Dead Rock is a brilliant manga that I have already started collecting/pre-ordering the physical of. My first introduction to Mashima was with Rave Master the late 90s early 00s and I have been a fan ever since. Needless to say I was excited to see what this new adventure would bring.

Featuring Mashima’s iconic artwork and the start to an interesting story with a wonderful cast of characters this manga instantly hooked me. I have to confess Hani and Zelecia are my favourites rather than Yakuto but all the characters are interesting and fun. You get the touches of humour you can expect with action and dark fantasy so its an absolute hit for me.

As always thank you to Kodansha Comics for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an Honest Review.*

I love Fairy Tail and was excited to sit down and read the first volume of Dead Rock. I loved the premise and the style. The pacing was accelerated. I wish there were a more gradual buildup. Time to get to know the characters a bit more. Instead, it hits the ground running, and you need to keep up. That said, I will be reading the rest of the series. I need to know who comes out on top.

Thank you to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this manga. As someone who truly loves Fairy Tail and Edens Zero and Demon stories, I thought this manga would be a home run for me. However, this one was a bit underwhelming for me (reminds me of blue exorcist and my hero academia in the setting but also what I have heard about the plot of assassination classroom but do not know for sure), but other than that there was not much I am invested in plus there was too much repetitive dialogue. Because of these points, I have to give this a 3 out of 5 stars

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

this was an interesting first volume and had all of the character/plot cliches, art style, and unfortunately the fanservice that hiro mashima is known for.

i know that this is the first volume, but waaay too many things occurred and the overarching plot appears murky. i am interested to see where this series will go, so i'll definitely read the next volume

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics and Hiro Mashima for providing me with an ARC of Dead Rock in exchange for my honest review.

Dead Rock 1 is an action-packed fantasy manga set in the demon world, where young demons compete for a coveted spot at Dead Rock, the demon realm’s most prestigious educational institution. The competition is a brutal battle royale, and the grand prize? The chance to claim dominion over the human world.

This manga delivers exactly what I love in anime and manga—intense battles, magical powers, and high-stakes action. The world-building is intriguing, and the characters are quickly established in this high-energy environment. It’s a thrilling start to what promises to be an exciting series.

I’m beyond excited for the next installment and can definitely see this series making an incredible anime adaptation.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was such a fun read and exciting way to start a manga. I have been a fan of Mashima’s work for a majority of my life so to be excited for another one of his works is fun. I also love the concept of killing god. I also love the characters, I feel like Hein is going to be my favorite character besides Hani! I can’t wait to read more from Dead Rock and find out what happens!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for the ARC.

Very 2000s shounen vibes here. Every female character has a revealing outfit that accentuates her ample bust…you know the drill. The plot itself was fine but there’s nothing unique here to pull me in. Read like any other demon/oni battle shounen manga.

Dead Rock is a manga focusing on characters in a demonic school run by a demon called God who are competing for the chance to govern the human world. It's slightly absurd, very fast-moving, and fun. It's not an exceptional book, and this volume has to lay a lot of the groundwork for the ongoing story, but it was a fun, quick read.

Honestly, this was a lot of fun. The art style was captivating and the concept itself was well executed! I expected a bit of violence and low brow humor and a bit of heart and this delivered more than expected in all aspects. I am excited to check out the next installment when it arrives! Thank you for this ARC!

Fairy Tail creator, Hiro Mashima, got his newest dark fantasy manga, Dead Rock, officially released in English on March 4th through Kodansha. Mashima has long been a well-renowned manga artist since his debut with Rave Master in 1999 and continued to grow in success while writing Fairy Tail and Edens Zero. He is now taking on battle academy themes in Dead Rock, as the story takes place in the demon world's most prestigious (and violent) academy. With manga and anime works set in academies being ever-increasingly popular, how does Mashima's take on the setting stand out?


Yakuto's first appearance
Volume 1 of Dead Rock introduces a fun and bizarre cast of characters who are all attending Dead Rock Academy for their own reasons, starting with the story's main protagonist, Yakuto. While I haven't religiously kept up with all of Mashima's works, I'm well aware that he tends to recycle character designs—for better or worse. I've caught myself, and others, calling Edens Zero's Shiki "black-haired Natsu" and Farmagia's Ten "farmer Natsu." Mashima's art here also admittedly suffers from "same-face syndrome." It's not a huge criticism I have with manga artists (one of my favorites, Arina Tanemura, does this too), but this has made me less interested in each of Mashima's new works as they come out. Dead Rock, however, broke that pattern for me.


Yakuto stood out to me more than some of Mashima's previous protagonists based on his design alone. His darker skin tone and devious look set him apart from Natsu and Ten... at least enough for me. I dove into Dead Rock Volume 1, hoping to be at least as entertained as I was as a kid when watching Rave Master.


Frey and Raizen
The shonen formula is perfectly laid out in Dead Rock. A powerful protagonist with goals to be even stronger, an edgy supporting character (that admittedly does look like Gray from Fairy Tail, sorry) with a seemingly traumatic past, and a well-endowed female character with an intense personality (oh, it's Erza... she has flames on her outfit and everything). Each character reveals a small sliver of their reasoning behind attending Dead Rock Academy, and there's surely more to unpack throughout the series. Everyone's main incentive to attend the academy is that graduates are offered a part of the human world that they will be able to rule.

I find the character, Mikoto, adorable, and her power is the most interesting out of all the characters, as she can revive the dead into her own personal slave zombies. Wait... can anyone actually die permanently in this manga? She might be the most OP character, and I look forward to seeing more of her.

Yakuto is strong from the very first chapter—just as OP as you may expect from a shonen main character. He's so incredibly strong that he is part of a group of only seven individuals that passed Dead Rock Academy's grueling exam, one that over 900 people died while participating in. We get a taste of Yakuto's abilities during the exam, but that's where the mystery lies. Yakuto is apparently of a race that seemingly died out years ago, the Black Dragons. Yakuto says he must kill anyone who witnesses this special power of his born from being a Black Dragon.


Yakuto using his mysterious power
Things don't start getting interesting until the very end of Chapter 1. I won't be digging too deep into the story and potential spoilers here, but the plot starts getting spicy when Yakuto enters his classroom, immediately kills the professor, and states to his classmates his desire to kill the god of the demon world—also known as the principal of the academy. So, to wrap up the perfect cookie-cutter shonen formula, we have a young and powerful kid wanting to destroy god.


Hiro Mashima's Dead Rock features the best of his artistic abilities I've seen so far in his work. There are several explosive two-page spreads with a striking sense of movement and thrill, and the more solemn pages are just as gripping. Despite what I said earlier about "same-face syndrome", Mashima's character's facial expressions seem well thought about and executed, helping Dead Rock's cast stand out just a bit more. I'll mention Mikoto again, as her curious expressions and mysterious gazes got me quite interested in her.

Sometimes at the end of shonen manga volumes, I feel strongly about not continuing if it doesn't do anything special. Dead Rock, however, has several things going for it that will keep me locked in for volume 2, which releases this June. One is that you never know what turn each chapter is going to make. For example, I never expected Yakuto to walk into class and kill the teacher, that's for sure.


Yakuto and Mikoto
Another standout for me in this manga, so far, is how the academy functions. You are free to kill people in the academy that you simply just don't like. I don't think Dead Rock Academy will be anything like U.A. from My Hero Academia. It'll definitely be more chaotic, and the first volume of the manga already showcases the kinds of violent and bloody situations the students can catch themselves in. Volume one of shounen-battle manga tend to lay out a plethora of characters before developing them, so I feel that these types of works need at least a three-volume rule in the way that many people give anime the three-episode rule. These reasons are enough to have me pick up Volume 2 in June... and the fact that Volume 1 ends in a huge cliffhanger.

There are three chapters compiled into volume one of Dead Rock. The localization from Kodansha features Erin Subramanian as the translator, James Dashiell as the digital edition letterer, AndWorld Design as the print edition letterer, and Cayley Last as the print edition editor. The English edition is clear and easy to read as it doesn't feature any awkward translations or unnecessary slang. I'm a rather slow manga reader, but I was able to finish up the volume in about an hour, completely engaged by the text.

Dead Rock is darker, grittier, bloodier, and edgier than any other Hiro Mashima work I've read in the past, and so far I'm enjoying his take on the battle academia setting. Kodansha released the physical and digital versions of Dead Rock on March 4th, 2025. You can order the release on their website.

I'm excited to discover more of this series! The concept of a school dedicated to being the best demon is super interesting.

NEW MANGA SERIES!

When it comes to manga, Hiro Mashima can school any manga artist. The originator of Rave Master, Fairy tale and Eden Zero has created a new Shoen series. I started watching the Fairy Tail anime ten years ago, when my teenage kids got me hooked on anime and manga. So when this old lady, who once cosplayed the character Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail, saw an advanced reader copy for a new Mashima series, I jumped at the chance to read this new series.

Hiro Mashima has turned his talents to the dark academy trope. Based in the depths of Hell. Dead Rock is one of those schools where very few even survive the entrance exam let alone survive until graduation. If you do graduate, you get to rule a slice of Earth. The protagonist, Yakuto, has entered the school with a different agenda and he is going to need the help of his classmates to pull it off. This is where we add in the "power of friendship trope". In this school, everyone has a root, or power that is based on varying mythologies. This concept is not very well explained yet, nor is the world building very developed. I am assuming this will be addressed in future issues. This first issue concentrates on setting up the premise and introducing all the characters, all of which are fantastic. Of course Mashima does tend to recycle is favorites, but fans enjoy it, and if you change the Kashima's hair color, you may recognize Natsu Dragneel. The side characters add a lot of much needed comic relief. There is a certain amount of fan service, with scantily clad women, but that is also typical of the artist. If you are a fan of Hiro Mashima or simply love manga with a dark twist, you will defiantly want to read this series.

Dark academia manga? Yes, please! DEAD ROCK 1 was a great intro into a world where young demons battle it out for a (slim) chance to become "god" of the human world. As lofty as that may sound, readers immediately learn just how dangerous being at the demon academy is. The fight scenes are bloody, the body count rises fast, and trust isn't exactly commonplace. I loved it!

The humor added to the story, which doesn't always work out (previous reading experiences, I'm looking at you). The gallows humor fits with the setting; a demon realm is not filled with butterflies (unless they're trying to eat you). All of the Class F students were easy to connect with. Yes, their all demons, but their personalities are very different. They have goals and secrets that this volume only touches on, leaving readers desperate for more details. Yet layering in a bit of backstory was subtle and did not have the story veer off.

I'll need to grab the next book when it's published. I loved the artwork and the writing. The story has a great foundation to expand on!

What a premise. A dragon child wants to kill God, his principal, for pretending to be the real leader of Hell. This series is incredible in how much it attempts to fit in every chapter. It is juvenile, funny, action-packed, relationship-focused, and emotional. I can see the grand flourishes that would make for a great anime.

I don’t think this manga is bad, it’s just not for me. After reading the first novel, I don’t have the desire to read anymore. I feel like the story is very cliche.

Publishing date: 04.03.2025 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

TLDR: A school for demons to gain access to the human world with absolutely no rules. 4 stars

In this manga we follow an aspiring student during his entrance exam to a high school for demons. We also get to meet a bunch of other characters that will be relevant (hopefully) in later entries for the manga. The school itself is a no-rules, dog eat dog kind of environment.

All of these characters got the same amount of depth in the first installment, none. You get introduced to them, name, what powers they have, and the "branch" of their powers. Hopefully they get explored further in the future.

Story wise has the same thing going for it, it is all introductory. We get to know the current happenings, our goal, and what needs to be done asap to do that. No more depth, just an introduction.

Pacing is a little all over the place, I am not sure how fast time is moving or when we were left off.

I really liked the artstyle of this manga. It is illustrated by the person who made "Fairy Tail", so if you like that style this will fit in. This manga also carries the same vibes, a lot of the same tropes, and the same hot-headed and "loud" characters. Really, if you like Hiro Mashima's work you will like this work too.

Audience could be anything between teen and adult. it isn't too graphic for teens, and it isn't too childish for adults either. Anyone who enjoys an action centric plot will like this.

I am giving this 4 stars. So far it has checked all my boxes for a manga I will enjoy, and I am looking forward to more. Will be reading the next installment ASAP.

I'll give points to Dead Rock for what starts out as a well-worn intro turning itself on it's own head by the end of the first chapter. Seriously, we went from, "Gotta make it as an applicant by passing this life or death test!" to screaming to the third disk of an RPG. That's right, they gotta kill the principle, who is named, god." Like, that sure is a narrative choice! I will also give points to the fact that Hiro Mashima makes fun monster designs. This was dumb fun, and sometimes that's all a story needs to be.

***ARC from NetGalley***
This is the first English translation for this manga that began in 2023. This is the first volume of at least 4 and I cannot wait for the remaining translations.
The concept is a school for demons where there are no rules and no real consequences. Thinks Hogwarts meets Mortal Kombat.
I love the artwork and Hani might be my favorite (are you stupid?). Highly recommend.

Volume one follows Yakuto joining Dead Rock Academy in the Demon World, a school to become God and gain a fraction of the human world. However, Yakuto has other intentions as he’s determined to kill the school’s current “God” alongside his classmates he’s strung along.

This volume lays the foundation of this story and the main premise for the story. The setting and character personalities are easily evident and understandable. Yakuto is blessed with gifted classmates varying in different abilities, who became his accomplices towards his end goal. His reasoning as well as some of his classmates’ backgrounds are also explained. There’s a lot to digest in this volume but also a lot of questions and sudden changes. Death is a predominant theme including vicious attacks or disembodiment.

The characters use a unique power based on the concept of a “root”. I found it interesting yet lacking in details. Hopefully later volumes will expand on its description and explain the various types. Also, I’m not well versed in many devils, demons or mythological antagonists, so it was sometimes hard to perceive the characters fighting capabilities.

Yakuto is an interesting character. He’s calculative, strong and conveniently an airhead when needed. I liked how he is protective of his new friends but also trusts them to handle their own battles. However, my favorite character would be Hani because he has a charm that just makes him stand out in the volume. He’s also a very funny character which provides the comedic relief needed in this somewhat dark story.

The artwork is pointed and sharp, reminiscent of action manga. I like how it used a variety of panel sizes and kept backgrounds simple, yet descriptive. The comedic scenes have a somewhat softer feel to them, and action scenes are quick and short. The characters are expressive and the character designs are all different. Also, there is quite a bit of fan-service in this series.

Overall, I liked reading this volume. I think it has an interesting concept regarding abilities, and a revenge story is always likeable if done right. I’ll definitely be continuing this story to see where it goes.

Oh Hiro Mashima, you’ve never ceased to entertain me! From his early days doing Rave Master to his current hits like Fairy Tail and Edens Zero, Mashima has stuck close to his formula. His latest work, Dead Rock — a possible nod to Guitar Wolf’s 2007 album — is no exception. Spiky-haired protagonist? Check. Characters who explain the ways of the world, even though they all know it already? Check. Barely disguised fetishes? Triple check! And I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Run by God himself, Dead Rock is a place where demons can learn to be the best of the best. Graduate, and they’ll get to rule a human’s domain. Our pointy-follicle protagonist this time is Yakuto, who has entered an exam to gain entry to Hell’s school. At first, he doesn’t seem like much, what with him being squashed to death before the manga reached its tenth page. However, after showing that he’s not quite dead, Yakuto demonstrates that he’s no mere demon. In fact, he’s part of a race that was believed to be wiped out generations ago: the dragon roots.

After going through the trial, Yakuto is placed in Class F with the other six competitors: Hani the Thor Root, Hien the Fenrir, Frey the Ifrit, Raizen the Orochi, Chako the Yatagarasu, and Mikoto the Lich. But before the first class can get underway, Yakuto does the unthinkable: he kills the teacher in front of his class. The reason: Yakuto wants to kill God, whom he claims to be an imposter. While some of the classmates aren’t down to slaughter the Creator of All Things, they don’t exactly want to stop him either.

Right off the bat, readers get a good feel for Dead Rock’s gang. Yes, some of these folks might as well have been recycled from Mashima’s past works. With that being said, if the formula ain’t broken, why bother fixing it! The likes of Hani and Chako are practically the Happy and Plue of this manga, and the ladies of this series are designed with fan-service intentions. Yakuto also fits well with Natsu and Shiki, as he’s also loud, energetic, and powerful as all Hell!

Where Dead Rock differs is in its narrative. Fairy Tail and Edens Zero were all about adventures, while this series is keen on keeping the crew to one setting. Considering the amount of world building Mashima has done in many of his past series, maybe it’s good that he’s keeping his setting more simple. After all, Hell can be whatever cesspool of evils you want it to be; you just gotta use your imagination!

As for the power system, not too much has been revealed. We all know what most of these students’ deals are concerning their skills (save for Chako…for the time being), and none of Yakuto’s classmates are pushovers in the slightest. Quite the contrary, I wouldn’t be surprised if this new batch of students wind up being the strongest in Dead Rock’s existence. The action scenes are showcased with exciting detail, with Mashima even going to gory lengths to demonstrate just how terrifying these school chums can be.

I do mention that this manga tends to explain things these characters should already know. Thankfully, even after reading through the entirety of Volume One, there are still some things that are carefully hidden from readers. A good example of that is the school rules, with only the one involving murdering students and teachers being revealed. Then there’s how God took over a school for demons, with Yakuto’s flashback showing a mere hint of what got Him there in the first place.

Thus far, Dead Rock has all the things that make for a trademark Hiro Mashima series. With that being said, reading it is as fun as a barrel of monkeys on fire! While you’ll certainly traverse through familiar characters and situations, you’ll no doubt have a blast experiencing these hallowed halls of the underworld with these powerful classmates. Dead Rock will satisfy you like a Sex Napoleon, thanks in part to its violent action, side-splitting comedy, and visuals you’ll want to chomp on like a Tokyo Zombie!