Do you like horror anime based on RPG Maker games? Do you enjoy witnessing the insanity of serial killers? Do you think you would be intrigued watching a very complicated and deep storyline that focuses on the death wish of a young girl? Angels of Death is the kind of anime that has a nice balance between action, drama, and mystery along with the right amount of violence. It is a good and immersive psychological thriller.
Rachel, a 13-year-old girl, awakens to find herself trapped in the basement of an abandoned building. She has no memories of her past or how she got there so she starts wandering around feeling lost. As she traverses through the building, she meets Zack, a serial killer covered in bandages. They make up a promise to each other that he will kill her as long as she helps him get out of this place, and so they start moving through the strange building and have to work together to escape.
As mentioned before, the plot focuses on Rachel, a suicidal loli, and Zack, a mass murderer who refuses to kill her. The story is based on a video game, and if you are a gamer yourself, it won’t take you too long to realize its mechanics with all the ‘floor master’ events that are happening. Every floor’s guardian has a different story and a reasoning behind the killings they do; they beautifully accompany the journey of Rachel into finding her true self. Zack influences her positively while guardians like Dr. Danny are the reason why she got so fucked up in the first place. Grey seems to be like the ‘game master’ at the beginning, but at the end of the day, he just wanted to observe and witness something of ‘profound interest’. The story can be quite complex and as a viewer you really need to give time to the narrative to grasp the whole concept. It starts with a stereotypical setting and basic characters but what makes it interesting is that Rachel and Zack build their own relationship and help each other break free from the building as well as reinvent themselves without having any kind of romantic feelings between them.
The overall animation was incredible, and it is really worth mentioning the stunning visuals and backgrounds especially in the last few episodes. The design of the characters was nicely polished and well-done: the dilated eyes of Zack, the expressionless eyes of Rachel, and even the ‘peepers’ of Dr. Danny. What blew me away in this series was the moon that was occasionally shown after Rachel’s story along with the amazing art style and noting of her character in the last two episodes. Her hair movement was insane. Plus, many of the scenes actually looked like paintings.
The music of the show was pretty good as well. Even though I would have liked to see the original music from the game (I am sure they had some copywriting issues with that), it was executed quite well, especially the ending song performed by Haruka Chisuga, the voice of main character Rachel, and the background music of the final scene.
For anyone that is looking for extra content: If you have already seen the series and finished the game, there is a manga version of Angels of Death that dedicates some content to the backstories of Danny, Cathy, and Eddie. There’s also an ongoing prequel manga, Satsuriku no Tenshi: Episode.0, that tells the story of how Danny and Cathy met Gray and agreed to become his angels. Note Ep 0 is manga-only, but written by Satsuriku’s creator.
As someone who has played the original game, I have to say that I was left happy and satisfied with the outcome of this anime. First of all, the fact that they got more budget and made this a 16-episodes title means a lot for the fans. They didn’t have to rush and squeeze all the content in, making something mediocre and lame. J.C.Staff actually took their time and made something good. I am quite pleased with the overall production, something that you don’t hear a lot from me these days. I would have loved it if they could include the backstories of the guardians as well. It would have given some great horror-like and sorrowful content.
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I would definitely recommend this to anyone who values a good story more than gore and blood. It’s not a masterpiece and I understand if some people might find its humor silly, but I thought it was genuinely enertaining. It takes away overly used clichés in anime like memory loss and kuudere lolis and turns it into an interesting and original horror title.
The summer anime season is over. We had a few refreshing titles that kept us company through the hot months, but fall is bringing so many new titles and a few sequels we’ve been waiting for a long time.
1st Episode Anime Impressions: Angels of Death
Angels of Death Episode 6 Review: Zack Is the Only One Who Can Kill Me
Angels of Death Introduces Artists of Opening and Ending Theme
Angels of Death Episode 11 Review: ’cause you are my God, Zack.
10 Anime Like Angels of Death
Angels of Death Episode 4 Review: A sinner has no right of choice
