Yami no matsuei

Yoko Matsushita's wonderful, offbeat manga is turned into a short, but satisfying animated series. The premise is simple enough: In a bureaucratic underworld, a group of supernatural detectives called Shinigami make certain the dead get where they are supposed to go. These shinigami are themselves dead - having been granted the right to become shinigami due to their unsettled pasts. The series consists of four separate story arcs, in which seemingly mis-matched partners Asato Tsuzuki and Hisoka Kurosaki learn to rely on each other and battle the series' primary villain, the sadistic Dr. Muraki. The animation is quite good, very fluid. The character designs are true to the manga and are excellent. The Japanese voice actors are top-notch. It has been released in North America as Descendants of Darkness and is an enjoyable blend of supernatural action and drama with some comedic overtones to keep things from getting too heavy. If you are looking for anime that offers something outside of the norm, give this series a try. I only hope the producers decide to release a second series covering later books of the manga

For those of you looking for a decent bishounen-type anime (boyish/masculine), Yami no Matsuei (Descendant of Darkness) fits just right in. With a grotesque-like storyline and a rather peculiar line-up of characters, Yami no Matsuei redefines the theme of the common anime with cute boys/men as it's frontline of eye-candy for the otaku. You'll also find some yaoi (male love/like) scenarios in there as a vague discretion other than the drama and sometimes short comedic inserts Yami no Matsuei brings.

Yami no Matsuei portrays, Tsuzuki Asato, our protagonist and is the strongest (although he's not aware of that fact...yet) of the Shinigami (Angels of Death), who are an underground organization of Ju-Oh-Cho (govenrmental bureaus) that works on the 'afterlife'. As powerful as they come, even an Angel of Darkness/Death still has some responsibility to do...in the HQ's office administration; doing a batch of paperwork, answering phone calls, and making photocopies, that is if they're not out on a fieldtrip investigating a case.

The animation quality is as vivid as other well-known bishounen anime like Angel Sanctuary, Fushigi Yuugi, or X. There are some pretty bloody scenes in there to satisfy and prove to you that this isn't some lame anime with gay guys (or so that other guy thinks...) in it. And what would Yami no Matsuei be without those jaw-dropping powers the casts has? Yeah, you'll see some ugly (but drawn in a creative way) beasts in there that they (can) summon if called upon. Although the characters are neatly well-created with their straight-forward/stoical personalities and costume/facial designs, there's a lot of labyrinthine interactions going on in there. Mostly it comes and emphasizes in the (their) past, which raises further questions from start to finish as the show progresses, regardless of the yaoi angst it consists of.

+ great story, animation, music, characters, script, and overall composition of an above average bishounen anime. - not for those who are (narrow-minded) not into yaoi-like anime.

So, as I said, this series has the dubious honor of being the worst I've managed to stick with to the end. But this means I did see it through, as opposed to just losing it after an episode or less. So let's look at the good things first, eh? The art is superb. All the characters are gorgeous: heroes, support team, villains, victims, everybody. Real eye candy. The protagonists are engaging and loveable, and the premise is interesting. Then there's the plot. I bow to thee and beseech thee, the twelve gods that protect me, what is this horror of a plot? It's got more holes than a swiss cheese. It has more guns that don't end up shooting than a Texas weapon fair. It's full of people being so friggin' stupid it's physically painful. Nothing makes any kind of sense. The choices, the relationships, the outcomes, everything is forced and pretty much random. To be fair, if you watch to the end, the antagonist does have a reason for the way he acts. It's not reasonable, it lacks internal logic, but his actions are not as completely random as it seems for most of the series. Honestly, I would not pay for this series, and I'm debating asking for my time back.

This anime is about a bunch of gay guys who are Shinigami, or Gods of Death. But it's good. Trust us. The animation is very good, and the characters are even better. Hisoka and Tsuzuki should SO get together. But, really, the series is good for anyone - It's got a stunning plot and moves along smoothly.