is a Japanese

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series by Koharu Inoue. It was serialized online via

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

's ''Sunday Webry'' website from October 2017 to May 2022, with its chapters collected in sixteen ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. An

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series adaptation by

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

aired from July to September 2021. A second season is set to premiere in 2023.

Characters

; / : :A young noble who was bewitched since childhood with a curse that kills anything he touches. Because of it, he is disowned by his mother and sent to live in a separate estate inside a forest with only a butler and his maid Alice. ; : :The duke's childhood friend and personal maid who is infatuated with him. Despite knowing that touching the duke can kill her, Alice likes to flirt with him, usually with comical results. ; : :The duke's old butler and his only servant besides Alice. ; : :The duke's youngest sister, Viola likes older men and has feelings for Rob, usually visiting her brother's house just to see him. ; : :The duke's younger brother who was chosen to replace him as the family's heir. Despite that, Walter always has a feeling of inferiority towards his brother and always attempts to surpass him. ; : :A young witch who befriends the duke and Alice. Cuff is skilled with fire magic and works in a circus with Zain. Cuff views the world with a sense of immaturity, and child-like wonder (as evidenced by her affinity for Santa Claus). It is hinted that she has feelings for Zain. ; : :A wizard with bird features and a perverted behavior who is Cuff's companion. Zain always attempts to flirt with Cuff, who rejects him at first but eventually warms up to him. Zain is skilled with time magic, a rare and powerful trait that makes him the target of other witches. ; : :The leader of the witches, replacing her older sister Sade. Like Cuff and Zain, Daleth also befriends the duke and Alice, helping them to look for a way to break the duke's curse. In the past, she was disfigured by Sade and since then she disguises her head with magic as a skull in shame, until Walter compliments her true face, which also makes her fall in love with him. ; : :Alice's mother who somehow has a connection with the witches, despite not being one of them. Years ago, she was apparently killed by Sade but revives later in the story, reuniting with her daughter. ; : :The Duke's mother who disowned him after he was cursed. Behind her strict facade, she still cares for her son and wants him to break his curse so that he can return to the family. She is good friends with Sharon. ; :The main antagonist and former leader of the witches. Sade is responsible for several acts of cruelty such as the duke's curse, Daleth's scar and Sharon's apparent death. It's said that she died many years ago but traces of her magic are usually seen, as a sign that she was not completely destroyed yet.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Koharu Inoue, ''The Duke of Death and His Maid'' was serialized on

's ''Sunday Webry'' website from October 3, 2017, to May 17, 2022. Shogakukan collected its chapters in sixteen ''

'' volumes, released from January 12, 2018, to July 12, 2022. On July 2, 2021, Seven Seas Entertainment announced they licensed the series for English publication.

Volume list

Anime

television series adaptation by

was announced on February 2, 2021. The CGI-heavy series is directed by Yoshinobu Yamakawa, with Hideki Shirane overseeing the series' scripts, Michiru Kuwabata designing the characters, and Gen Okuda and Takeshi Watanabe composing the series' music. The opening theme song, "Mangetsu to Silhouette no Yoru" (Full Moon and Silhouette's Night), is performed by Natsuki Hanae and

Ayumi Mano is a Japanese voice actress. Filmography Television animation Video games Dubbing *''Deep Deep or The Deep may refer to: Places United States * Deep Creek (Appomattox River tributary), Virginia * Deep Creek (Great Salt Lake), Idaho and ...

, while the ending theme song, "Nocturne", is also performed by Mano. It aired from July 4 to September 19, 2021, on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

, BS11, and ytv. Funimation licensed the series outside of Asia. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. Plus Media Network Asia licensed the series in Southeast Asia and will air it on

Aniplus Asia ANIPLUS is an Asian multinational television channel and anime distributor based in Singapore and South Korea. Launched on 7 December 2009, the channel is currently available on SK Broadband, LG Uplus IPTV service, and KT SkyLife. The company als ...

. Medialink licensed the series in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

and streaming it in their

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, Ani-One Asia. At the end of the series' final episode, it was announced that a second season has been green-lit. It is set to premiere in 2023.

Episode list

References

External links

''The Duke of Death and His Maid'' official manga website at ''Sunday Webry''
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duke of Death and His Maid, The Anime series based on manga Crunchyroll anime Japanese webcomics J.C.Staff Medialink NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan Romantic comedy anime and manga Seven Seas Entertainment titles Shogakukan manga Shōnen manga Supernatural anime and manga Upcoming anime television series Webcomics in print