A NEWFOUND RIVAL…?!
Creative Staff
Story: Hiro Ainana
Art: Shri
Translation: Jocelyne Allen
What they say
After their journey down the river, Satou and crew finally reach the old capital—just in time for the martial arts tournament. Between fireworks, a castle ball, and sightseeing in the Ougoch Duchy, it’s a busy trip. But the demon lord’s remaining followers are still plotting in the shadows, and this time, Satou isn’t the only hero in town…!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I think Death March to the Parellel World Rhapsody volume 6 is a lot more interesting and well-done than volume 5… and I think a good portion of the reason for this is because volume 6 doesn’t have much internal “This middle-school girl is super cute and has nice breasts… but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in her” creeper moments with Satou.
The story begins with the introduction of a new character who was spoken of previously but never seen. Ringrande, the granddaughter of Duke Ougoch and a member of the Hero Hayato’s party. She’s a genius who revived explosion and destruction magic, thought to be lost ages ago, and was given an honorary baronet peerage for her numerous achievements. Her achievements have also earned her the title Witch of Destruction. I honestly rather like her, if not because of how different she first seems from the other girls, then because she’s an adult and therefore not someone Satou can just write off as not being interested in because she’s still a kid. I think she’s like 22 or something.
In either event, Ringrande becomes a recurring character in this volume after being introduced.
The events that transpire during volume 6 all take place in the old capital, where a martial arts tournament is going on. As this series has always been something of a fantasy slice of life with hints of action story, most of the story follows Satou around as he travels through the old capital and does stuff. A lot of stuff. After being introduced to the duke, he’s asked to prepare food for the duke’s party, and then during the party his food becomes a huge hit—and Satou becomes a huge hit with the ladies. Of course, being the harem protagonist that he is, despite somehow ending up with multiple women wanting his dingle berries and noble families galore requesting he marry their daughters, Satou turns them all down because of reasons. He wants to keep traveling and doesn’t want to be tied down. I can respect those reasons because they actually make sense.
I think what interested me the most in this series was the historical knowledge we learned about this world—namely about the hero Yamato who was summoned long ago—and some of the political aspects, though I’ll admit politics is not this series’ strongpoint. I’m pleased to say this volume introduced a character who I can honestly say I dislike more than Sataou—two in fact.
Hayato and Prince Sharorik.
Hayato only gets introduced at the end, and while he doesn’t seem like a bad person, the guy is a straight up pedophile. I’m fairly certain this is being played for laughs. The dude is a lolicon with a harem—excuse me, with a party of busty women, which I think is supposed to be funny. I don’t really see the humor in pedophilia, but I guess this is being introduced for future jokes when Hayato meets Satou’s harem—ahem, I mean Satou’s party, which consists almost solely of loli characters. Either way, it’s one of the jokes that I just couldn’t find funny.
Prince Sharorik is another person I really don’t like. While Hayato seems like an okay person with a serious issue, the prince is just a douchebag. This is the kind of character who thinks the sun shines from his kutoosh, is only interested in expanding his political influence by becoming king, and is willing to cut someone down for no reason other than he doesn’t like them. I found myself honestly wishing someone would kick this prince in the gonads, though sadly, no one does.
In Summary
Death March to the Parellel World Rhapsody volume 6 tells a decently written story that fortunately doesn’t go too far into creeper territory unlike the previous volume. I liked reading about all the different things Satou does during this volume, which helps expand upon the world, the political infrastructure of the Ogouch Dukedome, and the history regarding the Hero Yamato. We also learn a bit more about things like the creation of scrolls and other bits that aren’t necessary for the plot but add to the overall flavor of the series. While I wouldn’t call Death March Raphsody to a Parallel world the best light novel around, it is an entertaining series that does a decent job of following a would-be harem protagonist as he gets into all kind of trouble and invents stuff.
Content Grade: C
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date: May 22, 2018
MSRP: $14.00
