- Genre : Josei, Horror, Mystery, Psychological Thriller
- Studio: J.C.Staff
On Monday, I posted a Harukana review that I did with Matt in which I went on at length about the particular obstacles of an episode ‘2’. None of my readers picked up on that at all but I liked it. I think it applies for Angels of Death as well. After a very lackluster episode 2, I do believe episode 3 picked up a bit. Just a bit though.

First let me say that I watched this episode with my pal and reader Brad. So right off the bat, I’m likely to have enjoyed it more.
So far, Angels of Death has been staunchly linear. Episodes overlap by just a few seconds to really drive home the point that nothing happens between them. As such, this week started with a stand-off between the newly arrived creepy sack boy and Zack.
Our newest member in the circus of weird is called Edward Mason (another very British name) and is yet another creeper archetype. The weirdly inexplicable yandere that’s in love with Rachel for absolutely no reason and wants to show his feelings through murder. We’ve all been there… Once again the game mechanics creep in. We are reminded that we are in some type of tower and that every floor has a particular monster. You need to defeat the boss to pass the level.

For a stick in the mud like me, the nebulous nature of the in universe rules is annoying. Sack boy… I’m sorry I mean Eddie, seemed almost omnipotent about everything happening on his floor. His ability to write and place those notes for Rachel to find seemed almost supernatural. At one point I thought he could teleport but I guess he was just a kid with a shovel and a remote control that can turn out lights? Also it’s 2018 people, why don’t all remote controls work on lights???? But really, it’s frustrating not being able to gauge the implications of situations. Or is that the point?
In short, Eddie is a nutbag yandere who wants to kill Rachel because feelings. He manages to separate her from Zack and you get the feeling she may be the craziest one there and at the last minute she outsmarts him and then Zack swoops in to save the day. There’s a really cute elevator scene between Zack and Rachel.

Like I said, I liked this episode better than last week but in essence it was just a drawn out way to dole out a smidgen of character development. Eddie is a simple plot device that was dispatched in the same episode as he was introduce….ummm…spoilers… (of course this is assuming people stay dead which is yet to be proven. There is a whole lot of the doctor from episode 1 in the OP for someone that’s never coming back…) The only difference Eddie made in the overall plot is give Rachel and Zack a chance to monologue separately.
But that in fact, made a huge difference to me. For one, Eddie’s voice actor, Natsumi Fujiwara, (this lovely lady) was very good. Eddie really fixed the awkward chemistry between characters and had that fantastic skill of sounding both innocent and very creepy at the same time. His presence really eased the awkwardness between Zack and Rachel.

Moreover, although the episode still had many funny moments and comedic beats, the comedy remained unsettling and in tone with the rest of the show which was much more successful in my opinion. Still, I’m not completely sold on this. I prefer the mystery and unnerving atmosphere to the character building and relationships in this show. Unfortunately, they seem to be moving in the opposite direction. In fact, it feels like my joke title for the first episode may turn out to be on the nose after all.
Although the idea that all the potential suitors are just creepy freaks you wouldn’t ever want anything to do with, and that the heroine at the center of it all is just as unhinged if nit more so, sort of works for me. A ridiculous otome subversion.

My other takeaway is the now marked use of repetition throughout the narrative. Two main themes are being screamed at us but I’ve no clue what they mean yet. First we have Rachel talking about God. She’s mentioned God every episode so far in fairly dramatic lines that were insisted upon and went really ham with it this week, sounding like she may have already drank the Kool-aid, Zack hasn’t been quite so demonstrative but then again he hasn’t had as much opportunity. For his part it’s liars that he hates so much. There’s a very obvious panel in the ED that simply says “Liar”. It’s impossible to miss unless you skip over the whole thing.
On the downside, the animation in this episode felt particularly lazy during the fight scene. It was covered up but both Brad and I noticed immediately. There’s also some pacing issues here. Exposition is often just a touch too long and adds a slight drag to scenes while action comes out of the blue and dies down just as quickly making it more confusing than enjoyable.

There’s also this somewhat worrisome feeling that no one’s driving the van. I am in fact still curious to know where all of this is going, but there’s a non zero chance that it’s going nowhere. However, three weeks in and I still want to play the game so there’s definitely something there.
I’m not sure if my fellow bloggers will be as optimistic as I am or whether I’ll be the only one reviewing this next week. I will be in any case, I might even be looking forward to it just a tiny bit.
You know, I just realized my header pic is probably ill chosen…oh well here are the other ones!
Fabulous post
This definitely sounds interesting. I like the unsettled vibe mixed with some comedy, and I like the game type elements mentioned.. I’ll have to look into this one!
It speaks to my inner high school goth!
Ha ha! Well, that’s perfect for me then!! 💖😅
Yes too much talking about the same things. Little dude doesn’t need to repeat it over and over again that he wants to make a special pretty grave. I think we heard it the first hundred times.
Imagine the drinking games!
Like others, I’m still waiting for that big hook to make these early episodes worthwhile. Normally I would have dropped this by now but *something* is telling me to hold out a little longer…
The show is well paced. Everyone is underwhelmed but so far no one can seem to drop it…
I might disagree slightly about it being well paced – it is meandering a little too much for my tastes. It’s certainly making me feel like a glutton for punishment for sticking with it though… >.<
I was okay with the episode, but for me it’s really the other way round. I quite liked the transition from ep1 to ep2, but felt ep3 was a tad rote, and now I’m slightly worried that diminishing returns are going to set in for me. Even then I’ll still enjoy it, and it’s not like there’s too much competition this season, so it’s in no danger to be dropped.
Also, regarding the names, I wonder if the (Earl Stanley) Garnder –> (Perry) Mason link is pure coincidence or a hint on what sort of fiction the author reads.
i didn’t know about perry mason….
I’m giving this another episode but realistically it isn’t as though there are any other shows to pick up if I drop this one. This is a pretty slow season and I think I’d rather watch this even if it doesn’t improve than go and watch badminton or beach volleyball (sad but true).
AoT??? I’m with you. Not much this season which is good for me…
Yeah, I have to check out AoT this evening after work and just keep my fingers crossed that it is an improvement over season 2.
it HAS to be…right?
It was interesting to read! I wanted to comment on several things, but that would be spoilers, so… 😀
Looking forward to your review next week!
I’m really curious to find out what comes next
I’m not one to drop series very fast. In fact it took me 16 episodes to finally stop watching Asta and the most annoying voice in the history of anime.
Ahem…back on topic. I don’t exactly know what to make of this. Like you I have no idea where this is going, and though I agree that the episode was slightly better than last weeks offering, I am pretty close to maybe stop watching this one. But there is this compelling voice that also makes me want to continue if only for the reason to see if all this actually has a point. Oh well..guess I will watch episode 4 after all 😊
i should name all of my reviews for this cautiously optimistic…
Aw thanks for that little mention, pal. Nice little read! I just hope this show takes a turn for the better….harem or no harem? We’ll have to wait and see.
I say harem…