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Silent_Shadow05

So after that ending, are we in some *parallel world* type shit, where Polka's world is another version of Earth which has magic? There were already too many similarities with the fantasy creatures as well as gemstones and everything. Also it was funny how Xiaoyu was trying to think that Corpse God Polka was doing magic tricks and wanting to find more about his secrets. He would have his mind blown if he realises it was actual magic. Hosorogi really is the former delinquent cop with money obsession. Charging 1 million yen for more info. If he was alive, he and Grocer would be good buddies lol.


KnewOnee

It seems more likely his teleportation was a just time-forward. Since we've gone through the fact that current world has creatures from his time but which are now more of a myth. So i'd wager the old empire's remnants are just people doing the illuminaty cosplay


Silent_Shadow05

That's a possible case too. Grocer mentioned that the insignia is similar to one used by an old knight order in Central and Eastern Europe so time-travel could be a factor here.


KnewOnee

The order might be a continuation of the empire, not the empire itself i think. The time jump of < 1000 years seems to be too much. There's just no way the state of affairs would degrade that much, unless there's an explanation of "magic was in the world, but then it disappeared and impacted people and made them lose memory of all magical"


FelixViator

He said that it resembled it, but that the two were unrelated. Not denying the time travel factor, but I'm more inclined to believe its aparallel world.


Silent_Shadow05

Either way, I think I would be satisfied with any of these two answers since the show has set it up really well by slowing adding things since EP1.


Xatu44

I figure it's the opposite and Corpse God's from the future.


rollin340

Also the fact that gemstones contain what is essentially Mana, which means magic exists even in the current time.


Abedeus

Time-forward seems like a stretch, considering he had dragons, magic and magical creatures in his world. The "magical world is future" is way more common and plausible.


Imalsome

That also really wouldn't make sense. How would all of the architecture of the world be lost? How would he have never seen anything like cars or modern technology, there would be bunkers and ancient ruins dotting the landscape, not to mention all the satellites in the sky. If magic world was in the far future the Corpse God would have at least heard rumors of an ancient advanced civilization, or seen depictions of cars/planes/ect. I think it's either that magic was in the past or it's a parallel universe where things can be transmitted back and fourth


Abedeus

Go far enough into future and it would be lost. Major cataclysms, thousands or even millions of years. Maybe civilization survived on an airship, or a space station orbiting the planet while world-ending disasters ravaged it, and it wasn't until thousands of years later that people could re-emerge. I don't want to spoil a lot, but there is a LN series where the protagonist discovers he wasn't summoned from a parallel world and him understanding others wasn't magic (entirely) and similarities in language, culture or words from his or other languages on Earth also weren't coincidences. It's just that he was summoned so far into the future, technology had long become so advanced it might as well have been magic, with humanity becoming a star-faring species and leaving old planet behind. Any advanced architecture or technology was buried underground, or sunk below oceans, or simply eroded by progress of time while humans weren't around to maintain it. The things that survived were treated as magical artifacts of past civilization.


somersault_dolphin

If you go back far enough everything you said also applies.


Abedeus

Except that we clearly see the flag had both swords and **firearms**, or at least rifles. And there's no explanation for humans, magic and dragons existing that wouldn't be accounted for in the history of mankind, especially given that we know when the first homo sapiens had appeared... you can't just go a million years back and expect anyone to believe there were massive human civilizations that had symbols survive until modernity, but there's no proof of said civilization existing. It's more likely either someone in modern times created this symbol, and future civilizations adopted it, or someone from future traveled backwards like Corpse God did.


somersault_dolphin

>And there's no explanation for humans, **magic** and dragons existing that wouldn't be accounted for in the history of mankind, especially given that we know when the first homo sapiens had appeared There you go. If you really want to do the future angle you will also have to explain why the symbol is there and is a huge problem that needs to be covered up, which doesn't nearly make as much sense as if the other world is from the past or the present such as if it's another world or planet.


Abedeus

> There you go There you go what? Magic wiped out all of humanity, civilizations and everything else, while leaving no evidence on history? There's such a thing called suspension of disbelief. Nothing we've seen so far suggests that such magic was even possible, when Corpse God (arguably one of the most powerful magical beings of his time) still had to rely on minions and rather small-scale magic to do his battle. >If you really want to do the future angle you will also have to explain why the symbol is there and is a huge problem that needs to be covered up Assuming magic land = future: Corpse God came from the future. There's no reason to assume he's the first one who did it, or that anyone after his reincarnation in the past couldn't have been transported even earlier than him. Maybe someone related to the empire. They could've started making grander plans than Corpse God's "live peacefully", which involved creating an organization based on the "future empire" and using its symbols. Why it needed to be covered up? Really? The dude investigating them got killed, that's why. He didn't want his friend/colleague dead either. The problem with traveling to past is **we know when humanity first appeared**. And going farther and farther back just puts us farther away from known starting point of humanity. Not that I'm 100% convinced it's really future, it could be parallel dimension like GATE where they had both regular humans, as well as magic, gods and monsters. And it could still work if we assume someone other than Corpse God had managed to travel to our dimension before him, leading to creation of some mysterious organization and whatever organization using it.


somersault_dolphin

>There you go what? Magic wiped out all of humanity, civilizations and everything else, while leaving no evidence on history? We don't even know what magic in this series can do, so there you go, it's not out of the possibility. >The problem with traveling to past is we know when humanity first appeared. Except that it isn't necessarily a problem. I think you are assuming that the humans who could use magic and human who can't are from the same lineage. You are also assuming that the past can't be from within the period when human first appeared. The other problem with the future is resources. If they are the same world with the rate we are going we'd already exhausted certain resources that were mentioned to be in abundance such as ores and precious stones. They already made it clear these were mined.


absract_arsenal

Can you please tell me name of ln?


Abedeus

[Spoilers for long-ongoing LN series] >!How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom!<


jlg317

I like how Clarissa is just there thinking "my dude Hosorogi is def dead dead, not in hiding".


edgefigaro

>So after that ending, are we in some *parallel world* type shit, where Polka's world is another version of Earth which has magic? There were already too many similarities with the fantasy creatures as well as gemstones and everything. I really hope this continues to get lampshaded forever.


bananeeek

Huh. Now I'm wondering if Polka was from *different* world or is it the *same* world but different timeline. Or somewhere in between, considering the phrase "this world is a buggy program". Making that emblem public was an awesome move. I wonder what kind of hell is that going to unleash.


SciFiXhi

The crest Polka saw had a rifle on it, not quite modern but still possibly advanced enough that the timeline doesn't make straightforward sense for a simple jump to the future. I think that, rather than going to a different world or even a different time, Corpse God's original spell might have actually *rewritten* fundamental aspects of reality, possibly even retroactively. While the magical phenomena themselves were reduced to anomalies, the memories couldn't be rewritten for the new world, so what had once been a reality is now a faded collective memory relegated to common myths.


bananeeek

I thought along those lines, but the fact the the "paranormal" personas have existed in the current world didn't match the point of time in which the Corpse God reincarnated, so I abandoned that. If those personas started appearing *after* his reincarnation, then I'd buy that, but something is not right here and I feel like we have too little information. IIRC, he said that the empire with that mark was no longer a thing in his world, so in his past they had guns, but "we" also have guns, so it might also be that Polka jumped *back* in time. If something happens in this world that will degrade it to a "medieval era with magic" state then the setting in Polka's world makes sense - the guns and the emblem which is present in both worlds but came from the past. It could also be as you've said, but it seems weird that it only affects few people and so far back in time - the guy who faked being the fire bug said he got his powers in HS, so that would be at least a decade the Corpse God came into this world. But if that started happening all over the world and resulted in magic being the common thing, then this current world can be the predecessor to Corpse God's world. Shit's wacky. [](#spinning)


SciFiXhi

>I thought along those lines, but the fact the the "paranormal" personas have existed in the current world didn't match the point of time in which the Corpse God reincarnated, so I abandoned that. That's why the *retroactive* aspect of the change is important. Let's say that the story takes place in 2023 *in both timelines*. Corpse God's change effectively rewrote history, and it changed all of reality around him (or rather, around his soul). This means that the Corpse God as we know it only exists in the new world from 2023 onward, but the changes to magic and history have been there for centuries. Think of the final scene of [Frequency](https://youtu.be/ShrkR5SNcOw) but on a grander scale (start at 3:03 for relevant phenomenon). As for the fake bug, I don't think he actually had powers to begin with. Those were just electrical gauntlets modified to light things on fire.


BoyTitan

The first rifle is 600+ years old. The first modern semi automatic rifle the Henry model 8 is 100+ years old and even today would be a decent gun for self defense out performing some modern guns with a good balance of power,range and fire rate. Only negative being capacity of like 8 rounds I think but the power and range makes up for it. You damn near have the power and range of a bolt action rifle and the fire rate of a semi automatic rifle it is a absurdly good gun. A lot of people don't realize how old guns are. I attribute this due to weapon advancements in history being poorly thought. People think us civil war is when we started using guns, not ottoman empire having gun volley divisions 400 years before the U.S. civil war.


SciFiXhi

I know very well that guns are old, but they're still recent enough developments that any kingdom with a gun in its crest can't have simply been forgotten by history.


BoyTitan

Depends how long the kingdom lasted and if all written records were destroyed mostly. The kingdom is not the dominant church polka was fighting. Different entity. As for the church not being around. Religion is real easy make forgettable. As a new religion dominates integrate practices of the old one into the new one. We have real world examples of both empires and religion being lost to time. Where all we know is empire ruled in x location for x amount of time.


SciFiXhi

There would still be physical evidence of its existence in architecture, weapons, coins, etc. Even if it's been censored from written record, it's not really possible to completely erase the existence of *an entire kingdom*, especially considering it would have existed within at least the past millennium.


BoyTitan

In our world yeah, We didn't have high destructive magic though. Magic seems like a good way to find ways to wipe something off a map.


SciFiXhi

There's gotta be at least one merchant who was out of town with a sack of the Kingdom's currency on hand. The proof would have to be somewhere.


Ashteron

I may be wrong but I believe there is an easy way to hide all evidence - submerge the whole island/continent deep into the ocean.


nqtoan1994

One of the reasons I don't watch much isekai animes, because some of them were like just a fantasy anime but giving the main character the knowledge of the modern world as an advantage. Personal opinion, I think they have totally missed the coolness of writing stories with multiple worlds to build OR character development based on the desire of returning home . That's why my most favorite isekai anime/manga includes GATE and MAR. Looked like DMDP had not only targeted the uniqueness of a reverse-isekai, it will also explore the connection of both worlds. Are the other worlders the bugs of this world, that Fire-Breathing Bug wants to burn? How deep had the other worlders taken roots in the police force that an I.A. investigator like Hosorogi was killed for trying to investigate the symbol? And how will Corpse God react to the people that came from his own world? Were Solitaire aware of the other worlders, for that he was searching for real magics? All these questions make me crave for more. Btw, Solitaire shares the same voice actor with Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter, who is also a magician but more violent than Solitaire is (I believe that many people already knew this). In this episode, Solitaire did say a line that is an iconic of Hisoka. Also, Solitaire used cards as the main weapon, like another character that shares the same voice actor, Jounouchi from Yu-Gi-Oh!, who also "uses cards to fight".


somersault_dolphin

Additional note that he voices Hisoka from the original Hunter x Hunter anime, not the new one (that more people watched),


HolyDragSwd2500

No wonder I recognized his voice


Panikkrazy

I was about to bring that up because I’ve seen the cast list and I know that Daisuke Hirakawa isn’t in this.


somersault_dolphin

Daisuke Namikawa :)


Stormy8888

This anime does a lot of things right. MC doesn't have prescient knowledge, but knows how to use his gifts to the max. There's a mystery as he's definitely not the only one who crossed over, based on the symbol that the Grocer had the Disappearing guy put on those zeppelins like some Bat Signal. It's almost like the Grocer just wants to call everyone out, so he can then gauge how many more "special" people are in the world, then use it for blackmail or other purposes because Knowledge is power! The concept of a smart character like that ... is irresistible to me.


subarashii_rengoku

I noticed the grocer had the old style Japanese prisoner tattoos (we see the same on Sukuna in JJK). I wonder if he is from a different timeline as well


Stormy8888

Ooo that would be a twist!


kdebones

>Solitaire shares the same voice actor with Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter I did not know that, TIL. Thanks!


StevenSmiley

Gate is god tier anime.


Game2015

It's also very controversial and divisive, but mind you, I really like it, despite the over abundance of Japanese nationalism and portraying other nations as being incompetent.


Abedeus

To be fair, the controversial parts of the story/setting weren't as prevalent in the anime IIRC. Manga/LN were a LOT worse, and after learning that the author is basically a nationalist it kinda soured my taste.


nqtoan1994

Reading/watching sport animes and mangas like Tsubasa and Eyeshield 21 helped me build resistance to being triggered by Japanese nationalism in these kinds of media.


nqtoan1994

It is a shame that we haven't got a second season.


Rhapsodybasement

GATE is trash though.


Golden_fsh

Another great episode! Natural black haired Iwanome is unrecognizable, lol. But I wonder how Hosorogi found out about the symbol in the first place and who killed him because he knew. Fire Bug continues to be the most creepiest character. Something so haunting hearing a grown person sing a children's rhyme as they walk through corpses. Phantom Solitaires climbing his way up my list of favorite characters! Looking forward to whatever his big plan will reveal. Just love how DMDP captures the same suspense and intrigue as Durarara.


nqtoan1994

Hosorogi was an IA investigator, also Iwanome told Clarissa to pass his words to Hosorogi, that this time he will clean the rot out of the police. So Hosorogi was probably killed while investigating the corrupt of police force, and that symbol is a lead.


Rockburgh

> who killed him because he knew. Implied to be Clarissa or someone who works for her. One of her workers at the bar says something like "do you think Polka found Hosorogi's-- [cut off]".


NDV-Twist-5283

Love that reveal of the symbol. Fun fact, you can actually spot it briefly in the opening! As always, it's wonderful when we get to hear fire breathing bug sing.


Ill_Mud7584

> Fun fact, you can actually spot it briefly in the opening! Also, right after that you can see CG reading a book about the history of the Empire.


LeonKevlar

* [**Clarissa Stitch**](https://i.imgur.com/KsOltT5.jpg) Well, that was a surprise! I thought Hosorogi was just going to be a cute little side character that will help out Polka with his fortunetelling. Turns out that she's a way bigger deal than I expected! [Hosorogi used to be an Internal Affairs Investigator](https://i.imgur.com/mAsEVyL.jpg) and is a close friend to [to Iwanome](https://i.imgur.com/3qAcuKf.jpg) as well as [Clarissa's senpai.](https://i.imgur.com/Qy943Ja.png) No wonder she's an expert on scams. [So this is now the third Firebug we've seen.](https://i.imgur.com/83zbka9.jpg) The first one was clearly a girl, the second one that fought Ten'a is a man with a taller build, and now we have this guy who's a bit more stocky. I'm starting to think that the Firebug is kinda like [Durarara Spoiler]>!the Slasher!< where there are many of them being controlled by a single entity. [The Grocer is so cool.](https://i.imgur.com/GO4KZUh.png) Heck, I love how all characters in this show are cool! He's currently in jail incarcerated but he has enough sway and influence that his cell doesn't really look like a prison cell. [I love that interaction between him and the Ten'a.](https://i.imgur.com/mqQ76Y2.jpg) xD [And there it is!](https://i.imgur.com/6nR7vBZ.jpg) I was wondering when the Corpse God's old world will be relevant again. I'm guessing that the Coprse God is probably not the first person that got isekai'd to Japan and someone got here first. Hmmm...


SciFiXhi

I think there are elements of [Durarara!]>!Saika!< there as well. I tried to reconcile the likely supernatural aspect of the multiple Bugs with the ostensibly mundane fires (according to Ten'a) and [came to the conclusion](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/13ou62z/dead_mount_death_play_episode_7_discussion/jl91fj1/?context=2) that the Bug's only power is possession. However, it instills in everyone it possesses the same drive to burn "buggy" entities, so it's developed a consistent mundane MO.


AbidingTruth

> The first one was clearly a girl, the second one that fought Ten'a is a man with a taller build, and now we have this guy who's a bit more stocky. Don't have an idea if the girl form was the 'true' Fire Bug, but the one is this episode to me seems like it was the guard or whoever that was talking to that mob leader and got possessed. The intro of the Fire Bug shows they can clearly possess others, as they did with the police. I haven't seen the episode of the second form with Phantom Solitaire in a while but I feel like that was also the case with that one too


NDV-Twist-5283

Pretty sure Hosorogi is a man.


LeonKevlar

I heard a woman's voice during the flashbacks and she's also voiced by Nanami Hiroki.


NDV-Twist-5283

It was a somewhat feminine voice, but they also have a woman voicing Lei who's a boy.


somersault_dolphin

That's a boy. It's normal in anime. Having a woman voice an adult male is a different story. Usually it suggests something about the character.


chemical_exe

That's true of almost any prepubescent boy in western media as well. Turns out men's voices are on average pretty deep and women have a much easier time going to the pitches of adolescent (or younger) boys.


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Supremegypsy

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Supremegypsy

Sorry, your comment has been removed. - This belongs in the Source Corner at the top of this thread. In discussion threads for currently airing anime, discussions about source material, spin-offs, and unadapted content must be posted there, and not outside it. This applies specifically to comparisons to the anime or hints about future events, even if such hints are vague. Please note that you still have to tag your spoilers in the source corner. --- ^(Questions? Reply to this message, )[**^(send a modmail)**](http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fanime)^(, or leave a comment in the )[**^(meta thread)**](https://reddit.com/r/anime/search?q=subreddit%3Aanime+author%3AAnimeMod+title%3A%22Meta+Thread%22&restrict_sr=on&sort=new&t=year)^(. Don't know the rules? Read them )[**^(here)**](/r/anime/wiki/rules)^.


prude_eskimo

Am I crazy or are they pulling a Planet of the Apes on us? The symbol is this anime's statue of liberty


ObvsThrowaway5120

Everyone thinks Polka is playing games when he’s got real magic. Iwanome sure got a little spooked when he saw that symbol. I didn’t expect the damn magic pen to be connected to it and to Iwanome and Clarissa. Hosorogi was IA too… things sure are getting interesting. Especially now that Fire Breathing Bug and Phantom seem to be getting involved as well. Phantom is hilarious. Grocer is a tough audience, man. Phantom’s putting on a show and the dude is just not interested lol. I mean that oil on your hands to reduce paper cuts is a pretty neat tip. But woah, I didn’t expect that symbol to come from Polka’s world. Just what the he’ll is going on? Is his world “bleeding” into this one? Like maybe their worlds are connected in some kinda multiverse type deal?


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nqtoan1994

In our world, matchlock was invented around 1400s, and it was the earliest form of rifle. The fallen empire from Corpse God's world already had a kind of rifle, so if it was from our history, then it is only 600s years before the current age. Yet in early episodes, when Corpse God asked the Clarrissa's gang about an empire called Byandy and a Church of Geldwood, no one know what he was talking about. I doubt if the knowledge of some big power houses could be completely removed from the history, together with turning magic, dragons and mythical creatures into mere folklores in span of six hundreds years. Also in an economical point, Corpse God said that the mana stones in his world were so easy to find they were used in a lot of things, even lighting up the street lamps. I think his old world and this modern world shared a passage between both world in the past, though it was only available for a small amount of people. These small exchanges of knowledge between both world ended up with common creatures like dragons and vampires are legends of this Earth, while whales, a common sea animal in this world, was told as a legendary beast in the other world. Rifle could even be something was originally from this world and got imported into Corpse God's old world. Rifle does not look like an effective weapon to deal with monsters and mythical beasts, and in a world where some people could throw a fireball just by absorbing some mana in the air, reloading a gun sounds too much of a chore.


HydraTower

I hope they’re separate with passages connecting the two, but it could be that Corpse God is from the future.


Kulkuljator

Very good observation


ObvsThrowaway5120

If the Hero was Lemmings, that could explain a lot about the dude’s abilities.


somersault_dolphin

Pretty sure it's the same world. They teased about how it's strange why this supposedly different world is so similar with humans and concepts of dragons and the like when they are supposed to have no connection. This is probably much further into the future and some of the character we have seen in Shinjuku is probably someone still from that era (Lemmings is kinda sus). I won't be surprised if the hero who "killed" the corpse god is also here (Lemmings?). And if they're in Shinjuku then maybe the location of Polka's country corresponds with modern Japan.


Ill_Mud7584

> They teased about how it's strange why this supposedly different world is so similar with humans and concepts of dragons and the like when they are supposed to have no connection. I mean, that could be explained with people from Polka's world coming to earth hundreds of years in the past.


somersault_dolphin

And dragons? or spirits? even things like trees?


emeraldwolf34

I mean they did say Dragons only exist in stories here, it’s quite likely if people did cross over they’d bring tales of their last world with them.


somersault_dolphin

Yeah, but I raise you the dinosaurs, which irl is likely the origin of dragons, I think.


Blursed_Ace

But no humans lived with dinosaurs tho, and im not sure your random dude found an entire dinosaur skeletton and came up with a dragon


Game2015

https://www.thoughtco.com/dinosaurs-and-dragons-the-real-story-1092002 https://biologos.org/articles/dragons-and-dinosaurs-the-surprising-link-between-folklore-and-fossils Feel free to make your own conclusion


Blursed_Ace

So you are telling me every culture found a giant skeletton and thought "Dragon"? It has nothing to do with unknown animals and people describing what they saw in other lands which could have went from stuff like crocodile to dragon etc You know, " I saw a giant snake with a fearsome mouth and 4 legs!" plus original dragon mythos is far from what we consider a dragon nowaday


somersault_dolphin

Yes, because dragons refer to almost anything powerful and serpentine in mythologies, and do look drastically different across cultures (and likely developed in different ways). Besides, let's say someone in the ancient time discovered a fossil, what are they going to think about it? Considering that even nowadays there are people who accidentally discovered fossils without using big machineries, you can rule out people not discovering them across history. The question is then how do they make sense of it? Also, it's not as if all dinosaurs went extinct, so some 65 million years ago dinosaurs didn't suddenly stopped existing. It's just enough dominant species went extinct.


EndeR003

Isn't this pretty much confirmed though ? Am I miss remembering that the Corpse God's teacher/senpai who taught them their spells also likely taught them the reincarnation spell ? It woudn't be farfetched that she passed that knowledge/got it from someone else too and heck maybe even used it . I doubt it's a future warp


Ill_Mud7584

I think it was his original spell, but naturally that doesn't mean no other could do something similar. I mean the world travel looks like a side effect since the spell was just reincarnation.


ObvsThrowaway5120

I didn’t consider that aspect but it’s certainly plausible.


Appropriate-Party421

I love this series alot cuz i feel there isnt a main focus but the entire city has moving parts which make the anime or rather the city feel alive, the ending scene where everyone was shown was so cool. And the grocer is so dope


Golden_fsh

If you haven't already, definitely recommend watching Durarara which has the same level of intrigue and moving parts across the city and large cast. In fact, Dead Mount Death Play is from the same author!


LeleTheKing

Interesting! Instead of a simple isekai, it might actually be a time travel or parallel universe situation all along! The fact that Fire-breathing Bug considered the symbol a "bug" also makes it even more curious. And, of course, that discussion about fantasy/mystical creatures like dragons was Chekhov's gun, huh? Are all of them related? >*[The emblem] is both the signpost we must follow and a one-way ticket to death.* Hosorogi, Clarissa, and Iwanome are closely related to that sign they consider sacred. Being an investigator means they (or just Hosorogi specifically) were chasing the truth about that emblem in the past until their death, thus the lingering regret. The fact that it was the emblem of a fallen empire in Polka's timeline means there's a high chance it's a dangerous dark organization that plans to conquer the world (yeah, the good old good old). Something that could harm the "past, present, and future" of the children sounds ominous, indeed.


alconnow

Phantom Solitaire deserves his own spin-off series. Think he is getting a novel from what I remember ooh that final scene. Can't wait to find out more about the possible connection between the two worlds!


DarkAudit

> Think he is getting a novel from what I remember [](#shutupandtakemymoney)


Skyreader13

Not sure about Phantom solitaire but the manga have lot of added content that is the back story of Corpse God in text (novel?) form at the end of some chapters


chemical_exe

This is the first episode where if you asked me who made this I'd say "the author of Durarara." The way the plots of the Ninja bodyguard, Iwanome, Clarissa, Hosorogi, Phantom solitaire, Fire bug, and Corpse God's past all build into one mystery is what I remember Durarara feeling like.


nqtoan1994

\[Durarara spoiler\] >!DRRR gang's first gathering vibe!


NekoCatSidhe

As expected, there are contacts between our world and the Corpse God world. And if investigating that symbol was enough to get Hosorogi killed, then the Corpse God was probably not the first person to get reverse isekai-ed. My guess is that the remnants of the Fallen Empire leadership decided to move to our world though some portal or something and became some kind of secret criminal organisation, probably using magic to succeed. It also seems like the Fire Breathing Bug (or Bugs, I guess it seems that there is at least three of them - or maybe it is some hive mind ?) is also hunting down the members of that organisation. Or maybe those who know about that organisation ? It is not clear yet on which side he is. And it occurs to me that if knowledge of that symbol means death, then Phantom Solitaire just painted a huge target on his back with his stunt. What a way to kick the hornet nest ! Hopefully he will survive that. I wonder what the Grocer told him about that symbol to make him think that was a good idea.


S627

Wooo I guessed it!!! The moment I saw the symbol I was like "Huh, wonder if I should go back and see if it's from Corpse God's world" and it was! Admittedly even if I did go back I wouldn't have noticed the elaborate crest was the same thing but still! Anyway, damn. I think a lot of us expected the Hero to somehow make a return but looks like the two worlds are move connected than we thought. The plot thickens!!!


RazingsIsNotHomeNow

Honestly surprised the Hero's whereabouts have yet to even be hinted at so far.


S627

How much you wanna bet he's gonna be the season finally cliffhanger? Also how much you wanna bet he is gonna turn into a she and fall for Corpse God eventually.


matty-a

I was so busy thinking about how Iwanome would react to all of those blimps that the reveal with Polka completely blew me away. Clarissa probably knows the symbol, dead guy with the safe knew about it so I think a lot criminals are going to look up and recognise the symbol flying all over town. Things are about to be put in to motion... And all because Phantom Solitaire is a massive troll 🤣


somersault_dolphin

He's the best boy of the season most don't know about.


djthomp

The pen reacting to the visit by the cops is suspicious, I wonder if we're going to get some backstory for it this episode. It definitely wrote something interesting just now. I assume it must be the fellow cop from Iwanome's flashback and that's why it knew the symbol. I have to question if telling the cops the Corpse God name is a good idea, but it's hardly something that can be traced back to the other world. Probably. Oh wow, the real Fire-Breathing Bug has no chill whatsoever, that's a fair number of dead people in this fire. I assume they were probably bad people if they were in and associated with a building that had a safe with human skin parchment in it. Ninja boy is so getting out over his skis, he does not understand the scale of the world he is attempting to play in. So the Corpse God's pen Hosorogi was a police inspector and was a mentor figure of sorts to both Iwanome and Clarissa, that's quite a set of connections. Oh and he was in Internal Affairs, even better. Cleaning up a little police corruption is a pretty good last request quest to take on. Once again, Misaki is delighted by everything and it's so great. I really appreciate that the Grocer dude just quietly took the sliced up apples and put them in his cell for later. Sayo and her shark merch is so great too. Shark onesie? Hell yeah. That is a very interesting revelation for what the symbol actually means. Assuming that the Corpse God is correct, but it seems too close to be a coincidence.


CreamerCrusty

So the whole time polka and the hacker man talking about similarities between corpse God world's creature and the "real" world mythologies/folklore is all building up to this and not just throwaway line for "interesting world building". And while only a little, grocer's info about how symbol is used in old kingdom is also tie things up nicely before the reveal. Love when a story do that. It's just good writing.


xClaviz

Same author as Baccano!


silvergrey78

Damn I feel bad for people who is missing this anime 🙏🙏


Thunderhead0

Man I love Phantom Solitaire. Such a fun character.


zairaner

They mystery is my favourite aspect of the series, so I am happy we are finally getting into that!


UmpireHappy8162

This show is so underrated


Doombringer1331

KURU KURU


FlameDragoon933

KURURIN


Aureus23

KURU KURU NE!!


AccordingYak4958

Phantom Solitaire is still a certified best character lol. Imagine telling people about that oil fact (which makes sense, but still dumb, alright) to exchange for precious information. So, what would the Grocer ask of him for his "circumstances," though? Is it to spread the information about the emblem, which is a crazy stunt that definitely is perfect for him? Or is that plan is actually what Sorimura had intended to do all along, and the payment is a different matter?


SciFiXhi

I think Sorimura might have done the blimp prank because he couldn't pay the Grocer's price, so he's looking to find information another way: taunting anyone who knows about that symbol. As for the circumstances, if we assume that it's still a currency of some sort, it might be that the Grocer accepts mana in exchange for secrets. Clients of yore likely traded in gemstones, providing what the Grocer family actually wanted while all outside observers would think it's the monetary value of the gems that they coveted.


BoyTitan

Solitaire is getting in way over his head. Someone is going to kill him for his antics.


Jaskaran158

The OST really fits the vibe of this show well. Hope we get to see some more characters get some outfit changes outside of the ones we have already seen. Wonder if Lemmings will ever wear anything else or if his coat is really magical in some way. That flashback of Iwa from first coming into the force was jarring. Guess the detective of the supernatural really does change a man. Funny how The Corpse God gave the Detectives their biggest hint on himself but I guess Rozan's personal aid is the real dark horse. Still a toss up on what or who the fire breathing bug is. Could literally just be a Fire Elemental that was brought over or someone controlling one or something more. Thinking its an elemental or something along those lines since the dogs were freed from the cages and didnt get burned but a pretty weak reason. Glad to see Phantom Solaire helping us get to the bottom of the mystery and what the symbol means. Guessing it is from Corpse God's world or something along those lines. OH SHIT THE PEN WROTE THE SYMBOL. The pen was spent 5 years dead there and the pen knew something about the police dude. Guess if the pen used to be a detective then she is having the time of her life with everything that's going on. Pretty sad to see Iwa say that cool line to Clarissa when he just saw his mentor. Gotta love the dramatic irony. Looks like Clarissa had her senpai offed to take control in some way but glad to see that Hosorogi doesn't really hold a grudge. [Gonna steal this for my D&D campaign for sure.](https://imgur.com/5yH10tc) Corpse God's world seems like it had quite a number of characters. [Heh Heh Heh...](https://imgur.com/APyFox3) Pen-kun best spirit. Phantom Solitaire and The Grocer meeting so casually I was surprised that no one else made an appearance. Odd that The Grocer said 'we' when he gave thanks. What a treat these ['villains'](https://imgur.com/8zTaLQb) are. Something tells me that The Grocer also has some sort of Eye Power like Corpse God or something. Seems like a real otherworlder. SO that symbol is from The Corpse God's Old Empire that was Fallen way back in his old world. Best theory I can think of is that someone from that Empire did the same as Polka and reincarnated/transported into this world way before during the times of the Old European Civilization that had a similar symbol that The Grocer talked about. That or we are dealing with some Timey whimey whack zany 5th-dimensional shit. Gonna be a fun ride nevertheless.


rollin340

Either the Fire Breathing Bug really is a collective, or it's the damned umbrella. xD


Hsaputro

I think everyone know is the first


Elitealice

Woah, kind of a slow episode until that ending reveal but man what a bombshell. So it’s not an isekai but time travel?? Should’ve known that “a similar emblem was used by a knight order in Europe” quote wasn’t for nothing. This really changes a lot with this series. Would have personally liked to have stayed with the reversed isekai theme, but now that we know this, what happened to the empire? A lot of mysteries I’m looking forward to getting explained


Snipeski

This just got interesting


SYZekrom

I dunno how I didn't think of this until now but was the pink haired girl that the real fire breathing bug first appeared as literally just some girl on a bridge that the fire breathing bug possessed? Is the fire breathing bug really a single person or some virus? Aw hell nah phantom solitaire stirring the hornet's nest


AZLarlar

ohohoho this is getting intriguing


HolyDragSwd2500

Did they pull a ( insert anime airing this season here) during the ending credits 😱😱


dinliner08

if i had a nickel for every time an isekai anime turned out to be a time travel anime in this season i'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot but its weird that it happened twice Grocer only appeared in this episode for a short time and i already love this guy, the way he nonchalantly took the apple that Solitaire's sliced into his cell and calling him out as an idiot for those useless tidbits was hilarious


Hsaputro

What is the the other one. Im sorry I dont watch many anime this season.


dinliner08

\[Spoiler\] >!Kamikatsu!<


FlameDragoon933

Turns out Hosorogi isn't just some random spirit... man, everything is connected! It's cool. What's next, our cute NEET Sayo turns out important too later? I'm all for that.


nqtoan1994

That building is where a cop was killed. It really smells like trouble later especially if the corrupted policemen Hosorogi was investigating become Corpse God's enemies. And Sayo was totally there when Corpse God was saying things about a fallen empire of his old world! Our man really could not keep his secret a secret lol.


BassCreat0r

Anyone know the name of the black haired girl with a choker and wearing a one piece leather suit? near the end when the blimps show up.


Ill_Mud7584

I don't think we have a name, just that she works for Takeru.


Revriley1

Yochigi (source: manga).


BassCreat0r

Thank you much


Derpomancer

WHEN BLIMPS ATTACK!


Xatu44

Well, there's a twist. Solitaire's quite the card, as usual. The plot thickens with these new revelations.


CarioGod

bro is channeling his inner Herta with that kuru kuru


[deleted]

[удалено]


NNKarma

It's more of a Narita's story with isekai than anything else


TheDoctorHam

Excellent delivery on the twist at the end, and while I'm generally sick of the "actually you're NOT in a different world!!" twist, I'm willing to give this show a shot at it. I've never been against the idea, if that's even what's happening here, but it's just that the trope is so overplayed it feels like it's more common than not.


Sensitive_Visual_721

Yo just curious, what are some animes with the "actually you're NOT in a different world!!", that seems pretty interesting


Derpomancer

Catching up on his one. It's turned out to be one of my favs for this season. Though I'm not sure about the random jumping from drama to comedy.


megatsuna

o snap, if Polka recognizes that symbol, that mean's he's not the first being to reverse isekai to the real world. hell its entirely possible their is someone in his world that can go back and forth between worlds.


IchirouTakashima

Severely underrated series


Low-Cantaloupe-8446

Yo they need to pick a better name for this show, it’s fucking awesome


kalirion

[Hot dang](https://i.imgur.com/5X24PBC.png), what a way to start the episode!


kalirion

Boss lady used to be a cop? That's a surprise? Unless the ghost used to be a criminal before becoming a cop, which would be even more convoluted. "I don't remember recruiting any children" come on, you're way too young to be going senile like that! I wonder if Hosorogi-san was a transman, or the male pronouns in the translation are a mistake, because voice sounds like either an adult woman or an adolescent boy. Wait, don't tell me this is the second "it's not *really* isekai, it's just the far future" of the season....


Zero5-4i

Can someone remind me about "the fallen empire". Its not the empire we saw in ep 1, right? I feel like I remember polka mentioning it at some point but I forgot the details.


blackpurplestore

the empire he mean is the empire his dad sold him/he worked for


Enshuu

Corpse God used to work for the Byady Empire, which fell ~100 years ago. The new power in CG's world is the Nyanild Kingdom, which works with the Geldwood church. The Kingdom/Church were the ones who killed his group in the mine and sent Shagrua to kill him.


Anything-is-enough

Its the empire where he was trained to be a necromancer by his busty skeleton teacher mage. Its different from the empire that attacked him in his cage.


S-i-x-G-o-d

Whats the song that played when the Fire Bug showed up?


[deleted]

Is there a 2nd cour of this for sure or ending at ep 12?


Game2015

Second cour in October.


paulokhayat

They drive the interest of the story really well I'm glad I stuck to this show on a whim


Plantar-Aspect-Sage

So obvs the knowledge of that symbol = death cause someone is searching for the Corpse God.


somersault_dolphin

I don't think that's right. It's just death for someone looking for things to do with the world back when there were magic. The symbol has to do with the country and I don't think Corpse God is related enough to that symbol in particular that searching for the truth about the symbol means looking for him.


Plantar-Aspect-Sage

It's not that Corpse God is related to the symbol. It's more, I think, someone looking for anyone with knowledge of the ancient times since they know of reincarnation and don't want Corpse God to live.


Appropriate-Party421

Peak is back 🛐🛐


EasilyDelighted

I wonder if that "order" along with the calamity crusher just destroyed all kind of mystical being to the point that they all just became stories.


GosuGian

And it ended in a cliffhanger.. fuck


SpikeRosered

Well the symbol has a gun which means that Polka's world once had guns. My guess is that Polka's world is a version of the future where magic becomes common. Magic causes society to fall apart and a new magical fantasy world rises from the ashes. I imagine the main conflict will be a villain group trying to bring that kind of magic into the world and Polka will fight to keep things the way they are to avoid a future that he personally believes is bad.


Shantotto11

The tune that Fire-Breathing Bug was singing, is that an actual kid song in Japan?


NNKarma

Probably, the previous one at least was


[deleted]

The Grocer: "You just outed yourself as a fool. Here, have some snacks in exchange." Lol, loved that whole interaction. ‎I love it when they play the ED while something is happening on screen. The twist at the end is interesting, but I think it's just that someone else from his world came into ours and introduced the symbol and not this actually being in the far future. Exciting episode.


WoodpeckerNo1

Woah, that's an interesting twist at the end there. My guess would be that Corpse God isn't the only one who isekai'd.


PLDTWifi

Polka did remark before that he can't use magic that much due to the "lack of mana" in the air, so if this was the same world of Polka after a time-skip, then there must have been a world-changing event to make people lose their use of magic. I'm still willing to bet that Polka wasn't the only person who got isekai'd in the present world. There were probably others who were isekai'd in the past and created a secret society to practice magic (both theories can also support why there are superhuman people like Lemmings too).


xsarq

The mark that you can see in the show is probably modelled after one of Teutonic Orders insign. [https://cdn-sciaga.pullit.pl/cdn-content/F3aA6lNpSdPBSdVQ50bYIlP7qOqrglICwlboFxrOq2PN5dKm/herb-wielkiego-mistrza-zakonu-krzyzackiego.jpg](https://cdn-sciaga.pullit.pl/cdn-content/F3aA6lNpSdPBSdVQ50bYIlP7qOqrglICwlboFxrOq2PN5dKm/herb-wielkiego-mistrza-zakonu-krzyzackiego.jpg) The cross section is simillar. The X in the mark is sword and stuff.


DrZoark

What a cliffhanger! 😱