Episode 6 – Dead Mount Death Play

Unlike last week’s episode of Dead Mount Death Play, this episode presents a single cohesive story. Our necromancer from another world takes his first step into the most dangerous place yet: Polka’s home.

Here, we get to see in detail how complicated the real Polka’s family tree is. His father has reached old age and had only two children. The first, born from his first wife, is 48 with many children of his own—most older than Polka. Meanwhile, Polka is the only child of his father’s second wife. This means he potentially stands to inherit more than all the grandchildren—which is likely the reason someone put out a hit on him.

With this setup, we are treated to the classic awkward family mealtime involving Polka and all those who have the motive to kill him. There are more than a few fun bits to this scene—including the real Polka, in all his stuffed shark glory, telepathically whispering things in Polka’s ear to help him out. But the truly intriguing thing about this scene isn’t Polka’s family, but rather Misaki.

Up until this point, Misaki has been portrayed as utterly insane—gleefully fighting and killing in a macabre imitation of the man who killed her parents. Nothing has fazed her: whether it’s coming back from the dead or engaging in supernatural battles with Lemmings. She has remained in her little world, indifferent to how others perceive her. Yet, in this episode, we learn that she was once the heir to a major business conglomerate, on par with Polka’s own family. She possesses all the abilities to behave like the cultured young lady she was born to be. While it’s mostly played for laughs, it’s also disturbing in its own right. Part of her still remembers the person she was supposed to become, but now it’s merely a mask she wears for Polka’s benefit—and one she readily discards when violence presents itself as an opportunity.

This episode’s self-contained story also serves as an introduction to two additional X-Files criminals. As shown in the previous episode, a ghost is haunting Polka’s youngest niece and nephew. We learn in this episode that the ghost is their deceased sister, who was murdered after discovering that they were targeted for assassination by a relatively low-ranking company operative who had married into the family. From the beginning, we are led to believe this assassin is the infamous X-Files killer called the Fire-Breathing Bug. He is a criminal that spends years planting explosives and burnable materials around his targets while in disguise before setting them all off in a way that the target cannot escape.

However, the twist of the episode reveals that this assassin is, in fact, a copycat. The real Fire-Breathing Bug possesses both pyrokinetic and mind control powers, able to control others or simply set them on fire with a mere thought. While Lemmings has super strength and invulnerability—i.e., a really strong body—the Fire-Breathing Bug seems to be 100% supernatural, like Polka himself.

The second X-Files criminal introduced is the Phantom Solitaire, a Hannibal Lecter-style genius who helps the police from behind bars with their current cases. He sees through the twist about the Fire-Breathing Bug copycat instantly and can tell who is an X-File and who is just a normal killer after a few words from the cops.

The introductions of the Fire-Breathing Bug and Phantom Solitaire set up even more potential opponents for Polka and Misaki. While they were able to fight Lemmings to a standstill, the fact that there are a wide variety of supernatural people in the shadows of our world adds tension to the story. So while he is “overpowered” by normal standards, there are still legitimate threats to Polka and the peaceful life he desperately wants.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• Of course, the current threat to Polka’s peaceful life is that Polka’s father immediately saw through the whole ruse. While their conversation was interrupted by the fake Fire-Breathing Bug, I suspect Polka has a long conversation ahead of him once the fires are out.

• So the real Fire-Breathing Bug is a pink-haired girl? Or was that just another mind-controlled body looking on?

• This episode made me even more sure that Takeru is not behind Polka’s assassination. He seems to genuinely care for his siblings. Besides, he wouldn’t have needed to hire Misaki. Lemming could have easily done the deed and left no one the wiser.

• I’ve known many kinds of otaku in my day, but a B-movie shark otaku… well, that’s a new one.

Dead Mount Death Play is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.