Dead Account

Episode 3

You know that this is going to be a tough episode to sit through when the animation fails to show something as simple as pouring a cup of tea. The pour coming from the tea kettle itself is just the same couple of frames looped on repeat, and we don't even see the tea level rise in the cup the slightest bit. Not a single thought went into how this was supposed to be done—I didn't even know that it was possible to criticize the portrayal of literally one of the most mundane things you could do for lacking imagination. It's so baffling that a sick part of me wants to congratulate Dead Account for pulling off such a feat. But I'm not one to give this show any credit. This show can't spill tea properly, but I can.

It's an exam arc, so of course we have to make sure our main character gets his learn on. Soji's first test requires him to fight 100 pseudo-spirits called Yunomi-kuns coming out of a machine. His means of engaging them in combat is through l generic blue fire magic, and his ability is dependent on his own phone battery. I will repeat myself: the power of unlocking Soji's abilities or whatever is not through some mystical artifact; it's through something as commonplace as a freakin' iPhone. It's so absurd that it feels like a joke. One moment has Soji summoning his magic through his phone, and as he is, he says he's about to “cyber out.” Does that mean that Dead Account's version of Nen can be called “cybering?” But never mind my immaturity.

Hey, while I'm ranting about all things ridiculous, we find out the name of the Dead Account spirit that killed Soji's sis. The villain of the story thus far is Sad Boy K, and it just so happens that he's the most powerful one of 'em all. It's the type of crazy coincidence that is scrawled down in the plot outline when an epiphany of laziness takes control of the pen.

I cannot stress enough how boring the animation is. This is supposed to be an exam arc! People are supposed to beat up and dodge stuff! Things are supposed to be highly stylized! Please, for the love of Haruhi up above, just show me dudes fighting things! But no! Soji lands hits on his opponents, but we don't see how they're handled. We mostly only see him land the final blow on his opponents in a series of images more frozen than a pond during a freezing Nor'easter. Look, having a character shoot fire as his main method of attacking is something I've seen done before, but if you're going to include it anyway, at least show the character do something with it. It gets worse when a montage occurs midway through, so the episode has a lazy excuse to continue skimping on animation. Most insulting of all comes in the form of the show's only sakuga moment, which just thickens the character outlines, and that's it.

Other members of the so-called Society of Spirit Mediums Soji is now a part of are further introduced. Just by looking at them, I'm honestly not expecting much in terms of personality and development here. There's a doll character who livestreams and is a fan of Soji's flamebait videos. I'm betting that she becomes the comic relief character that actually isn't all that funny. Also, why are you calling yourself the “Society of Spirit Mediums?" There's no need to give yourself a quasi-Bleach-esque title that's supposed to signify status. Just calling yourselves “exorcists” would have done just fine.

I didn't like Soji to begin with, yet this episode doesn't take any time to sculpt him further or give him even the tiniest drop of substance whatsoever. A flashback occurs midway, revealing how Soji found out about his sister's illness and how he decided to make the money to pay for everything. It's a reiteration of the premise that we already know, reveals nothing new about Soji's relationship with his sister, and serves as a cheap attempt to garner our sympathies. But the damage is already done. The funky soundtrack is the only saving grace here, but it's not enough to save me from the boredom of it all.

Rating:

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Dead Account is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.