"Portrait of Heresy"
Edgy, dark, and more than a little captivating, Dansai is not for everyone.
I was right not to dismiss this series by its strange premise, because, bizarre though it might be, this is certainly another dark horse this season. Things don't get much weirder than
a murderous curse surrounding a girl whose hair is nearly impossible to cut and grows back instantly when it is, but weirdness doesn't detract from the fact that this is a treat to watch, at least for some. Edgy though the various
depictions of fetishization may be, there's no arguing that they're not beautifully executed or visceral, and I for one commend the atmosphere as one of the best so far this season. There's an almost
Gosick-like feel to the setting, despite taking place in a modern world, and that analogy applies to the chemistry between
Iwai and Kiri as well, though they themselves are very different characters than either Victorique or Kujou. It's truly a captivating series, and it's details like the use of sepia during the fight between Kiri and Yamane that give it it's unusually breathtaking touch.
Still, even a premise as outlandish as this one carries its own logic, and Iwai and the Killing Goods are finally placed in context.
Iwai's ancestor seems to have been a woman known as the Hair Queen, and she created the curse of the Killing Goods while she herself was cursed with uncuttable hair; both curses created a set of circumstances in which the descendants of the original owners of each Good (all of which were murderers) become bloodthirsty Authors, individuals driven by instinct to murder, and whose curses can only be removed once the Hair Queen has been killed. In addition, the only way for the Authors to bypass their killing intuition is to play out the act, which, luckily for Iwai, means she has an ally in Kiri, who acts out his murder by cutting her hair every morning. However, in the eyes of the
other Authors, Iwai is a worthy sacrifice to rid themselves of their curse.
It's somewhat ironic that despite the fact that Kiri
purges his killing urge through his fetish, he might end up a serial killer regardless. He's at least shown capable of violence when he slashes at Byouinzaka Yamane (
Fukuhara Kaori) with the Crime Edge, and the fact stands that even if he lets Iwai die, his killing urge will manifest soon after. It isn't everyday that you see a protagonist with good intentions become a serial killer for the girl he's falling in love with (as well as for his own sanity), but it just goes to show that even something as off the charts as
Dansai can prove to be as
intriguing and captivating as this has been thus far.
N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the wonderful screencaps!
OP "Unmei no Ori (運命の檻)" by Aimi
Episode 2 Screencaps
ED "Kimi to Futari (君と二人)" by Karin Takahashi × Yurika Endo (高橋花林×遠藤ゆりか)
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