Yami No Matsuei

Title:Yami No Matsuei
Descendents of Darkness
闇の末裔
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - JC Staff
INOUE Kazuhiko
KAKAZU Yumi
MIKI Shinichirou
R1 License - Central Park Media(Defunct)
SEKI Toshihiko
YOSHINO Hiroyuki
"Shinigami", a detective of sorts that investigates strange deaths, or lack there of, in the human world. These Shinigami live in an exact mirror image world of Japan (called Meifu) where they each watch over a specific area. (Although each country has its own division and shinigami.)Very often, they arrive in the human world with the sole intention of taking a soul to Meifu. Each area is covered by 2 Shinigami's (18 in total), mainly because Shinigami's decisions have been known to wavor and thus each Shinigami is to, unofficially, watch each other.

(13 TV Episodes (each ~23min); animation by JC Staff; R1 licensed by Central Park Media)]

1:30min Series Opening - YouTube Video
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Avoid 6 8 6 6 6 6 Anonymous #3097 [series:302#3097]
I hated it. Art is kind of annoying, but standard. Character design is decent, but the characters really grate on me. I'm a shonen ai/yaoi fan, but I could not watch this series. It's like one of those hentai flicks that pretend to have a plot, but you know it's just to pass time until the fanservice begins. Angsty and dramatic, but because I could not connect with the characters it was just rather grating.

Last updated Friday, March 06 2009. Created Friday, March 06 2009.
Watch 8 6 8 7 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:302#1552]
So let's see what we have in this title: elements of yaoi, a supernatural plot focused around shinigami, spirits, and demons, and ongoing plots revolving around the angstings of Hisoka, Muraki, and Tsuzuki. There isn't exactly anything noteworthy that would make me consider liking Yami no Matsuei too deeply since there isn't much fresh stuff. I got more giddy over the supernatural hunting genre when I seen Hellsing and there was more that stood out for me with Loveless as a yaoi title. As for the angstings of the main characters, only Hisoka's tragedies were relateable for me since there was enough defined of his character and tragedy. Tsuzuki and Muraki didn't have as much development for me to care about them. There was a lack of depth on Tsuzuki's past on what led him on his murderous rampages in his former life and even with what we later learn of Muraki, it doesn't explain his treatment of people as nothing but dolls.

In terms of animation, male character designs were made to be attractive enough as to be expected for a yaoi title. The scenery was designed decently enough as well. But, battle scenes were a bit uninspiring for me.

If you're looking for a yaoi drama title, the Loveless is a better bet than Yami no Matsuei. While this series is watchable, there's just not a great deal about it that stood out for me.

Last updated Tuesday, December 23 2008. Created Tuesday, December 23 2008.
Buy 9 9 9 9 9 9 Ambriel [series:302#1357]
Love this anime!!! As long as you don't mind shonen ai, this anime rocks!!! The yaoi stuff's quiet minimal so it's ok. The art is beautiful!! Great music! Great plot!
Muraki's one of the greatest, most sadistic villians in anime history!! Well it's due to the fact that you always see him trying to 'get' Tsuzuki and tormenting Hisoka. They have a great cast, Hayami Sho as Muraki, Miki Shinichirou as Tsuzuki and Seki Toshihiko as Watari Yutaka.
It's a bit short, only like 10+ episodes but whatever just watch the show...

Last updated Saturday, April 24 2004. Created Saturday, April 24 2004.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 Hajime [series:302#1079]
The perfect combination of horror,mystery,drama and comedy.This is definetly an angsty series,but it has frequently some nice humoristic moments to reveal the viewer from all that intensity.
The animation is one of the most atmospheric I've ever seen,the visualazation and the voices perfectly reflect the characters' emotions/inner turmoil and the sound fits in every moment.
The plot-like the anime as a whole-is original and complex and the story begins simple and funny but it evolves into a well-made psychological thriller.
It needs plenty attention due to the symbolism that flows through it even to the simple moments,the perplexity of the mysteries and the deep meanings it has.Almost each time you watch it,you understand something more you didn't get previously.
The characters are multiple personalities,something that isn't shown at first glance,but they reveal them later slowly and steadily.
It has some very goresome moments,but it is not the blood and gore that grabs the viewers' attention,but the characters themselves,the atmosphere and the mysteries.
The ending leaves some unanswered questions,but this happens because the manga is still running.Which made me buy it.And if the anime is just amazing,the manga version is just perfect!

Last updated Friday, November 28 2003. Created Friday, November 28 2003.
Buy 10 9 10 9 10 Anonymous #1068 [series:302#1068]
Yes, this is one of the best anime there is. Unforunatly, it is also one of the most over-looked. While the manga is undoubtably better than the (already superb) anime, it has yet to be translated into English. This anime contains 13 episodes, and four story arcs. All but one of the arcs features the main bad-guy, the twisted and slightly perverted Doctor Muraki and his obsession with Tsuzuki, the main character.
Something interesting about this anime is the reversal of good and evil. The 'good-guys' can really hardly be called 'good', because they are Shinigami (Gods of Death) and they do the next best thing to taking people's lives. However, the 'bad-guys' are so evil, they eclipse the others by a huge margin. The interesting thing, though, is how Muraki is always seen and associated with pure white or silver, and Tsuzuki is with black. The reversal of roles.

Last updated Wednesday, November 12 2003. Created Wednesday, November 12 2003.
Buy 10 10 9 8 9 D-chan [series:302#547]
This was reccomended to me by a friend. I was wary at first, since about all I heard of it was, "a guy that looks like a cute little dog when he's a chibi" and "the guy with the creepy eye." However, she promised there were decent shounen ai hints.
Yes. There are VERY decent shounen ai hints. In fact, Tsuzuki seems to be the object of molestation... when the evil doctor Muraki isn't tormenting Hisoka, that is. The anime doesn't go as deep into "those" situations as the manga, but the hints are very obvious.
The storyline is nice. Each case is interesting and different, and the characters are also fun. The most obvious pairing (aside from Muraki and his molestation attempts >.>;;) is Tsuzuki/Hisoka, though there are several Tatsumi/Tsuzuki fans ready to swat that idea away... in any case, Tsuzuki is easily the most sought-after character in the show. Surprisngly, he somehow manages to pull that role off without coming off as completely annoying.
The art is constantly gorgeous (though not as flowery as the manga... and here you thought it couldn't GET any more shoujo). The character designs are beautiful. The backgrounds are beautiful. I would say that the music is perfect, but the ending song so shockingly grated on my nerves that I had to take the score down a notch. It was horrible... though the manga images with it were very nice.
And, lastly, the opening theme is one of my favourites. The song fits, the art is flowing and beautiful and flawless, and it's just overall impressive.
But stay far, far away from the dub. The characters' voices were mutilated beyond all recognition...

Last updated Friday, July 04 2003. Created Friday, July 04 2003.
Buy 10 10 9 9 9 9 nodoubt [series:302#399]
I had hestiation when I first heard this series has yaoi stuff in it. I didn't want to get it but I'm glad I did. This series has some of the best artwork I've seen in a long time. Every scene is painstakingly drawn to perfection. You don't ever get a plain background in this one. I also love the music in this anime. The music is the kind that jots in your memory and you find yourself humming it for no reason. Sort of like the music in Vision of Escaflowne. The series contains 13 episodes about Shinigami, literal translation, God of Death. In this series, Shinigami are beings who usually died a wrongful death, and have been given a chance to exist in both the living world and the afterlife working for the Meifu, or offices of the dead.
Your main characters are Tsuzuki (don't want to reveal too much, but hes a man with a mysterious past) and Hisoka, a 16 yrs old with psychic abilities. Your villain is Muraki. Basically, Tsuzuki and Hisoka are investigating a wave of strange deaths which somehow they feel connected to Muraki. The series takes off in the first episode and never lets off in its momentum. Each episode leaves you yearning to see the next one. Keep in mind this series has some gore and summoning of magic...
The yaoi stuff is kept to a minimum. There are some plot holes however, and expected when you compress volumes of mangas to an anime. Just overlook the minimal yaoi stuff and get this series.

Last updated Tuesday, October 08 2002. Created Tuesday, October 08 2002.

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