Yami no Matsuei
[Episodes 1-13 Reviewed]
[Reviewed by Brinson]

I've said it once, I'll say it again: I hope death is this sexy. In the tradition of Tokyo Babylon, Yami no Matsuei explores the darker side of shoujo with its occult overtones. But don't let all those blood/roses parallels scare you off--Yami no Matsuei has a way of convincing you that the trip to the sweet hereafter won't be so terribly traumatic.

Story
Tsuzuki Asato lives to stuff food down his gullet. The only problem? Tsuzuki isn't technically alive. He's been dead since 1926 and has spent the following decades of his eternal rest working for the bureaucratic organization that governs death, Emma Chou. Known as a shinigami ("god of death"--more a nickname than an actual title), Tsuzuki's job is to investigate the activities of wayward souls who died of unnatural causes. Protocol for the job is to work in pairs; unfortunately, Tsuzuki's been unable to keep a partner for quite some time. Enter Hisoka Kurosaki, a rather angry young man who has been gifted with empathetic abilities. Together they are to canvas the second section of Japan, but it becomes clear from day one that their cases invariably lead to one place: one Dr. Muraki. Muraki has the dirt on both boys, and more than the enjoyment he reaps from toying with them, he seems to want something from Tsuzuki that even he is unaware he has.

The Rest
Yami no Matsuei is one anime where the requisite bishonen angst, to some degree, is justified. These are characters who are *dead* from their various tragedies, for pete's sake. All things given, Tsuzuki is a remarkably well-adjusted protagonist (bearing, of course, the last few episodes). His mellow attitude and concern for others is a refreshing change from the melodramatic guys who populate shoujo. Hisoka balances him nicely by being irrate a good portion of the time. Heh. It's fun, though, to watch how the relationship unfolds between the two--nothing so much as a kiss in the anime, mind you--so if the notion of two guys thinking tenderly of one another gives you the willies, high tail it over to the Berserk review. ...Wait, on second thought, don't.

The secondary characters are just as quirky and amusing, from genki-as-all-gettup mad scientist Watari to the brothers Goushoushin, these two fully clothed floating fowl (no, seriously) who periodically appear to dispense wisdom and mock Tsuzuki. Not since X's roaming hands Fuuma have I seen such a touchy feely sort of nemesis as Muraki; despite the raging evil in some of the things he does, there's a glut of devotion to him on the internet that once again makes me question my self-definition as a fangirl. Er, moving on? The animation is wonderfully detailed, near-OAV quality stuff. The style has been likened to CLAMP, so it's somewhat like watching the Rayearth OAVs sans the huge, blinky eyes. I admire the fact that the character designers went to the trouble of making each character physically reflect the era in which they died; nothing makes my black heart soar like seeing Tsuzuki running around 24/7 in a full suit. Yami no Matsuei also has one of the first soundtracks in a long while I went to the trouble of purchasing commercially; the opening and ending themes are catchy and the background music varies from choral pieces to a middle eastern tune reminiscent of Escaflowne's "Short Notice". It suffers from a wretchedly short run--thirteen episodes in all--but that way, I guess, the story gets told with blessedly little filler. And we call all say amen to that, eh?

The Bottom Line
If you like your shoujo peppered pretty boys, violence and a subtle sensuality, this is definitely the way to go. Sachi's got some good quality tapes, so buy while the buying's cheap and plentiful.