Dance with Devils is another of those anime that I have watched multiple times but that I do not have a good reason for doing so. As such, I thought I would share my thoughts on Dance with Devils in a review.

• Genre: Demon, Harem, Reverse Harem, Romance, Vampire
• Type: Series
• Episodes: 12
• Duration to watch: +/- 4 hours, 30 minutes
• Age restriction: R – 17+ (violence & profanity?
• Release date: 2015
• Animation Studio: Brain’s Base
• Does it have a manga: Yes
• Kanji: ダンス・ウィズ・デビルス

About Dance with Devils:

Ritsuka Tachibana has always been an outstanding student, which is why she is so confused when the student council suddenly summons her to a meeting. They also appear to view her as a troublemaker. The student council, lead by Rem Kaginuki and comprised of Urie Sogami, Shiki Natsumizaka, and Mage Nanashiro, attempt to question her about a certain incident. It rapidly becomes clear that they are approaching her for ulterior motives. However, this is only the beginning. Ritsuka’s life is flipped upside down when her mother is abducted and she is drawn into a world of vampires and devils. Both sides are on the hunt for the “Grimoire,” a forbidden artefact that bestows full power over the entire universe on its possessor. Her brother Lindo’s return from overseas gives her hope, but he, too, appears to be hiding something. Ritsuka wonders who she can trust in a world full of secrets in this dark musical, as the handsome and lethal members of the student council battle for her attention.

My Thoughts:

I have watched Dance with Devils a few times now and each time I am left asking myself why did I watch this. The first time I watched it, I watched a partial dub and sub combination. The speaking was in English while the singing was still the original Japanese with really bad subtitles. It got to the point I would skip the songs entirely.

The second time I watched, armed with my first experience, I stuck with sub but with actual decent subtitles. This third re-watch I went in for screenshots, so found the highest quality version I could while not caring about the language. To my surprise it was a really decent English dub where the songs were dubbed as well. I surprised myself by really enjoying the songs.

There is nothing ground breaking about this anime, no shocking revelations that has not been done before. Yet saying that, I really liked and respected Ritsuka’s decision in the end. I won’t spoil, it just made sense. Sense that most reverse harem’s I have seen would leave behind. She made a logical choice not an emotional choice, which I approve. Especially considering her age.

I did enjoy that each of the harem members were after her to get something other than her. They had a reason to pursue her right from the get go, rather than because they are attracted to her. It was only as they interacted with her did their relationships develop. Although, as with harem’s I still wonder where did the degree of feelings come from. There was not much chemistry between the characters which conflicts with the goal of being a reverse harem.

The characters do not have much about them other than being a typical archetype – Broody boy, Masochist, Play Boy and so on. Other than fulfilling their role, there is very little if any extra substance to them. It feels like more effort went into their clothing than their personalities.

Thank heavens there is an actual plot line to this. It is entertaining and flows smoothly and simply from point a to point b. While watching we get a few necessary answers to questions while getting interactions between characters. I would have liked for more exploration and explanation regarding certain elements but that would have added too much for just the 12 episodes.

These are plot twists and reveals that could have been done better but it was sufficient for what this anime is. There are a number of cliché’s but they are mostly handled well and the overall show is not overshadowed nor overrun by them.

The art is pretty standard for a typical anime, the scenes are crisp and the action as well as dancing is smooth. The music is decent and that outro song is catchy.

Favourite Character: Mage Nanashiro

He was fun to watch and I liked that we got to explore more of his devil side compared to the others.

Least Favourite Character: Shiki Natsumezaka

Just missed the mark for me.

Would I recommend Dance with Devils? Like with Diabolik Lovers, not unless I was giving it as a recommendation for a very specific audience or topic. Dance with Devils makes me feel guilty for enjoying it like I do, thus it has been slotted into my guilty pleasures watch list. I sit back and cringe and smile as I go from episode to episode. It is bizarre that I enjoy this as much as I do. I am glad I finally found a decent version to watch and will probably watch it again in the distant future.

What do you think of anime Dance with Devils?