Overview (Spoilers Below):
A legendary necromancer known as the Corpse God is finally slain by a hero—only to wake up in the body of Polka Shinoyama (Morgan Berry), a newly assassinated boy in present-day Tokyo. Can the sorcerer survive in this strange new world?
Our Take:
I’ve seen plenty of demon lords and even an exorcist get reincarnated into another world as different people. Now we have a necromancer perform this similar action, but not in the way we expected. At this rate, we’ll see a dog reincarnate into another realm in the next couple of years. But as long as there’s enough intrigue in the reincarnation concept, I won’t complain about it too much.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from Dead Mount Death Play other than it’s another isekai/reincarnation series. However, as soon as the first battle started, I immediately knew that I might be in for a treat. “The Reincarnation” wasted no time bringing me into the action, thanks to its thrilling and decently animated showdown between Shagura, the fantasy world’s hero, and the Corpse God. This is the first show I’m watching that was produced by Geek Toys, the same animation company that made Date A Live IV and Ningen Fushin. So far, I can say that it did a good job animating the action sequence for Shagura and the Corpse God. Even the CGI effects for the Corpse God weren’t as terrible as I thought they would be based on my recent history with CGI in anime.
Following the intense battle, we see the Corpse God inside the body of a boy named Polka Shinoyama in the modern world due to his reincarnation magic. Unfortunately, the body he’s in was assassinated by someone who wanted him dead. It turns out that Polka was slain by Misaki Sakimiya (Bree Han), a deranged assassin with a thirst for death. Fortunately for him, Polka still has the necromancer abilities from his previous life, including his Evil Eye, which allows him to see spirits. He uses them to gain the upper hand, although he might’ve gotten too carried away with his powers.
“The Reincarnation” is a consistently thrilling start to what could be another solid series involving isekai, or in this case, reverse isekai. The animation by Geek Toys looks sublime for its action sequences and bleak, violent environments, and the voice cast for the English dub was suitable so far, especially Bree Han as Misaki. She definitely nailed this character’s chirpy but psychotic personality. But, of course, it also has some bits of humor thrown into its supposedly grim tone. It was all right so far, but I hope it doesn’t overshadow the serious parts in the later episodes. Otherwise, I’m intrigued by what the concept will offer next in the weeks ahead.