First Impression: Dead Mount Death Play

The first episode of Dead Mount Death Play begins with quite a bit of violence, as what look like medieval soldiers battle against a necromancer named the Corpse God who takes the form of a giant skeleton who conjures powerful magic. This dark magician easily dispatches the squadron of soldiers but is then left to face off against Shagrua Edith Lugrid (so hard to spell that name), a legendary hero who has slayed many monsters and never succumbed to death. After an intense battle, Shagrua seems to have beaten him, but the necromancer, whose true form is a brain in a bottle (you read that right), casts a last-ditch escape spell. He awakens in Shinjuku, Japan, and is confused as to where he is since he comes from a less modern time or dimension. As he begins to analyze the situation, he realizes he’s in a new body of a young boy named Polka Shinoyama, a famous singer who appears on a screen in a building.

Police find him and notice that his throat has been slit and is bleeding, yet he is still alive and seems fine. A girl jumps in before the police take him to the hospital and reveals the frightening truth that she just murdered him and wants to finish the job. For reasons unknown, a hit has been put on Polka, and the client hired Misaki Sakimiya to put him down; but he escapes, and as the chase continues, they end up at a place where the Yakuza would kill people. Being the necromancer that he is, even though he’s in Polka’s body, he can see the dead with his Evil Eye and finally can use his magic again. He makes quick work of Misaki. With his new freedom and body, he decides to be the grim reaper of this world and do what evil characters do: take over the world!

I don’t enjoy bloody or gory media, so I was a little taken aback by the violent first minute of the anime. You’ll have to see for yourself how it went down for those poor soldiers. I did like the epic fight between the main protagonist and antagonist, however, and when the necromancer appeared in Japan, I thought it was a “reverse isekai” where the character went from a game to the real world. In a way, that’s what happened, but it’s not revealed what the world he came from is yet. I would have liked a little more background as to why this character is how he is because I’m not used to rooting for the villain, which is what’s going on. There were some 3D scenes here and there that I felt weren’t necessary, and the difficult-to-pronounce names like Polka or Shagrua didn’t help in forming an attachment to the characters. I don’t see myself watching anymore of Dead Mount Death Play, as it didn’t appeal to me (nor is the focus on death something that interests me), but maybe it will for you.

*Be aware that once the necromancer appears in the city, his throat is slit with blood for about half of the episode, so if you are sensitive to seeing that, I would avoid this one.*

Polka waking up in Shinjuku, Japan

You can stream Dead Mount Death Play on Crunchyroll.

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