Angels of Death (Review)

Angels of Death, a Great Horror Anime that Almost Was.

Angels of Death is just another entry in a long list of anime that proves adapting videos games never really works. The thing is that at first, this series is actually pretty good. In fact, I would say it’s right up my alley. However, by the halfway point it switches gears from a straight up horror anime to a study in theology and moral philosophy. While I expect some serial killers to have something to say about the big guy upstairs, Angels of Death takes the philosophy aspect way to far and eventually collapses under it. That and what might be one of the most offputting protagonists I’ve seen in anime cause Angels of Death to crash and burn.

I absolutely love the concept for Angles of Death. It’s a story about a girl who wakes up with amnesia, Rachel Gardner (Meg McClain), inside a multilevel facility that houses a different serial killer on each floor. Each of the killers has their own schtick, which creates for some pretty interesting interactions since Rachel has to work through each floor in order to move up to the next level. The first three levels are actually pretty damn incredible as Rachel meets her scythe-wielding guardian angel, Issac Foster (Dallas Reid). The initial killers they encounter are all fascinating and really keep the series fresh and invigorating. Then the “boss battle” begins and things just fall apart from there.

I have to hand it to Meg McClain who actually manages to make the main character, Rachel, mildly interesting. The character is mostly monotone and seems to lack most emotions, yet McClain manages to keep her from becoming tedious. The same can’t be said for her juvenile internal struggle over the true meaning of morality in the eyes of God. Her character struggles with the idea that she could truly be loved and accepted by God if her hands were covered in blood. Her obsession with this seems to be in direct conflict with her desire to die at the hands of her comrade, Issac. Personally, I feel if the series didn’t spend so much time trying to explore the inner workings of a character who is actually incredibly easy to understand, it wouldn’t have become so mundane. However, in a desperate attempt to be cerebral, it looks too closely at a character who really doesn’t offer much.

Despite the issues I have with the insufferable protagonist and the whole religious focus that Angels of Death have, I really enjoyed the whole Saw vibe I got from it. The killers model their floors in different ways to best reflect not only their personalities but their preferred method of killing. While Rachel has amnesia and doesn’t know any of the characters she encounters, all of them seem to know her companion Issac, and pretty much have it out to him from the get-go. I also appreciated the thought that went into the character designs to reflect this (though the characters are all based on their video game counterparts). From a design and animation standpoint, I actually really enjoyed Angels of Death. However, the pretty package it’s all wrapped up in doesn’t manage to save this series from itself.

For my money, there aren’t many good horror anime out there, which is why I was so disappointed in Angels of Death. It tries to stick to the genre as best it can, but it’s attempt to elevate itself really backfires tremendously. I would have preferred to see more of the killers and their worlds that they create. To hear more about their philosophy when it comes to life and death. To really get to know them. Instead, the series focuses on Rachel (and to a lesser extent, Issac). Even the killers we do get to see are hit and miss. There are a lot of tiny things that work incredibly well with this anime. However, the bigger problems manage to overshadow this by the end. I will say that there is certainly a lot of blood when it comes to this series and I liked that it never shied away from that. Though there were times that I wish it had gone a bit further with the actual gore and not just blood splatter.

I still have some questions about Angels of Death even after the ending. For one thing, I’m not sure if it’s a series I actually enjoyed or not. There are also more than a few unresolved plot issues, but I honestly I don’t even care that much about them. Angels of Death isn’t a bad series, but it’s a bit disappointing. This isn’t because I had high hopes when I sat down to watch it, but because it was just so good for the first half. I wanted it to keep doing what it got right, but it switched gears on me and became obsessed with a character that never deserved to be put under a microscope.