Review of The Severing Crime Edge

If you thought long hair was something of an eye catcher, get a load of this. Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge features a mysterious girl who has probably the longest hair length of almost any anime I've seen. I don't know if that's any sort of accomplishment, but this series takes strange to a new level as there's a particular young boy who is obsessed with the idea of cutting hair. Now the formula is complete with a young boy who wants to cut hair and a girl who has long hair. Oh but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond that mountain ofhair also lies danger for our two adorable friends. That doesn't stop the hair-crossed duo though because in Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge, there's more than just meets the eye beyond that hair.

Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge (also known as The Severing Crime Edge) is an animated series adapted from the manga of the same name written by Tatsuhiko Hikagi. The series starts out in a mysterious way but later turns into a dangerous game scenario. The 'game' involves whoever can kill the “Hair Queen” and the victor would get a glorious prize for his or her efforts. Sounds catchy right? Well, that would be the case but this series here takes that theme and twist it in a way that can swift from adorable to murderous in just a matter of moments. Talk about change...

For starters, the series introduces more of a fantasy theme. The mystical encounter between our main protagonists of the story, Kiri Haimura and Iwai Mushanokoji, is quite unusual. It's not every day that we see people get connected by hair. In fact, what's even more strange is the length of Iwai's hair that seemingly is longer than herself. On the other hand, Kiri who seems like a normal boy quickly becomes entranced by that hair. This strange obsession with hair can be traced to borderline fetish as he seemingly can't take his eyes off of it. It's the beginning of this relationship connected by hair that sets them as the dynamic duo of this murderous game.

For the game itself, it seems to follow a winner takes all scenario meaning that it's every man for themselves. That means one thing: you can't really trust anyone because of the fear of betrayal. And of course, anime series involving a game scenario similar to this is nothing new. Series such as Mirai Nikki, Btooom!, Fate/Stay Night, Rozen Maiden, etc all follow this sort of format where the ultimate winner of the game is decided based on completing specific requirements. For our adorable Iwai though, the requirement is to kill her. That might sound gruesome but it gets worse because the majority of the contestants are nothing like Kiri. In fact, they can be literally tagged as serial killers. It also doesn't help the fact that Kiri himself has an origin related to them. The good news is that he seems to be on Iwai's side more than just that borderline fetish for hair. The bad news? Everyone else seemingly wants our adorable Hair Queen's head on a plate.

Although I find the adorable duo to be somewhat compatible, their relationship seems way more like fantasy than anything else. After all, they are connected by a strange encounter in the first place in that western-like mansion. Furthermore though, the two quickly becomes close despite the fact that Iwai is a potential candidate to win the game. He even proves it too as in the beginning, Kiri is able to take on six-foot tall man with just his scissors. He seemingly plays the role of the 'knight in shining armor' for our adorable Hair Queen. On the other hand, there's Iwai who seems to be the mascot of this show. She is so adorable that everyone seems to frown over her cuteness such as her classmates. She has the traits too with those long hair, those moe like eyes, the little fang-shaped teeth, and heart melting smile. However, she lacks the skill or power to protect herself during many situations. Oh and regarding that hair, it's of course not normal. It has 'magic' written all over it and we can see exactly why Kiri-kun seems to be so fascinated by it.

The people who are hunting down Iwai are known as 'Authors' which is a strange name at that. Going by the game scenario though, it's quite obvious that the Authors wants Iwai dead. The Authors themselves as mentioned earlier before are comparable to professional killers, skilled individuals who kills for his or her own reasons with efficient skill. These individuals themselves are also armed with dangerous weapons known as the 'killing goods'. Going by the trademarks, these tools are instruments of killing. In fact, many of the objects in this series are designed in a way to harm people. For example, there's Kiri and his scissors that also designates the title of the series: the Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge. Then there are the other killing goods that comes in all shapes and sizes such as an injection needle, ropes, and sharp knives. It's not doubt that these weapons are designed to kill. Yikes, talk about Iwai in a situation of life and death here. But thankfully she has her knight in shining armor right?

Well that might somewhat be true but it's clearly seen throughout the series that the duo struggles in their survival against the Authors. Is it because they are weak or because the Authors are too damn strong? I can barely tell since we don't see much back story of either character besides the basic origins. That's one of the weaknesses of this show as the connection built by Kiri and Iwai seems too unbelievable. They are connected based on a fascination of 'hair' in a fantasy like romance. Speaking of which, the romance between the duo seems to be rather strange. It's obvious Iwai is attracted to Kiri as well as vice versa. However, neither of them initiates the first move directly but rather expressed through teases; again involving....the magic word 'hair'. There's also hinted romance by another character towards Kiri throughout the series but the kid's too dense to realize it. Maybe, he's just too into the hair? I wonder.

The way the series is structured also seems to follow the typical 'monster of the week' format. This is expressed by the way in which some Authors make their debut but then some of them disappears to be never seen or heard of again. Then, there's the case of Kiri-kun who uses his killing good to protect Iwai. Being her knight in shining armor, Kiri plays the role of the hero kid who tries to do everything by himself. Most of the time he seems to succeed but other times seems to be on the falling edge. While I do like the fact that he isn't a coward, the way Kiri succeeds sometimes is also a bit unbelievable. Of course, he doesn't always succeed through Gary Stu-like scenarios but his abilities are quite a sight for the other Authors. He's proved himself many times already. On the other hand, the Authors who threatens their lives are constant on odds as they struggle to achieve the task of killing the Hair Queen. Their appearances may be diverse but their insights are not as most of their personalities are dull and lacking flavor from my perspective.

There's also fan service in this series of course. For whatever reason, the teases in this series expands to not just hair but also in the form of an injection as well. The way in which two particular character behaves in such scenes involving the injection shows a rather lewd way of 'bonding'. Then of course, there's Iwai who sometimes isn't full dressed and blushes out of nowhere for some eye candy scenes.

The artwork of this series seems magical. At some stances, it falls under the fantasy theme with the Western-like mansion, the Alice in Wonderland-like field, and stage plays. At other times, it brings out the more modern themes with the school and shopping malls. Then, there's our characters who are designed to look like normal people but have abnormal ways of expressing themselves. The most noticeable style of artwork is Iwai and her long hair that is eye catching for nearly anyone. Then, there are the Authors. Some of them are designed to look normal and innocent. Others are designed to really look like killers on the loose.

For soundtrack though, Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge actually has a catchy OST. It's catchy enough to maintain that magical theme through tense moments as well as those that are intimate. In one particular moment in one of the later episodes, there's a slow melody that is played to show how far Kiri and Iwai have connected in their relationship. Speaking of which, the voices for our main protagonists expresses themselves well for characters of their age. The OP song "Unmei no Ori" by Aimi shows montages of the various characters. Its tone is expressed in moments in which we see most of the Authors seemingly enduring the situations they are in. Then at the end of each song, there's the echo of 'Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge' giving off a more grim feeling of the series.

This series can be a hit or miss for potential fans from my perspective. For me, it was a bit of in between but leans more to the mediocre. Aside from the bizarre hair fascination and the weakly structured plot, the series does have some entertainment values at some occasions. It's also adorable with some of the moments our main two protagonists share throughout the series. At other instances, it becomes old quickly and rather forced rather than expressive. The Authors themselves may distinguish themselves from each other but they don't have much insight to go on. Ultimately though, the winner of the game will gain glory. What did I gain from Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge? Well, just a barely tolerable experience.