Common Name: Hozuki no Reitetsu
Alternative Names: Hōzuki no Reitetsu, Hoosuki no Reitetsu, Hozuki's Coolheadedness
Score: 6/10, 4/5
Length: 3 Seasons of 13 Episodes, 4 OVAs
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural, Job Shadow, History
Summary: If you've ever considered the corporate world to be hellish, you're not all that far off. Deep within the bowels of Japanese hell the 10 kings of hell judge the deceased are sent to any one of Hell's countless realms for a near infinite number of karmatic punishments. With so many realms and so many dead to monitor, though, it has become necessary for the administration to implement practices and behaviors typical of our own corporate world while still sticking to the trappings of ancient Japanese culture. In this literal bureaucratic Hell, the chief of staff for the Great King Enma, Hozuki, manages all the various realms with his iron club to ensure things are going as efficiently and smoothly as reasonably possible.
Review: There's a pretty common saying that floats around various creative spheres that perfectly describes my issues with Hozuki no Reitetsu and that is that "Too many cooks spoil the broth." As fantastic as it was that this show continued past what Studio Wit, the production team behind the first season, had initially invested into it, things definitely started to swing toward the negative as the work passed on to the show's current owner, Studio Deen. While it's difficult for me to express what, exactly, changed about the show, it felt like Hozuki had lost some of its wit, no pun intended, and tried to compensate for that loss by juggling a large number of gags that didn't have the same punch to them. More than that, it overcompensated for that loss by trying to flesh out all the tiny minutia of the show's irreverent depiction of Japanese Hell, adding a massive cast of one-note gag characters that are briefly introduced and discarded just as quickly until the show needed a face here and there to fill up each episode to the standard 24 minute mark. Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the series as a whole but I have no qualms with claiming that the original is a far better product on its own.
Needless to say, I'll gladly fight anyone who argues otherwise.
Regarding the show in of itself, there's a great deal of information and criticism to consider when this show manages to maintain a weirdly old-fashioned aesthetic while also being insanely relevant to modern Japanese society as well as other corporate hellscapes. For instance, the whole of this show is basically built on the back of a massive collection of legends, myths, and belief systems to properly flesh out the show's irreverent depiction of Japanese Hell. From the 46,000 realms of Hell to the veritable pantheon of mythological characters to pull from, each and every episode has a place or character that could focus on and lampoon for the general amusement of its audience. Yet the monsters, demons, and heroes of these various legends are hardly the point of the show. While characters like Momotaro and the vengeful rabbit of the classic "Kachi-kachi Mountain" do make appearances and even become regulars of the show, they ultimately do little to flesh out their stories for the sake of ignorant or foreign viewers. Rather, what these characters usually do is express two things. Firstly, the presence of these characters in Hell indicates the ultimate nature of their stories and the life they've created for themselves within one of the various realms of Hell. Moreover, their placement within this fictional world works to subtly to flesh out both their identity and that of the realm they have deigned to call home. Secondly, these characters usually take on some personified issue of corporate society as they try to both live and work within Hell.
Though it might be more accurate to say the show analyzes how
they try to do both under Hozuki's cruel, watchful eyes.
Each and every character offers some criticism of various people or practices within the modern workplace that are ultimately detrimental to those around them. Hozuki, for example, is the prime example of a tyrannical middle manager so dedicated to their work that seems sociopathic or robotic in their efforts to see efficiency increase. Yet, at the same time, his stick-in-the-mud personality and violent tendencies speak just as much to that characterization as his place in hell as the Chief of Staff to the Great Lord Enma and manager of the fiery realms of hell. Enma, by that same token, is just as much the character of myth as he is an utterly incompetent superior who would have forsaken his duties long ago were it not for the fear of what Hozuki would do to him if he did. The only real exceptions to this rule of portrayals are a few of the new hires in Hell that tag along with Hozuki daily as he very directly informs them of the various realms and prominent figures they'd likely encounter in their daily activities or days off. In the show's first season, said characters are typically a pair of child-looking imps who mainly exist in the same capacity as someone doing an internship that'll undoubtedly end with employment. From the second season on, however, that role is switched to the similarly ignorant but much more notable pheasant, monkey, and dog companions of Momotaro who have taken up posts as tormentors in the animal cruelty realm of Hell. Excusing these few exceptions, though, nearly every office worker trope is present and on parade from the womanizer who uses his influence to sexually harass women, the sultry office worker, and the grizzled veteran with a heart of gold to the executive's children who pop in from time to time.
I won't lie, one of my favorite additions to the show from the OVAs on is the Zashiki Warashi twins
who are basically Hozuki's surrogate children, in spite of him being a horribly inept parent.
As the seasons of this show go on, though, the formula starts to grow dull and then desperate as more and more characters and tired gags come and go on a whim. Where the first season felt tight an organized, the second is a lot looser with its subject matter. Toward the end, in particular, it was evident that the well was running dry as Mustard, the rabbit from "Kachi-Kachi Mountain," got several segments dedicated to her one after the other highlighting the basic idea that she's a workaholic with no romantic life. This is not to say that all of season 2 is bad though. Quite a few of the newer characters are fun and engaging, if a bit one-note due to their brief appearances. From time to time, there are even some really well-thought-out and insightful skits that are fantastic in their own right. Since these are only dotted throughout the series, the tone, pace, and general level of humor in the show feel like a roller coaster that's only good for jerking you around. Apart from that, the art styles and overall presentation remain roughly the same as the first season, meaning it's all plain but uniquely stylized to represent various depictions of Hell, thus making it stand out from any competitors. So, on the whole, I'd honestly recommend giving Hozuki no Reitetsu a chance. At its best, it's a hilarious and weirdly relevant criticism of society with just enough bite to hurt. At its worst, its just a less humorous tour through hell and all the lore Japan has to offer piled up for easy consumption. So, no matter what state it's in, there's always something to be gleaned from this show.