Anime Review: "The Duke of Death and His (Black) Maid"

So let’s talk about the elephant in the room first, so I can spend the rest of this review convincing you to forget about the elephant, and watch this anime. The characters in this series are done in CGI, using what appears to be the same kind of process that was used in one of J.C. Staff’s other series: “Hi-Score Girl.” You’re either going to let that bug you, or you won’t. For some people CGI is a complete turn-off, and means an instant drop. For others, they don’t care. I’m kind of in the middle. I much prefer standard animation, not too big a fan of CGI, so when I saw the trailer for this, I was initially really disappointed; I’d read some of the manga, before the announcement that this was coming out, so I was pretty excited when I heard it got picked up, but when I saw the trailer I was crestfallen. I’m sure a lot of people had the same reaction. But, if you can, be a bigger person, and see beyond the CGI, you’ll find something pretty special.

Since we’re already on the topic of visuals with the CGI I’ll start by saying the art in this series is fantastic. The backgrounds are done with incredible detail, even given texture to make them look like they’re paintings on canvas. It gives the entire series a glorious fairy tale vibe, like you’re watching an anime that’s come to life right out of a pop-up book. I caught myself, at times, just fascinated by all the little minor things that decorated each frame. So, despite the fact that the characters are CGI and move around a bit weird, it somehow comes together pretty well and I didn’t find myself overly bothered by it.

From art, the next obvious thing that needs to be talked about, is the sound. This series had probably the best sound track of the year I think. It was enchanting. There were multiple vocal performances by the main VA’s Mano Ayumi (Alice) and Hanae Natsuki (Bocchan); they sang not only the opening theme song, but also did several other insert pieces that popped up within the show as well. There were also a number of classical songs featuring beautiful piano arrangements which were a joy to listen to. I’d say “glorious,” is a pretty good word to summarize my feelings for the music of “Duke of Death”. I may end up hunting down a copy of the OST if I can find one.

Also, Hiroshi Kamiya (MAL’s #1 Person) is in this. He plays a bird-faced witch. Anytime I get to hear him play anything I count that as a win.

Witches and magic are pretty central to the story of “Duke of Death”. The plot revolves around the titular duke, who was cursed by an unknown witch, when he was just a boy. The curse causes him to kill anything he touches – plant, animal, or even people. It’s honestly a very, very dark plot hook, but it’s used in an extremely creative, fun way, through the antics of the character Alice. She’s the (black) maid of the moment, who’s favorite past time is getting as close to the duke as she can, without touching him, in a cute/sexy kind of “I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you,” playful way, while also sexually harassing him every opportunity she gets. She delights in his adorable, embarrassed reactions (which are done extremely well on both an animation level and acting one). This dynamic is the core of the show, turning it into essentially a rom-com with a strange, slightly morbid kink to it.

With that being said, it’s quite a bit more than just your standard romantic comedy though, because the plot hook of the show, the duke’s curse, is actually quite intriguing; the more we learn about it, the deeper the mystery surrounding it gets, but that’s something you can enjoy yourself watching the series. I don’t wanna spoil anything.

All in all, the flirting between the Duke and Alice is really entertaining to watch, making for a fun little SOL/rom-com with a unique premise, so I’d be happy giving this series a 7 or an 8 on just those merits alone, but as it turns out, by the end of the series, I was genuinely invested in the characters, their futures, and the answer to the mystery of the curse, thankfully, after the credits, they announced that the story will continue in season two, so hopefully we’ll get to find out then, because the season ends with all the big questions still up in the air, which is to be expected because the manga for this has been going for near 200 chapters now, and expecting to cram all that into just twelve episodes is asking much too much.

This all leads me to say that this was a perfectly enjoyable watching experience. Not even going to take off points for the CGI characters and wonky animation because after about episode 2 I had completely gotten over it, forgetting all about the elephant, and just enjoying the ride.

Masterpiece, round of applause, etc. 10/10 from me.

Update to this post in 2025... additional seasons of this have now aired, and I've gone and added the entire manga series, which is finished, to my collection..... vol. reviews eventually, series review to come as well. Score for this one still stands. 10/10 - even in manga form.

Anime Review: "Triage X"

It’s 2021. I’m at home. My Crohn’s disease is flaring, and I’m debating on whether it’s safe or not to go to the emergency room because Covid-19 is still quite widespread, and despite being vaccinated, the risk of infection is still there, especially with new variants on the rise. Health care workers are setting their safety aside to do battle on the front line in order to treat those who suffer and keep the general public safe. Given this current state of events, I thought it was only right that I should watch Triage X, an R+, hardcore echi series created by the character designer from Highschool of the Dead, Satou Shouji, which stars a varied cast of buxom women (and a token guy they can fawn over), who live as doctors and nurses by day, but by night, don their hidden personas as Black Label: a vigilante group of super-spy, ninja-assassins that move under the command  of a genius surgeon. Their mission – to purge the world of the many cancers that plague society (with bullets, swords, and explosives).

Let’s be blunt. You will watch this show for the medical theme, just as much as you watch High School of the Dead for the parts with the zombies.  The veneer of medical atmosphere around it plays out more like weird fetish cosplay than it works practically to set up plot, character backstory, or setting. In fact, the plot of the series is bad, no, it may actually be pretty terrible. Not only that, but by the end of the series, the story doesn’t actually give you any closure, instead setting up for a future OVA, or maybe a season 2 (lord knows if it’ll get one, but you never know). So not only is the story bad, it’s incomplete. That’s a major deal breaker for me when it comes to anime, even if the show is just an echi one.

The characters, and their backstories, were confused, and filled with the standard tired tropes. Several of them didn’t even get a backstory at all (maybe we’ll learn about them in the sequel). One of the characters doesn’t seem to have any tie-in to the rest of the team, from what I could tell, and works as an Idol and TV star by day. My best guess was that she was added to the cast by the series creator to fill a certain character archetype, and he thought, “Meh, why not, make her an idol, that’ll sell well with this demographic.”

Honestly, the plot behind the scenes for both the story and characters is pretty much garbage.

But honestly, you’re not watching this series for the plot, just like you’re not watching it for the medical drama. You’re watching it because you’re highly cultured and you’re interested in the PLOT i.e. the sexy ladies. In this case, the PLOT of the show is very attractive, mostly focused, in extreme close-up on the boobs (sasuga Satou-sensei). All the women have massive assets, which have been painstakingly animated with more care than some entire series will ever get (looking at some of the newer releases, it’s really quite painful). The series is presented in a fully uncensored version, as well as the “safe for TV” one, so of course I watched the home video release, because nobody needs weird beams of light, or dark black boxes all over their screen when they’re watching anime.

I saw someone comment the other day on twitter, “that show is entirely carried by the fan-service”, and generally people replied that yea, of course it is. “It’s an echi series, what do you expect?” At the time, they weren’t talking about Triage X, but I think the same argument applies here. If you’re watching this show, you’re watching it for the lewd jiggle physics, not the story, and not the action.

That being said, the action was actually really good. The guns were shooty, the swords were swingy, and the explosions possessed sufficient boom. The chase scenes on motorcycle, and fight scenes were all well-choreographed, taking into account the best way for each of the women to show off her character design. The male lead, was actually not a wet blanket. He was likable, in a serious, “let’s get down to business” kind of way.

At the end of the day, I don’t really recommend this show. It’s in the category of anime you probably watch when you’re horny, and alone, or bored and have nothing else to do, and that doesn’t really have much going for it other than the eye candy; the overly serious tone of it, combined with all the sexual abuse in the plot, just kinda kills the mood. If that doesn’t deter you though, the series is out legally on multiple streaming platforms such as Crunchyroll and Hidive.

*****

Please note, in all seriousness, support your health care professionals who are putting their lives on the line in the fight against Covid. That shit is getting absolutely out of hand. Wear a mask, get vaccinated. Don't be a dick.