Anime Where Character Is Level 99 as Traveler
Anime Where Character Is Level 99 as Traveler
The Wintertime 2022 Anime Preview Guide Death March to the Parallel Earth Rhapsody
What is this?
Ichiro Suzuki is a 29-twelvemonth-old programmer for Orbital, a game production company. Though every day of dealing with bugs and fickle decisions past clients can seem like a death march, he at least takes pride in being productive and useful. One night later on finishing a major projection, he goes to slumber in his workplace and wakes upwards in a setting that looks like a alloy of two games he has recently been working on. Though he tin can run across game-like displays, the threat posed by some cadger men he encounters feels existent, equally do the Falling star Rains he unleashes to deal with them. Information technology all feels like an exact reproduction of a feature in the game he was just working on, but it does allow him to skip ahead to level 310, which makes him superhumanly powerful. Though he's nevertheless not certain if he's dreaming or not, Ichiro uses those abilities to rescue a young sorceress from the side effects of her defense confronting a wyvern attack, and that's where the real take chances begins. Expiry March to The Parallel World Rhapsody is based on a light novel series and streams on Crunchyroll, Thursdays at 11:xxx AM EST.
How was the kickoff episode?
James Beckett
Rating: 1
SimulDub Update: Given the nature of Death March's premise, Justin Briner takes eye phase in Funimation 'south English dub , essentially performing a 1-man show in this beginning episode, save for a few cursory interactions with some minor characters. Julie Shields makes a cursory appearance near the end as Zena and does just fine, but this is Satou'southward prove through and through. Then it's fortunate that Briner does such a good job with the fabric, peculiarly when it comes to differentiating between the vocalism of 30-twelvemonth-sometime Satou versus that of the teenage avatar he finds himself in in one case he'due south transported to the other world. His have on Satou also gives a chip more personality to an otherwise a bland grapheme, injecting our hero with a flake more sass and overt frustration in his days at the office. Much of this improvement also comes from Samuel Wooly 's English script, which takes quite a few liberties with the dialogue. For instance, when Satou realizes that his stats and level have all been maxed out, his reaction in the original Japanese is a contemplative "I run across", whereas the dub allows Briner a mildly contained "This rules!" While the dialogue does seem at odds with Satou'due south neutral expression, I do think it'south ultimately an improvement. Various changes in this vein work to make Satou a slightly more engaging protagonist. Purists will no doubt want to steer clear from Funimation's work on this series, but the English dub may well prove to be the platonic fashion to watch Death March for those seeking a protagonist with a fiddling more than personality.
I've never been a fan of the isekai genre of lite novels and anime, salve for some rare exceptions such as Re:Nothing , which at least explored some of the psychological ramifications of having a human being-child suddenly thrust into the life or death circumstances of a swords-and-sorcery realm. While I absolutely understand the appeal of the genre, (who wouldn't want to be the hero of a story that resembles their favorite anime and games?) besides oftentimes I have had to sit down through series that fail even engage with the novelty of the isekai premise, much less innovate on information technology. Instead, they simply function as thinly-scripted wish-fulfillment, which is to say nothing of the frequently slapdash nature of their world-edifice. And so information technology's fair to say that I did not become into the premiere of Decease March to The Parallel World Rhapsody with lofty expectations, and nonetheless the results even so managed to disappoint me.
In its first episode, Death March commits the worst sins that any bad anime tin can commit; it's incredibly boring, and it'south hideous to look at. At least serial similar Knight's and Magic had the skillful sense to limit their "real world" exposition to only a couple minutes; Death March decides to accept the entire outset half of the episode detailing protagonist Ichiro Suzuki's heed-numbing job as a game developer. It would be 1 thing if the characters and events of this prologue worked to flesh out Ichiro as a compelling protagonist, but his work life is and then tragically banal that the only thing nosotros learn almost Ichiro is that there is nothing interesting about him whatever. While that'due south clearly meant to contrast the and then-called "death march" of his daily grind with the excitement of his life in the game world he drifts to, it likewise makes for absolutely terrible tv set. Information technology'southward the anime equivalent of a random person taking you through the minutiae of game programming in excruciatingly boring detail.
What's worse is that even when we exercise shift to Ichiro'due south new life in another world, things are simply as lifeless every bit they were in his regular existence, and I cannot imagine that this was done on purpose. The ground forces of lizardmen that Ichiro does battle with are rendered in terribly amateurish CG, and this newfound world of MMO-themed magic and wonder is communicated by having Ichiro make his way through countless fields of stone and grass with no distinctiveness or grandeur. Virtually damning of all is the unnecessary attending to detail spent watching Ichiro flick through game menus and monologue nigh game design choices, even when he's in the eye of a battle. When you combine all of these baffling artistic choices with choppy animation and a drab color palette, you get a show that's absolutely no fun to look at.
When I was a child, I had a friend who would often invite me over to his house, ostensibly so we could play video games together. Instead, I normally ended up sitting there in silence, bored out of my mind, while he fabricated me watch him moving picture through the menus and battles of low-budget JRPGs. While the slavish attention to the details of its unique game-blueprint aesthetic might exist enough to intrigue and entertain some viewers, Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody just gave me flashbacks to those many wasted hours of my childhood and piddling else. This is a difficult pass.
Nick Creamer
Rating: 2.5
Decease March to The Parallel World Rhapsody'south first episode puts me in the odd position of wishing this show were simply slightly better: a little better paced, less obvious in its narrative progression, and nearly importantly, far less of a visual mess. In that location is nearly a show worth watching here, and Death March possesses a number of qualities I'd similar to encounter in time to come isekai shows, but I don't think this one quite gets there.
Let's start with the good, though. Death March immediately distinguishes itself through the circumstances of its protagonist—our hero Suzuki is 20-nine years erstwhile, and the titular "death march" is actually crunch fourth dimension at his desk-bound job. Suzuki spends his days working on derivative mobile and browser games, fixing bugs and treatment crises and generally enduring the slog of perpetual programmer grind. The first 3rd of this episode spends far too much fourth dimension introducing us to Suzuki's life and includes a number of scenes with no real purpose at all, merely I appreciated the choice of saddling us with an adult protagonist who really knows about game design in a professional sense, likewise as how Suzuki's perspective makes it easier to understand the everyday adult tedium that can brand the escape of a mobile game seem so enticing.
Things perk up considerably when Suzuki is thrust into a game world. The episode's 2d half allows it to demonstrate its greatest strength: its uniquely thoughtful approach to life in a video game. Unlike many shows in this "trapped in a game" subgenre, Suzuki's new world doesn't merely feel like a fantasy universe with a couple game-like embellishments. Suzuki first survives in this new world past exploiting the starting items he himself chose to add every bit a band-aid for the game's difficulty bend, which he presently learns totally wreck the expected leveling momentum of the game. When Suzuki wants to hear what someone is saying, he first has to invest a serial of skill points into bent in their linguistic communication. When Suzuki runs across the terrain, he is constantly assailed by tiny trivial pop-up windows, likely explaining his diverse inconsequential achievements. From the prevalence of menuing to the ways mastery is articulated to the concrete setup of the globe effectually him, everything in Suzuki's world really does feel similar a game.
Unfortunately, once we account for the somewhat unique protagonist, potential thematic articulation of the adult grind, and pleasantly convincing game globe, things kickoff to get a lot more dire. Death March's biggest problem is that it looks terrible. The evidence's backgrounds are unimpressive, and its compositions are constantly blotted out by heavy shadows, ill-placed soft focus, and unappealing browns. Its animation is minimal, and whatever scenes involving crowds rely on depression-rent CG models. This episode also lacks much sense of momentum and dithers in a variety of scenes that don't add annihilation to the narrative. And outside of its uniquely grounded world, in that location'due south no real hook beyond the opening and closing segments' threat of a hereafter harem. The embellishments here are interesting, just the bones story is as rote and poorly paced as can exist.
On the whole, Death March is certainly compelling enough that I'd recommend it to isekai fans, but not strong enough that I tin can requite it a full general recommendation. I'd like to see future shows explore the possibilities of adopting Death March's uniquely realistic video game worldbuilding, but Decease March'south own qualities just aren't potent enough to continue me watching.
Jacob Chapman
Rating: ane.five
(Okay Jake, you tin practise this. You tin think of a nice thing to say about this show! Simply something gentle to ease the review forth before falling into a bottomless well of negativity. No trouble.)
So! Death March to The Parallel Earth Rhapsody is...!
Well. Uh. ..........(cough).
So! The controls expect manner more like a real MMO UI than most of these light novel anime ever manage. The animations and notifications sure do look like I'thou playing some Phantasy Star Online-alike on my PC! I mean, the way most anime depict this stuff, it would be needlessly taxing on your PC's memory and also distracting during a skirmish when you lot have eleven windows open anyway! So fifty-fifty though he gets kind of a irksome dashboard, the state of affairs in which nosotros find our adult-programmer-hero-who-got-turned-into-a-teenager-with-ridiculously-overpowered-stats-in-a-globe-that's-just-like-an-MMO-but-with-harem-options is much more than...believable?
Okay. From the garbage-tier CGI to the tired premise that's stretched out manner longer than most isekai anime bother to coffin the lede, this ane's a existent stinker. Lousy animation, generic protagonist, laughably transparent power fantasy gimmicks that are nigh In Another World With My Smartphone -level lazy, and a plot that moves so slowly that it feels like it hasn't even started. Again, the nicest thing I can say about this mess is that the lead'southward demeanor and the mechanics of his new earth feel closer to a real boilerplate nerd transposed into a real video game than most stuff of this ilk, but loathe as we are to run across them over and again, sometimes heightened anime stereotypes can be a good affair because they're based on what holds your attention, repetitive though that may be. I can't capeesh elements of realism in a genre that'south meant to be as unrealistic every bit possible, which makes this potentially unique element of the serial just a boring brunt when the narrative turns out to exist "Isekai_Power_Fantasy.txt" all over again. Expiry March is exactly what the title implies—a ho-hum slog to a dispiriting destination. Hard pass.
Oh, and the opening theme song is one of the worst I've heard in a long time. Now somebody become me out of this bottomless well.
Lynzee Loveridge
Rating: 1.5
Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody is non well-nigh equally serious as its title sounds, and that'southward unfortunate. Not because at that place isn't room in the isekai genre for light and fluffy, simply because the initial premise the show is built on is serious, similar really serious. Simply Death March is more interested in falling into line with the status quo, and that's just the offset of this product's numerous bug.
Our pb Satou is a 20-something game developer for a company that'south woefully understaffed, and its employees are sleeping at their desks after going upwards of 30 hours without rest and three days without a bathroom. The audition is atomic number 82 to believe that Satou has likely died from overwork before being inexplicably transported within the game he was programming. Dead at your desk at xxx is no life to live, but Expiry March is quick to write out the injustice of it with damaging piece of work ethic stereotypes that bluntly aren't cut information technology anymore for the underpaid workers in the anime manufacture.
If yous can coat over that nasty fleck, you'll find that the series is mired in other plot setup problems, namely turning the wish fulfillment upwardly fashion besides far. Satou is dropped squarely into a fantasy globe, and so information technology's a adept thing he's over-powered to the point of banality. There's a reason stories like to cast an underdog as the main character. The journey of watching them come into their own, gather their skills, and overcome obstacles feels relatable. A character that's perfect at everything from the kickoff doesn't create any tension. So here we have Satou, the guy who jumps to level 310 in the first episode, gets all the skill points a newbie could want, and an array of magic items for his inventory alongside heaps of gold.
Then what's the bespeak? Well, Death March is setting upward a perfect fantasy vacation for dead Satou to mingle with fantasy girls without any hardships. It'due south supposed to be the ultimate pause from his previous life, but it makes for a downright boring viewing experience. Coupled with questionable art pattern that I couldn't quite put my finger on, (was information technology the CG backgrounds or the strange line art?) and I found myself wholly uninterested in Satou's little excursion.
Theron Martin
Rating: two
We were about due for this season'southward isekai series, weren't we? That genre, as well as the ofttimes-overlapping genre of fantasy worlds grounded in game mechanics, is so voluminous right at present that a serial of either or both types has to do something special to stand out. Based on the start episode, that might exist an ongoing business concern for this new offering.
Basically, the start episode is trying to have its block and eat it, also. It makes the protagonist older but has him appear as a younger version of himself in the game world. It starts him out weak just gives him an avenue to immediately spring up to an overwhelming power level, with the only real constraint on him existence that he hasn't yet figured out how to use all of his abilities and skills. Hence he is yet going to have a distinct learning bend, merely since he is 250+ levels higher than the strongest creatures around him, he isn't actually in whatever danger. On top of that, he has a total inventory of earned loot and a massive amount of gold plus plenty enough points to max out whatever skill he needs. Can't understand the local language? No problem! Just dump a total 10 points into the Languages skill. All of this was gained for insufficiently minimal endeavor, likewise. The opener and closer also point that a passel of cute girls is going to assemble around him, too, and he'south going to journey with them, and then he'll effectively accept his own harem. In other words, this is looking like 1 of the most full-bore power fantasies that nosotros've seen in recent years.
I accept not read the novels, so my hope here is that the series will eventually do more with the concept than just that. The first half of the episode, which shows what goes on at the game visitor, was, frankly, the more interesting part for the details it delves into, such as how some might sleep at work for multiple days while on a deadline. It doesn't assistance that the alternate world'due south visuals are heavily based in not-cutting-border CG; if that was done intentionally to give a further impression of being in a game world then that might be interesting, only I doubtable that isn't the case here. At to the lowest degree past keeping the "is it a dream or not" pick alive, the series provides itself an out if it gets too ridiculous.
Being creative or different certainly isn't everything, as the best shows are sometimes the ones which take a standard concept and do it well. However, so far the only thing which stands out most this serial is its captivating name.
Rebecca Silverman
Rating: one.5
Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody is one of those series where I enjoyed the first novel, if only for its differences from other like books, and then quickly lost my enthusiasm. That latter is sadly what I'm feeling subsequently watching the first episode – a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Largely this stems from the fact that what worked pretty well in novel-format just isn't translating all that well, with the event that this episode feels similar watching someone else play an RPG subsequently watching them sit at the function all day.
The base conceit for this iteration of the isekai tale is that a twenty-nine-year-old programmer falls asleep after thirty straight hours of debugging and other programming tasks that are truly thrilling to watch. When he wakes up, he's fifteen or so in body and appears to be dreaming almost ane of the games he was working on, complete with controls (except log out, naturally) that he can manipulate with his mind. Cue what feels like most of the episode of Satoo (née Suzuki) leaping effectually from plateau to plateau in giddy abandonment equally he tests the limits of his new power, which he accomplished by accidentally activating the beginner cheats he programmed before going to sleep. Given that he'due south gone from level 1 to level 310 with the metaphorical pressing of iii buttons, that'due south some serious overpowered wish-fulfillment.
At this point Satoo is still fully convinced that he's dreaming. While nosotros veteran consumers of isekai tales know better, it'southward hard to error him for his gleeful reaction to all of a sudden living inside a game globe, peculiarly subsequently the potentially literal decease march he just went through. Unfortunately information technology's likewise easy to blame the episode for being actually very wearisome – the battles are largely done via falling star, and then with minimal viewing interest, and when Satoo does stumble upon a existent fight (soldiers vs wyvern) at the end, it'due south less than heady due to not-groovy art and blitheness. The constant stream of "game" information in little windows on the screen is also incredibly irritating, in part because they're hard to read (Japanese linguistic communication withal, the print is tiny), simply too but because they're more than jarring than helping to realize the kind of world Satoo is in. He's more than established that this is a game-like world; the prove needs to trust u.s.a. to think it.
Things may pick up when in that location are more than characters, as is due to happen next week, and we start to see the disconnect between Satoo'south appearance and his actual age. Merely right at present this isn't feeling similar a smoothen transition from the page to the screen, and in fact is making me question whether I really enjoyed that first novel after all.
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