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.
