Review of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

This is a puzzling review, to say the least. I have so much crap to give this show and yet I give it a score of 7/10. You see, Death March is one of those trash shows that I immensely enjoyed watching. Despite its many, many flaws, I can't help but like it! It's so entertainingly bad and cliche that it's good! Overpowered MC: Kirito-- I mean Satou, our main protagonist, is as interesting as a piece of cardboard. Seriously, this guy has no personality except for being the "kind and noble master". Yup, he's Kirito 2.0 alright: just another average, run-of-the-mill guy who happens to possessliterally every skill in the book, can beat just about any monster without breaking a sweat, gets all the ladies wherever he goes, and will always save the day just like the white knight he is! Even his and Kirito's character designs look identical-- from the Justin Bieber haircut down to clothes they're wearing!

Similar to Kirito, this guy is so overpowered that nothing phases him. There is hardly any sort of excitement in the action sequences because we know Satou is never in any kind of imminent danger. Since he is apparently the most high-level player in this whole entire world, he is inherently unbeatable. Even the biggest opponent he had to face down seemed like a mere noob compared to him! I mean, are you seriously saying I should feel scared for Satou when the big bad guy was made out to be all threatening and shit, yet he's barely half of Satou's player level?! AND that their "epic" showdown lasted less than 3 minutes with Satou fighting like it was child's play?Adding to that, there wasn't a single character that even came close to his power! Where's the challenge? The struggle? Why should I root for a character that I know will already win?

Moreover, Satou is a very static character. I mentioned that he was boring, but even boring people can have interesting character development. Yet, Satou remains like a lifeless rag doll throughout the series without ever changing even when thrust in a world with different cultures, laws, ethics, and people. He just goes along with everything, does his classic close-eyed shrug, and acts passive as fuck-- oh except when he has to eventually save the day because of course he does. This guy doesn't even question why he was brought to this fantasy world! Satou just meanders aimlessly around (much like the plot) and stays the same. There was no character growth whatsoever-- NADA, nothing!

Worldbuilding:
Also, because of Satou's blatant lack of curiosity, there was never any chance at worldbuilding. We never get any sort of answers or explanations regarding this world. What are the laws here? The culture? Sure certain shots of the scenery looked beautiful but we never got any substance from them-- probably because Kirito 2.0 never asked any questions! We go on these mini-adventures to different places but they're so forgettable because they're all the same! People act the same, they wear the same clothes, even the architecture (as pretty as it is) is the same!
I mean, I understand not wanting to info dump the viewer with all the technicalities of the world and sometimes things are better left to the imagination, but come on, can we at least get some basic answers on the functionalities of this world? And what happens if Satou dies in this world? Oh wait, we don't even get this critical question answered because there wasn't even a chance to explore it because SATOU IS BASICALLY A GOD IN THIS WORLD. He's practically immortal at this point: he's so damn powerful that there wasn't even an instance where he was under threat of death so we don't even get to consider that possibility.

And what about magic? Is it a skill that anyone can acquire or is it only through genetics or only a certain race of people have it? Is it a mix of elemental magic and alchemy? Why does it seem like no one other than Satou uses magic? Even so, his powers were simply given to him at the beginning without any explanation to how he got them-- so is it a glitch in the system or is it just that easy to do, which then why aren't more people using magic or leveling up? Also, exactly how does one level up? Is it through killing monsters, or doing magic, or getting certain objects, or all of the above? Why aren't the military soldiers higher levels then? There were no specific requirements shown/ elaborated upon. Simply put: everyone is a noob while Satou just acquires power after power; our soft boi getting everything handed to him without a reason to any of it.

Harem / side characters:
Why are there no guys in this world other than Satou that aren't total douche bags or old? The only characters Satou meets along the way are pretty girls! And he takes them all in AND showers them with luxuries (sugar daddy, much?). His harem gets so big that by the end of the show he acquires over 20+ girls. Bruh. That's overdoing BIG TIME.
Although, if we ignored the excessive harem aspect and focused solely on the female characters, they're actually really likable. Not a lot of depth or complexity but were you honestly expecting that from an isekai anime? Nah. But the girls are cute and funny and serve their purposes for comedic relief (which is most of the anime). The girls fall into pretty stereotypical roles but remain memorable nonetheless. Not many complaints here.

Animation and Sound:
I will this anime this: the animation was such a treat. Visually speaking alone, I would go as far as to give this show a 10/10. The bright and lively color schemes, with how crisp everything looked, the epic wide shots of the scenery, and the "moe" designs on the girls completely won me over. It was so stunning to look at!

So while the animation blew me over, the soundtrack is pretty mediocre. I think the op was epic but that's pretty much it (and I think that had mostly to do with the cool animation sequence that they used and not much the music). The remaining ost like most of the background music was unremarkable and forgettable. The end credit song was okay, but again, nothing distinctive.

Plot:
As for the plot, WHAT PLOT. There is no plot! The final episode was so anticlimactic because nothing actually happens! I thought there would've been at least some big finale to get me hyped for the possibility of a second season-- maybe for the ultimate villain to suddenly appear or for more intrigue and mystery to peak my interest in the world. Alas, that did NOT happen. Instead, Satou and his harem solve a problem that wasn't that hard to begin with (just like any other episode)!

Although, maybe because of the lack of a plot, it explained why the pacing wasn't so bad? Better than Sword Art Online's, that's for sure. The narrative pacing is consistent throughout without any atrocious time skips or POV switching-- I actually think the pacing is one the strongest elements of the show and a key factor in my enjoyment. I was immersed in the world (enough, anyway) without having those previous pacing flaws sabotage my viewing experience.

Final Thoughts:
Alright, so after roasting the hell out of this anime, does Death March still deserve my score of 7/10? Well, no, but actually yes. Sure, there's the bullshit overpowered MC, lack of worldbuilding, and nonexistent plot, to damper the show's quality, but at the same time, Death March was addicting as hell with great animation and lovable side characters. I kept hitting the "next episode" button because I wanted to see more of the stunning scenery (like the Forest of Illusions) and the fawn over the adorable character designs (I have a soft spot for "moe", ok?), but most of all, I just wanted to get a good laugh because I was genuinely having a good time poking fun at this show! It's a trash show, but good trash, ya know...?