Dusk maiden of amnesia's cleverness can only be appreciated if you don't first preconceive it as a horror, ecchi, or comedy show. It's all of them yet it's none of them. I'm not familiar with the usual horror series since I rarely watch them, but I suppose the director/directors made the animation horror styled. It's effective and created a good atmosphere. The sound is in my opinion the highlight of this series. From the opening and ending themes to the sound effects, they are all top notch and really brought this series to another level.
Character-wise, I have nothing to complain. At first I didn't like any of the characters. I thought they were stereotypical and a little fake. But along the way, I grew to like them. They didnt really develop and even the changes in the main character Yuuko is pretty superficial, but despite that, I still grew to like who they are. I think it partly has to do with Yuuko dominating most of the scenes. With everything involving around Yuuko, I think it'll become pretty obvious that if you dislike Yuuko, you won't enjoy watching this series. However, if you like Yuuko, you will feel attached to the people around her.
Plot-wise, I find it to be quite clever. I never would put a flirting half naked girl in a mystery/horror story because if it's wrongly done, it's pretty much like trashing the story. However, very surpringly, the girl fits, and even the occasional bursts of comedic effects seem appropriate and not out of place at all. Again, I think it's because the story is so focused on Yuuko as a person that even the mysteries surrounding her seem like a backdrop. Even her being a ghost is quite trivialized and made into use only for comedic effects.
The other thing I thought quite unique about this series is the message behind the story. Of course, most detective and mystery shows have already told everyone that behind every mystery is a human mind at work, but what about fear? I don't think fear itself has been explored in most mystery/horror shows because they are made to create fear in people. A horror series that trivializes fear by turning fearful situation into comedic or ecchi situations together with turning fear into a reflection of the mind, I think that refreshing way of looking at horror deepens the meaning of this series. If you simply want to have a nightmares, this show is too soft. I would only recommend it to those who don't pick it up for its genres.
