Dance with Devils

This anime series centers on Ritsuka Tachibana, who attends a school featuring a fairly unusual student body. Most of her classmates are either devils or vampires, and their interest in Ritsuka stems from their belief that she has knowledge of the whereabouts of a grimoire (sorcery text). Getting Ritsuka to confirm that she knows where the grimoire is involves some rather unpleasant business: her mother is kidnapped, her grandfather's home is burned down, and she is physically and emotionally assaulted in what feels like a nonstop attack on her body and soul. Unfortunately, Dance with Devils has so many plot twists and convoluted backstories for nearly every character that it feels as if five different series were sandwiched into this single production. Perhaps this might have still worked if Ritsuka was resourceful or even sympathetic, but she is presented here as a cipher and this creates a personality void at the center of this stylishly animated series. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2015 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition, rated TV-14, extras include episode commentaries. Optional. (P. Hall)