Descendants of Darkness (hereafter referred to by its better known Japanese title) is a big hit with the fangirls: beautiful art; dark, gloomy visuals; an abundance of gorgeous male characters and an almost equal abundance of subtext. The fangirl factor has probably turned away many a fan, even if it shouldn't need to be a factor (though it is an unfortunate fact that the smaller a fandom, the more... dedicated it tends to be). YnM's story is an interesting one: in the afterlife there's a kind of parallel government system where the Ministry of Hades judges the dead and sends them to their eternal Fate. However, some people don't (for whatever reason) die when they're supposed to. At this point Shinigami (Guardians of Death), souls with regrets and attachments preventing them from moving on, are sent in to solve the problem. The protagonist is Tsuzuki, a slacker Shinigami who is, of course, more than he seems to be. His young partner is Hisoka, dead at only 16 and hoping to find his murderer. And then there's Murhki, the insane doctor with a disturbing fascination with Tsuzuki, who tends to pop up in the longer story arcs. He's reason enough to give the series allure: the perfect villian that at once fascinates the reader and makes them exquisitely uncomfortable. The downside of his character is that stories without him can seem slightly drab, though they often strive to make up for this in other ways. The series' biggest fault is not its own fault: it's that the author chose to cease-and-desist after eleven volumes, leaving the reader not so conveniently in the lurch. To make up for this, there is the somewhat rare 13 episode anime, which at least tries for a coherent finale. Even alone the manga is worthwhile good for repeat readings even if only to stare at the lovely pictures (never mind that pesky philosophy, fangirls).Final Verdict: 4Q, 2P
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