Angels of Death - Reviews

Angels of Death is about two messed up characters trying to escape a building where other freaks try to constantly kill them.

I understand there's a large community out there that may even get a boner watching this stuff, but as for me that's not my kind of entertainment. Probably the reason I finished watching this anime was that the episodes felt very short even though they're the regular length, and a lot of them had cliffhanger endings. Everything had been unnecessarily stretched. The characters were rather annoying and would only say some nonsensical lines. The character that was the most "likeable" or would make the most sense by just keeping it simple was Zack - the dumbest one.

Garbage.

As someone that's obsessed with this anime and after playing the game, reading the manga and watching the anime, I can say that this is so far my favorite anime ever. I can't really watch long stuff, but the anime is short and not really boring so you'll end up watching all of it at once if you're into these kinds of stuff. The characters' stories are well-designed and as someone that likes dark stories, I L O V E it. Definitely would recommend it to watch.

Story is a tad bit preditable, yet I think that the characters are pretty unique. Definately nothing special, but I think it's still worth watching.

"Angels of Death" swoops into the anime scene with a premise that's as intriguing as it is grim. Based on a video game, this series takes viewers down the dark corridors of a mysterious building where Rachel Gardner, a girl with no memories of why she's there, meets Isaac Foster, a scythe-wielding serial killer with a penchant for death. Together, they form an unlikely alliance, navigating the building's floors, each guarded by a unique and twisted individual. Here's the breakdown of this eerie adventure.

The Intriguing Bits:

• Dark Atmosphere: Right from the get-go, "Angels of Death" sets up an atmosphere thick with tension and mystery. The anime does a stellar job at making you feel the weight of the characters' environment, with its dimly lit corridors and the constant threat lurking around every corner.
• Dynamics Between Rachel and Zack: The evolving relationship between Rachel and Zack is the heart of the show. Their interactions, ranging from distrust to a deep, if unconventional, bond, are fascinating to watch unfold. It's this dynamic that provides much of the emotional and narrative drive of the series.
• Unique Antagonists: Each floor's guardian brings their own brand of crazy to the mix, making Rachel and Zack's journey to escape a compelling watch. The variety in their personalities and backstories adds a layer of unpredictability and intrigue.

Where It Stumbles:

• Pacing and Plot Issues: The pacing can feel uneven at times, with some episodes dragging and others rushing through key developments. The plot, while engaging, can sometimes lose its way, leaving viewers with more questions than answers.
• Character Depth: Beyond Rachel and Zack, the development of other characters can feel somewhat lacking. While the antagonists are intriguing, there's a sense that more could have been done to explore their motivations and backstories.
• Adaptation Gaps: Fans of the game might notice gaps in the story and character portrayals. While adapting game to anime is always a challenge, there are moments where the series feels like it could have dived deeper or explained more to benefit those unfamiliar with the original material.

Why It's Still Worth Watching:

• Psychological Elements: The psychological interplay between characters, especially the leads, adds a rich layer to the narrative. The exploration of themes like death, morality, and what it means to desire or reject death gives the series a philosophical edge.
• Art and Sound Design: Visually, "Angels of Death" delivers with its moody, atmospheric settings and character designs that fit the dark tone of the series. The sound design further amplifies the creepy, unsettling vibe of the anime, making it a fully immersive experience.
• A Different Kind of Horror: For those tired of jump scares and looking for horror that's more psychological and character-driven, "Angels of Death" offers a refreshing change. It's a series that attempts to probe the darker aspects of its characters' psyches while wrapping it in a macabre, suspenseful package.

Overall: "Angels of Death" is a bit of a mixed bag but one that's undoubtedly intriguing. Its dark atmosphere, the central duo's complex relationship, and the psychological horror elements make it a memorable watch. While not without its flaws in pacing and plot coherence, the series manages to carve out its niche within the horror genre. If you're in the mood for something that blends action, mystery, and a touch of existential dread, "Angels of Death" might just be up your alley. Just be prepared for a journey that's as twisted as it is captivating.

Angels of Death
Satsuriku no Tenshi

I don't know the game the anime is based on, and neither did I know that this anime was based on a game at all. However, they made it more than obvious with this anime adaptation. I'll come back to that later.

And I have to make one thing clear right away. If you are an experienced horror/mystery/thriller fan and have even the "slightest" expectations, please be so good and save your time. There is nothing here that should be seen.

I don't want to throw any prejudices at all, possibly the "game" is interesting. But what you get here as an "anime adaptation" is almost record-breaking. And it fascinates me why hardly anyone talks about it. Angels of Death" is one of the worst and slowest anime adaptations you can find. And that even though horror/mystery were the focus here, these 2 genres that could create a decent atmosphere when played together.

On a positive note, I liked the concept of the anime. Trapped in a building, unknowingly why and piece by piece the truth is revealed. I'm honestly interested in whether the creator of the game has been a fan of -The Evil Within- and "Saw", because you could see clear parallels here. Which had pleased me all the more.
The second good point about the anime is the protagonist. Good in the sense that she had at least some content until the end, even if it is very minimal.

Well, now I come to that, whereby the anime failed miserably and in some areas could even be a record holder.

The pacing - How do you manage to drag out scenes and dialogue to the point where you get to your 20 minutes? Quite simply, by showing characters going around for several minutes producing the same sentence on a continuous loop. The anime could have easily been completed in 12 episodes.

The dialogue - And this hits me the hardest. How and I mean really, "HOW?!" do you manage to have characters have the same conversations 2-3 times per episode and use the phrase "Kill me" "You have to kill me" "You promised you'd kill me" and several other variations of it about 300 times in one anime? As soon as Rachel and Zack start talking to each other. You know what the theme is. Even with episode 4, I thought they talked about it an impressive amount. But the fact that it stayed that way until the end stunned me.

[Story 3]
Aside from the amateurish execution, the actual plot is pretty standard for a mystery. This is naturally ruined by the poor characters, slow pacing, and lack of creativity. But it was at least present. Unfortunately, it lacked quite a bit of charisma. All the backgrounds, motivations, none of it is original in any way and everything is completely forced. Most of the backgrounds didn't even really possess a point of view. And I hardly want to talk about the "story blocker" arc "The Priest" - From this, you can see again brilliantly that it is originally a game. What is a game without the story blocker?

In that sense, I come back to the "game aspect". The protagonist constantly interacted with the texts on the wall and with objects. Subsequently, she also tried to explain what it was about by talking to herself. In a game -ok-. In an anime adaptation -A Complete No Go-.

You wake up in a room that is unknown to you. And what do you do first? Yes, you interact with a window and describe the big blue moon', as a big blue moon. And then you start having a conversation with ghostly typewriters and reading all kinds of texts. There could be no greater torture for the viewer than something like that. It makes the characters feel like any NPC all the more.

The 2/10 points are sole because of Rachel and the game from episode 5 that Zack was confronted with. Which caused an interesting reaction in him. Without Rachel's background at the end and Zack's confrontation with the dollhouse, I would have given the anime the lowest score.

All of the antagonists are flat and lacking in content. The doctor? He only has 2 dialogues and possessed little relevance to the plot.
Eddy? He also only possessed 2 different dialogues that he repeated over 2+ episodes.
The psycho aunt? She escaped from some Danganronpa game and spent 80% of her screentime just laughing. And she had the most screentime of any antagonist.
The priest? Storyblocker. He adds nothing to the plot except being the true antagonist and freezing the plot with his abilities. I wish I knew what it was like back in the game to see a comparison.
Zack. He laughs, he screams, he doesn't know how to open doors, and he has about 30 times the blood that a grown man has. You could supply several hospitals with a blood donation with this guy.
Rachel probably has the worst dialogue I've heard in ages. In the beginning, she was kind of likable, but this ended completely from episode 3/4 on. From then on she was just torture for my eyes.

And this is not even the worst. The "side characters" from the backgrounds have reached the highest point. What are they?
Are they some parody of "Disney" villains? I'm at least glad they didn't start singing. Seriously, they sit on a couch, drink wine and talk about how evil they are and how good they are at making bodies disappear. And when they're not, they're all just laughing madly and not saying a word. Especially Zack's background with the bandages. I don't know if I should laugh there, it was almost impressive. How motivations can just be replaced with "maniacal laughter". Well, eyes also say many words.

[Animations 5]

Mainly satisfying animations at the beginning, especially with the color scheme and underlining the gloomy atmosphere. In the Priest's arc, the animations slackened and later improved. I get the feeling that the producers didn't like this arc themselves. They barely bothered with his face, while characters like "Danny" constantly HD psycho gestures.

[Music 6]

The intro is average but showed some aspects of later episodes, so it possessed more content than expected.
The osts have been relatively decent and definitely would have received more attention in another mystery/thriller. Here, unfortunately, they were left hanging as there was little to be saved.

Conclusion

Whoever thought it would be good to make this game an anime was wrong. There would be much better games that deserved an anime adaptation. Especially where you could still make something out of it.

Here you can see once again that brutality and below-average twists simply can not achieve quality.

Waste of my time and by far the worst mystery thriller I've ever seen. But a record is a record.

Enjoyment - 1