Devils Line

Those blood-sucking, pig-eyed assholes who think they are better than humans despite them themselves at least moderately resembling humans as well. This in terms of outlook if not by moral values and social norms: what is and what is not the "right" thing to do. But enough about our politicians. Devils Line is a show about vampires and it sucks ass harder than any of its characters suck blood. The story is just really great. Kaneki Ken's long lost vampire brother wants to drink human blood, but not because he is a pervert or hungry, but because if he does not, he turns into a monsterand will kill everyone and anyone surrounding him. Such a real hero this guy. With his moral values he is the real friend of humanity. Unfortunately, all humans are pretty much arseholes who be like "oh no, your literally evils for succkins blood." except this one girl who be like "vampire prejudices are racistic and this guy dindu nuffin, btw, I also want to bang him.". At first, I thought this was weird behavior because the dude is a rapist, stalker and murderer, but then it came clear that she is in fact acting like any internet-leftist would. With this mentality, our main dude is also the r e a l victim here. Amazing recapturing of the mindset, I guess? Then these two go on an epic journey. By epic journey, I mean 12 long episodes where absolutely nothing happens. From its core, Twilight the Animation.. oh sorry, I mean Devils Line, is some sort of 50 Shades of My Vampire Fetishes seinen anime which mainly looks like the combination of multicultural propaganda and Hollywood blockbuster action.... So basically, normal Hollywood blockbuster action. The drama writing on the other hand is so b class it's pointless to even criticize it because it is so obviously bad. The art is just cool. I really like how that random hoe who does not have a personality had different colored hair than the other hoe who does not have a personality. Their voice actresses are also not the one and same person which makes telling them apart even easier. Thanks for that. The opening on the other hand is a masterpiece... at fooling people into thinking this show might actually not be utter garbage, which it is. This show is not even ironically fun. It's so bad it's sad. Every vampire romance cliche and trope in one shell spiced with extra sharp edges. On top of that, it takes itself way too seriously for a show which so heavily relies on the given edge. If this show accomplished anything, it is how impressively bad and unenjoyable it is.

I’m just going to throw this out here. How many people actually enjoy series about humans and vampires these days? It felt like I haven’t in ages. Devil’s Line adheres to a exploration about the nature of humans and vampires in a modern world society. We got humans and vampires (otherwise, known as “devils”) living in our everyday neighborhood. Coming into this show, Devil’s Line felt like a copy-paste that I’ve seen in many vampire theme shows before. It isn’t anything special. There’s a joke out these days that falls in the line of “still a better love story that Twilight”. Devil’s Line does have vampiresand some romance elements after all. However, the show itself gives a more mature feeling that is beyond just teenage romance. What Devil’s Line fails to do is make a story that stands out on its own. The story connects a vampire named Anzai together with a college student named Tsukasa Taira. She is saved by this mysterious character after being attacked by a vampire. It also turns out that Anzai is a vampire himself and has to control his bloodlust. The catch is that the show tests his nature as a vampire while also being hunted down by a vampire extermination organization known as the CCC. Sound familiar? Now the show itself does take itself quite seriously. I say this because there’s hardly any jokes and most of that similar content relies on dark humor even when there’s room to throw in those moments. In essence, you should expect a mature anime that deals with interspecies romance. The main characters, Anzai and Tsukasa are not much alike beyond just their origins. From the start, I can say easily that Anzai is a brooding man without much words. On the other hand, Tsukasa is a type of girl who is very open to others and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. However, she is still very shy and not capable of dealing with dangers on her own most of the time. Anzai has to play the role of a protector in the series. It also puts Tsukasa in danger whenever the two are together because of his own bloodlust. The series adds tension and psychology nearly every episode as we see how he struggles to control his urges. I think on most part, it’s a repetitive gimmick that most vampire series relies on these days. Series such as Vampire Knight and Tokyo Ghoul has done that before. Even real life popular drama TV has done so in the past such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer or The Vampire Diaries. They all carry the burden of a character having to deal with their inhuman nature. Devil’s Line isn’t too different as the show tests the water between Anzai and Tsukasa’s relationship. Unfortunately, it fell flat because of how dry and empty it is. There’s no doubt they have chemistry but their relationship feels unreal and I find it hard to root for them as a couple. The two are hardly compatible either because of their circumstances. It’s a forbidden romance not meant to be. As a story about two different races, you can definitely expect conflicts to erupt in their society. There are several episodes that involves Anzai being targeted in assassination-style operations. It seems members of the CCC aren’t afraid to take any risks to kill vampires such as the case of sniper Zero Seven (Nanako Tenjo). As a main protagonist, you can definitely expect Anzai to be protected by plot armor. He’s not going to drop like a fly even despite fighting against the odds. Anzai is definitely not “OP” though as he struggles to survive but to me, the show doesn’t make his survivalist role any unique. The plot is stale as we don’t learn too much about his character. There’s definitely some background storytelling in the series for the main characters but none of them felt compelling. Tsukasa is also too human for a character that goes under little changes throughout the series. The only other character that may arouse curiosity would be Kohannes Kleeman, a mysterious white hair man. He appears in the show in later episodes and makes the audience wonder what his real intentions are. Unlike Anzai, he is quite blunt and behaves carefree around others. I’d say that he is perhaps too honest to point where it’s hard to tell whether he is telling the truth or lying. To me, Kleeman is an antithesis of Anzai. He is difficult to manipulate and always seems to be in control of himself. His behavior brings in a lighter side of the show although I really can't find that appealing. The show is still very moody and pushes the idea of a dark modern fantasy at every chance it gets. Platinum Vision is a rather obscure studio that I don’t think many fans are familiar with. Their previous work actually includes another vampire series called Servamp although that is far more lighthearted than this anime. Unfortunately, the overall animation quality is mediocre at best. This is my honest impression as the character designs looks generic to the core without any special features about them. The setting takes place in a modern city that you can find in just about any similar shows. Oh but you’re wondering, what about the vampires? Do they look convincing? On the surface, the answer is yes but that doesn’t make them stand out much. The characteristics of these vampires includes fangs and their bloodlust nature that feels like if you’ve seen it once, you’ve seen it all. There’s also a lot of fan service that teases the relationship between Anzai and Tsukasa. Some episodes really flirts with the idea of whether they will or will not have sex. Thus, expect a lot of kissing and it leaves some to the imagination. There’s not much censoring in terms of the graphic violence although isn’t never really ventures into the gore territory. To carry a show like this, you would definitely need some acceptable characters. Anzai and Tsukasa’s voices are a total contrast of each other. Anzai sounds like one with little emotion while Tsukasa’s voice sounds alive. On some instances, I wonder just how much the creator wanted us to accept them. In the meantime, the OST is mostly eerie with a melancholic quiet tune during some of the more emotional scenes. The theme songs are what people would easily designate as edgy. I don’t like using that word around much but it is what it is. After watching Devil’s Line, I felt like walking out of a theater realizing I could have done something else better with my money. I can literally go around online and find another show under the “vampire” tag. To me, Devil’s Line took the risk of trying to revitalizing the horror genre of interspecies relationship. What ends up happening is a show with few surprising twists but instead loses to underwhelming horror formulas. Maybe someday, we’ll get a memorable horror series of where we can look back and say “that’s pretty cool!’

I think this is a show where we all have a common, itching thing going for it: An awful Twilight-esque story with Tokyo Ghoul elements that are meshed in and didn’t really fit well with bad to poor execution. Devil’s Line tells the story that was founded on Twilight…only that there’s coherent but sometimes confusing or misunderstood storytelling, but nothing exciting nor engaging. It’s the equivalent of “Hey, you’re a vampire with your fang teeth and I’m a normal girl, let’s date!” And that sums up how I felt with the entire premise of the series. Not to mention that they have added the police-like feel ofbetrayal and camaraderie just to get you invested in the series, and guess what? It added a tiny breath of fresh air, though I can tell that most people will not care for this, and for that, I will tell you to read the manga adaptation that’s not as great, but you will understand what I mean. So…ok, human and vampire. What could go wrong? The answer? Anti-vampire groups, that’s why! Most notably the CCC, who works as a police target group in disguise under the boss Kikuhara Kirio, monitoring the main group’s vampire movements and executing what they feel is right of a vampire-free world. The characters literally write the same story as Twilight, only that the former does it WAY better than what’s found here. Tsukasa Taira is NOT the equivalent, but a dumbed-down version of Bella Swan, mute, expressionless, and there as a plot device to keep the story entertaining as its romance-supernatural genre can go. The same could be said for the MC vampire, Anzai Yuuki, a half-vampire, the dumb-down version of Edward Cullen, trying to control his half-demon, half-human powers and constantly breaks the mold for his police group (Public Safety Division 5 F Squad) into trying to live in a world that’s Twilight (where humans and vampires can co-exist). Johannes Kleeman as a half-vampire, I’d say he is only the handful of good characters that doesn’t have a backstory, but yet is kind to everyone, is intelligent and is able to discern stuff very well. Other characters are generic, bland and uninteresting, the only one-liners I can say about characterization (if there was ever any to begin in the first place). I have never personally heard of the new studio Platinum Vision before, most particularly they made Servamp (with Brain’s Base) and the spin-off from the Saiyuuki Reload series, but this anime just proves that just like many 2nd or 3rd rate studios, it falls in the category of being mediocre and bad. The manga-to-anime adaptation…is quite frankly nothing more of good. I get it that the producers tried their best to replicate the manga, but try as hard as they can, it still falls short. The animation is less than Tokyo Ghoul quality, more so than ripping it off, it’s bearable to watch but when the action gets heavy, RIP animation quality. The sound is another story in and itself. I get it that the setting has to be the super “edgy” feel, but they are only OK at best, nothing to write home about. Both the OP and EDs are unmemorable, but if I had to decide the good out of the bad, it will be Mamoru Miyano’s ED that takes the icing on the cake. Action scenes feeling empty, there’s not a ton of sound and sometimes poorly used. At the end of it all, is Devil’s Line a worthy “Twilight: The Animation”? Certainly not, and it doesn’t come close to touching anything that is noteworthy nor remembering about. I’d guess for die-hard fans of Twilight, give this series a try and see how fast it sweeps you off so much that it becomes unwatchable. Was it engaging? I’d say no, and please don’t waste your time if you desire decent quality-made shows.

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