Dies Irae

[THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]
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[A Confusing and Frustrating Mess]

If I had to describe Dies Irae, it’s this: confusing and frustrating. Almost every episode left me saying, “what the fuck is going on” or “what is happening”. But, in most cases, I just sit there looking confused and dazed as I try to piece together the events that happened this episode with the previous ones. After awhile, I sort of understand what is happening, but not without a few lingering questions. Questions that I hoped would be answered in the next episode, except they weren’t, leaving me even more confused and frustrated.

It seems ... as though the creators or producers were expecting the viewers to have played the visual novel and use that as a guide for this series. Considering that this anime was created through fundraising raised by fans of the visual novel, it’s no wonder. As someone who has never played the visual novel, I can only say that this show feels rushed, contains many unexplained and poorly connected plot points, and unlikable characters.

STORY:

Dies Irae is a mess. Since, the beginning of Episode 0, this anime has been a disaster. The two episodes begins as a sort of harem opening, where many female characters are introduced (i.e. Kasumi, Rea, Kei Sakurai, Rusalka Schwägerin, and later Marie). Later in Episode 2, it jumps to a random action dream sequence, where the ’Nazis’ test Ren if he’s worth or not and ask to see his powers. Like what? A rushed conversation with Rusalka is held on the roof of the school, which barely explains anything, and Kasumi's reveal lacked impact and felt rushed. Again what? Then comes along Episode 4, where almost everything is explained. Basically, the show is too rushed, and too uneven.

It took four episodes, not including Episode 0, to explain the motives of the ‘Nazis’, the backstory for this show, and Ren’s purpose; all told in the form of Kei's exposition. If that is not bad writing, I don’t what is.

If I had to summarize this show, it’s this: this show is following the Marie Route; Ren is supposed to be powered up by the Nazis so that he can act as a strong opponent for Reinhard Heydrich.

There are many plot-lines and concepts thrown around without any sense of connection, and too many unanswered questions, such as how is Ren being a clone important, why is Valeria Trifa trying to find the lost bloodline and why are they important, who is the girl locked with the skulls and skeletons, who the person that was with Riza during the flashback sequence, which of the twin did Riza pick to survive and which to kill, and when Bey was beginning to die who was the silver girl shown on screen, etc.

Besides the awful writing, terrible pacing and the many unanswered questions, there are many additional problems with this anime, such as the lack of tension and direction of the show, boring but necessary expositions in Episode 4 and 7, no hints or foreshadowing of future events (i.e. kasumi being possessed), and finally lack of relatable characters. But, at least the action was good, so there’s that.

This should have been a longer show, too many ideas and concepts were condensed into 11 episodes. And worst of all, it has an inconclusive TV ending with the introduction of an evil Nazi eye-patched character, therefore you must see the ONA (12-17) to understand the rest of the story. That is just stupid.

CHARACTERS:

To be honest, I found the characters to be unlikable and unremarkable, even though some of them have proper character development and motives for their goals/wishes. I mean, obviously, the main character will get some character development, along with their backstory and motives explained. But, other characters that have proper development include: Kei Sakurai, and Marie. Everyone else falls into a secondary role, acting as a “challenger” to the main character, as a supportive character, or act as completely irrelevant.

Main Characters in the Show:

Ren Fujii is the main character, who hates blades in general as said in Episode 1, however as series progresses he himself gets a arm blade and is completely fine with it. No traumatic flashback, and no disgust, I found that strange, but whatever. To be honest, he has a really dull personality, and is only important because all the ‘Nazis’ want him to be strong and a badass, so that he can fight Reinhard Heydrich properly. A sudden revelation in Episode 7 reveals that Ren was a clone created by Kasumi's father as “the bastard child of Karl Krafft,” and originally called Zarathustra. But, how is this relevant to the story, the anime fails to explain this.

Marie is a girl, who first appears at a sword exhibition and then in Ren’s dreams. Her origin story is explained in Episode 5, where it’s revealed that she is the soul within the guillotine and Ren forms a contract with her, thus enabling Ren to use the guillotine blade. Further on, there are many cheesy and cute moments, such as wanting to be the ‘fifth member’ of their group of friends in school, going clothe shopping with Ren and Kasumi, protecting Ren in Episode 10 when he unconscious, etc. And while, I though it was lame, it does show that Marie cares deeply about Ren and his friends.

Kei Sakurai is the youngest member of the Obsidian Round Table after Beatrice Kirchisen passed away eleven years ago. She acts as a teacher for Ren, offering advice on how to use his powers and improve his levels beyond activity and formation levels. Her wish is revealed in Episode 9 and 10, where it states that she killed thousands of people just to resurrect some family members and to put an end to the curse that plagues her family. I found her intentions terrible and unjust, but again whatever. Her transformation sequence is also terrible and disappointing as all she gains is flames around her.

“Challengers” in the Show:

There are quite a few characters in this section, but I will only talk about two of them. The remaining characters, such as Riza, Eleonore Von Wittenburg, Rote Spinne, and even Rusalka Schwägerin, despite providing crucial information in Episode 3, performing the massacre in Episode 8, and appearing in other moments, did not have much character development or background stories. This is especially true for Eleonore Von Wittenburg, who only fights Ren in Episode 10, and Rote Spinne, who fights and is killed by Ren in Episode 4. Riza has a special backstory told in Episode 9, however its connection to the overall story is very ambiguous.

Reinhard Heydrich (“Lord Heydrich”) is the main villain of the show, who makes an official introduction in Episode 6, where he appears from the Heavens and kicks the shit out of Ren. He is the leader of Longinus Dreizehn Orden and Obsidian Round Table, although it doesn’t matter as each organization is slowly decreasing in membership. Then, in Episode 7, we learn about his true wish, in which he wants to escape the perpetual sense of déjà vu that he's trapped in. To be honest, I found his wish, stupid and laughable.

Valeria Trifa, in the beginning appeared as a clueless, perverted priest, however as the series progresses we see that his true intention are elsewhere. The anime heavily suggests that he’s helping Ren, and Lord Heydrich and his associates, basically he plays for both sides. Furthermore, it seems like he’s trying to find the lost bloodline associated with the Round Table, however its connection to the show is also very ambiguous.

Supportive Characters in the Show:

Shirou Yusa is Ren's childhood best friend, who is a thrill seeker and the person who mysteriously disappeared in Episode 1. However, his sudden appearance in Episode 5 changes everything. He now act as the boss for an underground club, somehow gains lots of money from his rich girlfriend, and has this odd ability called, “déjà vu”, which allows him to dodge/react to any incoming attacks and thus prevent being killed. However, some questions came to mind: how did he get these abilities, and why did he take lots of damage in Episode 1, when he could have easily dodged Ren’s attacks? Sill, these are minor questions, and his role in the story was significant, from providing crucial information to assisting in the fights against the Nazis.

Kasumi Ayase is a loud-mouth, obnoxious neighbor and childhood friend. She acts very masculine, as evidenced by being a member of the kendo club, and has an unyielding personality. Her importances in the story are explained in Episode 3, however the way the material and information was presented felt extremely rushed and anticlimactic. And, from Episode 3 onwards, she is used more for comedy relief and as the damsel-in-distress, for multiple events.

Irrelevant Characters in the Show:

Rea “Theresia” Himuro’s character is strange, in that, while she occasionally appears in the anime, she doesn’t have a huge impact on the overall story. In fact, she acts more as the popular upperclassman and comedy relief, who eats weird spicy bread, keeps her distances from others, and has a monotone voice with a mostly flat expression. Her only contribution/relevance was to unlock the chains off of Ren in Episode 7, beyond that she was completely irrelevant. Still, the anime hints that there is a deeper backstory to her, unfortunately the anime fails to show it.

Another character, who makes one or two appearances in the anime, is a girl trapped with a bunch of skeletons and skulls. But, similar to Rea, the anime fails to answer who she is, what’s her backstory, and what’s her role in the overall story.

ANIMATION:

The art is mediocre at best. The character design is passable; they all have some freaky eye design with crosses and other strange objects reflected in it, and they somewhat have the same face design. The only differences between characters are their different color hairs and their hair styles, and certain distinctive neck scars, although this only applies to two characters. Most usage of CG was to render specific objects, such as red skulls, skeletal claws, transformations, blades, etc, and their usage were well intended and great, however the constant use of red skulls to remind viewers that he’s a ‘bad guy’ was overdone and repetitive. Some problems with the art includes, the unrealistic pool of blood and blood splatters, the hazy filters to indicate a dream-sequence was annoying and terrible looking, and the general lack of background details, making them look plain and cheap.

Most of the animations in this show was done pretty well, such as the good action scenes and sequences in the park, the bridge, and in the school, and general character movements. Still, there were some questionable animations, for example: the awkward dancing sequences/movements in Episodes 7 and 8 where the characters either stood there or appeared to be rocking back-and-forth, the many still shots of our main characters doing mundane activities, and the limited fight choreographies. Overall, both the art and animations were satisfactory, providing just enough details and movement to entertain the viewers.

SOUND:

The voice acting is pretty good as every voice actor or actresses fulfills their roles, whether they are the villain, or secondary or main characters. Still there was a moment, where I laughed as I realized almost every character talks in a deep, sinister, and threatening voice like they are the most badass person on the planet.

The opening song is sung by Yui Sakakibara and accompanied with electric guitars, drums, a mixed choir, and organ music, while the background display shocking images, such as skulls and bones, guillotines, Nazis, religious crosses, monsters and mechs, a red moon, and closeup shots of eyes and what they see. The ending song is sung by Phero☆Men (i.e. Suwabe Junichi and Jinguuji Ren) and accompanied with drums, guitars, and keyboard, set to ending credits. The opening song, in my opinion, was okay, and not as impactful as compared to the ending song. The ending song, on the other hand, created an ominous feeling of ‘something bad’ was going to happen, which was perfect for this show. And the use of choir and organ sounds, in the opening intro, also added layers of ominous feelings, despite the decent vocals and lyrics.

Now, the use of background music was hit-or-miss. There were moments where it worked and moments where it fell flat. For moments where it worked, here are some examples: the use of heavy rock music during fight scenes adding more intensity to the fights, the use of Messa da Requiem - dies irae as the character musical introduction for Lord Heydrich creating the impression that a badass was appearing, and finally the use of organ music and dramatic vocals for when a villains shows up brought dread and despair. For moments where it didn’t worked, here are some example: the use of organ music during important conversations to create a moody and intense atmosphere, and the priest’s ‘drama-filled’ conversation with Riza in the school.

ENJOYMENT:

What enjoyment? I had more moments of confusion than enjoyment. Enjoyment is the last word I would use for this series. In fact, I felt more relief towards the end of every 23 minute episode, knowing that it’s done; never to be watched again.

A wise man once said: "There is no Tsukihime anime."

His august thought, pregnant with knowledge and brightness can fit any visual novel adaptation perfectly. To ruin a magnificent novel by an unspeakable, abominable, despicable, damned monstrosity of an adaptation is a grave sin one could say.
Great books don't make great movies, or series in this instance.

So I say: "There is no Dies Irae anime."



Really just read the VN, it's available on Steam, you won't regret spending those sixty hours reading it. It is a magnificent story filled with so much thought you won't be able to remove it from your thoughts (unless you don't ... like reading then I guess nothing can help at this point).
I am still hoping it will be remade, like what happened with DEEN's Fate.

This show is a disaster. This isn't something I say lightly. On a basic level Dies Irae is a complete and utter failure on almost every possible level. And knowing that (at the time of this review) there are still web exclusive episodes left is a harrowing thought.

I have not read the visual novel, in fact I was dared to watch this show, having not read it. As somebody who hasn't read the VN Dies Irae is baffling. Characters teleport around, change powers and appearances, and have momentary appearances in the show for seconds before randomly becoming important later. Of course, this is because much ... of the VN content has been cut out, this is an adaptation of the final route. (Although strangely there is anime original content too.)

Even still, Dies Irae's "plot" manages to be simultaneously simple and overly complex, with lots of extra, needless characters with unknown motivations. Even a cursory flashback isn't afforded to those who aren't already intimately familiar. And with good VN adaptations out there, it isn't good enough these days.

But even looking beyond my own ignorance of the source material, this anime is a mess. The animation quality ranges from mid-budget 2005 harem show to local YouTube animator getting his hands on a CGI program. Characters are consistent in them being completely off model, the CGI is laughable and jarring, and the show can't even afford some frames for the fight scenes. For an action show there is a severe lack of action.

The characters are very rarely explained, the vast majority of the important backstory for them being cut from the show in favour of more CGI skeletons. The main character is incredibly boring, and his friends and allies even more so. The enemy side shows a little more personality, but there's so many of them that you'll quickly forget names and faces. They rotate out every other episode meaning none of them have much impact and even fewer do anything of significance to the narrative.

Any momentary enjoyment that you might feel from the over dramatic presentation and bad German will quickly be removed as the show bores you to death with long episodes consisting entirely of exposition, that fail to actually explain anything. Be warned, the chuuni appeal does not last for long.

The sound sucks, with some really phoned in voice performances from everybody involved.

Avoid this dud.