Dead Mount Death Play

Episode 9

Up until this point, Dead Mount Death Play has seemed like several different stories going on at once. We have the story of a Lich King reincarnated into our world. Then there are also the stories of the police and their attempts to capture supernatural-seeming criminals and the ones about each of the "troublemaker" criminals and their various goals. This week's episode is all about showing us that there's only one major story going on here—that almost everything we've seen unfolding in Shinjuku is interconnected.

What ties everything together is a mysterious symbol. As Polka states at the end of the episode, this symbol, while highly simplified, is the emblem of the empire he served back in his young life in the fantasy world. Its existence in this world has massive implications. It means someone besides Polka and his friends knows about the other world. Moreover, it could also hint at the idea that the two worlds are the same or that Polka isn't the only one to succeed in jumping between them.

That said, it's not just Polka who recognizes this symbol: the police do as well. This symbol is implied to be related to Hosorogi's death—you know, before he became a mechanical pencil in the modern day. More than that, Hosorogi is revealed to be not only a mentor to Tsubaki but also a friend of Clarissa's—which adds some personal connections as well.

The last major connection is to the Fire-Breathing Bug. Their slogan, "This world is a buggy program," makes much more sense if you consider the existence of knowledge of the other world. Things from that world defy our logic and natural laws, most notably magic. It makes sense that someone might be driven to eliminate that which shouldn't exist—and kill all those associated with it. This, in turn, means our heroes are destined to fall right into the Fire-Breathing Bug's crosshairs—which could prove more than a little dangerous even for a magic-wielding necromancer and an undead zombie girl.

Of course, if the situation wasn't already volatile enough, Phantom Solitaire couldn't resist throwing a lit match into the powder keg to see what would happen. I expect we'll see the resulting explosion next week.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The only thing not directly connected at the moment is the real Polka's assassination—though I wouldn't be surprised if that is related as well.

• Fun note, the symbol we see in the past and on Phantom Solitaire's scroll is different from the one he puts on his blimps—there's no horizontal line on the original.

• Even as the story takes a turn for the more serious, Sayo and Xiaoyu continue to be excellent comic relief.

• Honestly, I would have loved to get a scene with the men explaining to Misaki why she needs to wear that ultra-revealing fortuneteller outfit and what she is supposed to do for her job.

Dead Mount Death Play is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.