What’s it about ?
The wacky adventures of Enma and his Demon Brigade, in charge of hunting down demons who’re wreaking havoc on Earth’s surface.
Characters
Harumi, our point of view character. A young girl whose friends get attacked by a face-stealing demon and calls on Enma & co for help. Very snarky indeed (to the point that she snarks at her own tendency to snark on inappropriate occasions), and quite bemused by Enma’s antics.
Enma, our idiot hero (and that’s quite an understatement). A fire demon. Wears a talking hat.
Yuki, his purported love interest (although it’s obvious they’ve known each other for so long that they’re getting on each other’s nerves). An ice demon. Maybe the most sensible of the bunch, although by a fairly narrow margin.
Kapaeru, a kappa. Mostly there to deliver exposition and horribly dated impersonations, although he does get to save Harumi from drowning at one point. He might be the most heroic of the bunch, which of course makes him a target for abuse.
Production Values
All over the place. There are some gorgeous pieces of animation, especially in the hell house with its wonderfully gorgeous backgrounds… and then there are a few shots drawn with crayons. WTF ?
Let’s be clear, this is an aggressively retro series, especially with the character designs ; but then, what do you expect of a remake of a 70s Go Nagai series ?
Overall impression
WHY ?
Why did someone greenlight a remake of a random 70s series, without updating much besides the animation ? (It’s even set in the 70s.) It’s not bad or anything (it’s standard inoffensive shounen fare), but it’s so obviously a nostalgia piece that I can’t bring myself to care. Especially as its tone doesn’t do much for me (this kind of constant hyperness tires me out very quickly).
I’m bemused. This show obviously has quite some money behind it ; is the market for it really that big ?
