English Dub Review: Dead Account “He’s a Flamebaiter”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Soji Enishiro streams inflammatory content to make money for his family until one day, everything changes…

Our Take:
It’s pretty common to exorcise demonic spirits, especially when they reside in seemingly haunted locations.  But what if those spirits can also haunt our technology, including our phones?  It’s hard for me to imagine a ghost hacking into someone’s cell phone in real life, but apparently, Soji Enishiro, the anime’s protagonist, managed to witness that phenomenon before his very eyes.  Soji is a teenage influencer who uploads videos of himself fighting famous fighters to pay for his young sister, Akari’s, surgery.  However, his pursuit was for nothing after discovering that Akari was killed by one of the “Ghost Accounts”, spirits who possess the online accounts of the people they murdered.  Additionally, special people with phones can access Cyber-kinesis to use specific abilities, including a man named Kasubata, who summons his war hammer from his own.
The first episode makes it clear that the series will be another basic ghost-exorcising anime we’ve seen many times before.  However, its digital twist could help it stand out from them, especially since people can download their exorcist abilities without watching an ad.  “He’s a Flamebaiter” may not have yet realized its full potential given its familiar plot elements, but it does offer a respectable reflection on denial and acceptance, particularly Soji’s struggle to move on from Akari’s death.  It also shows that, despite Soji’s flame-baiting persona in his videos, he’s actually a kind person in real life who often gets way over his head and can hold his own against someone like Kasubata.  With the blue flames on his side, Soji will now have to prove his worth as a digital ghostbuster if he wants to make it on his own without his young sister.  It’s far from a great start to this latest supernatural anime, but its technological approach does have the potential to make it an online hit in the genre.