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「倒錯と禁断のカドリール」 (Tousaku to Kindan no Kadoriiru)
“Depravity and the Forbidden Quadrille”
And when I mean musical twist, I mean – there are parts of this episode that just breaks out into song with cinematics. It definitely took me by surprise. Normally I find the soundtrack and music an extremely crucial part of any show because it sets the tone, changes the mood and sometimes, you might really find a song you like. Dance with Devils is a hit and miss for me in the sense that, I find the songs catchy and very J-pop-like, however at the same time, it disrupts the flow of the scene. The beginning gives this haunting, dark atmosphere that’s immediately broken by a slice-of-life scene with the main character singing her way to school. It does make you think a bit about what you’re getting yourself into, but either way, I still find the songs alright for a weekly production in conjunction with Elements Garden (the music studio). Could be better, but not every budget is a Disney musical budget.
Now for the show itself…
The premise is simple enough and nothing we haven’t already seen before. There’s a mediocre student named Tachibana Ritsuka (Akaneya Himika) – seriously, so average that I couldn’t even remember her name right after finishing the episode. She lives with her mother and shortly arriving at school one day, she gets summoned by the Student Council. The Student Council is headed by Student President, Kaginuki Rem (Saito Soma) along with Nanashiro Mage (Kimura Subaru), Natsumezaka Shiki (Hirakawa Daisuke) and Sogami Urie (Kondou Takashi) rounding it up. The audience learns very quickly that the Student Council are not just students but they have supernatural powers that Ritsuka has the ability to negate (with her necklace). Later that day, Ritsuka’s house gets broken into and ransacked to which she calls the police. When she comes back later with the police, the house is restored to normal, but much to her disappointment, her mother is nowhere to be seen. While walking to her friend’s house, the burglars whom broke into Ritsuka’s house earlier find her and just as something bad is about to happen… *bum bum dum*, Rem comes to the rescue! The burglars reveal their true identities as vampires, but they’re no match for Rem because he is – after all, a devil. Rem invites Ritsuka back home with him and that’s where our story begins. Oh! And of course, Ritsuka has a hot brother by the name of Tachibana Lindo (Hatano Wataru) who is studying aboard but rushes to come back after he hears about his mother.
So I know the synopsis of the setting sounds like a lot is going on but in a nutshell – we have an average girl who happens to be “special” and finds herself standing between vampires and devils. The devils are 4 students in her school and her brother is probably going to hate them (for some reason). Not at all complicated and very straight forward if all you’re watching for is plot. And there is definitely more going on here than your typical dark, supernatural romance series. Compared to DIABOLIK LOVERS (and I think I’m seriously the only one watching that anime…), Dance with Devils has a bit more to offer in terms of setting and storyline. I don’t know how deep the series will go down the romance or angst route, but it seems like there will be a good amount of that too. From first impressions, I don’t expect this series to blow me away or really branch out of stereotypes, but I’ll stick around to see what it has to offer in terms of music and OST.
When I first started this series, it really felt like an adaptation from a visual novel or game. Turns out that the series is an original but is made in collaboration with a game developer named Rejet. The story is certainly formatted like a game – with the introduction of the possible routes, the setting, the problem at large and this girl who is not actually all that average. It’s also animated by Brain’s Base which I honestly was expecting a bit more from; some of the frames looked a bit jagged and especially Rem’s lips. That could be his character design but it’ll take a while to get used to; compared to the fluidity that I’ve seen in recent anime, Dance with Devils is not the most pleasing to the eye. However, it’s very similar to the style they’ve taken with AMNESIA and Brothers Conflict so they have experience with the visual novel-type anime. I’m still expecting more so here’s hoping that it gets better over time – or at least the plot does.
Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: It’s like a musical… but in anime form o_o with a very stereotypical plot line and characters =X #DancewithDevils
Preview
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OP Sequence
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OP: 「覚醒のAir」 (Kakusei no Air) by 羽多野渉 (Wataru Hatano)
Rejet also developed the Diabolik Lovers games, FYI. It’s one of their most successful franchises to date.
I expect more dancing to complement the music though. Wonder if they’ll go full Bollywood?
Why do you keep calling them demons? They are devils. There’s an actual difference between those two species, even though most people use them interchangeably.
http://dwd-anime.com/character/
The site sources the Student Council members as 悪魔 (akuma) which means demon… or devil. I guess in this case it would devil since it’s the title of the show, but they haven’t explicitly stated what they are. I realize that the two creatures can be different, but then the Japanese language should really differentiate between the two… =X
I’m exactly opposite to you. I think they should go nutz and add more songs. It’ll be hilarious – as any musical should be! The fight scene was begging about inserting song there, at last for the vampire gang.
Maybe I took the show too literally and seriously =X
I think a song would’ve been fitting for the fight scene, but it would have to be appropriate for the setting.
Oh, Elements Garden. From Symphogear, to this. What’s with the devolution? Symphogear, in spite of its Transformers-esque all action, little-under-the-surface writing was at least innovative in the sense that who’s ever heard of an action-musical? And I’m a sucker for over the top action and musicals, and innovation so I love that series to death but it’s beside the point. If you’re gonna do…
…you better do it really well. Otherwise no one’s going to care enough to keep watching your show. And if your show’s a musical, your sound design should be impeccable. If…
…then you’ve got a big problem. Musical scores should ebb and flow according to the mood of each scene. They need to complement the present emotional context of a scene, flowing and transitioning smoothly into the emotional context of subsequent scenes. Symphogear actually impressed my with how well it did this a several times. Like at the end of Season 3, Episode 1 where Carol’s emotional state shifts from sadness/nostalgia to surprise to anger/determination I was impressed with how they played with the BGM, contemplative and balanced for sadness/nostalgia followed by a sudden pause when surprise occurs and subsequently a gradual buildup into an intense melody for anger which also serves as the introduction phase for the special ending song that week (Nana Mizuki’s Glorious Break). That’s sound design…
Gave me a mortal instruments vibe too bad I didn’t really like that movie.
https://randomc.net/image/Dance%20With%20Devils/Dance%20With%20Devils%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
His fake lashes are coming off. 😛
i thought those are stitches from plastic surgery to make eyes pretty.
I actually enjoyed the episode. I’ve never seen an anime musical so I was pleasantly surprised. It must have a very high budget.
Is that so? So far the only reverse harem that’s worth my time is Akatsuki no Yona due to its good (and reasonable) plot, and character development.
But I admit I’ve watched DiaLovers for guilty pleasure even though it has an abusive storyline. Maybe I’ll give “DwD” a chance if the main heroine is a likable character unlike the one in DiaLovers.
Anyway, too bad this isn’t a weekly coverage right? And, the episode title kind of reminded me of Trinity Seven.
I have to say one of the best shows I have seen so far XD there not to many shows like this
that can catch my eye like this one. But still its better than Diabolik Lovers love both but prefer this over that. Love the opening especially can’t wait to see the ending XD
hoping you blog this XD
I wonder which route they are actually going to go down….. really want to find out more about that mysterious guy XD but hoping for Rem or Lindo or Shiki X3
https://randomc.net/image/Dance%20With%20Devils/Dance%20With%20Devils%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
I see, so this is what otome games are like…
What have I gotten myself into? XD I checked this series out for its food shots, but now I want to see how the completely random moments when the characters burst into song turn out! Ah well, I look forward to how this series goes even though I go “Why is any of these happening!?” towards the plot every now and then. I’ll just go with it!
It’s an original anime, but one of its producers is otome game developer Rejet, maker of Diabolik Lovers.
A game version of Dance is coming soon in March 2016 for the PSVita.
I watched it, and was thinking the first Minutes i see an Boy group musical Anime… But lucky, they do not forgotten the Flesh to tell their Story
https://randomc.net/image/Dance%20With%20Devils/Dance%20With%20Devils%20-%20OP%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
Oh, old Language German. This Stlye is more in old Books
Let me try:
Das ich erkenne, was die welt im inneren zusammenhält
Schau alle Wirkenskraft und Samen, und nicht mehr in Worten kramen
I know what holds the world together inside
Look rummage all work force and seeds, and no longer in words
This is really Old Language, that would used for Art today. But.. most of “Wirkenskraft” “Samen” “kramen”… yes Old time touching, perhaps to give us an Idea how Old this Book is. Perhaps they should have used Latin
ep 02:
I find the Mix okay, but talking about OP and always 1 escape.. Oh well, lets see in how it continues
I love to keep climbing screenshots! * – *