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DRAMAtical Murder



Seragaki Aoba works at Junk Shop Mediocrity and lives a simple life by supporting himself and his grandmother. Neither is he involved in gangs or participates in virtual fighting games such as Rhyme which seems to be popular among the people at Midorijima. When rumors of disappearances are heard and Aoba and his All-mate Ren find themselves drawn into an unwanted Rhyme challenge, he discovers abilities wasn't aware of and is inevitably drawn into the chaos.

Now that he is involved, he has to deal with the mysterious forces disturbing the peace in the island. To achieve the peaceful life he was so used to, he has to ally with or fight the new faces.

From left: Clear, Koujaku, Ren (dog), Seragaki Aoba, Noiz, and Mink

Set in futuristic Japan, this 12-episode series features decent fight scenes, intriguing technology, and colorful characters. The series is adapted from the BL visual novel of the same title. Hence, some hints at romance between some of the boys will be shown although it is not exactly the point in the anime.

The story is interesting enough although like most series with romance as one of its focus, the protagonist is usually forced into a situation he doesn't like but all the while possessing some hidden skills he is destined to use for just such an occasion. DRAMAtical Murder is no exception to that, including cliche characters that the protagonist meets in his adventures. 

I haven't played the game yet so I can't make a fair comparison of the differences in both media. I can however safely say that the supporting cast were introduced and given enough screen time and their goals and relationship with Aoba were shown clearly --- usually the point in making a tv series adaptation.

Except for the few nuances about Aoba's miscellaneous abilities which didn't seem to be useful in the story, the series is good enough to watch even if you're neither into the game or boys love. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

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