Reviews for Demon Prince Enma

Surprisingly this short OVA was really interesting. So interesting that I didn't notice each episode was 40 minutes long until the last episode. Story I guess you could say the story is pretty typical. A group of people exterminating demons to keep the town at peace [or because it's their job], but it has a more, how should I say this, natural feel to it. Most of the time an anime with this kind of story tends to be a little too supernatural. Sometimes even making totally impossible things seem possible. Art The animation was beautiful the whole way through. It was really detailed, yet sometimes so detailed itwas disgusting. I just wanted to skip over some of those deformed faces. There is also a problem with some scenes being too dark. I know this is supposed to be horror, but it made it hard to see what was going on.

Sound

I didn't pay too much attention to this, but the reason may be that there was barely any BGM. It sounded as natural as possible when in the city or a bar. The only time there was some music was during an action scene to make it more exciting.

Character

The main characters made this fun to watch, but there wasn't much to them. You were never told why Enma has to destroy these demons, how he met Yukihime or how long they have know each other, and what Kapaeru's true form is. All of the character development was spent on the minor characters. Which in this case is important to better understand the situation they face.

Enjoyment

The comedic scenes created by Enma and his group were always entertaining. There were some nice fights as well, but they never lasted any longer than maybe 3 minutes. Some scenes, on the other hand, felt like they were longer than they should be. I'm sure each episode could have been 30 minutes or a little less if they wanted to make this more enjoyable.

Overall

In the end this OVA receives an 8. There isn't really anything else I can say except if you have time and this interests you then give it a shot. I enjoyed it and maybe you will too.

*This review contains spoilers It begins like this: A woman, covered in blood, is walking through a dark maze of alleyways. She's pursued by a little boy in a dark cloak, and a ghostly young girl in a white kimono. As the boy and girl corner the injured woman, they're momentarily obscured by a patch of shadows, and when they step out into the light on the other side, they've somehow become older; the little boy is now a tall, intimidating man, and the young girl is now a striking silver-haired teen. None of this is particularly new for the horror genre, but it's executed wellenough, and watching it, I was having the comfortable sort of fun which arises from seeing something that's generic but strongly presented.

That was quickly ruined when a demon fetus covered in blood crawled out of the injured woman's nether regions and attacked the silver-haired girl, latching onto her chest. The man in the black cloak used a magical staff to blast it with fire, burning it to death and searing off the front of his companion's kimono in the process. The scene then changed, but not before zooming in for a sexploitive close-up of the female lead's bare breasts. Real classy. I imagine all of this might be somebody's cup of tea, but for me, the fun had ended.

What is this “interesting” creation that I've described? Well, it's Kikoushi Enma, a four-part OVA that tries like hell to successfully weave together elements of psychological horror, fantasy, and sexual humor into something worth watching. And if it had a decent story, or characters worth mentioning, it might have even succeeded. Unfortunately neither of those elements are present, and while there's a good artistic effort from Brains Base, and an acceptable musical score, ultimately this OVA's writing drags the entire thing down.

The first episode doesn't waste any time laying the groundwork, and we quickly learn that the man in the black cloak and the woman in the white kimono are Enma and Yukihime, respectively. They've been placed on Earth to destroy demons who possess people. Together with their magical hat friend Chapeauji and their toad-duck-monster friend Kapaeru, they pose as a “supernatural detective agency” to draw themselves closer to possible demon-related events.

Two episodes of the OVA are self-contained; one is about a vampire prostitute, and the other is about a doll who kills people. Clearly points for originality are not to be awarded here. I'd also consider it a mistake to place these two episodes back-to-back; they're so incredibly similar, so formulaic, that it feels like the same story being told with a slightly different supporting cast. Discoveries are made at the same rate, the same conversations occur, and plot twists and violent confrontations happen at exactly the same points in each episode.

The third and fourth episodes are paired together, telling the story of a group of people trapped in a house which seems to taunt them with reminders of their checkered pasts, picking them off one by one and turning them against each other as it does so. Again, we're treading pretty familiar ground for horror, and the execution here isn't strong enough to make up for the lack of anything truly new; it's predictable, without suspense, and altogether pretty darn boring to watch. In addition, the shift from violent, gory fare to a sudden unforeseen attempt at less in-your-face psychological horror is totally without tact or subtlety, and it gives the OVA even more of an identity crisis than it already had. These two episodes also make an effort to create tie-ins with the first two by bringing in several recurring characters and attempting to stitch them into the plot. The overall impression is of something crude and clumsy that desperately tries to create continuity when in fact there is none to be found.

The biggest problem with the story as a whole is the lack of not just an overarching plot, but even a basic explanation of what happened to lead us to this point in time. Several “minor” details, such as where the demons are coming from, and why it is the job of the dynamic duo Enma and Yukihime to destroy them, are left out. It's tough to care about what is happening, or be intrigued by the actions of the cast, when we're not given any context to work with. In the rare cases where the writers see fit to give us a clue about the nature of the situation, it's normally an outright cliché. For example, we learn that the demons “feed on the darkness in the human heart” and that “all humans have darkness within them.” There are also massive plot holes. I won't spoil it, of course, but suffice to say that at least one major plot point revealed at the end of the fourth episode (which is clearly supposed to be some sort of mind-blowing twist) makes absolutely no sense whatsoever in the scheme of the OVA as a whole. This is an adaptation, and whether flaws this serious are present in the source material or not is beyond me, but they're definitely present here.

The characters are a perfect match for the story; they're also paper-thin and without any background. By the final roll of the credits, we still don't know who Enma, Yukihime, or any of their supernatural companions are, much less how they know each other or why they're doing what they're doing. They're clearly supernatural themselves, so it would be interesting to know what their motivations are for killing other supernatural beings, and how they feel about it. Unfortunately the OVA never answers these questions. None of the cast members have a single identifiable character trait, so it goes without saying that none of them really develop or have any meaningful interactions with one another. There is some weird unrequited romance between Enma and Yukihime, but it's tough to give them a thought as a couple when they don't even have a leg to stand on as individuals. Helping the main cast's problems along is the fact that they're barely even present in the third and fourth episodes, essentially turning them into a minor sideshow act in their own circus.

The supporting cast isn't much better. The series has a weird habit of throwing random characters into the mix with no introduction or previous knowledge of their existence. For example, in the third and fourth episodes, five characters are trapped in the haunted house. Two of them—a cop who investigates the doings of Enma and company, and a reporter who does the same—were present in the first couple episodes. However, the remaining three, a creepy perverted teacher and two young girls (go figure) are just suddenly tossed in for what seems to be no reason other than “we needed more characters.” The most interesting character in the entire span of the show is the aforementioned reporter, and several scenes involving her are the closest this OVA ever gets to being genuinely engrossing or suspenseful.

Brains Base as a studio has a good artistic track record, and while this isn't the best I've seen from them, it's more than suitable for the purposes of the OVA. The character designs for the main roles are generally strong and distinctive-looking. The supporting cast members are a little more generic, but certainly not offensive. Where the art really works is in creating a setting and atmosphere; the use of lighting, combined with the backgrounds, is effective in giving the impression of a dark and slummy city district that's the perfect home for modern-day demons to take up residence. The lighting does sometimes cross the thin line between “atmospherically dark” and “too damn dark to see anything,” as is a common problem with this type of setting in general, but the damage is mostly kept to a minimum.

Music is generally used to a good effect in this OVA. It typically consists of ominous orchestral tunes, spearheaded by traditional Japanese stringed instruments and booming drums. The use of an older style of music in a modern setting works surprisingly well, given the sense that the conflict of Enma-and-company vs. demons is an ancient one. Sometimes the soundtrack hurts for variety, as most of the songs sound pretty similar to one another. However, the music is used sparsely enough that this doesn't hurt my impression of it overall. In the grand scheme, it's not a great soundtrack by any stretch, but it's a much better one than the story really warrants, and along with the art, it's definitely one of the stronger aspects of the OVA.

In terms of the spirit of the whole production, the best thing I can compare this OVA to is not other anime, but live-action films in the vein of the “Friday the 13th” franchise. There's lots of bad jokes, mindless gore and violence, and a pointless emphasis on sex that might entertain the more animal part of the human brain. If that sounds good to you, then pick this one up, because it won't disappoint you in those regards. But anyone seeking a strong story or memorable characters would be better served looking elsewhere.

Just finished watching, so I thought it was time for a full review. It was a little short, but still a great OVA to watch. Story: A great little story to watch, It may seem like the classic: Demons appear and all of a sudden a team shows up to combat them, and i guess in a sense that's true, but there is more to it than that. It has a down to earth feel to it. Although you may think pssh superpowers and demons.... how can that be down to earth? Well Although there are superpowers involved, nothing is overly dramatic and over thetop. there is also the human element of the regular individuals who get dragged into the horrors that surround them. All in all, everything is wrapped up pretty nicely and closes off with a somewhat dramatic finale.

8/10

Art:

Probably the best part of this entire OVA was the artwork. it builds so much of an atmosphere that pulls the viewer into the environment, experience the emotions of the characters, and the thrill of watching what is unfolding on screen. One thing that was lacking a bit was the artwork of the characters. Don't get me wrong, the characters were decent looking but they weren't anything special. It seems to stand out a bit more when you compare minorly detailed characters with the highly detailed backgrounds.

9/10

Sound: My first impression on this OVA is that probably where this OVA is lacking the most in is sound. I meant that quite literally, there didn't feel like there was that much sounds going on. Actually looking back on it, and re-listening to a couple segments from the episodes i noticed how wrong i was. There is sounds throughout most of the way, but it feels like it has been incorporated so well into the scenery and what is happening that I didn't actually notice. I was drawn so deeply into actual going ons of the scene. The dramatic ominous music, was used throughout, but never overused, and was always changing. the other sounds generally consisted of things like characters breathing loudly, screams, and the scenery. I thought that this just added to the dark and ominous atmosphere that was created throughout. Although you could argue well.... there is not too much background music, and there isn't even an opening. I would agree with most of that. There isn't much background music, but it is well placed. However the lack of an opening, and the kinda lousy ending song were a bit of a disappointment. Ranking this OVA purely based on sound, its kind of low, in that it although it builds up the atmosphere very well, stand alone the sounds are quite generic.

6/10

Characters:

One thing about this OVA that i was not overly fond of. The main three characters seemed somewhat one dimensional, and we barely learned nearly anything about them. Little to no character development. Motivation- nada, backstories- nada, how they got their powers- nada. Those characters were a bit of a disappointment. On the other hand however the "mortal" characters whom the stories revolved around,we had a little bit more information about them. The characters were a bit better introduced and we learn more about them, but even then, we still only scratch the surface. Overall the largest flaw of the OVA

Enjoyment:

I found this OVA to be very enjoyable. I found myself constantly leaning forward towards my computer screen just being engrossed into the story. I honestly didn't notice the 40 min time of each episode until i finished it. Well worth the watch

9/10

Overall:

I do recommend this to most people. Although there is a slight bit of nudity, and ecchi scenes, nothing is over the top and it really doesn't take anything away from what the storyline does so well to build up. If you can find the time (and i am sure you can) i suggest you to check it out.

8/10

Story: This story starts like many of the same genre, with demons escaping from an Underworld and possessing people and objects alike to kill people and take over the human plane of existence. There is one main character, a man not from the human plane, on a mission to destroy these demons. The leader Enma is a red-headed man who is constantly draped in a black cape, a black hat that is similar to a witch's hat, and uses a staff that produces fire. Though he is considered the "main character", his other companions play big parts too. There is Enma's witch hat, Shapoji, whocan talk and smell the evil auras demons give off. Kapaeru, the Japanese creature Kappa in a human-like form, is the information gatherer for the group. Last is Yukihime, another hunter like Enma, but uses the power of frost or ice. The first two episodes show how Enma's crew handles a couple situations where people are possessed and killings occur, but by the third episode, the show takes a complete 360 degree turn, showing five individuals placed within a house that kills them off individually, using each character's problematic past as the way to kill them. Only within the last five to ten minutes of the last episode does Enma show up and save the day...or does he?

I gave this OVA a 6 for story due to the lack of a cohesive story. The first half follows the beginnings of a decent plot, but the third episode had me scratching my head, wondering why these people were in a house being killed, followed by an even more confusing fourth and last episode. The reasons why these events were occurring were never explained, leaving the viewer to ponder the connection to the rest of the story. The last gripe I had was the extensive amounts of naked breasts being flashed throughout the four episodes. I do not mind nudity being used if it benefits the story in some way, but the usage here was for nothing more than looks.

A warning to those of a weak stomach, this anime is full of blood and gore of all sorts. With a demon baby being born and crawling from the victim’s private area, to a mother trying to stab her young daughter. It is very graphic in content.

Animation: The animations used were a little above average. The better animations were used for the blood, gore, and any other parts involved with the killings, while the rest was just plain. Even the main characters were done with minimal effort. If the production company had spent a little more time and effort on this project, it could have been very well done. These are the reasons I gave this a 5.

Sound: The sounds used were actually decent, in most cases, though as before, the best sounds were used during the most graphic parts, such as a knife cutting or a person being possessed by a demon. The rest of the anime's sound was very basic and could have used more work. These reasons are why I gave it a 5.

Characters: This was the worst part of the anime, for me, given these episodes are about 40 minutes each. While Enma and crew are very humorous through the majority of their time on screen, there is almost nothing known about these characters. No background on why they are killing demons, no background on where each character comes from, and no idea on their philosophy of the human race, just to name a few. All that is really known are the characters kill demons and Enma is a pervert. Their comedy was funny enough to warrant a 4 from me, but that is cutting it close.

Overall: This anime had the potential to tell a great story with excellent characters to develop. Being an adult anime, this OVA also had the potential to take this story to a whole new level of intensity, but did not capitalize on the opportunities. I would only recommend this anime to those hardcore fans of demon anime that enjoy highly graphic storytelling, but otherwise, ended up turning into no-man's land, which is where this anime belongs.

wow, lets start this out by saying i will never forget this anime and i dont think i will be the same after watching it. this anime started out good, and you dont know where its going. but it takes a strong psychological turn and by the 3rd ova it takes it in a direction i never expected, its not the violence even though it had some decently violent scenes.that did not bother me so much, but it was a psychological headf**k on the darkness of the human heart. and it was quite scary in the last 2 episodes not for the fact ofanything but the emotions and thoughts it evokes in the watcher... i loved it and i wanted to give it a 8 or 9 overall but i had to give it a 10, just for the fact it is very good, but also one of the very few anime i have seen that evoke such strong feelings and thoughts, i will never forget this anime and i dont think i will be the same after watching it. a must see for anyone into the psychological animes and also for those into anything GOOD...

Despite several interesting ideas presented and the potential of the story this anime fell flat. In the end it tried to do too many things and consequently did not of them very well. Story My biggest problem is with the story/plot. Kikoushi Enma wanted to be mystery, horror and psychological anime while being deep, funny, touching, scary and a touch sexual all in 4 forty minute episodes. The idea of the darkness in all of us is good but it wasn’t really developed until the 3rd episode. If that was the “meaning” of the OVA it was not a fully formed thought. The demon hunting wasagain an interesting tease but not really explained. Despite the lack of development the OVA was not confusing – just missed potential.

Characters

Again there was potential for interesting and enjoyable characters, but the character building was abandoned to try and save the plot. The "main" characters had personality, although not all ways consistent with the tone of the show, and I would have really liked to see more of them and how they were related which is not explained.

Art/Music

Both the art and music where pretty decent. The art looked a tad dated/generic, but overall it was solid and little sexy. They made good use of dramatic light and dark contrasts and overall it fit the darker mood of the anime. The music didn't strike me either way really. Overall neither was good enough to compensate for its other short comings.

On the last day of October I reccomend Demon Prince Enma. Demons are escaping from the underworld, and causing much havoc on the human population. Possessing both human bodies and artifacts alike, the demons are inconspicuously forcing people to commit grotesque murders. The task of exterminating the offenders lies with Demon Prince Enma, snow wielding Yukihime, an information gathering kappa, Kapaeru, and the talking witch hat Shapoji. This is the darker adult targeted version of the Prince Enma animated series. It hits a lot of the same morbid tones with tinges of lighter banter between the trio much like Requiem from the Darkness and the 1996Black Jack: The Movie. If your familiar with Go Nagai work, you won't be disappointed.

Kikoushi Enma wastes no time letting you know what it is; A tween's idea of a 'grown-up' anime. It comes right off the bat trying way too hard, and failing to stick the landing even a little bit. Insofar as it is 'baby's fist seinen', the viewer is subjected to campy gore, gross body horror, and boobies almost immediately, but their presence isn't the issue here, it's how they're used. It is as if these things, which are constant and unceasing, are thrown in cheaply by middle schoolers just for the fun of it. Even the most shameless of ecchiseries have the self awareness to not take themselves too seriously. This whole ordeal (and what an ordeal it is) feels like listening to a kid brag about how he drank his dad's beer once, and saw a naked girl. It's like the whole production is just trying so, so hard to be dark and edgy while failing miserably, then demanding to be taken seriously on top of it all. Beginning with the story, it is pretty mediocre. The first two episodes are almost insultingly bad, and were it not for the short 4 episode run this anime would have been dropped an hour in. The last two are marginally better, and though that's a relative term here, the point still stands. As a whole, the plot is generic, and there's not much else to say. There are a couple of creative ideas, but they manage to wring them out for everything they've got, and the rest of the conflicts seem contrived, present simply for their shock value.

The art is generally pretty good, with an interesting art direction and shot composition. The character designs are also visually engaging. However, a notable exception to all this is the God awful CG. Yeah, it came out in 2006, but that's no excuse for the long, panning shots of that dumpster fire. They could have simply not used it at all when they saw how bad it was, but instead they laid it on thick towards the second half, like they were running out of time or something. An additional note concerning the art is that sometimes the characters suffer from the dreaded 'mask', where an anime fails to convey emotion through the faces of its characters by way of failing to animate it properly.

The sound is fine and there's really nothing to speak of regarding it.

The characters themselves are perhaps the worst part of the show, as they're shallow as puddles of dog piss and make decisions which manage to conflict with what little characterization they do have as well as common sense itself. Enma is an aloof cool dude with a magic staff and he's also a pervert, there is nothing else to his character and he does not develop further. Yukihime is an aloof kimono-clad waifu who has a secret crush on Enma, as well as problems expressing her emotions. Kapaeru is a pervert and that's the joke. His closest thing to a redeeming plot arc is his regular email correspondence with a little girl, and while that certainly doesn't sound very good at all, mercifully it is the only thing about him that is not somehow tainted by his debauchery. Every other character is pretty much a paper bag, to be puppeted about so the story can happen. Overall, Kikoushi Enma felt desperate to be cool, and this desperation reeked the whole time. While there is a glimmer of some distant potential in this anime, that glimmer is certainly quite distant indeed.

This anime is a bit weird. The story starts in one direction then takes an unexpected oblique turn, a WTF? moment. The voice acting is fine, it's everything else that is wrong. First the MCs are one dimensional, second the background images are not quite right, they are some sort of combination of drawn and CGI, it looks odd. The character art is just lazy. And this is not erotic, just because womens breasts are exposed does not make it erotic. Because of the gore, subject matter and nudity it is 18+. While the characters have some of the character traits of the original DororonEnma Kun (1973?), they just don't pull them off here. There are some time skips that are mentioned but no reason is given for them. The characters are also out of place and make no effort to modernize. This short series could have made a better effort and had a better show, it just seems to have been made to make money. If you are looking for an 'erotic' thriller this ain't it. If you want something a bit more fun and ecchi watch 'Prince Enma Burning Up". This series is OK but could have been better.

This is a goofy kiddy franchise. I'm unsure what idiot thought it would be good for horror. It has way too much goofy fantasy going on causing severe tonal whiplash as it tries to be horror alongside an ecchi-shonen comedy(noncomedy). This show is like that old Devil May Cry anime except with everything way way worse. They're a generic group of supernatural private investigators stopping demon possessions and sending the demons back to hell episodically. The show then takes a jarring turn into a generic haunted house torturing victims with their guilt as if they repurposed some other story into it. Generic pointless demon possession derangement murders followedby getting immediately stopped by the mc.

Generic videogame fire rod vampire pervy mc uses fireball to burn the demons after repeating his catchphrase x5.

Generic ice princess can't control her tsundere emotions leaking out ice powers.

Generic talking witch's hat.

Generic kappa pedo otaku assistant.

The art is higher budget than this show deserves, but visually uninteresting and never used to convey deeper meaning.

1/10 (where 5/10 is average)