Descendants of Darkness. Vol. 1, Yami no matsuei

For the employees of the Summons Department in the Ministry of Hades, dealing with death is an everyday job. When someone who is suppose to die doesn't, it is their job to find out what went wrong and sort it out. Asato Tsuzuki seems like a slacking, careless guy to his new partner, Asuka, but as they start investigating a few odd cases he discovers that there is more to him than meets the eye.


Although certainly entertaining, this manga has nothing that really stood out in the first book. Each chapter felt isolated, there was not even a hinted plot arc, which leaves me wondering what the rest of the series could consist of. Is it all just a "case of the week" approach? That is the feeling I get, and the characters simply aren't strong enough to hold my interest for more of this. I did think the translation was excellent, there was only spot that seemed drastically "off" in terms of grammar and word use.

The art is basic, standard imported manga. The character designs and style decisions are pretty much the same as a hundred other horror/mystery stories. There is no real sense of the author having her own flair, the whole story seemed formulaic. The panel layout is clear and simple, but rather uninteresting.

This is an entertaining read if you have a little time to waste, but don't go in expecting a masterpiece.

3 Stars
Emme