Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge - 6

"Waltz Under the Stars"

Whoa, you do not want to get on bad terms with Kiri.

I was a bit surprised to find out that this series is hated as passionately as AO was when it was airing, but I guess when a series is this bizarre and, well, explicit (in more ways than one), you can't really expect people to board the fandom bus with relative ease. True, there's some details about this I'm not entirely happy with, such as the fact that Iwai, though not useless, plays a damsel-in-distress role most of the time, but on the whole I'm still definitely and more than happily on board with Dansai. With each passing episode I've grown to appreciate it's beauty, style, and horror more, and though I can see why many of the aspects rub viewers the wrong way, they feel incredibly refreshing and enjoyable to me.

I have to admit I was not expecting the little twist between our S&M pairing this arc, though that does little to temper the grotesque nature of it all. It turns out Ruka, rather than Romeo, is the Author in the relationship, and she's motivated by her ego. Slighted as a little girl when not chosen for a lead role in a play, she became obsessed with gathering attention around her through the use of her Killing Good, the Pet Whip, which controls those around her. Romeo, sadistic though he seemed last episode, is merely her Instead and dedicated whipping post, though he turns out to be a formidable fighter as well. Unfortunately for them both, however, Iwai and Kiri's bond is strong enough to break Ruka's hold over Kiri, and he stunningly turns the tables on her with cold fury. Any doubt that he revels in using the Crime Edge is gone by this point, and Nakajima seems to agree.

As was previously hinted at, it was Nakajima that alerted Romeo and Ruka to Iwai's presence, and it seems that as long as he kills someone in the name of justice, he's not particularly picky about the circumstances under which it happens. Since Kiri had no qualms against using his Killing Good and even brutally mutilated his enemies (slicing Romeo's cheek was pretty intense and shocking, for one thing), then he's just as ripe a target for Nakajima as Ruka originally was. Thankfully Yamane, with her strange attachment to Iwai and Kiri, arrives in time to distract Nakajima, and most everything wraps up in time for Iwai and Kiri (disturbingly not bothered by the bloodbath they were just a part of) to enjoy a stunning moment beneath the stars together. Say what you will about the fetishized nature of the show, but at the center of it all lies a very touching romance, demented though the circumstances around it might be.