English Dub Review: Devils’ Line “Safe House”

Devils’ Line is a prime candidate for the title of this week’s ‘Most Improved Series’.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS BELOW)

I called it. Despite my feelings towards its premiere, it was still obvious that Devils’ Line had room to improve rather than being dismissed. Fortunately, ‘Safe House’ features plenty of subtle course corrections that prove just how discerning the suggestions we gave last week were.

Firstly, it’s definitively confirmed that society has been aware of the existence of vampires since before the series of murders from ‘Dark Side’. The most intriguing implications of this arise during a brief discussion of the legalization of human-vampire intercourse (A doctor is required to watch, talk about performing under pressure); given that Anzai and Tsukasa are evidently going to be paired romantically soon the ethics and taboos surrounding their species’ coexistence could be a compelling subplot. Indeed, early in the episode, Anzai confronts a devil suspect over the murder of her husband, serving as a chilling glimpse at his own potential future.

Meanwhile, not only did Tsukasa and Anzai receive far more equal focus this week, but the former’s story wisely departs from her dull introduction. While it’s unfortunate that most of Tsukasa’s storyline is now centered around her growing crush on Anzai, one particularly disturbing sequence should hopefully have some serious impact on her character moving forward. Even amongst bloody supernatural violence, a teacher sexually assaulting a student is depicted as terrifyingly as it deserves, and subsequent scenes hopefully indicate that Devils’ Line won’t shy away from examining how lasting the impact can be for survivors.

Nevertheless, prior to the assault the episode still feels boring, largely due to emphasizing the budding attraction between co-leads mentioned above. Defining the characters by their relationship at such an early stage means that their development is forced to take longer than necessary; there simply isn’t enough context given to construct an elaborate scene when the duo is separated.

OUR TAKE

Devils’ Line is showing the surprising speed at acknowledging its premiere’s issues, although, it remains to be seen whether this can become a lasting and effective change in the future. The improvements are clear, but this HiDive series still has work to do if it wants to become essential viewing.