Death March to Parallel World Rhapsody, lovingly shortened to Death March, is based on a light novel series written by Hiro Ainana.
If you are new to anime in general, Death March is the kind of anime that introduces the isekai genre to you.
It has all the cliched subplots that would get viewers excited. The fame of the anime rose overnight and became an addition to the RPG isekai genre.
But despite the loyal fanbase, why hasn’t there been a second by now? Let’s pick out all the details one by one.
1. Premiere Date
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody aired in 2018 on AT-X, BS11, and Tokyo MX. Crunchyroll and Funimation streamed the 12-episode series.
As both the animating studios of the anime, Silver Link. and Connect have a busy schedule for 2020, 2021, and ahead, it is hard to say the Season 2 of Death March would be released by 2020.
Death March Season 2 may premiere as early as mid-2021 or early 2022. We will update this article when the official announcement comes out.
Let’s pick apart this anime to get into the intricate details.
2. Theory Section
Death March is about a game developer being summoned into a game he was coding. It is very different from how the protagonists usually get transported.
But that isn’t enough to rake in the popularity. So, let’s see what it would take to make a ‘Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody Season 2.’
I. Popularity of the Franchise
Hiro Ainana first published Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody as a web novel on a user-generated site in 2013, before republishing it as a light novel.
The first novel volume was released by Fujimi Shobo in 2014, along with the manga adaptation.
So far, there are twenty volumes released. Yen Press licensed the novels and manga adaptations.
The novel’s sales skyrocketed, as many fans came to one conclusion: the novels were better.
Let’s see what else the fans have got to say about this typical anime.
II. Conflicting Fan Reviews
According to the fans who took the time to take up the light novel and read it completely, the anime doesn’t do the series justice.
It’s a good series for someone new to the genre, but it has a ‘You have seen one, you have seen it all,’ vibe.
That doesn’t mean isekai are just generic, bad, and are a one-trick pony. Not at all; it just means you have watched so many good anime that they seem to have overlapping plots.
Death March, in particular, has a simple plot: MC has an accident and wakes up in a strange world, which has fantasy RPG-game like settings. Since, he has worked on this ‘game’ in his previous life, he is technically OP.
This show offers a fantasy harem, action from the get-go, and the show was pretty well-received among fans in Japan.
However, there are some points where fans get particularly annoyed. They want to see an overpowered protagonist in action, like Saitama from One Punch Man, but there are no such good sequences!
The anime takes time in world-building, which costs the character development of Satou, and as the anime just adapted the first three Volumes of the novel, there is no progress in the plotline.
Many viewers have compared this show with In Another World With My Smartphone, which too has a sequel in the works.
But in comparison, the light novel of Death March was more well-liked and approved by the fans. So if the time were taken to produce a sequel, the anime would have a better plot and characters to support this idea.
III. Possibility of a Season 2?
The anime only adapted three Volumes out of twenty, less to say, enough material to spurge out two more seasons.
The series is popular inside and out of Japan, so the studios will not risk canceling an anime series as profitable as this one.
On the other hand, Season 1 ended with an incomplete ending and a major cliff hanger. This definitely hints to a continuation to another season.
Also, unlike US shows, anime can take a gap of four or more years between seasons. Hence, it’s not unusual if Silver Link. takes a while to make the call.
IV. Other Franchise Updates
The 20th Volume of Death March light novel series revealed in July 2020 that the ongoing print novels would have a different ending than the online web novel series!!
Ainana finished the web novel series in March 2020 and has written side stories online on the same website she published her series.
Let’s take a look at the visuals which might be a part of Season 2.
3. Visuals & Trailers
Season 1 of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody only adapted the first three Volumes of the novel. We can speculate that they will adapt the next four Volumes for the sequel.
The covers feature Satou with a new character, Karina, and Lulu, Liza, Pochi, and Tama respectively.
The producers haven’t released any official trailers yet. We will update this article when they do.
Now that we have seen everything, what will the next season be about?
4. Expected Plot
Season 2 will find Satou, who wants a leisurely vacation from the real world. But this time, his travels lead his party into the famously dangerous Muno Barony.
Satou maybe level 310, but even he has his hands full with giants, four-headed monsters, and haunted fortresses!
He still finds time to help out the locals along the way, and when one of those people in need is Baron Muno’s beautiful daughter, he may be the only one who can stop a terrible conspiracy.
Let’s analyze the animation production of the anime next.
5. Music and Animation
I. Animation Quality
Though Silver Link. was one of the studios animating the series, the animation was underwhelming.
The CG looks awkward with the blend in the character designs. The designs themselves look bad with respect to realistic body proportions.
The action scenes are poor in terms of choreography and animation, and the body movements seem flat.
There are key moments in which the animation direction is excellent, but alas, they are very few.
It is safe to say that the anime was not up to par with the novels.
II. Theme Songs
The opening theme, Slide Ride, was performed by Run Girls, Run! While the ending song was sung by Wake up, Girls! titled Suki no Skill.
The OST is decent and gives a video game music feeling. The sound effects are good and emphasizes scenes when the tension rises or something fantastic had happened.
There are emotional tracks too but the theme songs hold these back.
6. Fan Expectations
Isekai concept is typically about a normal person who is sent into a fantasy world where they become the most special person around.
For the fans, the expectation for Death March is not much, just a sequel to be made with a faster pace.
Since Season 1 only introduced the world to the audience, the novels’ plot details and suspense were completely neglected in the anime.
Some wilder fans want a complete revamp of Season rather than a sequel!
When competed with other isekai, Death March does fall short, at least the anime adaption does.
So, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is getting a Season 2, new Isekai like By the Grace of Gods release this October, but Death March Season 2 has no news in comparison.
The fresh idea of a programmer who built the game, transporting into the game he coded, gives you a whole new world to play with. Real fans of the franchise encourage anime-only fans to give the light novel a try.
Hopefully, the studio will do the series justice and give the fans what they could only dream of, by 2021.
Let’s recollect what exactly this anime is about.
7. Recap
Season 1
Ichirou Suzuki, a programmer nearing his thirties, is drowning in work. Worn out, he eventually has a chance to catch up on sleep, only to wake up and discover himself in a fantasy RPG world, which is mashed together from the games he was debugging in reality.
In this new place, he realizes that not only has his appearance changed to a younger version of himself, but his name has also changed to Satou, a nickname he used while running beta tests on games.
However, before Satou can fully grasp his situation, an army of lizardmen launch an assault on him. Forced to cast a powerful spell in retaliation, Satou wipes them out completely and his level is boosted to 310, effectively maximizing his stats.
Now, as a high-leveled adventurer armed with a plethora of skills and no way to return to reality, Satou sets out to explore this magical new world.
Watch Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody on Funimation, Amazon, and Crunchyroll
8. Cast & Staff
The following will most probably return as the cast and staff members for Death March Season 2:
I. Staff
| Position | Staff | Famous Works |
| Director | Oonuma Shin | Kokoro Connect, BOFURI |
| Series Composition | Kento Shimoyama | Gintama, Servant x Service |
| Character Design | Shoko Takimoto | Chaos Dragon, If Her Flag Breaks |
| Studio | Connect and Silver Link. | Strike the Blood, My Next Life as a Villainess |
II. Cast
| Character | Voice Actor | Famous Works |
| Satou | Horie Shun | Kazamatsuri Sho (Whistle), Enta (Sarazanmai) |
| Arisa | Yuuki Aoi | Asui Tsuyu (My Hero Academia), Tamaki (Fire Force) |
| Zena | Takahashi Rie | Megumin (KonoSuba), Ena (Yuru Camp) |
| Tama | Okuno Kaya | Kaya (Wake Up, Girls), Karen (Hundred) |
| Pochi | Kouno Hiyori | Kazusa (O Maidens in Your Savage Season), Phil (The Promised Neverland) |
| Lulu | Hayase Marika | Sena (Idol Memories), Miu (Venus Project) |
| Liza | Tsuda Minami | Salama (Amagi Brilliant Park), Mei (Citrus) |
9. About Death March
The light novel series’ story follows a 29-year-old programmer who is on a death march, but one day he wakes up in another world after a nap.
From a meteor shower, he happens to gain vast riches, and he decides to go sightseeing.
So begins his heart-warming, occasionally serious, and harem adventure in another world.
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