Honestly I like the lack of any death animation. You're gonna die a lot (it's right in the name) so I'm glad you don't have to sit through one each time. Maybe flash the screen red for half a second as you respawn to let you know he got ya, or force the player to spin around to face Mario if he came up behind you, so you at least are forced to see him and know he got you, but still instantly respawn after this. Extended death animations get repetitive really quickly.