History Manga / DescendantsofDarkness

Asato Tsuzuki is a {{shinigami}} who has been working in the afterworld for 70 years (with a low wage), investigating cases related to unnatural deaths. Although he is very capable, he is constantly in trouble because of his laid back and spacey attitude, and his inability to retain a partner. Things seems to improve when Tsuzuki is assigned to work with the new shinigami Hisoka Kurosaki, a teenager with a very serious attitude, in contrast with Tsuzuki's playfulness. Unfortunately, in their first case together they cross paths with the insane Doctor Kazutaka Muraki, a man who has gotten supernatural powers in very questionable ways. The doctor is involved in a lot of dirty business (including the death of Hisoka), and now wants Tsuzuki...

* ManInWhite: Muraki.

* EvilAlbino: Muraki.

* WhatBeautifulEyes: Muraki constantly tells Tsuzuki that his PurpleEyes are beautiful. Tsuzuki, on the other hand, hates them because they remind him [[spoiler: of his demon blood]].

* BoysLove: [[PlayingWithATrope Yes and no.]] Tsuzuki {{lampshade}}s this in the first volume, joking that he would give Hisoka a goodnight kiss, but this isn't a Boys Love manga. Later on, in a plot arc that actually deals with homosexual relationships, Tsuzuki refers to homosexuality as 'icky' ([[spoiler:But to be fair, he was masquerading as a priest at the time.]]), and he seems genuinely {{squicked}} by some lesbians in a different plot arc. Everything is officially kept on the HeterosexualLifePartners level with a bit of StupidSexyFlanders, FreudianExcuse, and gratuitous amounts of {{squick}}y MindScrew, but the [[http://i.imgur.com/Xt11TAk.jpg art]] [[http://i.imgur.com/ROcl7AA.jpg speaks]] [[http://i.imgur.com/Tplr6oK.jpg differently]].

* YouAreNotAlone: [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Hisoka delivers one of these to Tsuzuki when he's trying to kill himself out of despair]].

[[caption-width-right:200:From left to right: Watari, Saya, Tsuzuki, Hisoka, Yuma and Tatsumi.]]

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/A2331-2.jpg]]

* {{Shotacon}}: In the first arc of both the anime and manga, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Muraki raped Hisoka when the latter was only thirteen years old.]]

** Actually, to be fair [[spoiler:it's never stated Tsuzuki's of ''demonic'' origin. Just "definitely not human."]]
** Though maybe other people could sense it in a way because they beat up and ostracized him when he was young.

A 13-episode anime was produced by Creator/JCStaff in 2001. In the U.S., it was initially licensed by Creator/CentralParkMedia, and aired on the Creator/SciFiChannel's Ani-Monday block in 2008. It is currently licensed by Creator/DiscotekMedia, who have announced plans for a future DVD rerelease.

* BlondGuysAreEvil: Muraki fits the character type to a T though his hair stretches the lightest limits of "blond".

* HandsomeDevil: Muraki.

* Shotacon: Kind of. In the first arc of both the anime and manga, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Muraki raped Hisoka when the latter was only thirteen years old.]]
** Not really "kind of."

* MommyIssues: Muraki's (ineffective) FreudianExcuse. Creepy doll lady.

* BoysLove: [[PlayingWithATrope Yes and no.]] Tsuzuki {{lampshade}}s this in the first volume, joking that he would give Hisoka a goodnight kiss, but this isn't a Boys Love manga. Later on, in a plot arc that actually deals with homosexual relationships, Tsuzuki refers to homosexuality as 'icky' ([[spoiler:But to be fair, he was masquerading as a priest at the time.]]), and he seems genuinely {{squicked}} by some lesbians in a different plot arc. Everything is officially kept on the HeterosexualLifePartners level with a bit of StupidSexyFlanders, FreudianExcuse, and gratuitous amounts of {{squick}}y MindScrew, but the [[http://i.imgur.com/ZBJYg4Y.jpg art]] [[http://i.imgur.com/ROcl7AA.jpg speaks]] [[http://i.imgur.com/Tplr6oK.jpg differently]].

* BoysLove: [[PlayingWithATrope Yes and no.]] Tsuzuki {{lampshade}}s this in the first volume, joking that he would give Hisoka a goodnight kiss, but this isn't a Boys Love manga. Later on, in a plot arc that actually deals with homosexual relationships, Tsuzuki refers to homosexuality as 'icky' ([[spoiler:But to be fair, he was masquerading as a priest at the time.]]), and he seems genuinely {{squicked}} by some lesbians in a different plot arc. Everything is officially kept on the HeterosexualLifePartners level with a bit of StupidSexyFlanders, FreudianExcuse, and gratuitous amounts of {{squick}}y MindScrew, but the [[http://www.freewebs.com/virginvalleygallerytsusoka1/Site%20Images/30cTH%20sakura%20petals.jpg art]] [[http://www.freewebs.com/virginvalleygallerytsusoka1/Site%20Images/13cTxH-lapping.jpg speaks]] [[http://www.freewebs.com/virginvalleygallerytsusoka1/Site%20Images/26cTH-sunflower-hug.jpg differently]].

* ArtEvolution: The manga and characters -- especially the male characters -- start out damn pretty, then through the first eleven volumes became drop-dead gorgeous and sexy. In the newest installments, the art changed noticeably once more, possibly because of health issues with the author. Character designs have become distinctly crude and blocky compared to earlier artwork, but remain highly detailed nonetheless.

Began as a {{manga}} in 1997 and was made a 13 episode {{anime}} in 2001. The author took a hiatus in 2003, leaving the series unfinished until January 2010, in which volume 12 was released. '''The series is, however, being continued as of recent notification.'''

* HeyItsThatVoice: Tsuzuki is [[Anime/YuGiOh an extremely cheery pharaoh]] (it's a dead ringer when he angsts). Oh, and [[{{Anime/Pokemon}} James]] is Watari.
** Hard to catch at first, but Hisoka is [[{{Anime/Monster}} Dr. Tenma]] as well as [[{{VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis}} Vayne Aurelius]].

* PortmanteauSeriesNickname: "Yami Matsu".

* ScheduleSlip: There was a stretch of ''seven full years'' between the release of volume 11 and volume 12

* ShotaCon: Kind of. In the first arc of both the anime and manga, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Muraki raped Hisoka when the latter was only thirteen years old.]]

Asato Tsuzuki is a {{shinigami}} who has been working in the afterworld for 70 years (with a low wage), investigating cases related to unnatural deaths. Although he is very capable, he is constantly in trouble because of his laid back and spacey attitude, and his inability to retain a partner. Things seems to improve when Tszuki is assigned to work with the new shinigami Hisoka Kurosaki, a teenager with a very serious attitude, in contrast with Tsuzuki's playfulness. Unfortunately, in their first case together they cross paths with the insane Doctor Kazutaka Muraki, a man who has gotten supernatural powers in very questionable ways. The doctor is involved in a lot of dirty business (including the death of Hisoka), and now wants Tsuzuki...

** Really a MagnificentBastard too.

* WhiteHairedPrettyBoy: Muraki, and one author's note says that she considered giving him black hair but chose white because it was "more mysterious."

* KidsAreCruel: [[spoiler:Tsuzuki was mercilessly picked on (at times violently) by his peers when he was young]].

** [[Though maybe other people could sense it in a way because they beat up and ostracized him when he was young.]]