WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Hello everyone. Welcome to my blog. Today I am starting a new review series for the show Angels of Death. This is not the typical kind of anime series I watch or review given it is a psychological horror series, but I decided to try something different than what I normally go after for a nice change of pace.
Going into episode 1, I did not really know what to expect. I did like it and enjoy it. I thought the episode did a nice job of introducing us to the theme of the show and made it clear this is not a happy, cheery anime. There was almost no humor in the first episode. The first episode felt extremely tense and had me feeling on edge. It definitely did a nice job making you feel worried for the protagonist’s safety constantly.
The show also made itself very confusing. Throughout it, I had a hard time figuring out what was going on, though the show gave little bits and pieces here and there. I suspect the show will continue this trend and continue to give little bits and pieces throughout the series. I also suspect the show will either only tell us the full story at the end, or will never tell the full story and let the viewer wonder what really happened with the clues given. The show also did a nice job making the viewer think deeply about psychological topics. The show gave several cryptic messages that actually made me wonder how such ideas might apply to my own life.
As for my thoughts on the protagonist Rachel Gardner, she seems like a sweet individual. She shows herself to be caring for others, and I thus feel sorry for her that she is in such a horrible predicament. The show also did a nice job having multiple villains with different personalities. Clearly they both seem crazy, which I think sets up well for later. For instance, the doctor character came across as caring before revealing himself to be hostile later. This sets up for the viewer being wary of trusting characters later in the show, as they may also turn out to be different than they appear at first glance; either evil when they appear to be nice, or vice versa.
Overall, I am curious to how this series goes forward, how the storyline is going to unfold, and if the show will succeed in keeping the suspense and horror elements going effectively or if it will not feel scary later and the tension will calm down. How it handles this will help to determine the show’s success.
Angels of Death. Funimation, 2018. Web.