Claire is an obedient and well-to-do member of the school’s elite student hall monitor program, Grace. When her newfound responsibilities begin to take their toll on her everyday duties, people start to notice. Is there some reason the head of Grace keeps covering for her?
Rachel is a popular and rich club-girl, whose biggest problems were what to wear, and when she would meet up with her boyfriend to go to the next party. When she’s suddenly confronted with the task of fighting inhuman monsters every night, as well as passive responsibility for the other members of her ‘team’, will she be able to drop the façade and fight for what really matters?
Kate has had a hard life for some time now, supporting herself and attending school full time. The last thing she needs is another responsibility, especially one that could get her killed. Her street-smarts have kept her alive in a hand-to-mouth way, but will they be enough to help her win life or death battles on a nightly basis?
Rose is a hard-working girl responsible for the care of her two younger siblings, since her father left and her mother is in the hospital with an illness. Her nature is kind and caring, but that’s no good when beast-men are trying to rip your friends’ throats out. When will she be able to overcome her fear and do more than cower while others fight her battles?
When our girls discover blurry memories resurfacing, they are confronted by a strange duo of brother and sister funeral directors who inform them of their new status as dead people and their duties if they ever want to regain their bodies. Not existing as ghosts, our girls are instead inhabiting a different physical form with amazing new abilities. The only stipulation to this contract is that they’ll be required to fight whenever they are called in order to stay alive. If they refuse: They will be killed. If they die in battle: They are dead (no third chances, here). And the final straw: They must ALL fight, every time. If one chooses not to fight, all four will be destroyed. That’s a lot to throw at any teenager, much less a group of four girls from completely different backgrounds. They must work together to find common ground, and use that bond to fight together as a unit.
This series is intriguing and carefully paced to spread the mystery out throughout the series. The art style is reminiscent of Peach Girl (truly unique and out-of-the-ordinary character designs), and the animation is smooth. Strangely, fighting or superhuman abilities are not a huge story feature in this series, as it focuses much more on the individual characters and their relationships to one another, rather than their (almost) nightly fights against strange men with feral canine features and abilities. If you’re expecting a fighting/adventure anime, you’re looking at the wrong collection. If you’re into complex mysteries and like your characters to undergo huge steps in personal growth over a series, this is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.
My one complaint is the jarring contrast between the title/end credit music and the actual anime itself. One minute I’m deep into a mystery, and a character is truly wracked with emotion, and the next: Loud rock music is waging war on my train of thought! The opening theme is also strangely detached from the story: a peppy, visually happy theme with dancing shoes and fashion scenes more reminiscent of ParaKiss than the eternal girl vs. dogmonster vs. teen life drama. Perhaps Gonzo studios is testing me, or attempting to forcefully broaden my perceptions?