Search - Descendants of Darkness - Vampire's Lure (Vol. 1) on DVD

Deborah J. from SAN ANTONIO, TX
Reviewed on 10/14/2011...

It was OK. Does not tempt me to look for other episodes of the series.

Mainstream shonen-ai and bishonen's galore.

lady_demona | Cardiff, UK | 11/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Descendents of darkness... or more accurately its Japanese title Yami no Matsuei concerns two Shinigami's (Gods of Death) the affable, sweet toothed Tsuzuki and his new, surly at times partner Hisoka. It is their jobs to guide lost souls to their judgment while at the same time confronting their own dark pasts, which seem to revolve around a rather handsome, silver haired doctor.Yami no Matsuei is definitely one of my all time favourite shows. Although short (13 episodes in total) it is a show many I have known described as special just because it is so beautiful. The scene in the church when Tsuzuki meets Muraki for the first time is particularly breathtaking.Be warned though it is a show that is definitely not for kids (although for some strange reason it is only a +13 rating) it is violent, dark and deals with occultish themes. The main thing to be warned that it is YAOI!! Yes you will see men getting nice, romantic and angsty with other men ^_^ personally I have no problems with that but it is clear that some people do...That aside I have no reservations about recomending this show, it is beautiful animated, funny and sweet at times, has an interesting storyline (which is presented in arcs...sets of 3 or 4 episodes) and wonderful characters.Another plus is that the voice actors in this show are some of the best. Tsuzuki is wonderfully done by Miki Shinichiro but for me the real show stealer is Hayami Sho as Muraki Katazuka. He is perfect blend of sexy, sensual yet dangerously creepy at the same time.I cant say I am not crazy about the name change, but hey as long as they are releasing it I am not complaining ^_^ My other qualm is how the english cast is going to match up to the japanes. The only other thing I dont really like is the cover. Be warned I have only seen the sample cover and in the end (fingers crossed) I hope CPM gives it a much better cover as the artwork is so beautiful.Summary: beautiful show,if you like bishonen (fans of X) and shonen ai (fans of Gravitation) buy this DVD you wont be dissapointed"

Always Watch Out For The Guy In the White Suit

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 05/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a true bishonen series. Which means a lot of tall, thin, very good looking but effeminate young men (just about any part with more than a 25 word part is male). Women are victims, villains (sometimes both), or somewhat lightheaded. The obligatory master villain is always dressed in white with white hair. And there is an underlying and not particularly subtle layer of sensuality that may make some US viewers uncomfortable. To enjoy Descendants of Darkness you may have to step around some prejudices. But if you are willing to do so you will find one of the best anime of its kind.

Tsuzuki is a detective working for a spiritual agency, the Guardians of Death, which is part of the Ministry of Hades. His task is to seek out the lost souls wandering the earth and guide them further on to the afterworld. It's a job he seems spectacularly ill suited for, since he is undisciplined, irreverent, and a compulsive eater of deserts. However, he also happens to be one of the strongest of the shinigami mages and can command twelve powerful creatures. So it is no surprise when he is assigned to track down a vampire that is terrorizing Nagasaki.

The surprise is that his new partner is Hisoka, a recently dead 15-year-old, who expired under suspicious circumstances. Hisoka is offended because Tsuzuki is so lackadaisical and the older detective is a bit nonplussed with the boy's inexperience. Arguing and grousing all the way they manage to create a partnership that teeters back and forth as both Hisoka and Tsuzuki fall victim to the plotting of Muraki who is the master nasty running the vampire. We get to learn quite a bit about Hisoka in the process, but it is Tsuzuki who is the real target.

The story telling and acting are excellent in both the dubbed and subtitled versions. The art is classic bishonen gothic with animation that is surprisingly graceful. I found the opening and closing songs a bit irritating, but the inner music is quite good as well. A great blend of genre, production, and writing (based on the manga series) that should appeal to a wide but mature audience."

Wow.

fahrenheit1984 | the promised land | 10/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So I went ahead and bought the box set..... and it was definitely worth every dollar. I've only watched the first disc as of yet, which is why I'm reviewing it.After watching the first three episodes, I'm just about speechless. Yami no Matsuei is incredible. I even like the dub--which is saying quite a bit, as I was prepared to be unimpressed.The animation and character designs completely blew me away. They were as good as--if not better than--that of shows like Full Metal Panic, which has pretty much set current standards in terms of artwork and graphics. One of the things that really struck me was how realistically and smoothly the characters moved. The basic concept of the afterlife as a bureaucracy reminded me very much of Yu Yu Hakusho (particularly when those cosmic chickens appeared... talk about random). Interestingly enough, Tsuzuki's summons have the same names as YYH's Saint Beasts. I'd like to learn about the mythology behind that.Anyway, although the shonen-ai aspects certainly appealed to me, I think I would have loved this show even if, say, Hisoka were a girl. I can't wait to watch the rest. I don't know where on earth a series based on shonen-ai manga got the budget to pull off such perfect CG and special effects.... but I'm very glad it did.Lastly, ignore the previous review which blathers about on about the NA. I'm positive that absolutely nothing was cut. There's a slim possibility that the dub altered some dialogue during translation, as often happens in anime.... so if you want to avoid that, just watch the subtitled version."