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Romance and slice-of-life anime are a dime a dozen, but they don’t always do things that are particularly interesting or new. Instead, they often handle the same moments in the same tired ways. Every now and then, though, something exciting comes along — something that really changes the viewing experience. In our opinion, the romance of Bocchan and Alice in The Duke of Death and His Maid is one of those exciting things. Bocchan cannot touch another living thing without killing it instantly, due to a long-standing curse, but his sweet maid Alice doesn’t care a lick about the danger. She adores him! Below, we’ll go into some of the best moments of the dark duo, and explain why their story is absolutely worth the watch!
The first shot of the anime features bats fluttering across the screen and our lead, Bocchan, playing a sad tune on the piano. If that doesn’t set the scene for this anime, we don’t know what does! Later, Bocchan reminisces about the way other children reacted to him in his youth, due to his deadly curse. This scene features a shot of young Alice being introduced to the young Duke for the first time, and you can see his feelings written plainly across his face: the boy is completely smitten! Even better, that shot sets the stage for one of the last lines of the first episode: “I’ll put a ring on your finger with my own hands.”
Romance anime can get very stale when it follows the same episodic formula over and over again. The reason The Duke of Death and His Maid stays fresh is its new take on classic tropes. Bocchan and Alice are childhood friends who clearly had a crush on each other, but by the time the Duke was five years old, he could not touch his would-be date (or anyone else). You’d think that would be the end of any romance possibilities for the young man, but no! Alice remained at his side, even when he was sent away to a lonely mansion deep within a forest. In fact, she’s the only maid still willing to work for him! Later, as the story progresses, they work on ideas to release Bocchan from his curse, learning more about the witch who placed it and secret plots that extend even further than just this one, sweet boy — all while falling more in love!
It can be tricky to write a love story that resonates with viewers. They’ve seen so many ways a story could play out that sometimes, it feels as if nothing is new anymore. Thankfully, in The Duke of Death and His Maid, that’s not the case! This anime subverts the usual childhood romance trope by not only making it a reciprocated love but also making sure the two constantly express their feelings — even if it’s not in words.
Between the constant humor and adorable, genuine love between Bocchan and Alice, it’s hard not to enjoy watching this anime. When an interesting story about the breaking of a curse is thrown in on top of it all, we can’t help ourselves! We have to see what happens! The Duke of Death and His Maid may not be a well-known title, but tell us, did you find it worth the watch? Are you interested in seeing the dark duo’s finale? Let us know with a comment!
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