Dusk Maiden of Amnesia is a 12 episode anime plus an OVA based upon the manga series. The anime starts off on a weird note. First of all, you don't know what the tone is until a fair bit in. You feel as it is supposed to be serious but then anime tropes come into play to inject humor and all the tension vanishes. The second episode reaffirms that the anime is not overly serious and likes to play around.
The plot is equally muddy. The first episode jumps straight into the thick of things, leaving the viewers easily confused. It portrays a scene from two different angles. The first time from the view of an outsider, and the second time we see what is really happening. Then the second episode jumps back in time to tell us how all this came about. It's an odd way to tell the story and it doesn't quite work.
The anime itself follows Niiya Teiichi, who is our typical high school teenage boy protagonist. There's nothing really remarkable about him except that he attends a school which has been expanded upon to the point of it being a maze. He ends up getting lost and finds the ghost that he had been hearing rumors about. The ghost is of course the titular character, otherwise known as Kanoe Yuuko. She had died in the school many years ago but had forgotten how or why, thus she became a ghost. She's not a malevolent ghost though and is nice enough when she meets Teiichi. The slight unique aspect here is that Yuuko can interact with the real world, meaning that Teiichi can actually touch her.
Afterwards, the pair forms a friendship, against the unlikeliest of odds no less. They form the Paranormal Investigations Club in order to investigate Yuuko's death and the anime just follows the various members that join and their activities. Two more characters join the club which rounds out the cast. Okonogi Momoe is an energetic girl who easily believes any ghost stories she hears, but cannot see Yuuko. She is indebted to Teichii as she believes he saved her from a ghost.
The other club member is Kanoe Kirie, who also has the ability to see Yuuko. Despite putting on a brave front, she is scared of ghosts. She is the more serious character of the group, and feels like she is the only one genuinely wanting to find and understand the circumstances behind Yuuko. Throughout the anime, another evil spirit is frequently mentioned or glimpsed at. This malevolent ghost forms part of the mystery. What doesn't help is that you feel like it is connected to Yuuko in some way, especially when she admits that she appears as what the person wants to see or expects. Thus she is usually the source of most, if not all, of the ghost rumors swirling about the school.
The anime has a darkish color palette, with a lot of black and red. This dark tone feels somewhat at odds with the humor at times. The animators do not waste any chance to have some sort of fan service scene involving Yuuko and Teiichi acts as your typical embarrassed protagonist whenever this happens. Although this starts to tone down as the episodes goes on. The midway point of the anime is where the plot threads start to merge. What seemed like episodic content eventually becomes linked and the nature of Yuuko starts to become clear. This is also the point where the anime becomes a lot more interesting with some sudden and unexpected events happening.
Despite only having twelve episodes and released at a time when the manga was still ongoing, the anime provides a definite conclusion. The lead up to the big reveal was done fairly well as it kept your interest and it wasn't a cop out. There were times where it felt the pacing slowed too much but on the whole, it was satisfying. The ending was definitely a sad one. You don't realize how much you like the characters until the end and it feels a bit emotional, especially with the sad music playing in the background. This is the point where you feel you haven't wasted your time watching the anime.
The OVA takes on a lighthearted and silly tone compared to the main episodes. It's pretty much just the characters investigating some more ghost rumors and having fun in general. It makes a nice change after all the depressing scenes but at the same time, doesn't add a lot to the series. Overall, Dusk Maiden of Amnesia feels like a sleeper hit. It starts off normal enough, a bit confusing, but it slowly creeps up on you until you realize that it's actually quite engaging. The second half in particular is where the anime hits its stride and becomes a pretty decent show.
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