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Quick foreword to let you know that this is only the second review I've ever written. I just finished reading the manga this morning and I wanted to express my thoughts on it while it is fresh in my mind. Also, spoilers for the early parts of the story (volume 1 only) will be included, to explain the premise and why that premise exists.



BACKGROUND
Angels of Death (Satsuriku no Tenshi in Japanese) originated as a video game released in 2015, developed by, I believe, a single person. It's an indie adventure, exploration game with a focus on the narrative between its main two characters as they ... strive to escape a building in which antagonists want them dead. It received an anime adaptation as well as a manga adaptation afterwards. The anime has plenty of reviews, but the manga has few and I desired to share my thoughts on it upon completing the manga. My experience with the series began when I came across the anime's synopsis. It intrigued me and I found the anime to watch. After three episodes, I liked what I saw and, having learned that it was based on a video game, I put the anime on hold to pursue the game.

The game is available in English on the Nintendo Switch, as well as Steam. (Perhaps other platforms, I honestly don't know.) The game is separated into four episodes. I had mixed feelings early on with the noticeable lack of musical tracks through about half of the first episode, but the themes that the game broached were definitely up my alley. A certain event during the first episode gripped me, and I definitely didn't wish to stop playing the game after that. Then episode 2 was amazing, episode 3 was slow but it was good from a narrative standpoint, and finally, episode 4 was an incredible culmination. My total playtime clocked at around eleven hours.

Afterwards, I've watched the anime from the beginning and enjoyed it greatly, aside from a few episodes a little past the midpoint that feel rather slow (just like in the game). One gripe I have in the anime is that it retained certain elements that make it obvious it originated as a game. All those "Let's separate and explore" or "I found a switch that probably changed something nearby" sort of moments that make enough sense in the context of an exploration video game don't translate as well in the context of an anime. It really is not a big deal, but it is noticeable. As for the manga, well... the same thing happens in the manga, unfortunately. While reading, there are plenty of situations that don't feel quite "natural", such as the aforementioned examples. It's not particularly detracting from the experience, but it's noticeable when it happens.



STORY & CHARACTERS (spoilers for volume 1)
Ratings: 8.5 and 9.5 respectively
All that said, what is Angels of Death about? Perhaps I should have started with this, but, oh well. I'm not a professional reviewer. At the beginning, I said there would be spoilers for the early parts of the manga, and this is because I must explain how the whole thing begins. If I'm too vague, you won't know what the manga is really about, after all. Angels of Death stars Rachel, a 13 year old girl who wakes up in a small room illuminated by a fake moon on the wall. She initially only remembers that she was at a hospital for counseling, but little else. All we know as the player/reader/viewer is that she experienced a traumatic event and there is a sort of mental block. The only thing she can do is try to figure out where she is, and why. Shortly after, she hears a message from an intercom calling her a sacrifice. Definitely something alarming. Afterwards, she finds herself someplace in which she attempts to hide and escape from someone trying to murder her. She ultimately succeeds.

After certain events, the block in Rachel clears up and she ends up remembering all the traumatic things that she was seeing a counselor for. This causes her to wish for nothing but death, to the point of obsession. At this point, Rachel will become fixated on wanting to die. After another meeting with the murderer she escaped from previously, you'd think it would be simple to achieve, but no. The murderer is the other main character, Zack. The two end up marked for death, which they hear from an intercom. Zack wishes to escape the place that they are trapped in, but because he's not too bright, he needs Rachel alive to help him escape. He promises to kill her the instant that they both escape. And from there, Angels of Death truly begins. We have a girl who wishes to die, and a serial killer who can't kill her until she helps him successfully escape. As such, she must stay alive before she can successfully die. Truly a quirky and unusual setup for a story. I did my best to only explain the very early parts of the story, with the goal of making the premise clear and concise. (Also, if your first thought is "why can't she just kill herself?", the reason she won't do it comes up early enough.)

Afterwards, Rachel and Zack help each other survive through whatever comes their way as they try to get free. Along the way, they begin to understand each other and open up to one another. As they spend more time and overcome obstacles together, there is a bizarre sort of emotional attachment that begins to establish and it might just pull your heart strings like it pulled mine. (It is not a romantic thing, so please don't misunderstand.) As it all unfolds, they both experience change and growth. Priorities and motivations also shift a few times, so there is an evolving dynamic over the course of the story.

While the protagonists are very interesting on their own, especially as they begin to change throughout their journey, Angels of Death wouldn't be what it is without its antagonists. Each of them is very interesting and quirky in their own way. They all have a solid backstory, although some are certainly more detailed than others. A rather interesting point in favor of the manga over the game (or even the anime) is that the antagonists get more backstory. In the game, only Rachel really received a lot of backstory to her. (Perhaps I'm remembering incorrectly, but it was rather minimalistic for the others, if there at all.) In the anime, Zack received a lot of backstory to him, which was among the best parts of the series to me. I believe one of the villains got more backstory in the anime, but that was more or less it. In the manga, however, they each get a solid amount of time to show you the kind of people they are, or were, before they became the way they are now. I believe it is very interesting and makes the villains much more interesting than your average villains, all without overshadowing the heroes.

Another point I want to briefly touch upon is the tone of Angels of Death. Frankly, the tone is all over the place, and I don't mean this in a bad way. In spite of the dark premise, there are quite a few silly moments. It is by no means a comedy series, but what little humor is present is definitely welcome. Most of the time in which antagonists are not involved will revolve around our two protagonists' interactions. Most of it is serious, but some of it is surprisingly lighthearted, or even comical. A lot of it is endearing too, especially later on! It's not really trying to be edgy, per se. Most of the serious moments are treated maturely.

I believe this covers more or less everything I wanted to talk about. I tried to organize my thoughts to the best of my capability, but I apologize if it ended up being a little bit disorganized.



ART
Rating: 7.5
As far as the quality of the drawing is concerned, it is... good. There's the occasional page in color which looks gorgeous (usually the first page of a volume), and I would say the artist did a great job with character expressions. That aside, it's... good. Nothing that will blow you away. I have to admit that I have a pet peeve with manga art. When a character's face is completely featureless (no eyes, nose or mouth) just because they are in the background, and thus, not the primary focus of the image. This always knocks it down a little bit for me, and it is present in Angels of Death, just as it is in most manga I've read. I took that into account in my rating.



MANGA DIFFERENCES
There are two very interesting things the manga does that you can't find in the game or anime. Each volume contains commentary from both the author (the guy that made the game) and the artist (the guy that drew the manga), as they express their thoughts on the characters that are relevant to the current volume and the ongoing story. It is surprisingly interesting. Some of the volumes also contain a page or two of silly non-canon mini stories revolving around scenes contained in the volume. Those are surprisingly fun, with most of them getting at the very least a smile out of me. It's mostly there for a little bit of added humor.

I also want to reiterate that the manga depicts more character backstories than the game and even the anime, making characters overall more interesting. There's also a small bit in which the anime deviated from the game - the manga retained the game's version of the events for that one part.



CONTENT WARNING & EXTRA THOUGHTS
Angels of Death contains blood and gore, swearing (less in the manga than the game or anime), heavy religious undertones, murder, one character who wishes to die (as is obvious by now), domestic abuse in a character's backstory, and perhaps other things that aren't coming to mind right now. Also note that while the game and anime often get the "horror" tag to them, it definitely does not belong. As I expressed before, there are many dark themes to Angels of Death, but it does not try to scare the player/viewer/reader.



OVERALL ENJOYMENT
Rating: 8 to 8.5?
Of course, enjoyment will vary greatly from person to person for a series with themes like those present, and it is therefore harder to recommend than your average manga (even though it IS good for what it is). I'd say that people with an open mind who can take mature themes such as those present are more likely to enjoy Angels of Death. The unique dynamic between Rachel and Zack as they evolve over time is what I believe to be the big draw. The emotional connection that develops over time may just grab you like it did me. The manga is recent enough that it's not too rare or expensive, but it certainly isn't in the cheap category either. If unsure, give the anime a try, instead! The game is all right, but it's a harder sell for the average person.

Quick foreword to let you know that this is the first review I am writing. I don't know what I'm doing. There is no other review for Deai at present time, so I figured I should write something for anyone that might be interested in this.

Deai (or "Confidential Confessions: Deai") is sort of a continuation to Reiko Momochi's Mondaiteiki Sakuhinshu/Confidential Confessions series, which were published in the english language by Tokyopop. Where Confidential Confessions saw one to four short stories per volume, Deai contains a single story spread across two volumes. As such, if you have read those, be prepared for a much lengthier buildup. ... This is not necessarily a bad thing, however.

STORY & CHARACTERS (slight spoilers for the earlier parts)
Ratings: 9 & 7
Deai's story centers around high school girl Rika. She has a loving boyfriend, Kiichi. The one thing that exasperates Rika about him is his refusal to purchase a cellphone, which he sees little value in having. Meanwhile, Rika's best friend, Shu, makes a lot of money as a sakura on a dating site. (She goes on dates for money.) Soon enough, Rika decides to join Shu, and become a sakura with the intent of amassing enough money to purchase Kiichi a cellphone herself. At first, everything goes smoothly enough. Rika gets money out of simple dates and a few awkward requests that aren't directly asking for sex, but it doesn't take long for one client to go too far.

Enter Kaji and Nanase, two boys her age that came to her rescue. Following their encounter, the four decide to form a team. Their plan: Rika and Shu are the sakuras; Kaji and Nanase are their bodyguards, always nearby just in case. More members are quickly recruited into their group, and Rika becomes the manager.

One thing I see as a glaring flaw of Deai is character bloat. After many new members are recruited in their team, some of the interactions is diluted by too many characters, most of which barely get a backstory. We don't get to learn much about the other members of the team. We barely get their names! On the bright side, a few of the clients become recurring characters, and they are very interesting in their own right. It's a joy to watch Rika interact with Kamejii-san, in particular - my personal favorite!

Eventually, the story begins to take a darker turn. A few members start breaking the group's established rules and end up going rogue. Thus begins a descent into complete chaos for the group, and not a single member will have an easy time...

Where the first volume establishes the story, characters and introduces a sort of urgency to the cast, the second volume deals with that urgency. It is practically nonstop intensity and drama, with little reprieve. A perfect followup to the first volume - I couldn't put it down! I read it in a single sitting while taking a bath, hahah...

ART
Rating: 8
A few of the character designs aren't my cup of tea, but it's overall very good, especially the main four characters. The backgrounds are usually fairly detailed, too. The only noticeable lack of polish I noticed is an occasional lack of facial features. For example, a character's face will have one or both of their eyes missing. It only rarely happens, and it never happens on close-ups, so it's not TOO detracting. But for this reason, I have to give art an 8 instead of a 9.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT
Rating: 8
Deai's story is occasionally slow-paced, but I wouldn't say it is ever boring. The character interactions are a big part of the enjoyment, and the slower parts sure aren't lacking in that department. The story takes its time to settle with the first volume, and explodes with intensity throughout the second. The main cast (Rika, Shu, Nanase, Kaji) is fantastic. So long as the subject matter doesn't turn you off, Deai is a definite recommend if you can get your hands on it.