Dead Mount Death Play

Episode 7

This week's Dead Mount Death Play is all about two things: the fallout from the last episode and our newest pair of villains. To start, we have the previously interrupted conversation between Polka and Rozan. Despite the obvious dangers, Polka decides to come clean—to tell Rozan the whole story (only leaving out Clarissa's role in the ordeal). Rozan, for his part, takes the fact that his son is a stuffed animal rather well—along with the fact that he'd rather get an android body than go back to his old one. However, what he doesn't take well is that Misaki, his son's murderer, is sitting right in front of him.

Misaki is certain that she is in no danger as Rozan is "a good person." Rozan views this comment as ridiculous—which it is at face value. However, Misaki views the world differently from normal people. Being a criminal or even a murderer doesn't make someone a bad person. It's preying on the innocent that makes someone evil—selfishly putting your wants above everyone else's like the man who killed her parents did. A person who genuinely cares about his family like Rozan does—like the real Polka does—is a good person in her book.

But more than that, Misaki views herself as a bad person. After all, she was able to kill the real Polka—a good person—for no reason other than to see if she could. In her eyes, there is nothing wrong with killing bad people. So if someone were to kill her, it would be justified—especially if it were done by a good person whom she has wronged through her actions as a bad one. Therefore, if Rozan wants to kill her, she won't resist.

While it's unclear whether or not Rozan would have killed her since the real Polka interferes with the standoff, it's obvious that the real Polka has long since forgiven Misaki for her actions. This is something none of the three truly understand. However, they do defer to him regardless. After all, while Misaki, Polka, and Rozan almost certainly have different definitions of what makes a person good or evil, it's safe to say the three of them would put the real Polka firmly in the “good” category.

On the other side of the story, we have the first meeting between two "troublemaker" criminals: Phantom Solitaire and the Fire-Breathing Bug. In the last episode, Phantom Solitaire was treated as a Hannibal Lecter knock-off, but this episode shows that he is far different. In general, he is an illusionist driven by the desire to see real magic. As supernatural as what he does seems to be, he's the first to admit that it's all just a trick.

However, what's truly interesting is that despite the Fire-Breathing Bug being in a different body from what we saw last time, and pyrokinetically throwing fire around, Phantom Solitaire claims that nothing supernatural is going on—that, like his own magic, it's nothing but a kind of trick. How the Fire-Breathing Bug isn't supernatural is one heck of a mystery—and one I am certainly invested in learning more about.

And as for the Fire-Breathing Bugs themselves, it's clear that they are out to destroy anything that they feel shouldn't belong in this world—things that are "bugs in the system." This puts them in a morally gray category. After all, we know very little about why they are doing what they are doing or even what a "bug" truly is. However, one thing is sure: actual magic is most certainly one, putting the Fire-Breathing Bug firmly in the enemy category as far as our heroes are concerned. Something tells me we're ramping up for a crazy, three-way supernatural clash in the next episode or two.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I love that the real Polka's pet is an albino alligator.

• The fight between Phantom Solitaire and the Fire-Breathing Bug is the best action scene in the series so far. And it looks great, to boot.

• I'm interested to see what Suzuka (Polka's dead niece) becomes once he eventually collects her soul.

• Of course, the B movie shark otaku is moving in—her room got burned down too.

Dead Mount Death Play is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.