Descendants of Darkness - Devil's Song (Vol. 2)

Rating:
Summary: Shonen fun!
Review: Formerly known as 'Yami No Matsui', 'Descendants of Darkness' has been translated, much to the joy of American viewers - like me. :) This particular story deals with a violinist who involuntarily finds himself in a pact with the devil, and the hot dead guys (known as guardians of death) who are out to fix the situation. This arc is especially coherent, which is a plus. *Lots* of drama. Plenty of blood. Dan Green does a particularly good job as the voice actor for Tsusuke, our violet-eyed protagonist.

Rating:
Summary: Shonen fun!
Review: Formerly known as 'Yami No Matsui', 'Descendants of Darkness' has been translated, much to the joy of American viewers - like me. :) This particular story deals with a violinist who involuntarily finds himself in a pact with the devil, and the hot dead guys (known as guardians of death) who are out to fix the situation. This arc is especially coherent, which is a plus. *Lots* of drama. Plenty of blood. Dan Green does a particularly good job as the voice actor for Tsusuke, our violet-eyed protagonist.

Rating:
Summary: *listens to "Devil's Trill" on her YnM OST*
Review: This is my absolute favorite DVD of what I've seen of the series so far (which is up to DVD 3). I love the song "Devil's Trill" and coming from a musical family have heard the ledgends surrounding it. I was quite pleased to find my favorite series adapted it to fit it into the story line. ^^
Descendant of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei) is an amazing series and I commend the vocal director of the English version for selecting such a talented cast. ^^ However- If you're a die hard fan, I suggest watching the subbed version, as the Japanese vocal work is considerably more enjoyable than that of the English version. This is just my humble opinion, but it seems to be shared by many fans I've talked to.
As mentioned in the editorial review, homosexuality is implied. Whether it is limited to the twisted 40 year old rapist/murderer Muraki, depends on the viewer's interpretation. To shounen-ai fans, it seems quite obvious there is an underlying "something" between Hisoka and Tsuzuki. But this could be just as readily taken as a strong, platonic partnership between the two. So if you're looking for frequent make-out scenes between two guys, might I suggest a little series called "Gravitation?" ^^ But if you're just uncomfortable with homosexuality and worried it might ruin the show for you, it won't. There are so many layers to the series, the few bouts of defined homosexuality can be overlooked. The complexity of this amazing series should not go unnoticed because of an occasional flashback of the Muraki-rape scene (which when shown, isn't graphic at all, just silhouettes of a larger figure pinning the smaller one to the ground).
~Narusegawa Megumi

Rating:
Summary: *listens to "Devil's Trill" on her YnM OST*
Review: This is my absolute favorite DVD of what I've seen of the series so far (which is up to DVD 3). I love the song "Devil's Trill" and coming from a musical family have heard the ledgends surrounding it. I was quite pleased to find my favorite series adapted it to fit it into the story line. ^^
Descendant of Darkness (Yami no Matsuei) is an amazing series and I commend the vocal director of the English version for selecting such a talented cast. ^^ However- If you're a die hard fan, I suggest watching the subbed version, as the Japanese vocal work is considerably more enjoyable than that of the English version. This is just my humble opinion, but it seems to be shared by many fans I've talked to.
As mentioned in the editorial review, homosexuality is implied. Whether it is limited to the twisted 40 year old rapist/murderer Muraki, depends on the viewer's interpretation. To shounen-ai fans, it seems quite obvious there is an underlying "something" between Hisoka and Tsuzuki. But this could be just as readily taken as a strong, platonic partnership between the two. So if you're looking for frequent make-out scenes between two guys, might I suggest a little series called "Gravitation?" ^^ But if you're just uncomfortable with homosexuality and worried it might ruin the show for you, it won't. There are so many layers to the series, the few bouts of defined homosexuality can be overlooked. The complexity of this amazing series should not go unnoticed because of an occasional flashback of the Muraki-rape scene (which when shown, isn't graphic at all, just silhouettes of a larger figure pinning the smaller one to the ground).
~Narusegawa Megumi

Rating:
Summary: Devil's Trill is the best!
Review: Yami no Matsuei is a great series; visually stunning with a good plot too boot. I'm in heaven. The Devil's Trill arc is my favorite arc (there are only 4 arcs total sadly). In this arc we meet a poor boy who has been possessed by the devil. Tsutsuki and Hisoka must save him before it is too late. A lot of cool violin music in this one and if you're interested Vanessa Mae does play Devil's Trill on her Four Seasons album. Alas, Muraki doesn't play much of a role in this arc but it's still worthwile to watch it. A warning if you haven't seen this show: there are a lot of shounen ai (boy love) hints. If you can't handle that then stay away from this show.