The second episode of the new Isekai anime series “Dead Mount Death Play” furthers the story of the Corpse God. It first begins to tell his despairing origin story and then brings us back to Shinjuku, where the Corpse God has reincarnated in the body of a 16-year-old Polka Shinoyama and has just managed to kill the assassin Misaki.
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 2: The New World
After having reincarnated into Polka Shinoyama’s body in modern-day Shinjuku, the Corpse God ends up killing Misaki, Polka’s assassin. The episode begins by showing the Corpse God as a child back in his world. Born with something called the “Evil Eye,” he could see dead spirits from the very beginning, which is why his parents sold him to the kingdom’s sorcerers, who made him battle the court’s enemy as a necromancer. The empire fell, and the necromancer Corpse God withdrew himself into an abandoned coal mine, hoping to finally get the peace he had so desired since childhood. A few ‘normal’ kids happen to start staying in his coal mine. He helps them by offering them food, and starts to develop a friendship with them. It was the first time he had begun dreaming of a peaceful life, but it was not meant to be. The new emperor kills the “impure kids” who had come into contact with the “Evil Eye,” and the era of vengeance by the Corpse God begins. Unable to die a natural death, he wreaks havoc for centuries and waits for someone to slay him so that he can use his reincarnation magic to be born as someone else and finally live a life of peace.
His wish comes true when the Calamity Crusher, Shagrua Edith Lugard, kills him, but something goes wrong as he reincarnates in the body of Polka Shinoyama in an unrecognizable world.
The Corpse God in this new world, finds himself hounded by Misaki, the ever-smiling assassin. He manages to kill her using magical spells invoking the dead souls, but not before a drone camera captures the killing. A man named Takumi, handling the city’s CCTV and the drone camera, informs his boss Clarissa of this absurd killing.
Before they arrive at the scene, Misaki’s backstory is revealed. Born into a completely normal family, she, unfortunately, sees the brutal killing of her parents at a young age, and something gets awakened in her body: a deep desire to kill. She accepts the life of causing misery in the world and becomes a killer herself. She first kills the man who murdered her family, not as a form of revenge but simply as an enjoyable activity. Clarissa takes her into the fold and orders her to kill Polka Shinoyama. Misaki’s interest grows as she wants to know whether she can kill an innocent guy, which she does without hesitation. After having successfully carried out the hit on Polka, she decides she has had enough and tries jumping from a building, never once removing the smile from her face. She is stopped at the very last minute by Takumi’s phone call, who tells her of Polka doing well and good, walking casually in the streets, and commands her to finish what she started. Misaki, completely unaware that Polka’s body is now the host for the Necromancer, goes in to finish the job but is killed instead.
Clarissa reaches the location with her team of assassins and sees an ordinary Polka in front of her. Her skepticism is broken only when the Corpse God uses her spells to control one of Clarissa’s men and bring Misaki back to life. The spells are visible to ordinary humans as well, which is why Clarissa asks Takumi whether the spells are some kind of visual trick being done by Polka. Takumi denies it, and Clarissa is convinced.
The proceedings are disturbed by the news of a fire that has broken out in a nearby building. The Necromancer, on learning about the children trapped in the building, rushes towards it, uses his spells, and saves the children. Clarissa assigns the resurrected Misaki and the tech guy Takumi to the Corpse God, as he agrees to work for her.
‘Dead Mount Death Play’ Episode 2: Ending: Why Does The Corpse God Save The Children From The Fire?
The Corpse God has had a tough life since the day he was born. First, he was sold to the court by his parents; then, his only friends were killed by the empire. The memory of his childhood friends being murdered still haunts him which is why, as soon as he hears about kids stuck in a fire, he goes to rescue them because he cannot see children suffer.
Looking for peace in an unknown world, he asks Clarissa about the requirements for peace while living in Shinjuku. Clarissa replies that a huge amount of money is essential for peace on Earth. The Corpse God agrees to work for Clarissa in exchange for money.
Episode 2: Review
The second episode tactfully weaves the Corpse God’s origin story into the mix. It allows the viewer to empathize with the character. The episode revives Misaki as an important character that seemed to have been killed off in the previous episode. The assassin’s boss, Clarissa, was introduced, but she lacked the mystery to stand her ground against the character of the corpse god. Maybe her character will be explored further in upcoming episodes. This episode lacked the luster of the first and had a tendency to move the story extremely fast, making the Corpse God join Clarissa’s gang too quickly without any conflict. Bordering on having a simplistic storyline, the series is expected to bring the twists and turns which it badly needs in order to lure the viewers.