If there is one particular niche in the horror genre that anime has managed to exploit to great effect, it is certainly the 'vampire' story.  From Vampire Hunter D and Vampire Princess Miyu in the 1980s to Hellsing and Blood: The Last Vampire in the current decade, vampires have made a major impression in the world of anime.  Now from Central Park Media comes Descendants of Darkness, a 13-episode series produced by WOWOW in 2000.  In the universe of anime, vampires are far from the only denizens of a heavily-populated supernatural world and the vampires are not always the bad guys; witness Tsuzuki Asato, the hero of Descendants of Darkness who is one of the shinigami, the elite undead who can protect the living from the attacks of cruder, evil vampires and demons.  Tsuzuki and his partner Kurosaki Hisoka bring a Bondian suavity to their supernatural crimefighting that makes this series a delight.  The first DVD volume in the series includes the first three episodes, and has a retail price of $29.99.  Volume #2 is due out in March, followed by Volume #3 in May and the final disk in July.

 

Descendants of Darkness is based on a popular manga series by Yoko Matsushita that appeared in Hana to Yume magazine.  The DVD includes a special feature about the comic series, character profiles, and an Art & Sketch Gallery, as well as English and Japanese soundtracks.  Central Park Media does not currently have the rights to publish the manga series in English, but if the anime does well, it is possible that American audiences may eventually get to see the original manga series as well as the anime.