks
-Fans of girls with unhealthy shark obsessions

The anime started off great in the first two episodes.
And after that she went in very boring directions.

I really liked the first episode and it made me expect a really good series, but as the episodes progressed, the extent of the disappointment became clear.

Generic characters with no background story, slow and boring pace of plot development.

Usually I deal with anime like this and manage to watch and finish. I had a hard time with this anime.

The design of the anime itself looks good and the battle scenes are reasonable.
...
I would have expected a more interesting story, a faster pace and more interesting characters.

Quick review:

There is nothing to tell about the world; it's just our world.

The story is interesting because the best parts are when The Corpse God uses his powers, and even those moments can be lame, mostly because of the poorly animated action. We don't even get much of these moments. When I realized that this isn't the type of MC who uses his fists, or rather, skeletons, to solve everything, I thought, 'Damn, this is going to be interesting!' But later I found out that this is the strongest point of the show. There are other characters with their own small stories, but they aren't ... as great as our main character and his goals.

The story is just the basic reverse isekai; only the main character's personality and the way he can use his powers make it unique. There is no character development, and most of them don't really have a personality, but as always, there are some exceptions. The lack of character development isn't a problem because the show takes place in the underworld of the city where everyone does their job for money, which makes the show more realistic.

Overview: If you can spare the time, watch it. It is definitely not a bad show. Maybe you will like it. The only reason I'm giving a chance to Part 2 is because at the end, they showed a little bit of what this is all going to be. It's definitely not a bad anime, but not as good either. Strong 6.5-7.

--- original lenguage: Portuguese --- --- additona lenguage: English ---

English: Honestly I see a lot of potential in this anime, elements of action and investigation and with that added humor, very light even, which makes it very relaxed.
Isn't the anime anything exaggerated, minus the "problematic" ones, because apparently "humans" do almost impossible things?
Anyway, it doesn't present anything very innovative in the anime market, but this investigative touch caught my attention.
The protagonist comes very close to what would be for me the "ideal Protagonist", not very charismatic, with a bad past and the best of all: "overpower"
I'm honestly looking forward to a sequel, Anime 8/10 ... until deserved.

PT - BR: Sinceramente eu vejo muito potencial nesse anime, elementos de ação e investigação e com aquele acrescimento de humor, bem leve mesmo, o que torna ele bem descontraído.
O anime não é nada exagerado, menos os "problemáticos", porque aparentemente "humanos" fazem coisas quase impossíveis?
enfim, não apresenta nada muito inovador no mercado de anime, mas, esse toque investigativo me chamou a atenção.
O protagonista se aproxima bastante do que seria para mim o "Protagonista ideal", não muito carismático, com um passado ruim e o melhor de todos: "overpower"
Sinceramente estou ansioso por uma continuação, Anime 8/10 até que merecido.

English.
An anime that although I thought it would be generic surprised me a lot, it tells us what an isekai would be but in reverse, that is, a person from the marine world travels to a land without magic. It shocked me the first time I saw it because I wasn't expecting it at all, I thought it would be more different or something more generic specifically. In that aspect, the truth is that it is worth highlighting, but as we delved deeper into the story, I was a little disappointed, it is a story that does not know where it wants to go or ... does not have any apparent purpose. They tell us that the protagonist wanted to live a peaceful second life and although he wants to achieve it, some things happen that prevent this from happening, such as new enemies and bad people in this world.
The story is based more on solving the life of the body where the protagonist is, his problems and everything bad that happened to him in his life, here they try to put a problem of a group that tries to kill them but I am not very interested Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good anime but for me the story didn't grab me.
If I would recommend it, I think so, it is a pretty good and innovative proposal that more than one person will like, the only but... is that the story reaches a point where I started to get bored (it's something more subjective).

Español.
Un anime que aunque pensé que seria genérico me sorprendió bastante, este nos relata lo que seria un isekai pero a la inversa, es decir una persona del mundo marino viaja a una tierra sin magia. Me impacto la primera vez que lo vi porque no me lo esperaba para nada, pensé que seria mas diferente o algo mas genérico en especifico. En ese aspecto la verdad si es para destacar pero ya metiéndonos mas a profundidad a la historia me decepciono un poco, es una historia que no sabe a donde quiere ir o no tiene algún propósito aparente. Nos dicen que el protagonista quizo vivir una segunda vida tranquila y aunque lo quiere lograr suceden algunas cosas que impiden que así suceda, como nuevos enemigos y personas malas en este mundo.
Se basa mas la historia a resolver la vida del cuerpo en donde esta el protagonista, sus problemáticas y todo lo malo que le paso en su vida, aquí tratan de poner una problemática de un grupo que trata de asesinarlos pero a mi no me intereso mucho, no me mal interpreten creo que es un buen anime pero parea mi la historia no me atrapo.
Si la recomendaría creo que si, es una propuesta bastante buena e innovadora que a mas de uno le va a gustar, el único pero… es que llega a un punto la historia en que me empece a aburrir (es algo mas subjetivo).

OK so Deadmount Death Play is OK, there is something however lacking from it that means it will never hit any lofty heights. Its funny, in particular when The Phantom Solitaire takes over the show, but all in all is a little disjointed and needs more thought for it to be a great as it could have been.

The animation is great. This is probably the part in which it shines the most. It isn't getting into the 9s or 10s but it's definitely solid. Frustratingly, the opening sequences animation is superb. The battle this is taking place looks fantastic and ... you feel it is setting the scene for a show that is going to be incredible. Once this opening scene is finished however, and you see where this story is going, you know it will never hit the same level throughout the show. You will see when you watch it. Throughout the animation is still good, but below the standard set in the opening sequence. The colours remain great through regardless and I would still give this an 8/10

Story is reasonably interesting. It progresses quite nicely though and keeps your attention. I do feel like it suffers slightly however by the poor balance between its characters screen times. You feel that you know who the main protagonist is, and yet he remains the main protagonist, you get lost in the other characters taking the screen time which results in a bit of an odd balance. Thought I wont complain about the screen time of Phantom Solitaire, as he is the best character in my opinion, it resulted in feeling like you were watching two different shows. 6/10

Music is an average fair. Couple of decent moments but average at best. 5/10

Its OK but doent really excite me. This is a mixed feeling one for me.

If there is one thing I can say for this anime after watching 3 episode would be "different". Some might find interesting, some might find silly but it is undeniably different. For me "different" does not mean good or bad. Maybe I slightly like different. But as long as different is empty inside it will not mean anything. As long is different doesn't know what kind of different it is, it will be just random ideas.

In this context, this anime slightly fails being different after first episode. After understanding the premise not much is left to wonder so it tries to stay alive by ... throwing bunch of mysteries the make audience keep going. If that is not enough it suddenly changes its dark mood and starts to making jokes that only takes 3 seconds to go back that dark mood.

Other than that it is already episode 3. what this anime is even about? I don't know, mc seems to not know, other mains seems to wonder..

I really liked the first episode. Great combat and animations. music wasn't off. dialogues wasn't off. but it gets simpler with every episode. so I am done for now.