The Duke of Death and His Maid

Alternate Titles

死神坊ちゃんと黒メイド
Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid

Synopsis

“I want to touch you, but I can’t.”
As a young boy, Bocchan was cursed by a witch so that anything he touches dies. Now nicknamed the “Duke of Death,” he has been disowned by his family and forced to live in solitude in a mansion deep in the forest together with only his butler Rob and his maid Alice, the only two people still devoted to him. However, Bocchan’s biggest problem isn’t the solitude but rather Alice herself! It turns out the two are in love, and she uses every opportunity to tease and flirt with him, even though she knows that even touching him would kill her. Will the pure love between these two ever be able to bear fruit, or will the distance between them be too much to overcome?

Background

The Duke of Death and His Maid is a manga series created by Koharu Inoue that has been serialized on Shogakukan's Sunday Webry website since October 2017 and has been published in 12 tankobon volumes as of May 2021. The manga surpassed 1 million copies sold in February 2021.

An anime adaptation was announced in February 2021. It is being animated by J.C. Staff and features Yoshiki Yamakawa (Hi Score Girl, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Kill Me Baby) as director with Hideki Shirane (Date A Live, Futari wa Milky Holmes, Monster Girl Doctor) handling series composition, Michiru Kuwabata (Danchi Tomoo, Penguin no Mondai) handling character designs, and Gen Okuda and Takeshi Watanabe (Motto To Love-Ru, Otherside Picnic, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World) composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is "Mangetsu to Silhouette no Yoru" by Natsuki Hanae and Ayumi Mano (who voice the Duke of Death and Alice respectively), and the ending theme song is "Nocturne" by Mano. Both songs will be released together as a single on June 28, 2021. The anime will premiere in Japan on July 4, 2021 on Tokyo MX and BS11, and will later air on Yomiuri TV and AT-X.

Characters

Bocchan/Duke of Death (Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae)
A boy from a noble family who was cursed by a witch at 5 years old to make everything he touches die. He is disowned by his family and forced to live in a mansion deep in the woods together with only his butler Rob and his maid Alice. He has a somewhat self-deprecating personality due to not being able to interact with others and living a solitary life. He is good at playing the piano.

Alice Lendrott (Voiced by: Ayumi Mano)
A maid who started working for Bocchan two years ago and became infatuated with him. She likes to flirt with and tease Bocchan even though she knows that touching him can kill her.

Rob (Voiced by: Houchu Ohtsuka)
Bocchan’s butler who has been taking care of him since his family disowned him. He has been a butler for 50 years and does his job perfectly, but he often doesn’t take his old age into consideration, which can lead to unexpected problems.

Viola (Voiced by: Inori Minase)
Bocchan’s younger sister. She loves sweets and has a free-spirited personality. She is in love with Rob and often visits her brother’s mansion to see him, even though her mother forbids her from doing so. She is easy-going around everyone but gets too nervous around Rob and has a hard time talking to him.

Cuff (Voiced by: Wakana Kuramochi)
A young witch who is hated by both humans and witches for being a halfbreed. She is aware of her lack of wisdom and often leaves decision making to her childhood friend, Zain. She can control flames and transform into a bat.

Zain (Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya)
A wizard with the head of a bird who can transform into a white crow. He is Cuff’s childhood friend and cares for her dearly. He is also a womanizer who tries to pick up any girl he meets, for which he is often chastised by Cuff.

Walter (Voiced by: Yuma Uchida)
Bocchan’s younger brother. He is gentlemanly and good looking, but he has a severe complex about being the second-born son, so much so that he gets triggered even at the mere sight of the number two.

Music

• Opening Theme Song: "Mangetsu to Silhouette no Yoru" by Natsuki Hanae and Ayumi Mano
• Ending Theme Song: "Nocturne" by Mano

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Koharu Inoue
• Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa
• Series Composition: Hideki Shirane
• Character Design: Michiru Kuwabata
• CG Director: Yusuke Suzuki
• Character Modeling Director: Yuya Hatano
• Art Director: Akira Suzuki
• Color Design: Miho Kimura
• Director of Photography: Shingo Fukuyo
• Editing: Kentarou Tsubone
• Sound Director: Jin Aketagawa
• Music: Gen Okuda, Takeshi Watanabe
• CG Production: Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment
• Animation Production: J.C. Staff