Dead Account

Episode 4

The big problem with this week's episode of Dead Account is that it tries way too hard to be funny. Most of the jokes here contain a groaning sense of self-awareness that ends on the same punchline of “haha, the Internet, get it?” Soji and his exorcist co-hort, the black and pink-haired Kiyomi, are self-aware enough to know they are some of the worst people the Internet has to offer, but not self-aware enough of how ridiculous their situation is. For crying out loud, the majority of this episode has them fighting cell phone demons in a freakin' Best Buy! I'm once again reminded of the David Foster Wallace essay where he wrote how self-awareness defeats its own purpose, because this episode is self-defeating in every way possible.

This is a shonen, so naturally, there needs to be a sense of wit and slapstick amidst all of the fighting, right? Dead Account's version of that is mostly just a one-joke premise based on the characters' respective archetypes. Kiyomi reminds us that everyone's offensive cyberkinesis comes in the form of their terrible personality, and later says that it's good when garbage is self-aware about itself. On top of that, the episode is titled “The Worst Trio Possible” in reference to our leads, Soji, Kiyomi, and Kasubata. It's the anime trying to finally half-heartedly accept that its characters are jerks, while giving itself the excuse of making that the source of the episode's humor. Soji's a flame baiter, hence the blue flames! As if you didn't already know! And it's uncool, because it's only effective against the undead! Kiyomi's revealed to be a crazy, terminally online fan-girl! She's way too obsessed with her oshis! To the point, her weapon is called the “Parasocial Pistol,” and it shoots goo! Don't ask! Kasubata might not be as online, but as an exorcist monk, he always minds his manners for some reason! I guess monks like him are supposed to be calm like that? Whatever. The extent to which you find this all funny is based on whether or not you like these characters. I still don't, so these quips didn't work a thing on me.

I cannot overstate how ridiculous this anime's cell phone-based premise has been, and now that this episode mostly takes place in an electronics store, the absurdity has only intensified. Again, you are using cell phone magic to fight things in the cell phone aisle at Best Buy. Do something with it! You could have made the setting and conditions in which they are fighting the joke itself! This is already a stupid idea, so make it dumber for the laughs! You could get so much mileage out of it. But the humor bombs because it instead chooses to let every punchline be about being a terminally online freak instead.

Even worse is how the show's “crowning achievement,” if you even want to call it that, comes in the form of the demon fought at the end, constantly spouting online rhetoric and slang. When Kiyomi calls the demon ugly, it responds by saying, “Who are you calling uggo? I'm totes apologetic.” Hearing this makes me realize that this whole episode reads like it was written by an old man who hasn't used the Internet since Ask Jeeves and is doing everything he can to sound hip. “How do you do, fellow kids? Have you ever heard of something called a parasocial relationship? Is that how you use Tinder and Instagram? Lol!”

I've said for maybe the past three or so articles I've written on this website about how unoriginal some things can be sometimes, and this fight is just another example of that. Said totally-not-uggo demon is a rather feminine ghost account, and its posture reminded me of the demon mother fought during Dandadan's first season. This fight is without Science SARU choreography and colors, and just looks like a shittified simulacra as a result. The animation here is a bit more of a flex than the first three episodes, but that's not saying much.

I don't like being a negative Nancy, so I'll try to end on something positive. Despite the soundtrack taking a bit of a nosedive here, I'll admit that I've finally gotten used to the OP. It is admittedly another dime-a-dozen poppy OP, but I like how the guitars sound. The OP's outro uses just a few notes per riff, but the notes are zippy and catchy enough to feel more layered than they really are. I also like the tone; it's effective. If these comments seem a little back-handed and bland, well, don't say I didn't try to be nice. Because it's hard for me to be with a show like this.

Towards the end, Kasubata says to Soji, “Plenty of people have given up after their first mission broke them.” Dude, this anime is breaking me. I've somehow survived long enough to reach the fourth episode. And I. Cannot. Stop.

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Dead Account is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.