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jennariaYAMI NO MATSUEI/DESCENDANTS OF DARKNESS - 2000(Japan)/2008 (US), available on Prime for additional cost
Amount watched: All (13 episodes)
Official description: Even after death, life is full of paperwork and criminals. Tsuzuki Asato is a 26 year old, happy-go-lucky, and dorky shinigami (god of death) whose job is to make sure that those who are dead remain dead and stay in their proper realms. Even though he's had this job for over 70 years, he is in the worst division with horrible pay. He also has a knack for not keeping partners (since shinigami work in pairs), but now he seems to have one that will stick around; stubborn, smart-mouthed, serious and defensive 16 year old, Kurosaki Hisoka. With each case they investigate, they come closer to the conspiracies of the serial killer Dr. Muraki Kazutaka. Tsuzuki's relationship with Hisoka is growing stronger and closer...but there is a dark past to how Tsuzuki died that will not give him peace.
Weeb rating: 8/10. It's not completely opaque to a non-Japanese audience, but it also doesn't bother to explain how the main characters' jobs work (which, fair's fair, seems to be a mash-up between police work, government work, and corporate work, except it's all the Japanese expectations of same, which do not match American expectations of same necessarily), or how magic works (of course it involves slips of paper! why wouldn't it?) and the gods that Tsuzuki summons. And also Muraki, whose character type turns up way too often in anime. (Thanks, CLAMP!)
Ass rating: 4/10. We get implied nudity (i.e. someone with an open shirt, or someone with ribbons draped strategically) a lot more than actual nudity, but it's either in the credits (which only sorta count) or with overtones of helplessness and sexual violence (because Muraki isn't content with being a murderer, he's gotta be a rapist too).
Shit rating: 5/10. I think. Look, this is an absolutely id show: I suspect that going over the show with a cold, logical eye betrays all sorts of plot holes and idiot balls. But you don't watch it for the plot.
Violence rating: 8/10, possibly 9. Muraki really likes blood, and Yoko Matsushita apparently really likes her character whump.
Crack rating: 6/10. It's not not crack - if nothing else, it's too much of an id show not to bring it above the mid-level mark.
Actual opinion: So I started writing this review without having watched the show in several years, and in the process discovered that Wife hadn't seen it at all. Opportunity! I could watch it with her, and we'd see how someone reacted who wasn't exposed to it as Baby's First Slashy Anime.
Turns out that nope, it really is just That Kind of Show.
It doesn't bother to explain much of anything - how does the department of the Shinigami work? Is Tsuzuki competent or an idiot? Why the fuck would anyone appoint a 16-year-old to this kind of work, even before they knew about Muraki? How does Muraki - wait, no, I don't need an explanation for that one: rich pretty men have been getting away with horrible shit since the dawn of time.
But what the show does do is run down the list of Popular Fanfic Tropes like it's playing Bingo and wants a blackout. We've got your partners who hate each other at first and then are suddenly ride-or-die! We've got whump (so much whump)! We've got the Ambiguously Gay Monster Who Will Do Anything To Possess Our Hero! We've got pretty boys coming out our ears! And, ironically enough, we've got just enough explanation that we're not hopelessly confused, but little enough explanation that fanfic authors have plenty of room to explore!
This is one I've got on DVD, so I can't speak to the quality of the version streaming on Prime. But if you're interested in BL, are up for something heavy on the subtext that never quite tips over into text, and like generous lashings of magic and vaguely gothic horror (organ music included), then this is your show.
Amount watched: All (13 episodes)
Official description: Even after death, life is full of paperwork and criminals. Tsuzuki Asato is a 26 year old, happy-go-lucky, and dorky shinigami (god of death) whose job is to make sure that those who are dead remain dead and stay in their proper realms. Even though he's had this job for over 70 years, he is in the worst division with horrible pay. He also has a knack for not keeping partners (since shinigami work in pairs), but now he seems to have one that will stick around; stubborn, smart-mouthed, serious and defensive 16 year old, Kurosaki Hisoka. With each case they investigate, they come closer to the conspiracies of the serial killer Dr. Muraki Kazutaka. Tsuzuki's relationship with Hisoka is growing stronger and closer...but there is a dark past to how Tsuzuki died that will not give him peace.
Weeb rating: 8/10. It's not completely opaque to a non-Japanese audience, but it also doesn't bother to explain how the main characters' jobs work (which, fair's fair, seems to be a mash-up between police work, government work, and corporate work, except it's all the Japanese expectations of same, which do not match American expectations of same necessarily), or how magic works (of course it involves slips of paper! why wouldn't it?) and the gods that Tsuzuki summons. And also Muraki, whose character type turns up way too often in anime. (Thanks, CLAMP!)
Ass rating: 4/10. We get implied nudity (i.e. someone with an open shirt, or someone with ribbons draped strategically) a lot more than actual nudity, but it's either in the credits (which only sorta count) or with overtones of helplessness and sexual violence (because Muraki isn't content with being a murderer, he's gotta be a rapist too).
Shit rating: 5/10. I think. Look, this is an absolutely id show: I suspect that going over the show with a cold, logical eye betrays all sorts of plot holes and idiot balls. But you don't watch it for the plot.
Violence rating: 8/10, possibly 9. Muraki really likes blood, and Yoko Matsushita apparently really likes her character whump.
Crack rating: 6/10. It's not not crack - if nothing else, it's too much of an id show not to bring it above the mid-level mark.
Actual opinion: So I started writing this review without having watched the show in several years, and in the process discovered that Wife hadn't seen it at all. Opportunity! I could watch it with her, and we'd see how someone reacted who wasn't exposed to it as Baby's First Slashy Anime.
Turns out that nope, it really is just That Kind of Show.
It doesn't bother to explain much of anything - how does the department of the Shinigami work? Is Tsuzuki competent or an idiot? Why the fuck would anyone appoint a 16-year-old to this kind of work, even before they knew about Muraki? How does Muraki - wait, no, I don't need an explanation for that one: rich pretty men have been getting away with horrible shit since the dawn of time.
But what the show does do is run down the list of Popular Fanfic Tropes like it's playing Bingo and wants a blackout. We've got your partners who hate each other at first and then are suddenly ride-or-die! We've got whump (so much whump)! We've got the Ambiguously Gay Monster Who Will Do Anything To Possess Our Hero! We've got pretty boys coming out our ears! And, ironically enough, we've got just enough explanation that we're not hopelessly confused, but little enough explanation that fanfic authors have plenty of room to explore!
This is one I've got on DVD, so I can't speak to the quality of the version streaming on Prime. But if you're interested in BL, are up for something heavy on the subtext that never quite tips over into text, and like generous lashings of magic and vaguely gothic horror (organ music included), then this is your show.