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 vampires and 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!’