The story of Houzuki no Reitetsu is a very simple one. We basically follow Houzuki in his daily life as a high ranked administration individual. Where things really get interesting is that Houzuki happens to live in Hell and be the right arm of King Enma.
You could already guess from this summary that things get hectic really quickly. And you’re right, the daily life of Houzuki is, literally, Hell. Because, you see, Houzuki’s boss does absolutely nothing and Houzuki hates his boss. Yet, this anime makes all of this incredibly funny.
There is not much to say about the plot. It is mostly a comedy after all, there is nothing that really ties everything together except for the basic settings. We often see several stories per episode and some characters re-appear pretty often but that’s about it. I didn’t mind, this is the kind of thing that works best for comedies.
Actually, the thing I found really interesting and a bit amusing is that it is actually accurate. See, Houzuki is basically a high ranked civil servant, and he suffers from something that is often suffered by civil servants all over the world (I talk from experience). That problem is simple: no one around you does any work and that’s exactly what’s happening to Houzuki.
I found that both sad and pretty funny.
However, like in most comedy, what makes things really interesting and great isn’t the initial setting, though the one in Houzuki has limitless possibilities, it is the characters.
First comes Houzuki, the always serious Houzuki whose favorite hobby is something equally un-serious but that he takes too seriously anyway. I liked Houzuki, I found his personality very interesting, he’s the straight man in this thing. Most of the time, I really liked his tendency to be violent while keeping a straight face. Houzuki is amazing in so many ways. He was voiced by Hiroki Yasumoto which made a very interesting character.
Next and probably my favorite was Hakutaku, he is living in Paradise but definitely is equally as demoniac as Houzuki. He is a player, definitely not serious, his only good side is that he is a doctor and thus treating people. Like with Houzuki, I really liked his character design. But what I liked the most about him was that he was voiced by Kouji Yusa who does this kind of devious characters so well it’s actually scary.
Next up is obviously Enma, the good for nothing King of Hell. We also see the appearance of Satan, King of European Hell who goes really well with Enma and we meet Beelzebub, voiced by Katsuyuki Konishi, whose rivalry with Houzuki is instantaneous and somehow very cute.
As far as seiyuu are concerned I have on complain to make, the same one I do every time he is involved and that complain is simple, I do not like Daisuke Hirakawa. (He voiced Momotaro.)
I definitely recommend Houzuki no Reitetsu for everyone who’s up for a good laugh. Welcome in Hell!
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Kuuki
Here is Kuuki, French 20-something anime-baka speaking. I watch too many things, read too much, eat too much and work too much. I'm writing Go for Broke and sometimes more for the Organization. Nice to meet you!
Latest posts by Kuuki (see all)
- Go for Broke: Houzuki no Reitetsu - August 5, 2014
- Go for Broke: Golden Time - July 29, 2014
- Go for Broke: Kill la Kill - July 22, 2014
- Summer Anime 2014: Black Butler: Book of Circus Impressions - July 15, 2014
- Summer Anime 2014: Sengoku Basara: Judge End Impressions - July 15, 2014
