Dead Mount Death Play

Dead Mount Death Play (デッドマウント・デスプレイ) is a Japanese manga series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Shinta Fujimoto. It began serialization in Square Enix's Young Gangan in October 2017. An anime television series adaptation produced by Geek Toys aired in two cours, with the first cour airing from April to June 2023 and the second cour airing from October to December 2023.

Plot
In another world, a hero named Sir Shagrua Edith Lugrid is about to finish off a powerful necromancer known as the Corpse God. However, the Corpse God uses a unique magic skill to reincarnate himself into another world, and ends up in modern-day Shinjuku, in the body of a boy named Polka Shinoyama who just had his throat slit by an assassin. Thinking that this new world could provide the peaceful life he desired in the previous one, the Corpse God takes on Polka's identity and soon integrates himself in the Shinjuku underworld with assistance from a woman named Clarissa and her subordinates.

Characters

 * Polka Shinoyama (四乃山 ポルカ)
 * A 16 year old boy who was murdered by a hitman who turned out to be Misaki. His body now hosts an otherworldly necromancer known as the Corpse God, who seeks the peaceful life he was denied in his previous world. Though there are fewer sources of magic in this world, the Corpse God can use Polka's body to summon skeletons of varying size, speak with dead spirits, and revive a corpse as a zombie with enough preparation. The original Polka's soul is transferred into one of Takumi's aerial drones, and then a shark plushie later on.
 * A 16 year old boy who was murdered by a hitman who turned out to be Misaki. His body now hosts an otherworldly necromancer known as the Corpse God, who seeks the peaceful life he was denied in his previous world. Though there are fewer sources of magic in this world, the Corpse God can use Polka's body to summon skeletons of varying size, speak with dead spirits, and revive a corpse as a zombie with enough preparation. The original Polka's soul is transferred into one of Takumi's aerial drones, and then a shark plushie later on.


 * Misaki Sakimiya (崎宮 ミサキ)
 * A 17 year old assassin with an eccentric personality who watched her family die when she was younger. After living in an orphanage, she became a hitman in her teenaged years to take revenge on the killer and those like him, finding joy in her brutal work. After completing the hit on Polka, she planned to kill herself, as she felt that it was the only type of kill that she hadn't experienced yet. However, when the Corpse God kills her through Polka's body, then revives her as a zombie, she becomes infatuated with him, and Clarissa assigns Misaki to watch him. Her zombified body allows her to heal any wound and temporarily paralyze people with her saliva and teeth.
 * A 17 year old assassin with an eccentric personality who watched her family die when she was younger. After living in an orphanage, she became a hitman in her teenaged years to take revenge on the killer and those like him, finding joy in her brutal work. After completing the hit on Polka, she planned to kill herself, as she felt that it was the only type of kill that she hadn't experienced yet. However, when the Corpse God kills her through Polka's body, then revives her as a zombie, she becomes infatuated with him, and Clarissa assigns Misaki to watch him. Her zombified body allows her to heal any wound and temporarily paralyze people with her saliva and teeth.


 * Takumi Kuruya (繰屋 匠)
 * A tech contractor who works for Clarissa and is later assigned to keep tabs on the revived Polka. With his server farm, visor, and drones, he has a surveillance network that covers a large swath of Shinjuku.
 * A tech contractor who works for Clarissa and is later assigned to keep tabs on the revived Polka. With his server farm, visor, and drones, he has a surveillance network that covers a large swath of Shinjuku.


 * Tsubaki Iwanome (岩野目 ツバキ)


 * Gōzaburō Arase (荒瀬 耿三郎)


 * Lisa Kuraki (倉木 リサ)
 * Lisa Kuraki, also known as Clarissa (クラリッサ), is a mediator and bartender who runs Youtoukorou: a legal bar-cum-illegal freelance agency that operates in Shinjuku.
 * Lisa Kuraki, also known as Clarissa (クラリッサ), is a mediator and bartender who runs Youtoukorou: a legal bar-cum-illegal freelance agency that operates in Shinjuku.


 * Koyū Azuma (雷 小幽)


 * Rozan Shinoyama (四乃山 呂算)


 * Saya Shinoyama (四乃山 小夜)


 * Izuna Ajishiro (阿字城 イズナ)


 * Furuto Ichinose (一ノ瀬 古瑠斗)


 * Saki Aikawa (合川 咲姫)


 * Kuon Higuro (氷黒久遠)


 * Arius Sabaramond (アリウス・サバラモンド)


 * Taigai (太貝)


 * Yomogi (蓬)

Manga
Written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Shinta Fujimoto, the series began serialization in Square Enix's Young Gangan magazine on October 20, 2017. As of April 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into thirteen tankōbon volumes.

Yen Press is publishing the series in English and is releasing chapters simultaneously with their Japanese release.

A manga adaptation of the spin-off novel Dead Mount Death Play Gaiden: Kaijin Solitaire no Shinsen Nisejutsu composed by Ume Matsutake and illustrated by Yata Sugami began serialization on Manga Up! on November 25, 2023.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 15, 2022. It is produced by Geek Toys and directed by Manabu Ono (with Yoshihiro Satsuma replacing Ono as the director for the second cour), with assistant direction by Takaharu Ōkuma, sub-direction by Yoshiki Kitai, scripts written by Ono, Yukie Sugawara, and Yoriko Tomita, character designs handled by Hisashi Abe, and music composed by F.M.F, a group composed of Yūki Nara, Eba, and Kana Utatane.

The series aired for two cours, with the first cour aired from April 11 to June 27, 2023, and the second cour aired from October 10 to December 26 of the same year, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The first cour's opening theme song is "Nero" (ネロ) by Hiiragi Kirai (sung by Sou), while the ending theme song is "Iolite" (アイオライト) by Inori Minase. The second cour's opening theme song is "Scrap Art" (スクラップアート) by Inori Minase, while the ending theme song is "Hope" by Yuma Uchida.

At Anime NYC 2022, Crunchyroll announced that they licensed the series. Medialink has licensed this title in Asia-Pacific (except Australia and New Zealand) and was streamed on Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.

Novel
A spin-off novel written by Narita, titled Dead Mount Death Play Gaiden: Kaijin Solitaire no Shinsen Nisejutsu, has been announced. It is centered around Solitaire's origins and began serialization on Manga Up! in May 2023.

Reception
Rebecca Silverman, Amy McNulty, and Teresa Navarro from Anime News Network offered praise for the artwork, plot, and characters, though they were critical of the fan service. Richard Gutierrez from The Fandom Post offered praise for the premise and artwork, though he felt the plot was too complicated and confusing.

In the 2020 Next Manga Award, the series ranked 20th in the print manga category.