Dead Rock
Japanese manga series by Hiro Mashima
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Dead Rock (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine since July 2023, with its chapters collected in six tankōbon volumes as of December 2025.
| Dead Rock | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Yakuto (front) and his dragon form (back) | |
| Genre | |
|---|---|
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hiro Mashima |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Monthly Shōnen Magazine Comics |
| Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Magazine |
| Original run | July 6, 2023 – present |
| Volumes | 6 |
Plot
Dead Rock is an academy in the demon world where students are trained to conquer the human world as demon rulers. Yakuto, a young demon descended from a black dragon, is one of seven applicants who pass the school's deadly special entrance exam into Class F. On his first day of class, Yakuto murders his homeroom teacher and reveals his true objective is to kill God, a supreme evil being who serves as Dead Rock's principal. To this end, he involves his classmates in his plans as they fight to survive Dead Rock's brutal curriculum, murderous teachers, and ambitious rival students.
Characters
- Yakuto (ヤクト)
- A demon boy who seeks revenge against God for exterminating his family and people, the Dragon Roots. He is cursed with the power to transform his arm or entire body into that of his "root" ancestor, a black dragon, which reduces his lifespan. His dragon form resembles Fairy Tail character Acnologia.[3]
- Frey (フレイ, Furei)
- An arsonist who manipulates fire with the power of her root, an ifrit. She enrolls in Dead Rock to satisfy her love of battle, as well as to surpass and honor her older sister, who failed to graduate from the school.
- Raizen (ライゼン)
- A swordsman whose Orochi root allows him to split his weapon into eight copies. He seeks the power of a demon king to rescue his kingdom's princess, whose soul is sealed within his broadsword.
- Hien (ヒエン)
- A wolf-eared demon with the root of Fenrir, which gives him the ability to create ice with his katana. He comes from a feudal clan rumored to have caused their homeland's eternal winter, which he intends to end by becoming a demon king.
- Mikoto (ミコト)
- A necromancer whose lich root allows her to reanimate the dead as flesh-eating zombies. She is later revealed to be an undercover agent of Ghost, the demon world's secret service, who targets Dead Rock's corrupt faculty members.
- Hani (ハニー, Hanī)
- A living haniwa giant with the root of Thor, wielding a lightning-infused hammer and capable of shrinking to human size. He is intelligent and analytical, desiring to study humans rather than conquer them.
- Chako (チャコ)
- A crow demon with a Yatagarasu root. She is later revealed to be a shapeshifting cat-eared girl named Zelecia (ゼレシア, Zereshia), whose black wizard root grants her powerful black magic that she suppresses with her crow form. She shares Yakuto's goal of killing God.
- God (神, Kami)
- The creator and supreme ruler of the three worlds of existence, presiding over the demon world as principal of Dead Rock. His real name is Elfed (エルフェド, Erufedo).
Publication
Written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima, Dead Rock started in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Magazine on July 6, 2023.[2][4] Mashima has stated that he had not intended for the manga to be a long series, but extended it due to positive reader reception.[5] Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes, with the first released on November 16, 2023.[6] As of December 9, 2025, six volumes have been released.[7]
In July 2024, Kodansha USA announced that it had licensed the manga for English release in North America, with the first volume released on March 4, 2025.[8][9]
Volumes
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 16, 2023[10] | 978-4-06-533310-5 | March 4, 2025[9] | 979-8-88-877350-5 | |
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| 2 | April 9, 2024[11] | 978-4-06-535370-7 | June 10, 2025[12] | 979-8-88-877374-1 | |
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| 3 | August 7, 2024[13] | 978-4-06-536168-9 | August 12, 2025[14] | 979-8-88-877478-6 | |
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| 4 | February 7, 2025[15] | 978-4-06-537931-8 | February 3, 2026[16] | 979-8-88-877511-0 | |
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| 5 | July 9, 2025[17] | 978-4-06-540094-4 | September 15, 2026[18] | 979-8-88-877806-7 | |
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| 6 | December 9, 2025[7] | 978-4-06-541645-7 | — | — | |
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Chapters not yet in tankōbon format
- "Sensei" (先生)
- "The Hecatoncheire" (ヘカトンケイル, Hekatonkeiru)
- "Underneath the Mask" (その仮面の下には, Sono Kamen no Shita ni wa)
- "Reunion" (再会, Saikai)
- "What I'll Do" (僕のやる事, Boku no Yaru Koto)
- "What You Believe In..." (信じるものは…, Shinjiru Mono wa...)
Reception
Reviewing the first English volume for Anime News Network, Rebecca Silverman rated it three stars out of five, criticizing the large number of characters introduced in the first chapter, but expressing interest in its setting; MrAJCosplay wrote more positively, giving it four stars while praising the "air of mystery" surrounding the characters.[19]
Ian Wolf of Anime UK News reviewed the first three English volumes. He gave the first volume a score of six out of ten, calling it a "decent enough opening" but finding "it hasn't really got into its stride yet in terms of fleshing out the other main characters and their motivations."[20] He rated the second and third volumes a score of seven, calling the second volume "enjoyable",[3] and commending the third volume for its death scenes.[21] He also commented on the volumes' English translation and lettering, calling it "generally fine" but criticizing the size of the small translation notes, and appreciating the added end sections providing context to its translation conventions.[20]