The Duke of Death and His Maid tells a heartwarming yet tragic tale. The anime has quickly become one of the very few anime this season I’ve found myself totally engrossed in due to its heartwarming yet thought-provoking storytelling.
Master and Servant
The anime follows a young duke who was cursed by a witch as a child to kill whatever living thing he touches. As such, he’s been ostracized and isolated since childhood, forced to live alone with an unwanted power. Luckily, the duke receives his light at the end of this dark and solemn tunnel via Alice, his loving and devoted maid, who also happens to enjoy teasing and mildly sexually harassing him to get a reaction.
The pair’s chemistry is something I really enjoy about the anime. These two characters have been together for a long time and have grown to love each other since. The duke has long been deserted by his family, so Alice is someone who’s invaluable to him, and you can really tell that from the way he treats her. Whereas Alice has always been devoted to her young duke. It’s currently not explained why she came to the duke’s manor to serve him despite the dangers involved but the fact that she did this without complaint and has been with him since childhood is a testament to her fondness and devotion towards him.
I also find it satisfying that by episode two, you already know that the two characters share mutual love and attraction, which is great, as it gets straight to the point and doesn’t dawdle as opposed to other anime in the genre that only implies or just beats around the bush. Additionally, while the two are of the same age, the way Alice teases and talks to the duke is more akin to a relationship between an older woman and younger man, which I found odd but funny, and Ayumi Mano’s Oneesan voice greatly helps in fleshing out Alice’s demeanor.
The Duke’s Duchy
While episode one focused on introducing the pair and their relationship, episode two introduces characters like Rob; the duke’s devoted and aging butler, and Violet; his younger sister. Though the duke is unable to be around his family, this proves that he isn’t completely alone, as he still has those who still care for him, which really contributes to the anime’s wholesomeness. The interactions between the duke and those who choose to stay close to him were very heartwarming.
However, while there isn’t much to criticize about the anime so far, it’s hard to ignore some mysteries that require solving. For one, we still don’t know much about the duke or his family, only that being a duke, he most likely comes from a line of nobility. We also don’t know how or why he was cursed, which granted, will most likely be a grand dramatic reveal at some point, but the fact remains that we don’t know how deep the anime’s fantasy elements will go. So hopefully, the series doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
Animation & Direction
Direction-wise, the anime follows the same structure as its manga source material, whereby each episode contains two separate stories or events, much like other similar (but not as good) anime such as Nagatoro or Uzaki-chan. This structure not only allows the anime to cover enough content, thereby keeping pace with the manga, but it also prevents it from being too dull or stagnant.
As for the animation, is hard not to notice that J.C. Staff makes use of CG animation throughout the anime. While I’ve established multiple times that I abhor CG animation in anime and have outlined my reasons why, I can at least give credit to the studio for not making me suffer by viewing slow, choppy animation and ugly character designs. Though this still doesn’t change the fact that some scenes in The Duke of Death do, in fact, have slow and choppy animation, an example of which can be seen in episode 2 during the dance scene between the duke and Alice.
Final Thoughts
Nevertheless, The Duke of Death and His Maid is an anime to watch out for. Its comedic and wholesome moments are a breath of fresh air, and its sad and mysterious undertones invoke my curiosity, making it among the better titles to watch this summer season.
The Duke of Death and His Maid is available to stream now on Funimation
Have you seen The Duke of Death and His Maid? Do you enjoy romance anime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.