Story:
The idea is ingenious. A happy-go-lucky sissy who just wants to make boring ass radio pop somehow ends up fronting the most notorious Death Metal band of Japan. The jokes pretty much write themselves. But I still have to give credit to the writers, who managed to make every scene as hilarious as possible. The fans of DMC turn everything into an insane memetic story in an instant and Negishi’s untrve behavior manages to make him seem even more legit. Sure, there is some plot convenience at work, like the fact that there are so many people actually listening to that music, but for a comedy show that isn’t really an issue. It should also be noted that this is a black comedy. At least half of the punchlines is rape or murder, so if you are triggered by this stuff, by any means, stay away from this anime.
10/10
Art:
It’s certainly not the prettiest anime to look at. It’s a bit similar to what One Punch Man (the webcomic) and Mob Psycho look like, but a little more polished. The character design is simple and works towards the gags more than it tries to create memorable looks. The animation is good and much like the designs, it’s used to assist the jokes instead of being flashy. It can be flashy at times though, some of the concert scenes are pretty cool.
7/10
Sound:
The music of DMC is pretty damn cool. However, I think their sound is more reminiscent of Thrash Metal, while their look is inspired by Black Metal, but most people will probably not know the difference. It also doesn’t really matter, since they are a joke band anyways. But if you like metal in general, their songs are good and their hit single (which also happens to be the opening) is catchy as fuck. There are a couple more artists in this show, covering the genres of Punk (or more specifically Riot Grrrl), Hip Hop and sugar-coated pop, the last of which is solely used as joke fodder. Same goes for the music Negishi plays in private with one of his tunes used as ending theme. They are a hilarious contrast to the DMC songs filled with rape, murder, rape, satanism, rape and rape.
9/10
Characters:
Negishi as a character has to walk a thin line. He is supposed to be likeable, yet is also the victim of most of the comedy of the show. I think they managed to balance this very well, the duality of his character is simply hilarious, as are the situations he keeps finding himself in. I believe that the only thing funnier than corrupting the innocent is doing the exact opposite and that is the basis of his character. The rest of the cast are merely means for the purpose of getting this to work. I found the manager to be way over the top more often than not, but most other side characters have perfect comedic timing. Some of the funniest scenes involved Aikawa and how Negishi keeps fucking things up. And of course the DMC fans were fantastic, making shit up on the spot to further increase the legend of their favourite band, not unlike what real life fans of some bands do, only played straight, making it even funnier.
8/10
Enjoyment:
This has to be one of the funniest comedy anime I’ve seen in a long time and the fact that it is also about Metal makes it even better. The humour is completely over the top and very tasteless most of the time, which I have no problems enjoying, though some (or many) people inevitably will. However, if you are okay with the subject matter, you will be in for a treat. I was pleased by the fact that DMC never overstayed its welcome, keeping the episodes short and to the point. I don’t know how much longer this gag gimmick could have lasted, but for a dozen short episodes it is done as good as it possibly can be. Sure, there are things that could have been more to my liking, but the things that matter are there.
9/10
Overall:
8.6/10
