Howdy campers! It's your "Anime Guy" with a review of a new series from US Manga Corps Descendants of Darkness. This disc contains the first three stories in the series collectively called "Vampire's Lure." The pre-title sequence gives us the groundwork for the show - in the afterlife, the Ministry of Hades is responsible for overseeing the dead and judging them for their sins. The Summoning section, called Guardians, work for the Ministry guiding lost souls to their final reward. This is the story of a Guardian known as Tsuzuki. Let's take a little look-see, shall we?

Episode 1 - The Nagasaki Files Part One
A vampire attacks a lone woman in the dark streets of Nagasaki. At the Ministry of Hades, the Guardians get the case to investigate these unnatural murders. The Chief sends Tsuzuki, crack detective, but something of an idiot as well (he thinks about food all the time). The Chief tells Tsuzuki he'll meet his new partner in the real world, but has the librarian, a chicken-like creature called Gushoshin, accompany him. After sending them off, the Chief has tea with a mysterious figure known only as the Count. In Nagasaki, Tsuzuki and Gushoshin arrive smack dab in the middle of the vampire's next attack. Tsuzuki gives chase, but loses track of the female fiend in the crowds. He ducks into a church of all places to see if anyone saw the killer. The only man there, a frightening suave albino, cannot help. When he arrives in the park, Tsuzuki has a gun put to his back by young lad who thinks Tsuzuki is the vampire. Yes, it's his new partner Hisoka. Hisoka died when he was only sixteen, so he's very defensive and gives Tsuzuki a lot of attitude. Later, Tsuzuki watches a TV program and realizes singer Maria Wong is a dead ringer for the vampire. He takes Hisoka to the TV station, where the kid picks up on her "spirit trace residue" - turns out Hisoka is empathic and has some small psychic abilities. When the duo finds Maria, she is about to kill again. Can the new partners stop her?

Episode 2 - The Nagasaki Files Part Two
At the Ministry of Hades, the Summoning group go over the Maria Wong Vampire case. It seems young Maria committed suicide when she learned her stepmother was using her to get rich. "Mommy Dearest" had her resurrected as a zombie, who needs blood to survive. In Nagasaki once again, Tsuzuki is stood up by Hisoka, but meets the stranger from the church - it's Dr. Muraki, who seems to know an awful lot about our boy Tsuzuki. He warns the detective that if the investigation continues, Tsuzuki might 'lose something valuable'. Back at the Ministry, Tsuzuki finds Hisoka in the library, and confronts him about slacking off. Hisoka continues to push his partner away. Gushoshin tells Tsuzuki that his own parents feared Hisoka's powers, and kept him locked away from society. That's why he's built up his emotional walls. Meanwhile, Maria fights to regain control of herself, but Dr. Muraki reasserts his will and sends her to kill Tsuzuki, who is unwittingly in the middle of the good doctor's trap. Will Hisoka pull it together in time to save his partner?

Episode 3 - The Nagasaki Files Part Three
In the Ministry's database, Gushoshin discovers evidence that Hisoka may have been murdered. Meanwhile, Dr. Muraki continues to torture poor Hisoka, and unblocks the psychic walls he had put in Hisoka's brain. Tsuzuki receives a call from Dr. Muraki and meets the villain at the church. Tsuzuki wants to know where Hisoka is; the doctor says he simply wanted to meet Tsuzuki. Dr. Muraki does confess that it is he in fact who killed Hisoka. The boy had seen him kill someone else, but instead of striking Hisoka down, Dr. Muraki infected him with a "slow-death" spell. Tsuzuki manages to find Hisoka after the doctor leaves, but it is another trap, of course. How will Tsuzuki and his gravely wounded partner Hisoka defeat the seemingly all-powerful Dr. Muraki?

Because it's the first in a series, there's a lot left to speculation. I hope that future installments will flesh out some of the secondary characters. The Summoning group seem to all have special powers (implied from the title sequence), but none have had any significant "screen-time." There are also mysteries concerning Tsuzuki's past that we're still in the dark about. The whole interaction of the "undead" and their Gods is only lightly explained. And just who or what is the Count? However, the characters of Hisoka and Dr. Muraki are fleshed out very well, as well as the present day nature of Tsuzuki. The series also has a unique perspective - most of the characters are homosexuals. Almost all of the sexuality is implied, but you can't miss it. I wonder if the series continues along those lines or cops out...

The anime is very angular; obviously, the creators wanted to keep the manga look in the series. However, that is not to infer that the animation is stiff - it's actually just as good as most of the other "serious" anime series (and heck, the first episode even contains some "super-deformed" sequences). Sound quality is clear, and the end theme is pretty catchy. The sound is Dolby Digital Stereo (5.1) and/or Dolby Pro-Logic, for those who need to know. The DVD contains several extras such as a "teaser" trailer as well as a full trailer, trailers for other US Manga Corps titles, and an art/sketch gallery. Language options are English or Japanese. If you have a DVD-ROM, there are other extras for you as well. Other neat features include a page detailing the Descendants of Darkness manga and it's differences with its anime counterpart, and "Meet the Detective" profiles of Tsuzuki and Hisoka.

All in all, Descendants of Darkness has an interesting premise and intriguing main characters. I really would like to view the rest of the series to see how it evolves, but as a beginning, this show certainly caught my interest. I hope that the show can deliver what it started. To check out all that Central Park Media has to offer click here!