Tsuzuki, Hisoka and the Guardians of Hades return in Descendants of Darkness, Volume 2: Devil's Song. Now because this is the second disc in an on-going series, read my review of Descendants of Darkness, Volume 1 for the background information before you peruse this review. Have you finished? Good. Let's get on our way then -

Episode 4 - Devil's Trill Part 1
A madman dances in the moonlight playing a violin as he bleeds to death. Later, a young musician receives a cornea transplant. The donor, Otanasi, has already died, but grateful Hijiri wants to thank his surviving relatives. This turns out to be his young daughter Kasuzi. She tells Hijiri her father was also a violinist, so he agrees to play for her. That night, Hijiri suffers pain in his new eye and questions his good fortune. That's forgotten the next day when the school principal asks him to solo at the upcoming concert. A confrontation with the orchestra snobs ends when Hijiri suffers a seizure! When he requests aspirin from the substitute medic, the fire alarm goes off - someone has set the music room ablaze! Kasuzi gives Hijiri her father's violin to replace his lost instrument. The following day, Hijiri plays his new violin before the class like a man possessed - cutting himself as he plays "The Devil's Trill." When he meets Kasuzi later, the girl hides from Hijiri. Stumbling into a church, Hijiri hears voices telling him he's worthless. A distraught Hijiri cuts his own throat. He awakens at the Ministry of Hades, but Hijiri is not dead. Tsuzuki and Hisoka explain to him that they are Guardians and the violin Hijiri received is the devil's own - those who play will be driven to death! Turns out Otanasi had made a deal with the devil, and that contract is remains valid because part of Otanasi still lives in Hijiri. And we all know what happens when the devil wants his due...

Episode 4 - Devil's Trill Part 2
The Guardians rally around Hijiri, saying they'll protect him from the devil, but Hisoka isn't optimistic about their chances. Rejecting Tsuzuki's plan to hide at the Ministry, Hijiri returns home, where he's almost killed a number of times. Fortunately, Tsuzuki is there to rescue him. The Guardian reminds the violinist that if he dies, so will Kasuzi. Meanwhile at the Ministry, Watari and the Gushoshin twins search for the devil's identity to combat it face to face. Hijiri plays the violin for Kasuzi, which causes the devil to appear. However, it's really a trap set by Tsuzuki to confront the fiend known as Sagatanus! Tsuzuki invokes the White Tiger God, but in the midst of battle is bitten by the devil. The demon is driven off, and Watari checks Tsuzuki for signs of possession, but finds none. But things aren't always as they seem...

Episode 4 - Devil's Trill Part 3
The gang, minus Tsuzuki, relaxes believing the devil to be gone for good. Later, when Tsuzuki rejoins them, Hisoka senses something strange in his partner. Left alone with Hijiri, Tsuzuki brutally slashes him with a cleaver. The possessed Tsuzuki goes to the Ministry to claim Kasuzi for himself. Hisoka reveals to the devil that Hijiri is still alive - it was a disguised Hisoka that Tsuzuki shredded (and he's already dead, natch.). Hisoka attempts to use the powerful "Soul Catcher" spell to separate Tsuzuki from Sagatanus, but Hijiri interferes, fearful that Tsuzuki will be killed. Sagatanus asks the Guardians if they really care about such a 'black sheep'. Hisoka and Hijiri give their unconditional support for Tsuzuki. But will their forgiveness be enough for Tsuzuki to throw off the devil's hold on his soul?

In my initial review of Descendants of Darkness, I hoped the creators would give us more insight to the characters. Unfortunately, this really doesn't happen. The story centers on Hijiri, so he has more than ample characterization, but it's at the expense of the supporting cast. While Guardian Watari is somewhat fleshed out, Hisoka (a main character!) is just about forgotten until the end of episode six. Fellow Guardians Tatsume and 'The Chief' appear, but do practically nothing. We're given more back story about Tsuzuki, but still none of the specifics, which is frustrating as heck. The interplay when Tsuzuki is possessed by Sagatanus is pretty good, though. It reaffirms the inner strength of Tsuzuki's character even when he appears to be a bumbler. I hope future installments center more around the Ministry than the humans they protect. That being said, these episodes are pretty good nonetheless. The entire plot is a twist on "The Hands of Orlac" and "Faust", which is pretty clever. The possessed Tsuzuki is downright sinister, although when he kills "Hijiri", the picture is in black & white, with blue blood! I guess the creators though that much red would give the audience the heebie-jeebies.

The picture quality is outstanding, and the animation continues along the "Manga" look. (Yes, there is a requisite "super-deformed" sequence, too!). The audio is Dolby Stereo, which makes it very clean. Dolby 5.1 is also an option. The DVD can be seen in English or Japanese with English subtitles. Extras include a "Meet the Detectives" spotlighting Watari and Tatsume (Tsuzuki and Hisoka are featured on Volume 1), a techno-pop music video of the series, an art/sketch gallery, and both teaser and full trailers for the Descendants of Darkness program. Chapter search is included, as well as other US Manga previews. There are also DVD-ROM features, if you have the equipment.

Taken on it's own, Descendants of Darkness, Volume 2: Devil's Song is an enjoyable disc. However, it doesn't really move the series along as it should. I wish the producers would establish their premises first, and then create stories around their established characters. These episodes feel as if the series was forced to fit into the story - the old "I've got a great idea we'll make it work" routine. Since it's an on-going series, I may be jumping the gun a bit and future episodes will reveal the characters fully. I hope so. The premises of Descendants of Darkness is intriguing, and I hope it fulfills it's potential.

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