After being cursed by a witch as a child, any living thing that the young duke touches will wither and die. Feared by his mother, he is sent to live in a mansion in the woods. While secluded, he is not entirely alone. He was accompanied by his aging butler Rob as well as his maid, Alice. Despite not being able to touch him, Alice enjoys teasing the young lord and her lack of fear allows them to grow closer, eventually spurring the duke’s desire to lift his curse.
Oh, JC Staff, you and your slipping animation standards. You’re lucky that the plot here is cute enough to make me overlook them. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like The Duke of Death and His Maid, then head on down below.
For Fans of Teasing Romance
Skilled Teaser Takagi-san
For Nishikata, no one knows him better than Takagi-san. Unfortunately for him, she uses this knowledge to unrelentingly tease him on a daily basis. Nishikata vows to get revenge for all that blushing he has done, but is he good enough to overcome her skill?
What these series have in common is merciless teasing between young people. The girl is more bold and forward while the boy is shy and easily flustered. Both girls are also doing it because they enjoy the reaction.
Please Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro
After an encounter in the library where she teased him about his manga, Naoto Hachijouji is relentlessly teased by a younger first year girl named Nagatoro. She takes every opportunity to toy with him and leave him embarrassed, but over time, he has found a friendship was built between them.
If you enjoyed the teasing of a more seductive and lewd nature, then Please Don’t Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro is the same. It never takes any big steps, but both series are basically just two people flirting with each other.
Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out
Sakurai Shinichi just wants a little peace and quiet, but his senpai Uzaki Hana wants to hang out. This peppy, loud, and well endowed woman just wants to spend time together and tease him. Will Shinichi get the peace and quiet he desires? No.
While Uzaki-Chan Wants to Hang Out is also about teasing a guy you like, the dynamic is a little different compared to the Duke of Death. The female lead is teasing the male lead for his reaction, but she also is just kind of obnoxious.
For Fans of Victorian Settings
Code:Realize
Cardia Beckford used to live a relatively peaceful life with her father. However, she was always feared by the townsfolk for the deadly substance Horologium that was embedded in her chest. It allowed her to produce infinite power, but it destroyed anything her skin touches. One day, she was taken by force by the British military, but was whisked away from their captivity by the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin. Together with Lupin and other companions she will discover the truth about the substance as well as her father.
Most notably, these series are tied together because they follow a main character that can’t touch anything without it dying. However, while the Duke of Death is a singular romance, Code:Realize leans reverse harem before settling on a best boy. Code:Realize also has a more complex plot.
Gosick
Kujou Kazuya is a transfer student to the elite Saint Marguerite Academy in the Southern European country of Sauville. However, because of his Japanese descent, he is shunned by the other students. One day in the library of the school, he ends up following a long blonde hair to a beautiful doll-like girl call Victorique de Blois who can predict the future, including their own currently entwined one. Together, the pair begin to solve the mysteries that are beginning to plague their surroundings.
While Gosick is more about solving mysteries, it has that same Victorian era setting and set of manners. Furthermore, while not immediately apparent, it does later become a romance. A major difference is that a big theme in the series is that there are supernatural things going on, but it is really just unraveled to be mundane normal mysteries unlike the Duke of Death where the supernatural does exist.
Earl and Fairy
In Scotland, Lydia Carlton makes her living as a fairy doctor. Though no one believes her, she insists that she can see and communicate with fairy creatures. However, Edgar believes in her powers, and after rescuing her, becomes her employer hoping that she can help him deal with the many mysteries that follow him.
Both series are Victorian Era-set shows that combine romance and supernatural events. As this is a mystery solver, Earl and Fairy has a bit of a broader scope of mini-plots compared to the singularly set Duke of Death.
For Fans of Lovers Kept Apart
The Ancient Magus’ Bride
After being abandoned by her family, Chise Hatori is a 16-year-old teenager without hope. In order to not have to worry about herself, she sells herself to slavers, only to be purchased by Magus Elias Ainsworth. There she is told she will become his apprentice and, in the future, his bride. Together they work together to build a relationship and work to control her own magus powers that will eventually result in her early death.
If you were into the supernatural-tinged romance set in an older English style world, Ancient Magus’ Bride can scratch that same itch. You also find the main couple kept apart by one’s appearance and the the fact that they know nothing about each other.
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World
For years, war has raged between the Empire and the realm of witches, Nebulis. On the battlefield, a talented young knight is tasked with killing the princess of Nebulis, but he is taken by her beauty and she taken by his honor.
While in The Duke of Death the main couple is kept apart by his power, Our Last Crusade is more the traditional Romeo and Juliet sort of affair where they are on different sides of a war. It also has vastly more action in it, but it is a nice romance as well.
Iroduku: The World in Colors
In this world, there is a minute amount of magic left. Hitomi is a descendant of an old witch family, and also lost her emotions and color at a young age. Feeling bad for her granddaughter, the great witch Kohaku sends her into the past where interactions with her young self and Kohaku’s friends will hopefully foster some growth in her granddaughter.
While different from The Duke of Death in many ways, Iroduku captures that same sort of melancholy romance where you know the couple can’t be together, but hope they’ll find a way to make it work. Iroduku goes heavy on the drama side of things, though.
Do you have more anime recommendations like The Duke of Death and His Maid? Let fans know in the comments section below.