So is Twilight of the Dark Master worth watching. Well, if you like older 90's anime and don't need an in-depth backstory to fill in the gaps, then yes. Although, I honestly think that anyone who watches anime could enjoy this. It isn't the best OVA, but it's entertaining. So let's break this down, shall we?
Starting off with the story. In a nutshell, the story is about a woman, Shizuka, who's fiance, Eiji, turns into a demon and she seeks the assistance of a Guardian, or demon hunter, named Tsunami, to find and kill it. It's not a very original story, and even as things are gradually explained throughout Tsunami's investigation, there were still some loose ends, or just very vague ideas. Like, why and how was Eiji turned into a demon in the first place? How much time had passed since he turned into a demon? Who exactly is this mysterious antagonist, Takamiya? Is that a clitoris?!?! Whoah.....did a head just pop out of that clitoris?? Seriously, this OVA is 45 minutes long and there is so much information packed into it, but it wasn't long enough to explain everything. I'm going on 30 and I'm still wondering about the clitoris.
And we have our characters. Throughout the OVA a lot of different names will be dropped frequently, and you might be trying to remember who these names belong to. Except for Huang and Chen Long, because even if we never learned their names, we would still remember the borderline incestuous relationship between these twins. But everyone else is just a face. There isn't much characterization or development, and everyone seems pretty bland.
The art, however, is pretty good. I'm very fond of this style of anime character design, it's very nostalgic for me and reminds me of why anime was so captivating for me as a kid. The animation is decent, a tad bit jerky or stiff at times, but nothing worth complaining about.
The soundtrack was interesting. It had so many different tones and vibes that I think this, alone, was the highlight of this OVA. I found myself focusing on the background music quite a bit, and each track fit nicely with it's corresponding scene.
Some may consider this gory and sexual. While there is nudity, fan service, and....a clitoris...?....I'd say the gore is sub-par, and would tone it down to just bloody and violent. Perhaps in 1998 this was considered gory?
But all in all, Shihaisha no Tasogare, or Twilight of the Master, is an enjoyable watch. So, I give it a 7/10.
