Anime Lectio: The Duke of Death and His Maid Seasons 1 and 2

  1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.

What if you had to go through life without being able to touch the one(s) you love? This is a question that most of the episodes of the anime The Duke of Death and His Maid start with, which would get me to think about what it would be like for me. Living in community would certainly be difficult as I probably/most likely wouldn't be able to do it in the same way as other community members. I probably/most likely wouldn't be able to see my other family members either, at least not in the same way as the other members do/can.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

A duke is cursed as a child for some reason with the touch of death. Because of this, most of his friends and family don't live with him, or even visit him. He only lives with his maid and a butler. His sister visits him sometimes, his brother once, and two witches that befriend him. The maid the duke lives with is obviously in love with him and he also develops feelings for her over time, but his curse makes this difficult for him. Even though he does eventually learn that there's no way he can break the curse, he tries to figure out how to break the curse anyway with the help of his friends, especially his beloved maid, which is what the anime has currently ended with (hopefully, this anime will continue at some point).

7. Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime, or seeing the anime, shed any light on what's been on your mind? The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

What would you be willing to do for the one(s) you love? Even if you were told that there was no way to do what you were willing to do, would you still try to find a way to do it? If you wouldn't, then would you even be willing to do anything for the one(s) you love? These are interesting questions that this anime asks and hopefully, they will answered in the anime whenever it hopefully continues.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime. The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray for our own answers to the questions that came up in my thinking about and reflecting on this anime, as well as for a continuation of this anime in order for the characters to also answer these questions for themselves.