The Misunderstood Nature of Bludgeoning Angel DokuroChan 220https://i.ur.com/jh9QR6l.gif Oh boy this is a long one... But I have a LOT of feelings regarding this. This 12episode rollercoaster of a series is most definitely a product of its time and contains a lot of dodgier humor that most people would definitely raise an eyebrow at. By dodgy Im referring to the literal plot of the anime. An angel is sent from God to the house of a 13yearold boy the protagonist in order to kill him. The reason for this? That middle schooler is apparently in the future gonna create some sort of device that stops all women from aging past 12 in an attempt to create Lolicon Paradise. Before you light your pitchforks and begin accusing me of being a nonce for enjoying this show simply hear me out I promise its actually pretty tame for this time period considering that theres a lot worse out there. With that out of the way I can actually get into what makes this anime so polarizing and why I genuinely believe this show is so much better than what people think. You see during the late 90s and early 2000s an anime movement of sorts was making itself very known among those who watched it. Moe the short and harmless term simply used to express feelings of cuteness and affection towards a character in similar notes to Kawaii but more lovingly used was a huge factor in early 2000s anime. So much so that most of the anime popular in that time frame contained Moe characters. Take for example some of the most notable Moe girls Tsukasa Hiiragi from Lucky Star and Fuuko Ibuki from Clannad. As well as several others that you may be familiar with. Now what does Moe have to do with DokuroChan? Its simple the Moe trope in anime played a huge role in the popularity of another trope that a lot of anime at the time played into whether youd like to admit it or not. That trope being the aforementioned Lolicon. Hey what did I tell you about aiming pitchforks at me? To understand the root of what makes this anime so special to me we have to discuss some uncomfortable subjects. Hence that forbidden L word. However I digress as you may not realize upon first watch that DokuroChans entire existence is a parody on the state of early 2000s anime culture and the tropes Ive spoken about prior. Now I first handled this show with extreme caution. I was sort of unable to read between the lines here especially at a time in which content containing Lolicon was at an alltime high. Unabashed and unashamed. I gave DokuroChan a DokuroChance and ended up really enjoying it. Heres where we get into the content of the show starting off with our protagonist Sakura Kusakabe. One of those characters you sortof have mixed feelings on at first but begin to love towards the end. Hes a thirteen year old boy who is noticeably very normal but is socially outcast at school and continuously ridiculed without remorse by his classmates several times throughout the series. They even feed him poisonous food during their field trip in order to determine whether the rest of them are able to eat it or not. Why does everyone hate Sakura? Its obvious jealousy since he keeps Dokuro around and everyone in his class just wants a piece of her. Also the reason that Dokuro is even present. Sakuras alleged impending Lolicon status which his classmates seem unsurprised by. However Sakura denies this wholeheartedly and promises to never do such a thing finding the idea disgusting. Sakura has his real feelings intact for a girl named Shizuki Minakami one of his classmates who actually sees and respects him as a person. Onwards is the hardest character to justify in a moral sense but the easiest to talk about. DokuroChan the antihero and questionably murderous angel. She gives this show a unique touch or rather a unique splash. She fits all of the criteria for a generic Loli character in early 2000s standards. Pastel hair big eyes a front of innocence her being an angel and the fact that shes quite literally 12. Her entire personality being obnoxious and violent goes against this trope. Thus making her an entertaining parody of a commonplace character in anime like these. You could argue that this entire show is a baitandswitch. Youre expecting the worst thing but end up somewhat surprised whilst watching. Throughout the series you even get to see genuine progression and development within the characters. The last couple of episodes in the first season genuinely kinda brought some emotions out in me. For this show Im lovingly ranking it an 8.5/10 I understand the hatred towards it as it isnt for everyone. But I just want people to give this show a chance.