The Duke of Death and His Maid

This show, though it appears to be tragic, at its heart it is just another romcom(that will make us smile and feel good for the rest of the day) with a nice premise. I'm saying this, because I'm sure some of you came to this show after hearing it's premise, and though it was gonna be a tragic show with complex characters. (APPROACHING SPOILERS) So, I'm gonna make this short, this anime is really good. The premise is very interesting; so close, yet so far. Tragic, yet wholesome, and I think it would make an interesting story. And they absolutely nailed it. Let's get the smallstuff out of the way, like everyone says the cgi, is very icky and emotionless, but its not that bad, it doesn't drag down the other elements and tbh I'm ok with watching this cgi (because the story is beautiful). Music, very fitting for the theme and setting, and the op SLAPS. Ok, so the characters. Let's talk Bocchan, his character is pretty interesting, a curse that was put on him, which made his life miserable, that would make interesting interactions and room for growth. And they did it, his growth wasn't really shown in the first few episodes, only implied, but in the later episodes they fixed the problem. In the flashback he grows, he finds resolve to live and actually looks forward to his future. He also shows growth, in the part when he asked Zain to destroy the journal, that's him putting his friends, which he didn't want before, over his own goals. And the part where he stands up and defends his love for Alice, not caring about status or pissing of his mom. So basically, the main reason he changed, is because of Alice. Speaking of Alice... Ok some may say she's bland and emotionless and only being a tease to make Bocchan happy, but in the later episodes she starts to show her true emotions, which was great to see. Speaking of being bland and emotionless, isn't that the image of maids, she needs to not show her true emotions, but that cold image is warmed by Bocchan throughout the series. Next, is Rob, nothing much to say, which may seem bad, but imo I like it that way. He keeps this image of a cool old guy, with wisdom and skills, but that's not the extent of his character. In the Rob backstory-ish segment, it's shown that he really is a wonderful servant, that focuses on his duty. And the part where he hires Alice, it really shows his resolve to make Bocchan's life better. Then there's Cuff and Zain, both have complementing, personalities. Cuff being the clumsy, short-tempered, aho girl and Zain being the composed, carefree, perverted dude. But though out the series, they break out of character for each other, Cuff wanting to be responsible, and Zain, being very overprotective and willing to sacrifice his friends for Cuff. Then there's Viola, who serves as Alice's friend and a perspective in the main house. Her liking Rob was really fun to watch and her giving and failing to use her advice was hilarious. As the show progressed, it is stated that she wants praise and to be herself, this gave the idea that Bocchan's life is a happy one, compared to his siblings. Speaking of that idea, the one that is openly implied is for Walter, he lives in Bocchan's shadow and is just the "spare", the ironic thing, is Bocchan's main priority isn't to become king. Anyway, his growth is shown as he meets his brother and agrees to help him, this may seem like it's to take the achievement of lifting the curse, but I think it's because he genuinely wants to see his brother happy, after seeing him. Last, is their mom, well she is a scary power figure, and it is shown that she is absolutely ruthless. However, in is implied that she actually cares for her son, and in the last episode, she is happy to see her son stand up for himself. I really think that was a powerful moment. So, the story, I won't say much. The first act, gives exposition and embodies the spirit of Takagi-san, where the Alice teases Bocchan in a lot of situations and that gives us the feel of the show, classic romcom wholesomeness. The end of the first act also, gives us a possible solution to the curse. The second act, shows backstories and the growth of most characters, it shows that Alice is actually in love with Bocchan and not just being a good maid. They face challenges, and moments where they want/need to embrace, but can't. So overall, this anime is fantastic for a romcom enjoyer like me, it has it's flaws, but I'm very satisfied with this show. Can't wait for next season!

Me: "Oh hello, busty Takagi-san. Is that you trying to entice the love of your life, if in an alternate world where Nishikata was cursed and he cannot touch you?" Takagi: "Nope, my dear male MC Nishikata is trying to be Code:Realize's MC Cardia Beckford, a lady whom can decay anything at the slightest touch. He's trying his very best to break out of his curse, just like Cardia. And thank god that he's not in a harem." Nishikata: "Yes, I'm cursed, so busty Takagi can only do her teasing through sexually harassing me to the best of her abilities and make that her usual running gagjoke. So get those soft boobs outta my face please, for the love of God!" In a typical relationship between a boy and a girl, there're many works that display the kind of teasing that is similar or akin to Souichirou Yamamoto's Karaki Jouzu no Takagi-san, arguably the most popular work of all if ever there was a credited influence from. A lot of mangakas whom thereafter created similar works like it don't really credit this back to Takagi-san because of the overt similarities that it shares, while making theirs stand out in a special way (see Uzaki-chan and Nagatoro-san). And now there's one more to add to the mix: newbie mangaka Koharu Ikami's Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid a.k.a The Duke of Death and his Black Maid. A fun fact that these 3 works were released around the same time in 2017, just a month separate from each other, with Shinigami Bocchan in October, Nagatoro in November, and Uzaki in December (yet the anime adaptation airing is in the reverse order, fate much?). I need not mention the story (or rather, its plot) itself because it's just that: the Duke of Death Bocchan getting cursed by a witch, which makes everything he touches decay, and moving into this mansion where that is the limit of his extensive reach, being shunned by friends and family alike. Thankfully though, he's not alone, with the maid Alice and butler Rob, and the sole goal of Bocchan is to find a way to get rid of the curse and be a normal boy again through all means, even engaging with the supernatural. Sounds simple, but it works really well. The story expands over time and makes your time well worth spent, because as much as the Duke Bocchan wants it done and dealt with, that also gives way for his black maid Alice to poke her fun towards him, because they're in a relationship right off the bat. The dialogue sometimes can be a little dis-interesting and forced when compared to Takagi-san as one-trick ponies, but as a sole work, I'd say that it checks all the boxes if you're willing to relax on a rom-com like this. The comical part is when the material dives in on the sense of contact a.k.a touch, because Bocchan literally CANNOT touch anything, not even his sexually alluring maid Alice, even if he wants to. It sounds kinda dumb when a curse is what literally holds you back from doing everything but anything that concerns your hands, but it's a miserable life indeed for Bocchan. To make matters worse (or better), it presents itself in a black gothic, Transylvania feel that complements the setting, so it services as the gateway between Bocchan, Alice, Rob and the other characters in their midst. Concerning the other beings, there's the red-haired witch Caph (because why the hell would you mistranslate that as Cuff) and bird wizard Zain, and just like Bocchan and Alice, they're in love with each other...but wiith a caveat: neither would sound out the confession. And try as the child-like Caph and the pervertic Zain would mingle amongst each other, their character dynamic adds to the dark tones of the duo's balance like yin and yang. In addition, Bocchan's family of their harsh mother Gerbera, youngest sister Viola (who has a thing for old men like Rob) and the younger brother Walter (which laments being 2nd, as if he's accursed by the number 2) makes the whole character complement work very nicely, I must say. And then there comes the CGI part. Whenever 3DCG studios like Shirogumi or Sanzigen uses complete CGI to produce anime, it raises hairs for it being bad, but it's not really that bad, hell I'd say that we've come a long way from getting used to fully CG-produced anime like Orange's Beastars or Houseki no Kuni a.k.a. Land of the Lustrous (which is still the undisputed king of 3DCG anime done purposefully right). In hindsight of J.C.Staff, director Yoshiki Yamakawa directed High Score Girl, which is the first J.C.Staff show to ever be produced in full CGI that's aided by SMDE (Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment). Since that and Shinigami Bocchan are serialized under the Shogakukan banner, it makes sense why Hi Score Girl (though not originally planned to be one) and this show would be fully animated in CGI, and it's quite the look. And this will be a hot take, but it's a subtle improvement over Hi Score Girl in the CG sense that I'm quite accustomed to now. There are also some nice things in the music department. VA Hanae Natsuki is a mainstay giving that child-like tone to Bocchan, but this is VA Ayumi Mano's first lengthy break playing the main character after doing support roles, and her voice suits Alice's teasing demeanor of a charm. Also, the OP is kinda of a sweet touch where it gets interactive between both characters with that playful-ish feeling of singing, teasing and having just a good time together, honestly, it's a nice song all wrapped up together to serve that light-hearted ambience together with the ED, which is presented in a ghost-like solemn manner to complement the song. All in all, as someone whom reads and watches way too much AniManga that uses the now famous teasing trope to entice and keep the relationship going, I can say that I leave this show being pleasantly surprised. Sure, it isn't quite as polished as Takagi-san is when it comes to the rom-com rhetoric, but as a standalone material, it is one fun ride that I can recommend if you're searching for more shows that aren't so much Takagi-san lookalikes for changes in settings, but you get my drift.

Pain. An unpleasant feeling that everyone has experienced once in their life. Be it a small cut while doing geometry homework or getting rejected by your first crush with a small letter that she didn’t even hand deliver herself, it’s a feeling that no one wants to experience, but they don’t have the liberty of choice. Now imagine living a life, completely isolated, with no interactions with friends or family and an inability to touch or feel anything. It sounds like a nightmare, a fever dream that you want to quickly wake up from. Unfortunately for our favorite duke, it’s a harsh reality. The duke ofdeath and his maid, is a story that follows…well a duke and his maid. The duke was cursed when he was a kid, taking away his ability to touch less feel anything, as all things living perishes from his wicked touch. Abandoned by his family, and forced into isolation due to his curse, his only shining light is his maid who was accepting enough to live with him. We then follow the troubles of the duke as he finds his life withering away because of the curse but simultaneously finds solace in the warmth of the maid he adores….well not really. The show tricks us into thinking it’s going to show us the painful side of being isolated and abandoned. A feeling of helplessness, a growing resentment towards the people that made your life miserable. All the anger, hatred and sorrow that grows in you as your life withers away all alone. The show had such an ambiguous and indecisive plot to work with. It could have displayed so much emotion and human drama, the chances of visual imagery in this show was indefinite. It’s a show that had honestly one of the most equivocal plots to work with, but they throw that shit down the drain cause why not. Instead we get a show of this mortified, helpless duke, being teased by a hot big tiddy anime maid. It contradicts its whole point of expressing the lonely and depressing life of an ostracized duke, as it moves towards making the show seem like a shitty fan animated Takagi-san, yet not nearly as good. The majority of the plot is taken up by the maid teasing the duke through sexual scenarios, enough for you to honestly wish you were in that dukes place. It makes for a laugh from time to time, but honestly leaves you feeling empty, as you realize you just watched 20 mins of basically nothing. The problem with the show is its direction. Reading the synopsis, you think it’s going to be a drama with extreme exposure towards human emotions. But you see it slowly turn into nothing more than a maid sexually harassing a socially awkward and super childish duke. I don’t think the maid is the problem, it’s just the role she plays. She isn’t the saving grace or the comforting persona for the duke. We don’t see her act as someone who’s empathetic towards the duke when he’s down and out, rather as an obnoxious and quirky character who risks her life for a 10 second teasing session for her personal enjoyment. Speaking of characters we have the duke. I’ve never seen a characters backstory have this less of an impact in their life. As previously told, cursed, abandoned boy living with his maid. You expect him to be heartless, emotionless, filled with anger and resentment. But nah, that’s too deep. Well formulated character who expresses a darker side of the human persona? Nah too rooted in reality, might scare the kids away. Make him awkward, childish and clumsy and have him blush while getting harassed by his maid for the 50th time as if it doesn’t become commonplace by them, that’s enough to keep the brain dead people’s attention in this show. The maid is no saving grace either. She was set up to be the light to the dukes darkness filled life. Unfortunately the duke is more cheery than I was receiving my Nintendo DS when I was like 5. Her character could have been an detrimental part of the show if played out correctly, but since the main focus of the show (the duke) is completely contradicting his own personality, the maid loses her integral reason for being In the show, and just turns into a quirky and outlandish character. Coming on to the art, its CGI, that sentence alone is enough to put the fear of god in you and make you avoid this show like its Voldemort, "he who shall not be named". It’s not like Beastars CGI rather more like windows movie maker levels of CGI. It’s abhorrent. It doesn’t do the characters any favors. There movements are so robotic. The characters move in like 2 frames per second. I can hear the whole dialogue being said before the characters even finish moving their lips. I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, CG and hand draw animation do not mix, like at all. It should just be illegal. This show proceeds to go against that and use hand drawn backgrounds with CGI characters. What we get is two cartoonish, stupid looking characters, interacting in the pace of a sloth, in an actually well drawn background. It looks dumb, something out of a children’s picture book if the picture book was made by a man who snorts 10 bags of crack every day. Its super unnatural and a real immersion breaker. What started off as acceptable levels of CG takes a massive nosedive in quality in the later episodes. As someone whose not opposed towards CGI in anime (after AOT & Beastars), I went into the show with a high remark for and a new found appreciation for CG. Unfortunately after watching this Im going back to the phase of thinking CGI was the creation in humanity. The sound is not really anything to be touched upon. The duke’s hobby is playing piano, so a lot of the tracks are piano, violin, percussion instruments in general. It adds to the whole classiness of the duke’s lifestyle. Piano is also a great instrument to produce sounds that are eerie and uncomforting, which could have been a great expression of musical imagery. The eerie music could have really complimented the dukes horrifying life. I personally was too distraught by the CG to pay attention to the sound, so I’ll give the show the benefit of the doubt and assume it was good, The problem with the show lies mostly on the direction that it took its story. The CGI could be overlooked or could have been bared with. Unfortunately there’s no saving when it comes to the plot. What could have been an amazing show filled with drama and emotions, turned into...you know what, I honestly can’t be asked to write all that again. The story, instead of going towards its destination, does a complete 180 and goes the other way. Im honestly disappointed with the show. Initially I thought the teasing was just a short term gag, and it’ll pick up its actual plot later on. I was left completely dispirited. Extremely displeases how this show turned out to be. Yeah it’s not the worst thing to come out, but it sucks to see a great show with a plot that has insane potential to be something beautiful, be left redundant and to die in the pit of generic shows. The only reason I finished it was because I put too much time into it. If I could describe the show in one sentence, it’s Youtube Clickbait. I feel like I got cucked and now I have trust issues. There honestly is nothing unique about the show. Besides the CG and abhorrent plot, the shows pretty average. Be it characters or storytelling, it takes a super safe route to a goal that’s nonexistent. Give it a shot, if you don’t despise CG and don’t care about wasting 4 hours of your life. Veterans advice, take those 4 hours and go play Bloodborne, BASED.

I generally really enjoy the story. The manga is amazing, but this is an odd adaptation. The intro and outro songs are really good. Will add to music play list later. The thing that kills it for me is the animation. It is unfortunately CGI and it's a bit garring at times. Its feels like I'm waiting for the cutscene in a video game to be over. The CGI is distracting. The movements of the characters are sometimes really uncanny and not normal. How is it that the background characters are animated in 2D, and the main characters are in CGI? Its normally the otherway around, but ok. The backgrounds are really odd too. They are trying to give the backgrounds a texture like an oil painting on and canvas. While it can work in other shows, it doesn't work here. It clashes with the CGI characters. Honestly if you like the story, just read the manga. It's so much better. Side note- At least the CGI is better than RWBY's. This was way more palatable than that hot garbage.