Review of Descendants of Darkness

I watched Yami no Matsuei, also known as Descendants of Darkness. Here are my thoughts: This anime is basically a homoerotic supernatural anime about investigators of paranormal phenomena. The show has an interesting premise and a unique atmosphere. The protagonists are 'anti-heroes', which fits the theme. There are certainly some erotic moments. The plot itself though is quite dark and morbid. Late-90s character designs and art style really suit the homoerotic atmosphere well. Although the animation itself uses stills a lot, stylistically the anime looked good. Soundtrack was suitable. There was a fair bit of classical music, with plenty of violin and organ. I liked the use ofchoral music in particular. It definitely fit the atmosphere of the anime. That said, OP and ED songs were dreadful.

I'm kind of at a loss for words for evaluating this anime. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't that great either and I'm having trouble explaining why. Aside from the novelty of a homosexual horror story, the anime is mediocre. Maybe there's a decent story in here, but if so it's obscured by poor direction. Although I haven't read it, I imagine the manga does a better job fleshing things out. The premise of the show had a lot of potential, but the execution was disappointing.

The protagonists investigate/fight various supernatural threats. This can be cool and creative, but sometimes it also felt formulaic. It had kind of a monster-of-the-week-ish feel to it, which is a format I simply don't enjoy that much. Maybe I am biased in that regard. Sometimes the plot and character-focused stories felt incoherent, likely as a result of manga material being omitted from the adaptation.

Despite my criticisms, at the very least the uniqueness of the anime deserves appreciation. The style and atmosphere of the show are its most appealing elements, in my opinion.

Overall rating: 6/10