Dead Rock Rules Article 6: “Damage To School Facilities Is An Act Of Rebellion Against God.” In Short: I don’t care who you kill in this school- just don’t break my sh!t. Makes sense for an Evil God. Can’t let people think they can just “Do Whatever” in your school!! I bring this up at the start because I don’t have a good opening; I’m beginning this post immediately after starting on this week’s Dump Post. I go into more detail there, but to make a long story short: I suck at Time Management, and now I’m a wee bit behind on this and another post. As for the title: Couldn’t Think Of Anything Else. At least; nothing “Funny.” I COULD have said something about Frey since this is her chapter more than anyone’s, but I couldn’t think of something fun to say that also got across that this is a Sad story. “Blazing Tears” is just another way to say the title of the chapter, so that would have been kind of boring. And now I don’t even have a Big Segue point. Um………… THINGS. There, saved it. Dead Rock Chapter 5: “Fire Cry.” Already getting into Character profiles, huh? Check it out for yourself if I don’t include it in the post!! 

Overview

Picking up from the Last Chapter: Yakuto has gone Full Dragon(looks like Acnologia from “Fairy Tail,” but some other people have pointed out a few differences in their designs). Reisen’s all for it with the kind of “Punch” this is packing, while Frey can only focus on the fact that her Beloved Sister has become one of Louzen’s Battle Pets- something that isn’t necessarily “Dead,” but also clearly not alive. Mikoto can’t control them- just know that. Her(Frey’s) sister is about to attack her, but Mikoto tackles her out of the way and tells her to stop spacing out. Meanwhile: Yakuto begins to go Berserk- incapable of distinguishing “Friend” from “Foe.” So his “Friends” start becoming his “Foes” and attack him- with Hien and Reisen intending on killing him. But they find that fighting a Dragon is gonna be a lot tougher than they were thinking…………..

Louzen is just enjoying the Kaiju battle between Hani and Yakuto, not noticing Frey going back to find her sister. And in all of this happening; the Battle pets start dropping like flies. So Louzen himself decides to get involved in the conflict. Back with Frey: She manages to find her sister, but begins to realize that the beloved “Big Sis” she had been looking for is……….. not “there” anymore. FLASHBACK- Level 296 of The Demon Realm: The other kids are teasing Frey for wearing such worn out and ragged looking clothing, but she replies that it’s a hand-me-down from her sister- it’s something more precious to her than any new clothes. And there her sister is to pick her up from school. She(Frey’s Sister) begins talking about going to Dead Rock and becoming a Demon King she can get money and support Frey. And Frey says she’s gonna surpass her someday, but the sister says she’ll just become stronger. And on and on until we come back to present to see Frey fighting her sister. Or, well; what’s left anyway. 

The flames they make create a ring around them that Mikoto can’t pass through. But she yells that her sister’s bodily systems have already ceased. So Frey takes it upon herself to incinerate her head. By defeating her here, she “believes” that she surpassed her sister, but………… she knows in her heart-of-hearts that this doesn’t count. And what’s more: She’ll never get the chance to. And it’s all because of Louzen of The Four Demon Teachers. And now she’s gonna go take his head off and put it in a jar. But Mikoto talks her out of it…………. for the moment. She wants to help her with that, but between the power differential, Yakuto being out of control, and her own injuries- now’s not the time. Speaking of: Yakuto is still on the rampage and is about to catch a “Demonic Super Macho Fist” from Louzen. But just then- 

God Himself Appears In The Death Arena.

“The Sixth Rule Of Dead Rock: Damage To School Facilities Is An Act Of Rebellion Against God.” So he takes it upon himself to stop Yakuto– with a single “tap” on his head. He’s surprised to see a Black Dragon around, and sentences him to the Disciplinary Cell- Blood Dungeon for 1 week. Overseeing him: Four Demon Teachers Lilith(Succubus). So THAT’S gonna be a fun week for him– though he doesn’t remember what he did that got him thrown in here. Some time after Lilith leaves him in there alone; that Kitsune girl(we’ll say until further notice) comes down to offer him a Deal: She wants his help in killing God. She knows his weakness. Dead Rock Chapter 5 END!! Yakuto’s interest has be intrigued. Show us what’cha got…………..

REVIEW

There’s a LOT of “Moving pieces” in this one; not all of them connected but all of them building to the same End goal: Fighting And Defeating God. Even with Frey’s side plot going forward will be resolved when it’s time for the battle. I don’t think she surpassed her sister. Or at least; she doesn’t “Feel” like she has. She fought and defeated a Mindless Corpse. I don’t know how strong her sister was, but I get the feeling- with the type of character she is(Earnest Battle Fiend)- that she doesn’t count this as a “win.” So what she might do to prove that she’s stronger than her sister is Kill Louzen– the man who took her away. Something simple like that for the Fire Battle Maniac. I like the Battle Fiends; they have such fun personalities- watching them interact in their own “Punch-Happy” way never ceases to make me smile! 

I also think this chapter was meant to Humanize these Demons- at least the main Class F. They’re Demons at the end of the day; they’ve come to Dead Rock to become Demon Lord’s who will one day take over part of the Human world, bringing as much death and misery with them as they possibly can. They are not the “Heroes” in all this; they’re just trying to kill a guy who’s Infinitely Worse for what are likely personal reasons. And THAT’S where we’re supposed to root for them; they’re going to cause problems for humanity, but we can’t forget that these Demons- no matter how bad– have families that they’re trying to provide for. Frey’s sister is trying to get her out of H#ll itself because she loves her sister; God clearly did something to Yakuto, and now he’s out for revenge; Raizen is trying to save someone he cares about– all of these are situations we can relate to. Wanting to protect and support our families; getting payback on the people that hurt them(although clearly not to the extent of Premeditated Murder); wanting to rescue someone from an bad situation- They’re…………. more like Humans than anything. 

I’m not saying that “All Demon’s were once humans” or something- we don’t have enough information to even speculate on that one; I’m saying that they have as much reason to become Demon Kings and Queens as we do for taking promotions from co-workers. “I have to do for me and mine- if I have to take a job for someone else to make sure that happens, then so be it.” It’s the same sh!t, just “dramatized.” That’s what this chapter was; showing that even a Probably Murder Happy Pyromaniac like Frey can still shed tears for someone she cares about. Mashima showed us in chapter 1 that this series was gonna have Morally grey- Bad guy characters driving the plot. But he also has to make sure that we want to root for them to win in the end- to want to see them survive Dead Rock- to accomplish the goals they set out to do- to see them……….. Happy. And that’s gotta be pretty darn difficult when you establish the entire main cast as Confirmed Killers. EVERYONE in this series has killed someone- some less then others- some go above and beyond to make sure they have the Highest Body count. But they’ve ALL killed before………….

Another point of discussion: God, The Dragons, and the Kitsune Girl. God now knows that Yakuto is a Black Dragon- probably the last Dragon out there. They SO did NOT die out naturally– God definitely had something to do with it. Although it could also have something to do with the events of “Fairy Tail” and Mashima is sort of saying that all of his series are connected. Demons DO exist in Fairy Tail. And the going ons in Edens Zero right now might be giving us an idea of how magic and Rave came to be, connecting it all to Ether. But that’s a topic for……………. the next large scale crossover he decides to do. But yeah; God likely killed them off himself. Because they’re likely the only race that could actually opposed him under the right circumstances. And he likely did it through whatever is afflicting Yakuto here and in chapter 3. He’s cursed. What manner of curse is it? Well, let’s look at what’s happened to him the 2 times we’ve seen it active: 

1. At a time of great stress, he tried to run but couldn’t. And the Kitsune Girl told us when she saw it that he “didn’t have much time left,” implying that it’s also killing him
2. In this chapter, Mikoto says it’s “corroding” him, and that it caused him to go berserk. And we see around his arm that it becomes flowing “ash.” 

Don’t know WHAT curse it is, but whatever it is– it’s killing Yakuto, and likely killed the other Dragons. Maybe it’s even weaking him- limiting what he can do or perhaps “corroding” his strength as a Dragon. Which is why Hani and the others even stood a chance here- maybe even why God was able to one shot him. 

But then you have the Kitsune Girl’s involvement. I’m just gonna assume she’s a Kitsune until I here explicitly what she is. But her getting involved in this feels………….. so “Logical.” In like: She doesn’t seem to have any sort of “care” for what’s going on- like this is “just a job she’s doing.” Some “Teller of Prophecy?” Or maybe a grudge against God passed down in her family for generations, and she’s one of those “I’m just carrying on the legacy” type of thing; she herself has now real grudge with God or anything. At least that’s how these…………….. initial 2 interactions in a so far 5 chapter series is portraying it. Maybe she DOES have some kind of beef with God and hasn’t been showing off. Or maybe she just has a crush on Yakuto become he’s got Dragon Roots- the rarest roots of all- and she’s trying to slide into his DMs with some false information. Maybe she’s trying to slide into God’s DMs by delivering 1)The Last of the Dragons and 2)Someone who’s trying to rebel against him. We’ll learn more next month, I’m sure………..

And I’m certain that Yakuto will say yes– whether the information is true or not. Whether or not she’s telling the truth- it’s another ally in his war against God. Needs all the help he can get. And besides, he’s not stupid; if it sounds logical and true, then an ally plus some useful information. She’s lying, and he now either has a spy on God or just another ally. Weaking though he might be– Yakuto is still a Black Dragon. And CLEARLY built as f*ck. He can kill her the moment she has no more use to his plans. So either way; expect to be seeing her more often. Honestly she might even become a “Series Regular,” to make as many TV Show production references as possible.

Conclusion

I notice with every chapter I have something to say about the general “vibe” I get from the series; what I think about it- what each chapter shows us about the world and its character- always something about the overall series……….. that just started. Like; we’re still on the 5th chapter, I want you to comprehend. And with each chapter I’ve talked about the characters– what they want; their morality and the Moral “status quo” of the series- the “Status Quo” of the series itself– the roles that characters are going to play- and a whole lot of speculation for a series that might not even be that long. Even if Edens Zero is about to catch the short end of the stick and end here in a bit, I don’t think this series will be extended that much. This was intended to be a short serialization- just something Mashima wanted to try out; I don’t he’ll stretch it out to be too too long. That would ruin all that planning he likely put into it. And a Mashima WITHOUT a plan………….. I don’t enjoy as much. 

Even right then, I started talking about this series composition again. But in all honesty, I don’t even see this as a 30 chapter story. 20-24 sounds about right– enough for about 6 volumes worth of content, yeah? Something simple. But, um……… that’s all I got for the lot of ya this month, folks. The Dump Post will be coming out on Sunday with the One Piece and My Hero add ons. Also, I want to take this moment to say: I was wrong– it’s just the 1 chapter of Chainsaw Man; there was no chapter the week of my writing this(Completing this post Tuesday, October 7th, 2023, around 9:41 pm), so it’s just the 1 chapter from last week. But STILL 2 “One Piece’s.” I’ll go into more detail when we get to that post, so stay tuned for that. Until THEN, though– Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and For ALL Your Worth: Buy “Dead Rock” Volume 1. It’s out now in Japan; Import it if you must– just make sure it sell like mad!! I want to see 900,000 first week sales, people!! For the Record: The best selling first week manga in history- Assassination Classroom– sold 600,000 in its first week with the release of Volume 1. We can beat that with our hands tied behind out backs. Come on, Mashima Nation- WHERE YOU AT!!! 

Okay, that’s all. ‘Til next time, folks- Laters!!