Kurayami Dance is one of the most unique mangas I've ever read. It feels like someone's personality in both text and drawing are imbued into every page of this 2-volume story. It's one of my favorites not just because of the witty dialogue or the stunning art (which is what hooked me in the beginning), but also the concepts that, although seemingly distant from each other, are all closely aligned. Premise: Wataru Kaido is an undertaker by day, motorcyclist at night, and in chapter 1 he seeks to go past 300 miles per hour on the mountain roads because he's "in a rush to live."After passing 300 and seeing the all-encompassing red, he crashes (violently). He wakes up from his coma 2 years later into a world slightly different than what he remembers: a new leader, and a weird inner demon companion. After quickly getting used to it he takes a job to take care of a death in the Kurogane Kingdom, running into interesting persons and crooked countries along the way who make him question whether he was in a rush to live or to die, and what the true value of life and death really is.

Story: 10/10
I'll be honest: I don't think that there is much to "get" or to understand beyond the central theme of life and death, and I don't think it's really supposed to make complete sense. But it's all completely enjoyable and in my opinion, I wouldn't have it any other way.

The story reads out as some sort of bizarre dream by the part of "Kamikaze" Wataru, in which disjointed events happen one after another, and the reality of these events are so often called into question... No really, Wataru often asks the people around him "did that just happen?" to which they say "No, the event ____ in which ____ certainly did/did not just happen." The dialogue amuses me so often I forget just how dark many of the themes are. The dialogue sounds very different from other mangas because of the way that the characters are all so blunt and sometimes rude, as opposed to common Japanese manga where there are certain cultural aspects in place and everyone is respectful. But it adds to the clarity of the story because kind of like the art style, things move forward in crisp black-and-white. I suppose this is a lucky combination of the manga setting (not modern Japan), the translator work (which is aMAzing), and of course Suda51's writing skills.

Speaking of Suda51, I did some research to find that this was based on the initial story script of the video game Shadows of the Damned, originally named Kurayami. Apparently he's a really famous dude. Kurayami Dance honestly reads as some sort of passion project, just for Suda51, as it's peppered by references to other things he's worked on (for no apparent reason) as well as video game suggestions, actor names, and songs interwoven into the dialogue. It fits as a weird kind of banter. Since Kurayami Dance was so good, perhaps it would be worth looking into his other works.

Art: 10/10
The art actually captured me more than anything else in Kurayami Dance. Just like everything else, it is very UNIQUE. The lines are super smooth and the panels are defined in black and white strictly with few gray tones in addition. Each page looks like a work of art, like an intricate linocut stamp. Additionally, the perspective work of Takeya Syuji is CRAZY. Surroundings are extremely stylized as they warp and wind, some things elongate or squeeze in satisfying monochrome. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. You would expect a manga about death to be more sorrowful, but the way it is presented so cleanly completely fits the message that Kurayami Dance delivers.

I really hope that Takeya Syuji draws more manga. I would absolutely love to see what else he makes. I hope he becomes very popular in the future.

Characters: 10/10
I suppose the only character I could really analyze is Wataru "Kamikaze" Kaido. He's very nicely personified as a blunt man who quickly accepts the things around him as reality, never seeming to struggle with self-doubt or turmoil. The conversations he has with his companion Challia tell a lot about the kind of person he is, in addition to also being super enjoyable. I remember the one scene where they just chilled at the Union Hotel bowling, and then played Uno all night long. No that's not a fever dream, that's really in the manga.

The character design is awesome. There's a startling simplicity in all the characters yet so much uniqueness to all of them. They are made of simple shapes and the bare minimum of lines, yet they feel so deliberately placed that overall it feels intricately beautiful.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Don't tell me you can't see how much I enjoyed this manga. This is the kind of manga you can stare at the panels for a long time and be swept away by the coolness, or reread dialogue for the fifth time and still get a kick out of it. I know I do.

Overall: 10/10
Funny, witty, but also strangely deep, but most of all super unique.
A great example of "showing" rather than "telling," we learn about everything just by going along with the ride. Kurayami Dance is less something to take in and more something to be taken away by. Thank you anyone who read this far into my review, and I very much hope you pick up Kurayami Dance.