Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge - 3

"To Escape the Storm"

It's a bit early to say so, but I honestly think I love this series already.

It's incredibly ironic that I was worried Dansai would be a conventional series with a weird twist when I first heard about it, because this is about as unconventional as a series can get without being utterly literary or otherwise non-anime. Oh you have your loli-ish characters and your fanservice, but everything else about this series is quite literally like almost nothing I've ever seen. I'm continually amazed by the sensuality and beauty of the fetishization of Iwai's hair, for example, and it strikes me how strange it is that I don't consider it to be lewd or otherwise unpleasant despite these glaringly obvious undertones. The gothic feel in the atmosphere, the use of sepia and colors during action scenes, the wonderful chemistry between Iwai and Kiri; it's all beautifully executed stuff, but beyond that, the very essence of the series is breathtakingly good, and almost downright unique.

This is certainly true for me when it comes to the romantic relationship at the center of this series. Iwai and Kiri outwardly seem like many a tried-and-true pairing, but there's a level of honesty and trust here that's rare among many relationship portrayals in anime. Though their words don't necessarily betray anything deeper than the love of two friends, their actions tell a whole other story. Take, for instance, the moment when Iwai throws herself at Kiri, completely naked, because of her fear. Rather than have this be a traditionally ecchi scene (and there are ecchi connotations, have no doubt), Iwai doesn't try to push him away after her impulse or otherwise make a big deal about it. She's embarrassed, yes, but they nevertheless sit there in an embrace while he comforts her without freaking out about her exposed body. And even more refreshingly, Kiri doesn't do anything to her other than partake in their already ritual hair fetish, with this being what makes Iwai call him a pervert. For all the fanservice and otherwise questionable qualities of this scene, it's actually a gorgeous one, and it goes a long way to characterize the relationship in a favorable light.

Then there's the Crime Edge itself. The lengths that Kiri is willing to go for Iwai are certainly astonishing, and it's not everyday that someone is willing to become a murderer for their loved ones. Of course, much of this is circumstantial; without Iwai as his Instead, Kiri would eventually degrade into a murderer regardless, and there's also the fact that the blood of Grayson, history's most prolific murderer, runs through his veins and has passed the Crime Edge onto him. It's hard to say that Kiri doesn't enjoy the moment of cutting his enemy's flesh either, and though he tells Iwai that he's still himself, I have to wonder if something hasn't changed now that he's become adept at shedding blood. In any case, hell is only ever a moment from breaking loose in this series, and things are quickly shaping into an elegant spiral of chaotic and dark proportions. A murderer-to-be, a girl whose hair magically grows out at the stroke of midnight, a set of psychopaths with ultimate murder tools out to kill her; Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge is one of the most bizarre series I've ever seen, and I think I'm in love with it just three episodes in.

N.B.: Thanks to Ivan for the help screencapping!