As a legendary hero nears victory against a necromancer known as The Corpse God, things take an
unexpected turn with the dark sorcerer’s final gambit—reincarnation magic. This last-ditch effort
catches the brave fighter off guard, and now he’s a boy named Polka Shinoyama in a whole new world!
The showdown between good and evil just got epic.
(Source: Crunchyroll)
From GeekToys, the studio behind Plunderer and Hensuki, comes some more bizarre and fucked up shit. Dead Mount Death Play’s plot is overstuffed to the point of bursting. The ensemble cast and multiple interconnected plotlines is reminiscent of Durarara or Baccano, if they were written by someone on stimulants. There are like four plotlines occurring at once and only one is remotely enjoyable—the main characters just chilling in their apartment, running an amateur fortune telling business. Its plot is rapidly paced, wildly unpredictable, infrequently funny, and borderline incoherent, resulting in genre-bending trash. The premiere will give you the impression that the whole series won’t take itself too seriously, but that is not the case. A necromancer named Corpse God dies in an epic battle, then finds himself reincarnated in the body of a recently murdered Japanese boy, Polka Shinoyama. He quickly becomes entangled with gangs, criminals, police, and other killers. As soon as he assumes the boy’s form, he fights off some crazy woman, Misaki Sakimiya (an assassin who murders assassins?). Corpse quickly kills her with necromancer magic. After Misaki failed to kill Polka, she Corpse resurrects her as a zombie. Corpse is morally centered, despite his name, he only wants a peaceful life, resulting in a very dull and monotone character. One of his first actions is transferring the original Polka's spirit to an adorable shark toy. Throw all your logical thinking out the window because none of this shit makes sense. Corpse's powers are inconsistent, characters behave in unbelievable ways. I can't grasp how this came to be. It’s like the writers simply expected viewers to be children who’d follow along with whatever nonsense shit they threw at the wall. There’s barely any character progression, but there are a few flashbacks to develop the main characters. Upon resurrecting Misaki, her mediator, Clarissa, strangely grants Corpse God a place to live as long as he works for her group. Clarissa has two people in her group join Corpse God, Misaki and an info broker, Takumi Kuruya: a Shinjuku informant who collects data illegally using drones. Corpse puts a police investigator's spirit in a pen to obtain information, which slowly reveals clues to solve mysteries. The little CGI pen writes on its own and wows clients. These oddballs form a found family and help Corpse work as a fortune teller, as well as dealing with Polka’s very wealthy family. As the story progresses, it becomes more complex, and new questions arise, leaving you wanting a clearer sense of where it's heading. Ghosts, gangs, supernatural criminals, magicians, etcetera are thrown into the melting pot with little cohesion. Despite its flaws, Dead Mount offers LGBTQ+ representation through Clarissa... and Misaki? She is working through it. For ecchi fans, you get some steamy lesbian action. The fanservice seems pretty intense for a show as edgy and juvenile as this one, but we already have all the other genres, why not add ecchi? At the very least, there’s occasionally a fight scene involving thrilling necromancy magic. The action scenes themselves? Meh. The choreography isn't the best out there, if you know what I mean. On the bright side, the characters have simplified designs that make fights look more dynamic. But hey, don't expect consistent quality here, folks. Sometimes, it feels like you're staring at talking heads and struggling to pay attention. Oh, and let's not forget the chibi art style they throw in during funny moments. The jokes rarely land, but it's cute, sure, and probably saved them budget. Overall, the animation is okay. Though the art has improved from previous Geek Toys animated eyesores, it's not going to blow you away. Dead Mount's biggest selling point is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's not as funny as it should be. With the help of Misaki and Takumi's colorful personalities, Corpse God's fortune-telling business was consistently the funniest plotline in the series. They successfully run the business using genuine readings and gimmicks. It’s pretty comical and they use ghosts to solve mysteries. The sixth episode played off their fortune-telling scheme. It was perhaps the most exciting episode for telling a self-contained murder mystery story, including espionage, natural world building, and a shocking conclusion. As well as developing a couple of characters without relying on flashbacks or exposition dumps, as the series does. You must pay VERY close attention to the plot at all times, despite the monotonous by-the-numbers storytelling, or you’ll lose track of the sequence of events and complicated character motivations. Due to the rapid pacing, lackluster storytelling, numerous colorful characters, an overstuffed plot, and rapid tonal shifts, it quickly becomes a confusing viewing experience. It’s a shame because I love Baccano and can see the inspiration in Dead Mount. Dead Mount Death Play pushes storytelling boundaries, but for the wrong reasons. It presents an ensemble cast and multiple interconnected plotlines reminiscent of Durarara and Baccano. However, the rapid pacing, excessive characters, and lack of coherence make it a tedious watch. While the main character's found-family provides comedic relief and the occasional fight scene adds excitement, the overall execution falls into monotony. Although the series attempts to balance humor and serious storytelling, it struggles to do so. Ultimately, Dead Mount Death Play may appeal to those who enjoy genre-bending narratives with ensemble casts and are willing to overlook its shortcomings, but for others, it may prove to be too confusing and inconsistent.