Review of Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody

tl;dr: An isekai anime that doesn't have much substance but that is still quite enjoyable in a laid back comfy sense. This anime is one of the many otherworld anime produced during the isekai boom that's been going on for the past few years. It's also largely regarded as a pretty bad example of such with it generally being described as dull and generic wish fulfillment. I'm of a pretty different opinion however. I think that this anime does something pretty differently from most isekai and does it pretty well. Most isekai are wish fulfillment. I don't think that that's particularly a bad thing, and thinkthat if it does a good job of that I consider the anime good. This wish fulfillment usually involves being the hero of another world, using extraordinary powers to stand out and defeat great evils in epic battles while dealing with various drama, and to be respected and loved in return.

While Death March is very much wish fulfillment, I feel that its fulfilling a very different wish from the standard isekai. While the protagonist does gain extraordinary powers, the purpose of these powers aren't to make him some great savior, but rather just to make it possible for him to not have to worry about anything too much, not for fighting epic battles and gaining recognition or anything like that. I think the core of his wish can be traced back to the opening of what he was doing before he came to another world and how he ended up going to another world in the first place. He was basically working himself to death to the point of going without basic human necessities like sleep, which he comes to adore. While it isn't made clear how he ends up in another world, the transition isn't induced by one of the exciting situations where he gets hit by a truck, possibly while saving someone else. Rather, he simply falls asleep after working too hard and wakes up in another world.

With all that as the starting point, the protagonist really doesn't feel like the type of character to wish to be a hero that saves the world or anything like that, rather he simply seems like a character that wants to relax. And the world he gets sent to and the powers he's given simply let him do that. There's no major overarching plot regarding something he has to do. There's no particular enemy he has to be wary of. And hence, he can simply journey through the world enjoying it. I think the anime does a really good job of capturing that. Sure there's action and serious moments for characters, but they're just part of the journey and not what define it. There are battles yes, but they're just as important as the food scenes, and both are there in about equal amounts. There's also not really any character development, as no one really encounters situations powerful enough to really cause any major change in the cast. Rather, everyone is just going with the flow in a laid back manner for the most part. How likable said characters are will vary based on personal taste, but I found them amusing and likable enough considering the overall context of the anime. The heroines aren't supposed to be deep characters the protagonist develops interesting relationships with. Rather, his relationships with them are incredibly shallow and more guardian like than romantic. Hence, rather than a typical harem, it's more just a group of people enjoying a journey while the majority of them are cute. There is also is a good amount of humor, but overall the anime isn't really a comedy either. All of this does result in an anime that is incredibly slow, and I'm often one to complain about the pacing of anime whether they be too slow or too fast, but here I felt the pacing was perfect for what it was trying to do, be comfy and amusing. And from that point of view I found the anime greatly enjoyable.

With that said, the art and animation weren't very good and the use of CG and a lot of the post processing effects were simply terrible. I did like the use of game like UI elements and popups though. The OP and ED were both solid, but of especial note is that I thought they fit the anime incredibly well. Similarly, the soundtrack too was really good and worked very well with the tone and atmosphere.