Descendants of Darkness: Yami no Matsuei, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Yoko Matsushita (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

The business of Death is never done. Asato Tsuzuki works as a Shinigami, or 'Guardian of Death', in the Ministry of Hades. It's his duty to make sure that the souls of the dead reach the afterlife, but contrary ghosts and humanity's evils keep getting in the way of a job well done. With all these problem assignments, will he ever get a bonus...or will he be stuck paying back damages for all eternity? As a Guardian of Death, Asato Tsuzuki has a lot to think about. First of all, there are all those dead people. Someone's got to escort them safely to the afterlife. Then there's all that bureaucracy. The affairs of death come with a lot of paperwork, budgetary concerns and endless arcana. Descendants of Darkness proves one thing: Death is big business...and business is good!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Yoko Matsushita is the author of the manga series Yami no Matsuei also published by Hakusensha in Japan. Descendants of Darkness is her second series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; Sh Ojo Ed edition (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591165075
• ISBN-13: 978-1591165071
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Horror

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't matter if it's you or me..., February 16, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Descendants of Darkness: Yami no Matsuei, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

for we are all descendants of darkness! this line, quoth the beautifully evil Dr.Muraki, is the title of one of the most potentially fascinating manga I have ever read. A plethora of detailed artwork and ridiculous, easy-to-realte-to (I think) characters are what make this could be cliche manga a diamond in the ruff. Long dead Tsuzuki is the desert obsessed (and totally gorgeous)agent of the Ministry of hades, where very attractive men (with the exception of chief Konoe) keep the troublesome spirits of the dead in line. Even though the mebers of Hades would drop Tsuzuki like a plate of hotcakes if they could(he's kind of annoying, but liakeable, unlike a certain cliche manga female character I could mention coughUsagicough), they won't because, despite his looks, he's one of the most powerful agents of death that they've got. After losing yet another partner, Tsuzuki ends up with Hisoka, a babyfaced, bigeyed (and dead) sixteen year old as his second in commmand. Hisoka dislikes Tsuzuki (he kind of dislikes everybody, but his cold and unfeeling nature is just a cover for a heart tha, deep down, wants to know why he died. The two main characters are soon matched against the evil, sadistic, possibly psychotic "Doctor" muraki, whose strange attraction (is it really so strange?) to Tsuzuki and possible connection to Hisoka's past lead to them meeting him many more times.... and so goes the pretense of DoD. To contradict anything you may have heard, DoD is not a yaoi series. It is a higly complex and intricate shojo story, and reading the first volume immediately causes you ot beg for more. ^^

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some sexy boys playing detectives, October 7, 2004

By 

Yuki Shinobu (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Descendants of Darkness: Yami no Matsuei, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

This story is my personal favorite. I waited for the manga to come out for a long time, and now that it finally has, I am very glad. The anime is very beautiful to watch, but the books are more entertaining because they go in much more detail.

The story is mainly about Tsuzuki, god of death, and his hot partner, Hisoka, and their adventures as they try to fix the beauro's problems. The manga is really funny, with Tsuzuki slacking off all the time and eating apple pie whenever he can, and Hisoka mainly grumbling and sneering at everyone, which doesn't make him any less cute.

Muraki is the sadistic villan of the story, and though he does very mean things to Hisoka, which I highly do not approve of, he is still very interesting character and gives the story more feel.

I can't wait for volume #2.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What can I add?, May 18, 2005

By 

J. Gebhard (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Descendants of Darkness: Yami no Matsuei, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

The other reviews have said it quite beautifully. Decendants of Darkness is a great series that sadly never ends. The series does end at vol 11 and the story is incomplete. That said, if the thought of an incomplete series drives you completely mad stop buying the series after vol 8. Vol 9 contains the beginnings of the incomplete story arc. All other story arcs are completed. Vol 9 does contain some one-shot stories that are serious funny, however.

Also, all of the story lines beginning in this vol are complex and interesting with the exception of some funny story lines thrown in. The main character is goofy and obsessed with sweets and has a grumpy sidekick. The supporting cast ranges from a penny-pinching secretary to a mad scientist bent on creating a sex-change potion to two girls who want to dress the grumpy sidekick in female clothing. I forgot the rivalry between the main character and another supporting character that tends to destroy large buildings in massive explosions. Descendants is crazy at times and other times you nearly want to cry.

Additionally, if you are drawn in by amazing and beautiful art look no further. Each and every vol contains beautiful drawings of the characters and background scenery.

(Also this review should be dated March 29, 2007, I don't know why Amazon thinks it is May 19, 2005. Weird.)