Dead Mount Death Play

DEAD MOUNT DEATH PLAY (デッドマウント・デスプレイ, Deddomaunto Desupurei) 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. As of April 2022, the series' individual chapters have been collected into nine volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Geek Toys is set to premiere in April 2023.

Dead Mount Death Play is simultaneously published in English by Yen Press on the same day as the Japanese release.

Synopsis
It's a showdown for the ages as the legendary hero takes on the corpse god necromancer, but when the dust settles, something isn't quite right... In the final moments of their epic confrontation, the corpse god's final gambit shot was wholly unexpected -- reincarnation magic! Across space and time, a boy named Polka Shinoyama awakens feeling...not quite himself...... Who could've expected that the climactic battle between good and evil would turn out like this??

(Source: Yen Press)

Synopsis

 *  Volume 1 
 * The corpse temple, feared to be a rare ghost messenger, is overthrown by the hero Shagurua Edith Rugrid at the end of revenge. The dying corpse temple seeks peace and activates the mystery of her reincarnation. The new life vows to live in peace. However, it was a strange world that the corpse temple woke up. The corpse temple that moved to Shinoyama Polka, who was killed there, is attacked by Misaki Sakimiya in a situation where neither the right nor the left is known. The corpse temple, where she repels Misaki and negotiates with her superior, her intermediary, Lisa Kuraki, makes a deal with her to live peacefully here. The corpse temple is based in the torture building borrowed from Lisa, and begins her life in modern Japan as a polka with Misaki, Takumi Kuriya, and Shin Polka as friends. However, while seeking peace, Polka, who changed the corpse temple, plunged her head into a fire incident at the Yakuza Building to help her child, and caused a "tied-up incident" that half-killed a bad-natured yakuza. It causes a lot of turmoil one after another. And that action gradually became the focus of the police. And Polka is a third document editor and near-miss investigating the case. Iwanome Tsubaki, who belongs to the third document editor, is about to be noticed, but at that moment, a mystery, Remings, which is sung in an urban legend, appears to them.
 *  Volume 2 
 * The Shinoyama polkas attacked by lemmings are at the mercy of their overwhelming power. With the help of Misaki Sakimiya, Polka manages to escape the crisis and succeeds in escaping from the eyes of the third document editors in the turmoil of the turmoil. In preparation for being attacked again by Remings, Polka asks for magic stones to replenish her magical power, but in a different world, the magic stones that can be easily obtained are a luxury item in Japan, and are frustrated. I realize that money is needed for a peaceful life. And Polka contracts with the spirit of Hosorogi Masa who died in the torture building. At the initiative of Hosorogi, she opens a fortune-telling shop by making use of the special skills herself and his friends. This idea worked, and the polkas quickly became popular fortune-tellers. However, one day, it was Shin Polka's family, Kazuki Watanabe and Shizuki Shinoyama, who came to the fortune-telling shop as new guests. At first, Polka pretends to be someone else and tries to get through, but the spirit of Ryohi Shinoyama who possesses them, promises to return home. When Polka returns home with Shin Polka and Misaki, she learns that there is a hitman who plans to assassinate Kazuki and Shizuki. With the help of the spirit killed by the killer, Polka succeeds in uncovering the identity of the fire-breathing bug (fake) and blocking the assassination plan.
 *  Volume 3 
 * It was Shinoyama Polka who blocked the assassination plan, but because of his words and deeds, he was dismissed as a fake by Shinoyama Rosaku. Polka, who explained the situation with true Polka, settled with Lu. Satisfied with protecting Kazuki Watanabe and Shizuki Shinoyama, the polkas return to the torture building. However, at the expense of Lu, his new companions, Sayo Shinoyama and Koyu Rai, joined together, and Polka's surroundings became even more lively. On the other hand, the caught fire-breathing bug (fake) is burned to death by the real fire-breathing bug (true) during the escort. Tsubaki Iwanome, who was investigating these cases, listens to Tengu Yukiguruma, a rare pleasant criminal who is trapped in a detention center, in order to gather information. However, Yukiguruma, who was interested in the incident, escaped from prison during the hearing and disappeared. The flashy snow car village touts that he has escaped from prison by broadcasting a radio jack, and a week later, he foretells that a new uproar will occur. Then, while having a new incident, Tsubaki and his friends, who have been steadily investigating, think that Polka is involved in the tie-up incident from the collected information, and visit the fortune-telling shop they run. So, in fact, Masaru Hosorogi, who was Tsubaki's former partner passes information to Tsubaki through Polka. Polka, Hosorogi, Tsubaki, Yukishamura, and all those who had disjointed speculations, but the emblem on the airship he flew on the day that Yukiguruma village foretold was common to their speculations.
 *  Volume 4 
 * Yakuzamura Tengu teams up with the fire-breathing bug (Makoto) and sneaks into the Yakuza's office according to his words. What Yukiguruma got there was a mysterious pattern. Yukigurumamura, who was told by the miscellaneous goods hall that it was what he wanted, drew a pattern on the airship and flew it into the sky of Shinjuku. Yukiguruma, who provoked the emblem and provoked those who were related to the pattern, used traps to prove in front of the public that those who were related to the pattern were a secret organization rooted inside the police. do. And the pattern was not only the snow car village but also the one chased by Tsubaki Iwanome and Masaru Hosorogi. After seeing the pattern, Polka Shinoyama is convinced that it belongs to the empire to which she once belonged. He vows to uncover the identity of those who like the national emblem full of precious memories. Polka talks about the situation at Saya Shinoyama, and while gaining her understanding, collects information on patterns by hacking Takumi Kuriya. However, Takumi's hacking is detected by Yukishamura. Yukiguruma, who stepped on Polka's fortune-teller for clues to the organization, sneaks into the torture building at midnight. However, Yukishamura encounters Raikoyu and Lemmings and is attacked by them. In addition, the place is chaotic with the addition of a fire-breathing bug (true) aimed at the fisherman's interest. Polka, who noticed the turmoil, has new necromancy, " A group of invisible hands. However, because of the smokescreen that Yukishamura used to escape, the strange magic will be noticed by many people.

Character
"Human life...is somebody's toy, when all's said and done. But...I like toys...because they make children smile. So I've decided to treat them as precious things. And I'll never give them over...to some absurd fate."

- Corpse God to Takumi Kuruya

A rare necromancer man called the "Temple of the Dead". Originally a sub-eyed person, he is the fourth seat of the now-defunct empire's court magician. He is a rare child with sub-eyes and is sold to his parents for money and raised as an imperial ghost messenger under Easelies Soldfrail. After that, he continued to work until the country was destroyed, but eventually Shinoyama Polka himself became a ghost, and after the country was destroyed, he began to wander for peace. He lived peacefully with the children he met while wandering around, but the Gerdwood sect killed his children and ran for revenge. After that, he becomes so obsessed with hatred that he becomes a giant skeleton monster who can even die himself. He withdrew to the site of the mine and lure Shagurua Edith Rugrid, who can kill himself, and dared to overthrow himself.

After that, he possesses Polka's corpse with the secret technique of reincarnation that he had prepared in advance. The figure as a polka is a 16-year-old boy with pure white hair, and since the corpse temple possessed it, his white hair has a bunch of black mesh. It was completely unexpected that he was reincarnated in a different world, and it was revealed to Lisa Kuraki that he could use necromancy without knowing what he was doing. After that, he made a deal with Lisa, rented a torture building, and with Misaki Sakimiya and Takumi Kuriya as friends, he struggled to find a peaceful life in Japan. His real name is difficult to hear in Japanese, so he is called exclusively by the name "Temple of the Dead" or "Polka".

Abilities
Necromancy (Shiryojutsu) Eldritch overflow (Ikai Tsuryu) Third eye [Evil Eye]
 * How to handle the soul. The soul of a dead human produces energy from regret and hatred, and uses it to stay in this world. It takes a certain amount of energy for the spirit to stay in this world, and by exterminating it with necromancy, it is possible to exorcise the spirit and at the same time convert that energy into magical power. When the dead spirit continues to have regrets and stays in this world, it gradually loses its sanity and becomes a demon. Shinoyama Polka is gaining power by pursuing evil spirits that cannot be understood. Also, if the spirit has reason, it can be used by contracting, and if it is the contracted soul, it can be transferred to another vessel. Due to its nature, it is a magical technique that has a high degree of sub-eye holding, and because it is rare, there are few people who can handle the technique. A person with high suitability can synchronize the spirit and soul to see and feel the scenery in the distance, but the high suitability is a double-edged sword that erodes one's soul by the ghost. Is regarded as dangerous. However, Easelies Soldfrail dared to extend the high suitability of the corpse temple and raised him to become a ghost messenger specializing in ghost entrainment. In a different world, there were many restrictions on necromancy because it was hindered by the demons that existed in the atmosphere, but since there are few demons on Earth, Polka took advantage of that environment and overflowed with necromancy and another world. He is creating a new necromancy "group of invisible hands" using the flow.
 * Negative Energy Corpse god can able to replenish his magic through the negative energy of the souls who seek vengeance. "Staying energy" that comes with grudges, lingering attachments, and emotions can be converted into magic.
 * Spirit Channeling [Mediumship] - Corpse God can hear and see/view ghosts/spirits of the deceased and even communicate and/or interact with them, even if they have possessed inanimate objects/subjects/people. They are able to repel and run spirits away from an area, compel them to employ an armada of ghosts, and may even view a visual conception of a spirit world in a trance if desired. Well-trained mediums are even capable of channeling the energy and powers of spirits making them potential hosts/conduits for channeling their powers through their bodies and manifesting their qualities on their own. Corpse God can manipulate Soul, for example, the soul of Polka transfers his soul to possess the drone, and further in the series Corpse god transfer again the soul of Polka into Shark toys plushy.
 * Corpse God said there is a necromancy method where he uses a soul to possess the spirit of his victim and is able to cut a piece of the target memory.
 * Corpse God is Able to punish, torture, and rip the spirit undeniable rough level. Corpse God can see through memories of the target soul that he gave a punishment.
 * Spirit Pact - Corpse God can pact to the spirit/soul to be able to support him on the battlefield and able to gather a piece of information.
 * Dark Magic Circle [The activation of Corpse God Magic circle through blood or magic essence]
 * Body enhancement magic
 * Despair Aura
 * Pain Suppression
 * Body Modification - Corpse god is able to modify certain bodies or replaced a new form of body parts.
 * Sanctuary - a Field magic black root that stretches further the user's will, this spell gives a piece of information, presence, and vision to any places that expand of the black root.
 * As said of Master that teaches of Corpse god; by calling forth the air of  the other side  and stirring it into your won surroundings or closed-off space. You can recreate, to some degree, that invisible yet still tangible  presence  even those who don't possess the evil eye will still be able to perceive it through their other senses. And if you devote enough time to the ritual, it can also be used in place of a magic spell to confuse others' orientation and vision.
 * Sympathizing with the spirit of the dead - means sharing your senses with the dead you can use the crystal balls like this to experience for yourself the sense of spirit that is far away. As the master of that Corpse god's knowledge, the power of sympathizing with the spirit of the dead can become a formable weapon for sight, smell, hearing, taste, and the sense of touch. You should eventually be able to share all of your senses with the spirit of the dead. However, the actual application of the technique can be difficult within the confines of the barrier, it can drain the magical essence of the area to its absolute limit. But under normal conditions, it is blocked by the surrounding's magical essence and accomplishes little.
 * In the world he came from, the Corpse God would share his sense of touch with the hands of spirit impeded thought they were by an atmosphere rich with magical essence. but since Corpse God came to the new world where magical essence is so diluted, he can now do totally and without limit. by devising the Spirit of the dead thread, which gives the spirit hands the ability to interact with physical things. He created a loophole that allows him to use the earth's own environment against itself without expanding too much magic. Eventually, his swarm of invisible hands was complete.
 * Conjuration - The user can bring forth any form of creatures, items, spirits, demons, deities and/or elements by either summoning, creating, or manifesting them in any particular way to do the bidding of the conjurer. In traditions and most contemporary usages, it refers to a magical act of invoking their conjuration subject by using incantations or charms to cast magical spells to bring the creation forth.
 * Weapon Creation - Corpse God is able to create a weapon by his Magic circle and able to assist him in the fight, when the magic circle is unleashed a bone hand can be shown holding different weapons.
 * Resurrection Magic "Revive" and "Arise"
 * Undead Creation [Skeleton, Skeleton Knight, Zombie, Two headed tiger, Dragon Emperor Bug and etc.]
 * Undead Strengthening: The various kinds of undead entities Corpse God can create for summoning are buffed or enhanced than their original.
 * Undead Control - Corpse God has the power to mentally dominate the undead's state of mind and soul. The enslaved undead will acknowledge the user before them as their controller, their Master.
 * Restoration magic - Corpse God can only able restore the creation that he created.
 * The secret art of Reincarnation
 * A technique to arrange the space with magical power. By mixing the air of the "higan" into the closed space, it is possible to make the place an easy-to-use space for magic or to upset the senses of those in that space. However, in order to bring a strong effect to a large space, it is necessary to perform a ritual and take a considerable amount of time, and at most, one-handed work can make a person with a sharp can feel "unpleasant". In the corpse temple possessed by Shinoyama, Polka is good at constructing a "temple" where it is easy for oneself to manipulate magical power due to the overflow of another world and built a temple that completely envelops the torture building.
 * Magic stone (Maryuseki)
 * A stone that stores magical power. A stone used by magicians to replenish their magical powers, it is so common in other worlds that even children can easily obtain it, and it is also used in the infrastructure of the city. It also exists on Earth, but most are treated as jewels and are very expensive. Also, if the magical power is absorbed, the stone will shatter into pieces, so it is said that it cannot be reused as a jewel.


 * A word that refers to a special eye that sees the soul. Not only dead humans, but also animals, demons, and even the spirits of small worms can be seen, so sub-eyes will spend a restless day surrounded by dead spirits. Therefore, it is said that the sub-eyed person chooses either to enter the church for fear of being involved in the ghost or to become a ghost messenger with the pleasure of manipulating the ghost. On the other hand, the sub-eyes have a high degree of suitability for necromancy, and it is said that if you become a necromancer, which is rare in the empire, you will be at your disposal. The sub-eye can also see the color of the soul of a living human, so it is very useful for detecting disguise and searching for enemies. In this way, sub-eyes often follow a strange fate due to their peculiar power, so they are also called "blessings" or "curses" depending on the region, and they are treated differently. There are rumors that the viscera with sub-eyes are good medicine for immortality, so depending on the region, sub-eyes may be targeted for purchase. The sub-eye is considered to be the power that resides in the soul, and even if you close your eyes, that power will not disappear. Even after the corpse temple is reincarnated in the body of Shinoyama Polka, it continues to have the power of sub-eyes, and that power is also being demonstrated on the earth. However, the power of the sub-eyes is also changing, such as the fact that only human ghosts can be seen on the earth, which has almost no magical power.

Bibliographic information
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 2022, the series' individual chapters have been collected into nine tankōbon volumes.

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

Other keywords

 * A group of invisible hands (Miezaru no Mure)
 * Necromancy was newly created by Shinoyama Polka on the earth. In a different world, the demons that are abundant in the atmosphere disturb the senses, making it difficult to put into practical use. The "dead spirit's hand" that shares the tactile sensation through the dead spirit's entrainment is woven with the "dead spirit's thread" that enables physical interference, and the invisible hand can be remotely controlled. The effective range is in the torture building surrounded by the overflow of another world, and since it is possible to investigate multiple times at the same time, it is a "group of invisible hands" as the name implies. It was used by Polka to support Koyu during the three-way battle between Tengu, Lemmings, and Raikoyu. Originally it is invisible, but it becomes visible because it is covered with the tapioca milk tea-flavored smoke screen that Yukigurumamura made playfully, and the powder contained in the smoke screen adheres to it. Not only the snow car villages but also an unspecified number of people witnessed such a situation, and the invisible hand group attracted attention as a mystery of Shinjuku.


 * Torture building (Gomonbiru)
 * The building where Shinoyama Polka is based in Shinjuku. Originally a yakuza property that was used for torture, execution, and processing of corpses, it is an execution site in the back area of ​​Shinjuku, and at the same time, it is famous as a ghost spot where ghosts appear. It is a place that humans do not want to approach. Polka was attacked by Misaki Sakimiya and entered. As it is said, it is a place where a large amount of ghosts are infested, and Polka recovered the magical power from the spirits floating in this land and greatly strengthened it. After that, it was officially borrowed from the owner, Lisa Kuraki, and became a base for polkas. Nowadays, polkas have opened fortune-telling shops and are becoming a popular spot among young people. Within the polka family, it is commonly known as the "Torture building" or simply the "building".
 * Empire (Empire)
 * A nation that once existed on the Byandy Peninsula in another world. Although the land area was the third largest on the continent, it was an imperial nation with outstanding population, and technological and military power, and enjoyed prosperity until 100 years ago. However, suddenly the function of the country stopped and collapsed. The cause is completely unknown, and the territory of the empire has become a land of death where demons and ghosts roam, and even now, 100 years later, it is not clear why the country has perished. The name of the country is "Bady XX Rig Empire", but it is called "Empire" because it is difficult for Japanese people to hear. The national emblem was newly conceived by the current emperor and is a coat of arms with a sword and a bayonet crossed around a cane and a crown. Although it is a nation of a different world, the mysterious organization "Sabaramond's Spawn", which for some reason is dying in Japan, uses the emblem that simplifies the national emblem as a symbol.


 * Fire-breathing bug (true) (Hifukimushi)
 * A continuous arsonist who died in God. Its identity is unknown, and it is not known whether it is a man or a woman. It is characterized by leaving the English text that continues from "This world is a buggy problem." As a crime statement at the scene of his crime. The English text exists after the second line, but the content left after the second line differs depending on the crime scene. Since the police only announced the first line, the fire-breathing bug (fake) left only the first line at the crime scene. The real fire-breathing bug (true) arranges a nursery rhyme and sets it on fire while singing. His tactics are unknown, and suddenly a statement of crime appears in a place without any fire, burning the subject. It is rare among the troublesome stories handled by the third document editor, and Iwanome Tsubaki did not name it, and it was named "Fire Breathing Bug" from the information provided by the media and became established. Actually, there are multiple people, and one is a high school girl and a man dressed as an office worker. High school girls wear raincoats with the words "Beware of Fire" on their backs, even though it's not raining, and men always carry an umbrella with the words "Beware of Fire" on their backs.
 * Sabaramond's spawn (Sabara Mondo no Otoshigo)
 * A mysterious organization. It is said to be an organization that is dying in modern Japan, but for some reason it is a symbol of the organization that is a simplification of the national emblem of the empire of another world. It is a secret organization that has deep roots in the police organization and targets the person to be killed just by knowing the mark of the organization. Hosorogi Masa was also killed by an assassin hired by the organization five years ago because he was too close to the organization. In addition, it is said that Arius Sabaramond, the chief court magician of the empire, who has the nickname of "Shiranui Tenro" from the name of "Sabaramond", is involved.
 * Third Material Editor (Daisan Shiryohen Sankari)
 * A person in charge at the Shinjuku Police Station Life Safety Division. It is commonly known as "Sanko". It specializes in occult-stained cases that are difficult to reveal and cannot be believed even if they are announced. Inside the department, the criminal of the case is called "apotropaic magic", and Tsubaki Iwanome, the chief of the department, thinks about the common name of the apotropaic magic and names it.

TV Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on November 15, 2022. It is produced by Geek Toys and directed by Manabu Ono, 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 is set to premiere in April 2023.

Staff

 * Original - Ryogo Narita, Shinta Fujimoto
 * Director/Series composition - Manabu Ono
 * Deputy Director - Takaharu Okuma
 * Assistant Director - Yoshiki Kitai
 * Character Design - Hisashi Abe
 * Script - Manabu Ono, Yukie Sugawara, Yoriko Tomita
 * Acoustic Director -Takayuki Yamaguchi
 * Recording Studio - HALF "H・P" ​​STUDIO
 * Music - FMF
 * Animation production - GEEKTOYS

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.

External Link

 * Dead Mount Death Play ─ Official manga website at Young Gangan (in Japanese)
 * TV Anime "Dead Mount Death Play" Official Website (in Japanese)
 * Dead Mount Death Play ─ Official (@DMDP_anime) - Twitter
 * Dead Mount Death Play ─ Wikipedia (in Japanese)
 * Dead Mount Death Play ─ Wikipedia (in English)

Trivia
'' to be added. ''

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