Anime Review: The Duke of Death and his Maid

The Duke of Death and his Maid

Studio: J.C.Staff

Genre: Romance, Comedy

Streaming: Amazon

This series follows the otherwise nameless Duke, who spends a relatively lonely existence in a mansion out in the country because of his rather unique affliction. As a child, he was cursed by a witch to kill anything he touches with obviously drastic consequences. He grew up as an object of fear, pushed away by all around him until eventually his mother sent him away to live at their summer house. This anime follows his life at this house, alone apart from a Butler and his maid, Alice.

Alice however is something of a wild card in the young Duke’s life – she’s completely unafraid of him, and teases him constantly by making romantic overtures towards him. This adds an element of unexpected comedy which comes out of left field of the rather dark premise of the story. The anime even begins with a suitably gothic mood – piano music, dark moody lighting and the Duke himself monologuing about his condition. And then we are introduced to Anna and automatically she levels out the darker tone of the story by… simply not taking it seriously at all. She’s exceptionally brazen and candid, telling the Duke that she likes to see his naïve reactions when she flashes some skin at him or teases him. The comedy itself does border a little on cringe at times, as it so heavily relies on the Duke being distressed about her overtures towards him. As the episode progresses however we start to see more depth to Alice, and with the visit of an old childhood friend of the Duke’s, we begin to see how much she truly does care for him. Despite his overreactions, it’s plainly obvious that the Duke is very much in love with Anna, but due to his curse is unable to get closer with her. Alice’s simple refusal to stay away from him however becomes more heart-warming as the episode progresses – whatever her reasons for doing so, it’s clear that her refusal to abandon him, is something which has greatly improved his life. It remains to be seen, but in her own way, the maid might just be saving her young master by staying by his side.

The art style of the anime is probably going to be one of the most controversial elements of this show – whilst the backgrounds are like storybook watercolours, whereas the characters themselves have been rendered in CGI. I personally didn’t hate the CGI even though I’m generally not a fan of it. For the characters of the Duke and Alice, I felt like it actually quite suited these two eccentric characters, emphasising their unusual traits. For side characters however, it comes across as rather cheap and clunky unfortunately. The fanservice is a main part of the comedy, all performed by Alice of course, and it’s definitely played more for the laughs then to be genuinely attractive. The musical score is actually pretty decent, particularly in the intro of the series, and the opening fits the tone of the show nicely with the main protagonists duetting together in a cute, colourful and hilarious way. The ending animation however is rather creepy and static in contrast however, and doesn’t really seem to fit the show too well at all, even if the actual music played over it is gorgeous.

Ultimately, this is a show that really rides on whether the comedy it uses is the type that appeals to you – it’s a type that relies quite heavily on cringiness such as the Duke overreacting to Alice’s provocations. For me, it was the more quiet heartwearming moments which opened and closed the first episode which I was more drawn to. The series feels fairy-tail like at times, with faint echoes of Beauty and the Beast what with the Duke being effectively locked away from the world with only the beautiful girl for company. Alice is certainly one of the more aggressive heroines in anime in her actions, but as of yet she really is still something of a mystery for sure, whilst the Duke is quite the open book. Can this unusual pair really make their unorthodox relationship work in the end, or will the curse be too much? Only time will tell…