Satsuriku no Tenshi First Impressions

“The girl on the bottom level has been selected as a sacrifice. Please begin preparations on each floor.”

Series built around the concept of a death game are common in anime. We still seem to get a couple of new ones each year. As a subgenre I can’t say that I’m overly fond of them, since they tend to be a pretty trashy affair with titles like Mirai Nikki or Deadman Wonderland, acting like a wasteland where subtlety goes to die. Satsuriku no Tenshi could easily follow in the footsteps of those series, and a significant part of me suspects it will. Still, there is a non-zero chance that we may end up with something interesting to talk about. The problem one faces when making that call is that, like Island earlier this season, Satsuriku no Tenshi’s first episode constantly provokes more questions rather than answer any of the ones that are raised. This can be wearisome, and pacing works differently in games versus other mediums, so a narrative that was executed well in a game may prove to be difficult to adapt. In this current state, I wonder if the minimalist nature of the original work may have suited the material more than the over the top aesthetic of this adaptation, but I’m not going to draw a final conclusion on that just yet.

The premise is that our main character, Rachel Gardner, wakes up with fragmented memories in a bizarre facility filled with security cameras. From what I can tell, it seems she is on the bottom floor of a building where each floor houses a killer. At least, that’s what I gather from the first episode. There are also rules, but they haven’t really been laid out yet, and the fraction we’ve been provided have been cryptic. Rachel quickly runs into a scythe wielding bandaged man named Zach, who at least initially appears intent on killing her. I’m a little unsure of Zach’s character design. Plot synopsis describe him as bandaged, but the lines for the bandages often run through his mouth, like it is simply the texture of his skin. I don’t know how to interpret that. If they’re bandages and it is simply a stylistic choice, then I feel it was misguided. He’s not the only character to possess some odd physical characteristics, but he’s the first to appear. There is also the Doctor Daniel, the killer who occupies the floor above Zach’s. Where Zach’s floor is made up to look like alleyways and backstreets, Daniel’s is made to look like a hospital ward. He appears to have more knowledge about Rachel, claiming he was her counselor and attempts to prompt her to remember an occasion where they encountered each other outside of the hospital. It’s all pretty cryptic, and, until the show can offer some more explanations, it will face difficulty winning me over.

The character designs are a mixed bag. I already mentioned Zach’s peculiar characteristics, but Danny bounces back and forth on the aesthetic front. For most of the episode, he appears as a kindly doctor with an odd tendency towards creepy smiles and ominous shadows. However, when he begins revealing his true intentions, he goes overboard with a lolling tongue that would make Yowamushi Pedal’s Midousuji envious and a fake eye with two pupils. His initial appearance was actually far more striking than his secondary one as it was, while not particularly subtle, more ominous and unnerving. When I reflect back, Satsuriku no Tenshi’s aesthetic calls to mind the earlier cited Deadman Wonderland with its dark colors and emphasis on reds. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because, while Deadman Wonderland was a notably silly series that had no ending, I never took particular umbrage with its design sensibilities. J.C. Staff is behind the production for this series, but that isn’t a particularly good indicator of quality and they’re churning out 4 different series during this summer alone, so who knows how later episodes of this will look. It’s also a bit odd that the show will be lasting 16 episodes. Perhaps the studio felt they couldn’t compress the narrative into a standard length cour. I wonder if it is a sign of their confidence in this series that they’re committing resources for three to four more episodes than would be considered normal.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• There are significant questions that don’t even get asked in this first episode. Who placed the killers in this environment? Can they get out to kill or are they only allowed to kill people placed in the facility? Everything about Zach. It’s a little frustrating at the moment.
• There is a moment where Zach is stabbing at a chest that Rachel is hiding in, but gives up after two attempts, apparently assuming she isn’t in there. Why couldn’t he just open the chest? Also, Deadly Premonition flashbacks abound! Isn’t that right Zach?
• The title is officially translated as “Angels of Death,” which is honestly less interesting than the proper translation, “Angels of Slaughter”.
• Rachel’s parents are evidently dead, but it isn’t completely clear whether she killed them or not.