Dead Mount Death Play Part 2

I'm a tad surprised with how little tract this show has gotten. Part One went under the radar throughout it's airing and even once it finished, I still thought not many people were talking about it. Now here we are with Part Two not long after Part One, and it's the same feeling.

I personally had no idea that this show was from the creator of Durarara and Baccano until about half way through Part 2. I could definitely relate it to those series, even mentioning them in episode discussions unironically, comparing Dead Mount Death Play to Durarara XD, without even realizing that they are ... from the same author, must have looked like an absolute idiot, but I digress, if you enjoyed his previous works, I see little reason as to why you wouldn't also enjoy this one.

Ryohgo Narita's way of weaving stories together, not many come close to his unique, oftentimes disjointed writing with such a fun, ensemble cast to match, and it is a big cast. It can be a little daunting trying to make sense of everything that is happening on screen, trying to memorize names to faces, who's with who, which organization is doing what, which part of the jigsaw puzzle goes where, but that's the magic of his work, that's the beauty of it. It's wacky mayhem in an urban environment, it's a fairly slow progress with the overarching narrative, but there's always something interesting happening. There's always fun character interactions. There's always awesome power struggles, different fighting methods, intriguing strength/power scaling, interesting bits of dialogue that may not make much sense yet, but will eventually down the road... It's a mystery, slowly being unraveled. Durarara got chastised for being slow paced, and I just could never make sense of the criticism myself. I wanted MORE, I wanted more episodes, I wanted the story to go on forever (half serious XD). Everybody has their own idea on what good pacing is, everybody has their own limit on how much information gets supplied to the viewer, before becoming fed up with the lack of answers. I can wait for as long as you need me good sir, I'm that invested in what I'm watching, I'm that invested on the world building, what's another few tens of episodes? ;)
These shows just do something to my brain, they tick a lot of imaginative boxes.

I dunno, does it not live up to the standards of it's predecessors? You've seen one rendition, you've seen them all? There's not much out there like this, the way this show is presented, I say give it a go.

Dead Mount Death Play - 2 split-part adaptations, up to 4 interspersed events all happening at the same time, leading to one gigantic Shinjuku war that defies the logic of both worlds. Has Ryohgo Narita done the near-impossible to prove that he still has the writing skills from his past works? 

Back in Spring, the 1st Cour / Part 1 of the acclaimed mangaka's new work didn't really do it for me, and I wasn't convinced that Ryohgo Narita had his writing prowess taken from Durarara!! and injecting that same soul into Dead Mount Death Play, which at that point in time was a massive clusterfish ... of events sprawling here and there that proved too much for those who can't follow up on what's going on, yours truly included. Well, after yet another 12-episode romp in the form of the 2nd Cour / Part 2 of the anime, I can safely say that I'm fully caught up to date on everything that exacerbates the situations and circumstances that may be worlds apart, but the outcome is one final "Clash of the Lords" between the Corpse God and the Bastard Children of Sabaramond, the battle that should've taken place in their own world, moved to Earth in Shinjuku for all to see. What a riot!

Come to think of it, Ryohgo Narita is a genius at trying to manage several storylines and making them just as relevant to the main story, with the intricate details meticulously planned out to the point that it doesn't confuse the reading or watching experience for manga readers and anime watchers. This is what sold Dead Mount Death Play as a compelling work in the first place, from the manga now into the anime. Even though at times it can feel like you're still watching Part 1, with all the Q&As answered, you'll get a better idea of what the various groups are all fighting for:
- The Corpse God with Vampire Queen Misaki, Takumi, and their key character, Polka Shinoyama, that's directly linked to the Shinoyama family;
- The police force of Tsubaki Iwanome and Arase Kozaburou identify the sequence of events with Phantom Solitaire joker Ten'a Sorimura, who has joined the array with the Fire-Breathing Bug;
- The various families that have a matter of feud between each other: the Agakuras and the Heilei;
- The Bastard Children of Sabaramond, who have finally arrived on Earth to ciphon out their leader and take over the new world, whose feud with the Corpse God to either preserve or destroy the world has massive consequences on Earth.

Trust me, the character cast in Dead Mount Death Play (if just by counting alone) is insane, but not one character gets a mere side-mention as everyone is, in one way or another, vital to the main plot, which speaks to the mangaka's prowess when it comes to tight story and character integration.

For Part 2, just about the only change to the staff roster is having a newbie director by the name of Yoshihiro Satsuma take over the directoral reigns from series director Manabu Ono, which, in comparison to the anime, doesn't really affect any of the anime's aesthetics at all. I feel that this move is done to relieve the latter due to his directorial, scriptwriting, and series composition roles, which can put a lot of pressure on someone with these many vital roles in the anime's production, and in the same way, tutor the new director as well. An effective way to "kill two birds with one stone". Nothing has changed much in the way of animation as well; it looks consistent from Part 1 as far as I can tell. Part 2's OST is decent as well, with both Inori Minase and Yuuma Uchida's OP and ED songs. I just feel that Part 1 delivered a better OST.

Overall, Dead Mount Death Play has been one of the most batshit, insane series that I have seen for quite a while. And although it has taken both parts of 24 episodes' worth to flesh out its story and multiple plot elements, the payoff reward is just as big as the amount of time spent tuning into the anime to understand where the story needs to go to achieve Nirvana.

All I can say now is that Dead Mount Death Play is not a fluke; it's a work of complexity that delivers in its own right.

In my view, this show stands out for several reasons. Firstly, its story, characters, and their development are genuinely intriguing. Despite the main character's overpowered nature, this series avoids the typical power fantasy trope common in Isekai anime. Instead, it focuses heavily on mystery, making it a standout within the genre. The depth given to each character, including the well-written and consistent character development, is impressive. Even minor characters are fleshed out, drawing viewers into their stories. While it progresses slowly, this deliberate pacing allows for a more immersive storytelling experience. If you appreciate mystery-driven narratives and don't mind a slower progression, this show might ... be worth your time. I'd recommend watching it once the entire series is available. This assessment is based on my opinion after viewing both parts of season 1.

The part 2 is just the worst thing. S1 was way better. The story telling is just messed up. it feels like all over the place. Youy should just read the manga. There should have been no sequel if we were going to get this one. The whole season you will be wondering wth happened. This is the 2nd worst sequel ever following the promised neverland s2. Idk why people have rated this higher than part 1. There is no character development and characters are popping out of no where. You will not like this. i should have dropped it but i wanted to see ... if its get better or not and it didnt

The world is evolving, the organizations are making their moves, all while our main cast just want to live peacefully.

In the second part of the season is everything starting to ramp up, more groups are now interested in the weird events that have happened and are starting to make their moves. We follow the Corpse God and his group trying to stay ahead of all the players spread throughout the city, in hopes of coming to a point where they can have their peaceful life.

The plot for this part builds very much on the previous part and starts to delve further into some of the ... people and organizations we were introduced to previously. Through the different arcs, do we start to see some of the group's goals and way of handling things. We also follow different groups' actions and interests parallel to each other, which really shows how the whole city is alive. Since they are not just focusing on the main character group.

The characters don't change much throughout this part, but still have some development. What you get more to see is new characters, that really helps building the world, and then exploring already known characters. This helps with getting a better view of the world and the secret organizations, but also an understanding for why the characters act in a certain way.

Since it is a reverse isekai is it also important to see how the world reacts to the unknown, for the most part is this magic. This is done fine, with either being covered up by official groups like the police, or it reaches the news and starts making people question things. This helps make the world feel alive and shows attention to details.

The only issue I find is that there is often a calmness over a lot of things, which gives a special type of tone, but it also makes it a bit harder to actually feel hyped for the cool scenes.

Overall is it still a great continuation of the first part, and lives up to be a good reverse isekai with attention to detail. So i would definitely recommend watching this part if you found the last one interesting.

Story: Story fell off compared to the first season. In my opinion, all the plot lines that were revealed in the first season got convoluted and lead to an unsatisfying conclusion in the end. There were too many factions, many of whom didn't even play a role in the story. The creators tried to make it seem like a lot was going on and that it was all leading to some epic conclusion, but in reality the exact opposite happened.

Characters: None of the new characters are remotely interesting. The new "villain" lacks motive, backstory, and gets extremely powerful with no resistance. He tries to ... follow the mysterious/playful archetype but he's mostly a joke throughout.
The mc remains bland and continues making poor decisions.

Ending: Pretty shitty ending. The final battle was underwhelming and mostly meaningless. Just seems like nothing of value was accomplished, and the previous episodes were mostly pointless.

Production: Bad animation at points, no doubt a step down from the first season (which wasn't even all that). Everything about the production was below average

Overall, A below average sequel for an average anime. Doesn't do anything to improve on the first season. Complicates things just to have an underwhelming ending where all the pieces still don't fall into place.

The series achieves so much more than the sum of its individual episodes.

The story, when considered in conjunction with each of the characters individual storylines and personalities is phenomenal. They all work together so well to produce something truly remarkable.

There are a lot of moving parts in Dead Mount Death Play in general but none of them feel disjoined. Even components that seem to have taken a back seat or removed from the shelf still manage to have an impact on the overall storyline.

Story cohesion and story enjoyment can often be at odds with one another, but when balanced and used to complement each other ... the result is a masterpiece deserving of your time.

More people need to give this series a shot.

Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 is a mess. The beginning of the anime comes out strong, carrying much of the suspense and mystery from the previous season, but after a certain point, it all dries up. The interesting and well-paced plot from the first season feels rushed in the second, leaving many plot points resolved off-screen and others unresolved completely. The ending is particularly unsatisfying, lacking a significant reveal or explanation, and instead offering a mediocre conclusion that hints at a possible continuation. The animation and visuals are on par with the previous season, but the characters are worse. Many characters are underutilized, only ... appearing at the end as a token reminder of their existence. Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 had the potential to excel but ultimately squanders much of the narrative groundwork laid by its predecessor.

It's nearly impossible for me NOT to compare this to DuRaRaRa!! (previous Naritaverse series), so I won't try.
I really love this series, but I'd like to say upfront, i think if you have to pick between watching the anime or reading the manga - read the manga. The anime didn't really add anything, or improve on the base at all, and I felt some of the animation was pretty rough and felt rushed-out. The voice acting was fine, but nothing on the level of DuRaRaRa!! (which has one of the best ensemble casts in basically anything). I don't think anyone in Deathplay really stood out ... to me as giving an incredible vocal performance, except for maybe Misaki's VA. She was a faily good pscyho. The music was decent, but not "I'm rushing out to buy this OP and ED on iTunes" level (DuRaRaRa! OP1 still a banger btw).
As far as content goes, s1p2 really starts to unravel some of the mysteries in this series at an almost break-kneck pace. There's lots of action, and a whole bunch of interesting new characters, but the chemsitry between them is kinda placid.
This review may come off as being down on this series, but I did enjoy it. Just not as much I as thought I would when it started. And, having read the manga, I wish they had animated some of the epic battles a bit more EPICLY.

What a snooze fest. I gave up at episode 8.

I enjoyed Dead Mount Death Play Part 1. But Part 2 is just terrible.
The plot is more convoluted than it needs to be.

There are way too many characters constantly being introduced.
And they all share almost the same personality of over-cockiness. Constant evil grins. So many characters acts the same it becomes so redundant. Almost every character is just obnoxious.
A bunch of one dimensional characters that pretend like they have depth. A bunch of lame twists and reveals.

I feel like the actual main character is barely in this. And when he is on screen ... he's just so boooooooring.

This show is engaging for a variety of reasons. It actively engaged me with the various mysteries of its characters, from their motives to their backgrounds to their powers. The ability to juggle more than two "sides" already makes this show impressive, but to then have most of them compelling and entertaining to see play off of each other is simply great. It's a curious case of sort of rooting for everyone but also not wanting anyone to win, whatever "winning" means.

So, yeah, the characters and story are this show's best features. Visually it's pretty great as well, and the soundtrack is serviceable. The ending ... may have felt a bit anticlimactic as a lot was going on, but seeing as it's not really an ending and there's more yet to be unraveled I can't fault it too much. This is definitely one of the better isekais out there.