Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody (Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku) is a 2018 television anime series based on the light novel series written by Hiro Ainana and illustrated by shri. It was adapted by studios Silver Link and Connect, and directed by Shin Ōnuma. Avex Pictures published the series and was first broadcast in Japan on January 2018 as part of the Winter season.
Background:
“One night, after an exhausting 30-hour shift, everything changes for 29-year-old programmer Suzuki “Satou” Ichirou.
Whereabouts unknown and nearly half the age he once was, Satou awakens in a mysterious land where video game mechanics are his greatest strength. Game UI, endless inventory space, and the ability to become more skilled with the push of a button make navigating this expanse a breeze. However, just because he’s level 310 doesn’t mean everything will be easy. With demons terrorizing the populace, only Satou and his adorable companions can protect this new world while simultaneously reaping the rewards!”
Plot Synopsis via Funimation, March 2019
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, given it’s rather long title, is once again another Isekai series that involves being transported into another world, generally a fantasy setting, with overpowered abilities and a harem of characters who have an interest in him. Pretty much the same sort of plot used in every anime series, but regardless it has their own charms and fans alike.
This show for some reason, managed to grab my interest despite its generic concept. Honestly I liked it enough to acquire the light novel the show was based on and eventually pick up this release.
Crunchyroll acquired the rights to the series during its simulcast and partnered with Funimation for both an English dub and home video release. At the time of this post, there is currently no sign of a UK home video release which was one major factor into why I picked up the US edition.
Limited Edition Contents:
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody was one of the few anime titles by Funimation to be released as a limited edition only set (the others were Free! Dive to the Future, Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory and Golden Kamuy Season 1). Funimation did this before in the past until around 2013 but for some reason they brought it back, probably to test the sales numbers but either way it’s a daft decision.
That being said, Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody did come with some decent amount of physical content for its set. The set is based on Funimation’s attempt at making the box more shelf-friendly but also offer different content than the usual two slim Blu-ray cases in a box. So with this release we have a rigid box that comes with a single Amaray case containing the two formats as well as a 40-page Booklet. There was also a cardboard box that came with the set containing a Satou Acrylic Standee which I use for my collection.
The artwork is free of any information and the info sheet covers the information and specification like previous Funimation releases. The limited edition Blu-ray & DVD set has an unspecified amount of units printed for an SRP of $84.98. The limited edition sold out extremely fast at launch and as of the end of 2020 there’s still no sign of a Blu-ray re-release. I initially ordered this through United Publications, but the set sold out so fast the retailer wasn’t able to acquire a copy so I had to get it through Amazon US.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with digipack packaging, slipcover and clean artwork
- Info sheet for specification
- 40-page Booklet
- Satou Acrylic Standee
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Funimation
Released: 12th March 2019
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody contains the complete series (12 episodes) across two Blu-ray discs and two DVD discs. The encode and authoring were done by Funimation. The audio options available for the series include Japanese with English subtitles and the Funimation English dub.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are compatible to A & B for Blu-ray and 1, 2 & 4 for DVD in NTSC format. Essentially playable for UK, Europe & Australia which is a nice bonus.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 (1 BD-50, 1 BD-25) |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | 1 2 4 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1:
- Episode 5 English Dub Commentary
Disc 2:
- Textless Opening Song “Slide Ride”
- Textless Closing Song “Suki no sukiru”
- Funimation Trailers
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 2:
- Funimation Trailers
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody‘s limited edition release is no longer available to own in print unfortunately. An Essentials Blu-ray release should follow soon.
The Normanic Vault 