Dead Account

Episode 6

Having to watch Dead Account for the past six weekends in a row has become a chore for me. There's only so much you can say about shonen this stale—I'm starting to run out of ways of saying that I still don't like Soji as a character, how the animation doesn't leap out at me, or that its premise doesn't lock me in at all. The anime's penchant for mediocrity causes all of these flaws to pop up once again in this sixth entry, but there is a silver lining to it all. Because, ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to announce that at last, this week's episode of Dead Account actually has a few redeeming features! I know! I'm as shocked as you are.

The funky soundtrack has always been the strongest part of Dead Account, and it's more or less as consistent as it ever has been. Two tracks prove to be a cut above the rest, though. The first one clocks in at around the three-minute mark, right when Soji converses with another exorcist, Renri, regarding Kasubatu, who is revealed to have once been in a gang. The accompanying track is a trap number embedded with wild horns, hand claps, and a snappy beat. Given the scene's tone, the track feels more like an appropriate fit than a stand-out one, but I just like how twitchy it sounds. Another twitchy song plays during a fight between Hajima and Soji, this time with some cool reverberating synths, and a straightforward beat that still has more of a pulse than the accompanying animation does. The guitar riffs that come at the end are super crunchy, too.

Speaking of music, Dead Account does something I do best: unnecessarily dropping references to rock music! The latter half of the episode has a bit where Soji has to team up with an exorcist whose source of energy comes from an iPod classic. And what is on his iPod, you might be asking? Well, folks, it's none other than freakin' Nirvana! Oh, wait, I'm sorry, this is anime, meaning that names of existing properties need to be changed for...reasons. Meaning this guy's actually playing “Boilvana,” and the song is called “Smells Like Bean Stew.” I'll admit, I laughed. The title reads like some Weird Al-level parody, and I love it for that. (And yes, of course I know that Weird Al parodied Nirvana)

Another positive I can say is not so much of a “good” thing as much as it is something that could have been plain ol' bad. We find out that Hajima's been Cait Sith'd; as a doll, she's actually being controlled by someone else lurking behind a computer. Because Dead Account relies so much on Internet stereotypes as the source of humor, I was expecting it to aim low and reveal that the doll is being controlled by a stereotypically grotesque male otaku. Turns out that Hajima IRL is just a shy meganekko with pink hair and a slender form. Which, I mean, it's not that funny, but at least it didn't end on the punchline I expected it to.

The final positive comes in the form of another joke that actually works. The aforementioned fight between Hajima and Soji has Hajima take on the body of a giant, muscled golem that proceeds to kick Soji's tail right into the dirt. Soji says he admires Hajima's strength in a moment of camaraderie, leaving an exorcist witnessing things to summarize the event thusly: “Weird energy here.” It's like, yup, that definitely is a way of putting it, seeing how he just saw a blue-haired flamebaiter become better friends with a weird puppet doll thing whose kawaii head does not fit the aesthetic of the girthy cyborg body it's attached to. Again, I laughed.

The majority of the episode is just okay. Soji gets to know more about Kasubata and Hajima, and therefore, a little bit more about the exorcists at the Academy. It's revealed that the characters now have two months to defeat Sad Boy K, who has become even stronger. Which is crazy, considering how in the previous episode, A) he just stood around issuing the same attack over and over again, and then B) retreated after things got too rough for him. You're not selling me that our villain is becoming stronger, but whatever keeps the plot moving, I guess.

Soji thus has to train more, and towards the end of the episode, he and his clique are thrust out into the woods to fight some monsters, and then another exorcist and his squad from another class. This exorcist is Dei Surugi, a fellow flamebaiter just like Soji, and a master troll with the look of someone on the verge of telling an offensive joke. The episode ends with a stand-off between Soji and Dei that will probably explode into an all-out brawl by the next episode. Not that I'm excited for it; I'm expecting it to be as mid as any other fight Dead Account has dished out thus far. Still, I'm rather satisfied with what few good things came out of this episode. They ain't much, but after five episodes that reveled in banality, I'm more than happy to take what I can get.

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Dead Account is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.