Yami no Matsuei

The first anime I watched with a light yaoi feel, hahaha..Funny enough the fact that it has a slight touch of yaoi makes this anime a bit more interesting than the usual agents-from-the-afterlife-theme series. The opening music is amazing and suits it well, with cool guitar and electronic mix and lyrics that matches the series itself. Its a mixture of dark and humor -- centering on Tsuzuki and his co-shinigamis, who are in charge of keeping the balance in the afterlife by making sure that those who die go to their right place and investigating situations that threatens that balance caused by mysterious deaths thatoccurs in succession. Alhtough I prefer the manga version more which is longer, this anime is very well done and all the vital chapters are included. Although it has funny situations, the dark side of each characters are shown -- each with their own reasons for becoming a shinigami, whether its for finding one's dark past or for atoning for their mistakes. The antagonist Dr. Muraki is very effective, he's darker than dark, yet charming and comes across as very likeable. For anyone who wants a different yet familiar series to love, this should definitely be on your list.

Yami no Matsuei is a very, very cringe-worthy series that I used to be into―back when I was in middle school―and then recently decided to revisit as an adult, and, oh boy! This series is badーlike really, really bad! To start out with, the most glorified character in the series is a serial killer, pedophile, scientistーwhose entire motivation for committing all of his heinous, degenerative crimes is to get revenge on his deceased brother by… making him immortal, so he can kill him for all of eternity? The series mentions briefly that Muraki’s parents were killed and his brother was some type of evil, Luciferiansociopath, but what kind of insane devotion is that? Especially when Muraki is a psychopathic killer himself! The irony! •Another strange thing about the murderous diddler (Muraki) is that the series practically ships him with the main character (Tsuzuki) who is immortal, but happened to die and become a spirit-realm detective, for some reason? And while Muraki is set on using Tsuzuki’s decapitated body as his brother’s vessel, it is implied that he actually loves him, or something? Everything in this series is cryptic, not explained, and doesn’t make a bit of sense; the first episode expects you to know that the main cast work for a spirit judiciary, police force without telling you… it only mentions that there’s a spirit councilーin a short narration before the opening theme. •Another weird connection between the central cast of characters is that the main character’s partner (Hisoka) was tortured, raped, and murdered by Muraki, but this is rarely mentioned―outside of the main arc, despite Muraki being the glorified Joker-type character and practically what the entire series revolves around! The most that happens is that he scowls whenever Muraki comes around, because, you know, it’s not like you would want to murder or attack the person that LITERALLY raped you to death or anything! I hate to mention this, but shounen-ai and yaoi series are really bad at emphasizing the seriousness of sexual assault, in fact, it seems like a weird kink in most cases. I played the DRAMAtical Murder visual novel and the plot fetishized Mink spiking Aoba’s drink and date-raping him… and in both the Sekaiichi Hatsukoi Movie: Yokozawa Takafumi no Baai AND the first episode of Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasuーthe protagonist gets drunk, ends up naked in bed with a guy he just met (who’s supposed to be the love interest), and subsequently gets blackmailed into dating him! BL series’ have a strange standard of what’s socially acceptable in a romantic relationship… •There are a few other characters that get little to no screen time and don’t have a purpose to be in the series other than being the passed over, potential love interests that only exist for doujinshi fodder. There’s an accountant that acts as Tsuzuki’s secretary, a scientist that makes useless inventions, a duck mascot character that’s just there for exposition, a female character that it only shows once (whose only purpose is to buy Tsuzuki donuts), an old department manager, Muraki’s kimono-clad friend (it never really explains their relationship or how they met), and an invisible Phantom of the Opera copy-paste who has a zombie butler and no real purpose, other then to perversely fawn over Tsuzuki. •The abysmal storyline is one thing, but the animation is another. For the most part, I think the character designs look really clean, especially for a series made at the beginning of the 21st century; especially with the prevalence of low-quality OVAs during the period that this series airedーsomething that people knew anime for, at the time, since it was something that you could rent from Blockbuster Video and have a short love/hate affair with for the duration of 1-3 episodes. When things like Urotsukidōji permeated through the culture and diluted the public’s consensus towards anime. With that being said, the animation in Descendants of Darkness is appalling! Characters slide across the screen, teleport, and if a character caresses another’s face or wipes away a tear―it looks like a person is dragging a cursor across a screen! Terrifyingly bad! I would prefer ugly character designs to animation that’s THIS freaking bad! •The scripting is poor, nonsensical, and even laughableーat times. The characters are the worst exaggerations of yaoi stereotypes that you can possibly imagine. The animation is some of the worst I’ve ever seen. The only credit that I can give this show is that the character designs and imagery aren’t the worst. Overall, I give this convoluted mess a 2/10.

Yami no Matsuei is a fantasy, horror, supernatural, mystery created by Matsushita Yoko. It was published in manga form from 1996 to 2003, when it was put on hiatus for eight years, resuming in 2011 and still going. In 2000 J.C. Staff took four arcs from the manga and adapted them into a thirteen episode series. So, how does the anime hold up? Story: Our narrative opens with a meeting of Shinigami. There have been unusual deaths in Nagasaki in which the victim’s have been drained of blood and left with twin puncture marks on their necks. The shinigami in charge of that sector, Tsuzuki,is sent to rendezvous with his new partner, Kurosaki Hisoka, and investigate. They find out that there's a lot going on that isn't readily apparent and have their first encounter with the villainous Doctor Muraki, which sets the stage for their partnership going into further missions. The only major complaint I have about the story is the pacing. I will give J.C. Staff credit for trying to cover all the important plot details of the arcs they look at while leaving room for character moments, but it doesn't always work very well. There are several plot elements that get skimmed over or that wind up being inadequately explained or rushed through. One minor issue I had was with the “horror” classification. While there are some dark and disturbing elements to the series, it's really not scary in the slightest. Part of it is that it has a lot of comedic moments that are kind of goofy and part of it is that the characters largely face the dark situations with courage and the conviction to solve them. There are certainly times where you worry about them, but it really doesn't work as horror when the characters have the power ad will to reasonably be able to conquer the problem. Those issues aside, there is a lot that the series does well. It has a strong sense of dramatic tension, with every arc having some good build up and with the antagonists being legitimately menacing. The humour is also used to great effect. It's used to wind down from tense moments or for character moments before the action starts rising so it doesn't clash with the tension. It also helps create a good contrast between the serious, dark content and the lighter moments. Which helps make the dark moments more intense. As opposed to a series where the characters are always needlessly angsty and it has no impact when things turn serious. The series is also good about treating its dark content with gravity and respect. Characters: There are some really great characters in this series. I do like that Tsuzuki is a largely happy guy since it does enhance the effect when things do go wrong and he goes through a difficult time. I also like that he does know when to be serious, particularly when someone's life is on the line. Hisoka plays perfectly off of Tsuzuki. He's more serious and mature but not to an extreme point. As such, the two complement one another very well. Muraki is the type of villain who is just irredeemable and infinitely hateable. Rather like Tenzen from Basilisk, but more interesting. On a side note, Tenzen and Muraki have the same voice actor. The side characters have some interesting moments as well, although they are less developed. Watari and Tatsumi are both really good characters with some great scenes. The series also does well at developing the characters who need help from the shinigami so that you do get invested in them and hope for them to get out of their situations safely. Art: The art is really good. The character designs are spectacular and have unique elements to them without being really outlandish. Particularly characters like Muraki and Tsuzuki who have distinctive eyes. The backgrounds have great details and there are some really strong action sequences. However, there is one issue with the action. Some of the special techniques, though they look cool, do get reused without much change. Rather like the special attacks of a magical girl anime, but in a series that's a lot more serious. Sound: There are some really good performances in this. Miki Shinichiro, Brotherhood's Roy Mustang, does a great job as Tsuzuki. Hayami Show gives a very intimidating performance as Muraki. Asano Mayumi, Wolf's Rain's Blue, also gives a really strong performance as Hisoka. Really, there are no weak links in the cast. The music is nice and atmospheric. Ho-yay: This series has quite a bit of yaoi. Some of the scenes are screwed up and disturbing, specifically the ones with Muraki. Others are really heart-warming and adorable. Mostly the ones with Tsuzuki and Hisoka. There are also some other guys who seem to have crushes on Tsuzuki. The content isn't really graphic, but there's certainly quite a bit. The ho-yay factor is going to be a 7/10. Final Thoughts: Yami no Matsuei is a really good series, in spite of a few issues. It has a strong narrative, great characters, amazing art, and good performances. If you're a fan of supernatural drama it won't disappoint. My final rating is going to be an 8/10. Next week, horror anime month continues with Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari.

This anime first peeked my interest when I was on the lookout for shounen-ai/yaoi mangas with the hope to have watched them all one day in my mind. Now, a few years later, I have re-watched it for the 3rd time and I would definitely do it again! If that doesn't already speak for itself - the anime is super interesting and digs deep into the sensitive topic of death and life, accompanied by quite humorous and cute scenes. The main characters are unique and one starts feeling a connection to them quickly. I just wish the yaoi part were more spicy and explicit, but that's moreof a personal thing rather than critique haha. That's why I would have loved there to be more episodes that also reveal more details of every important characters' past. To sum it up, a must watch!! Although the artstyle and animations are of course somehow outdated in a 2017-pov, it doesn't make the experience any less thrilling!

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