Yami no Matsuei
Reviewer: Charlatan [email]Overall Rating: A
Media Reviewed: DVD
Creator: Matsushita Yoko
U.S. Licensed: Yes
Released by: Central Park Media
Run time: 13 episodes
BL Content: Ambiguous (yaoi implications, fanservice)
Genre: Drama/Horror/Supernatural
Other media: English-licensed manga
A PG-13 rating for this series underestimates Yami no Matsuei (Descendants of Darkness), not because of anything sexual, but because of the over-all mood of this cool series. Not only are all the characters and artwork gorgeous but the storyline is intriguing, it helps if you are familiar with the manga though. YamiMatsu is a 13 episode series with 3 arcs that sum up what happens in the manga, as such it can get a little confusing as it jumps from one saga to the other. It introduces and drops characters along the way but there are 3 constants, being Tsuzuki, Hisoka and Muraki.
As the story goes, Hisoka is a junior Shinigami or 'Angel/God of death' and he is partnered up with Tsuzuki a veteran of the agency, in the land of the dead, that investigates odd and unnatural deaths on earth. Don't get me wrong, just because Tsuzuki is a veteran, don't expect him to be the calm, collected seme of the story. If anything the whole reason Tsuzuki is partnered with Hisoka is because he is too carefree and goofy to do the more dangerous tasks. In fact his former partner, Tatsumi, gave him up because he cared too much for the well being of his absent-minded friend (though he wont admit it so easily). But as the more experienced shinigami, Tsuzuki is the one with all the cool powers as he and Hisoka face down vampires, demons, possessed people, ghosts and especially Muraki. Enter Muraki, the INSANE murderous doctor who is obsessed with Tsuzuki for creepy reasons you would never imagine in the end. Either way Muraki's tasks include making Tsuzuki squirm every chance he gets, hitting on him ever chance he gets, and causing him pain whenever possible. Muraki also has a past with Hisoka and it turns out Hisoka became a shinigami in the first place to avenge himself.
As choppy as the 3 arcs may be from each other, each one is really a self contained story with a plot in each intriguing enough to keep you happy, lavished by constant eye-candy. The shounen-ai is generally subtle except for Muraki/Tsuzuki and Hijiri/Tsuzuki scenes. Being a horror genre however there is some gory, bloody scenes, disturbing imagery and gothic-like themes. However it is a definite must see, if you like the occult, psycho pretty Doctor chasing innocent uke, who in turn develops feelings for his younger enigmatic partner, all while they battle all sorts of creatures. Trust me, you will love seeing all the challenges Tsuzuki and Hisoka face and how they turn to each other for support. The only real problem with this series is that it's too short!
