The Duke of Death and His Maid takes what could be a cheap device for titillation and, intentionally or not, transforms it into something far more emotionally powerful. When looking at the show as a story with metaphors about disability and navigating disability in that space, it becomes difficult to remove the fanservice without making the story weaker.
May 11, 2022 • Subscribe
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Duke of Death and His Maid
The Duke of Death And His Maid had a lot more meat to it than I originally gave it credit for. I was surprised at how much love,…
The Duke of Death and His Maid
Good CGI does exist. And yet that’s not even close to being the best thing about this show.
First Impression: The Duke of Death and His Maid
For unknown reasons, a witch curses a young boy with Deathtouch: any living thing he touches will die. The boy (whose name wasn’t revealed in this episode) happens…
First Look: The Duke of Death and his Maid
A young duke, known to us simply as Bocchan, was cursed by a witch when he was just a child. As a result, anything he touches dies. Though…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – Episode 1
There’s a world where this is a very good anime. But there’s a pervasive “not quite”ness that the episode can’t claw free from, and all of its elements…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 11 – The Logbook
Viola’s mom kicks her bitchiness up to 11, not only insisting her daughter dress a certain way, but accept the fact that she can’t wear what she wants…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 02 – Moonlight Waltz
The third member of Bocchan’s family, Rob, makes his first appearance, and proves to be your typical jovial, dependable old butler who might just be a bit long in…
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After being cursed by a witch as a child, any living thing that the young duke touches will wither and die. Feared by his mother, he is sent…
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The Duke of Death and His Maid – 05 – The Viola Method
Viola is back, ostensibly to visit her dear old brother—who let it be said she does actually care about—but mostly to be in the presence of her beloved Rob.…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 08 – Beauty and the Grouch
This week’s first segment introduces us to Bocchan’s younger brother Walter, and…he’s a lot. First and foremost, he’s a bit of an arrogant prick, already measuring the…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 07 – Suspension Bridge Effect
Not about to be discouraged by Daleth’s insistence they give up, Alice spends much of the episode trying to find alternative methods of lifting Bocchan’s curse. She begins…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 03 – A Distant Kiss
Bocchan loses a game of pool to Alice, and so cannot refuse when she asks if he’ll accompany her into town for a festival. Because many will be…
Summer 2021 First Impressions – The Duke of Death and His Maid
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Overall, season two feels more like a transition point than a standalone season.
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The Duke of Death and His Maid – 01 (First Impressions) – Ducal Distancing
An young duke (or Bocchan) is cursed by a witch at age five to bring death to any living thing he touches, like the Grim Reaper, AKA Death.…
The Duke of Death and His Maid Season 3 Anime Series Review
Despite my grievances with how the story is told, I cried like a baby by the end. The Duke of Death and His Maid feels like it can…
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The Duke of Death and His Maid – 10 – Not Weird at All
While sleeping in her little cabin, Alice dreams of when she was a little girl, hiding behind her mother Sharon’s skirts at the sight of Rob but always…
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In this episode, Xan reviews an romantic comedy manga about a cursed noble and his very thirsty maid. Is it smut or is it decent. Well find out…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 04 – The Witch and the Snow Fairy
After three weeks of chiding her for getting so close to him, one day Alice is keeping her distance, seemingly avoiding Bocchan. When he tries to approach her,…
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 12 (Fin) – Spring at the Latest
Not entirely surprisingly considering the pace of the storytelling so far, there is no miracle insta-cure for Bocchan’s curse this week. Instead, he heeds his mother’s summons and…
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 06
I won't strain my shoulder patting myself on the back too hard, because it was really only a matter of time.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 08
It's refreshing, in a sense, to have a final arc which makes no bones about being one.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 09
The essential nature of this confrontation reminds unchanged.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 03
Walter sort of takes over this show whatever he does.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 04
That's the sort of emotional payoff that's earned honestly, through patient character development and organic storytelling.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 05
Considering the only pairing Viola seems to have considered is utterly ludicrous, she's not one who should be dispensing relationship advice
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 10
For me at least, the endgame of Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid was always written in ink, and anything else would have been a surprise.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 11
As I noted last week, Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid is a sort of anti-tragedy.
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid (The Duke of Death and His Maid) Season 3 – 07
I'm glad we got this episode, because the truth of the matter is, it was no sure thing that we would.
The Duke of Death and His Maid – 06 – Knight in a Top Hat
By introducing the overgrown conservatory this week the show finally acknowledges that it’s hella hard to maintain a vast mansion with just two servants, one of whom has…
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The Duke of Death and His Maid – 09 – Secondborns Roasting on an Open Fire
It’s Christmas, and for the first time, Bocchan is going to host a party. Caph and Zain are coming, and so is Viola with the gift of a…
The Duke of Death and His Maid: The Best Teasing Anime Because it Isn’t a Teasing Anime
Maybe the genre finally wore me down, but The Duke of Death and His Maid feels too good to simply be counted among the likes of Nagatoro…
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