(Hi) Dark Gathering

[Frontier]

Keitaro should've known better than to take Yayoi to an S-Rank Supernatural spot, but at least he's trying to be as confident as he can in this situation. Which isn't saying much, but props nevertheless .

So at an S-Rank spot you either end up trapped forever or straight up dead. This definitely isn't the first S-Rank Yayoi has tried to conquer, though she seems prepared enough with her finger spirit, a Graduate, and her alien doll for protecting Keitaro. And hey, maybe it's a benevolent Spirit that doesn't kill anyone? Wouldn't that be nice !

Of course the area has a pretty tragic backstory...soldiers invading, beheading women, a mass suicide of women slitting their own throats and going down a waterfall so they couldn't be used or killed to hurt their own soldiers...pretty gruesome stuff. Perfect for an S-Rank area .

You know it's serious when Yayoi actually gets tricked by the spirit. That Old Lady wasn't some Old Lady. Although I do like how Yayoi realized it wasn't Keitaro holding her hand because he would never be that calm and smiling in that situation .

Of course Eiko finishing up homework has to check her Kei-kun tracker to see how he's doing. And then lose his position. Is she going to drive down there to find him and Yayoi ?

Well, so much for Keitaro's defense. The spirit(s) get at him, make him hallucinate what happened to them, and then curse him with a slit throat like what they experienced. They want to carve into his memory, his very being, what happened to them and make it so he can never leave. Is the main Spirit that headless woman or is it that reality bubble with legs that they're caught in? Are they working together ?

As if being cursed again and forced to enure horrific visions wasn't enough...Keitaro finds what appears to be Yayoi's corpse in a hanging. I doubt Yayoi is really dead, but they seem to be in a really bad position right now, especially with Keitaro basically alone and falling apart. Though it seems like the thing on Yayoi's finger might just save them and she still has a graduate they can rely on .

[grecefar]

that was a nasty illusion, but that what it is... just an illusion and not mean to take it seriously so that yoyoi death didn't came as surprise.

next chapter we finally see the first graduate summoned.

[Frontier]

We now return to seemingly the end of Keitaro and Yayoi...were it not for Yayoi's little thumb spirit that protects her and gets her out of the way of the deadly granny, and thankfully Keitaro's screams wake her up too so she can do what she does best...beat ghosts and capture them !

The ghost kind of gives herself away by making the hanging Yayoi get a creepy grin and latch onto Keitaro, proving to him it wasn't the real Yayoi, although there's still the threat of getting dragged into the roof of the womb sphere and dying like a bunch of other people died. Good thing Yayoi arrived just in time .

Desperate situations called for desperate measures, as Yayoi releases a graduate...the High Priest of the Evil Tongue, who chants sutra's so powerful that they drag anything, living or dead, down to Hell. And even if you slice his head off or cut his mouth, he'll still chant his sutras in any spirit or person in the vicinity .

Yayoi caught a Castle Ghost! Nice .

I guess it goes to show how dangerous graduates are that they're effective at doing the job you put them to, but also will still kill you if you don't seal them up in time. But Keitaro really came through in this episode, from saving Yayoi, finding the Castle Ghost's location, to even resealing up the High Priest !

Wait, the Castle Ghost was the ghost girl from the ED the whole time? And she's voiced by Saori Hayami !? And it turns out she wasn't intentionally malicious, some talisman made her start acting up and what turned her murderous, even if they can't undo the lives she's taken in the process. But while she's still a little testy about them draining her power, she's finally herself again, and she appreciates that. So I guess now they've got a tsundere ghost girl and her split off souls on their side .

Although now you have to wonder who set up the talisman that drove her crazy, and why. Is there a third party driving spirits to become more dangerous? Don't they have enough to deal with as it is ?

Aw, it's so sweet how Keitaro is in it for the long haul because he can't leave Yayoi alone to face these dangers by herself! Watching them hold hands was very cute .

Eiko pouting! Figures she'd be disappointed Kei-kun and Yayoi went to a spooky place and nearly got killed without her, and Yayoi's not about to leave her cousin bummed out as they then decide to make up for it by going to a classic Japanese haunt of a tunnel with a woman in a white kimono. Keitero just can't catch a break .

[grecefar]

Daisoujou, any megaten fan should know him. This guy really helped me in nocturne.

Well keitarou should get use to S rank places because I doubt we will see any less dangerous than that from now on.

[FlareKnight]

Whew boy. They have a few more potential problems in the future. If someone is going around driving spirits crazy to make them more dangerous then they might cross paths with that person or get into a situation even worse than they can predict.

But I suppose they can't exactly stop either. None of their problems have been resolved and that God has his eyes on them. They have to keep pushing onwards and just try not to get killed along the way.

Finally Yayoi got to flex some of her competitive Pokemon . That thing was pretty powerful. Just too bad it was so powerful that it nearly killed them too!

I feel a bit for the Castle Ghost. Not only did she suffer quite a bit before, but even after death she got dealt a bad...hand. At least she's free from that. Obviously getting wrapped up in Yayoi's war isn't exactly peaceful. But if she can get past this then she can probably go back to being relatively peaceful afterwards. Just has to avoid getting wiped out by Yayoi's quest .

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Although now you have to wonder who set up the talisman that drove her crazy, and why. Is there a third party driving spirits to become more dangerous? Don't they have enough to deal with as it is ?

This is something I like about this series, you don't have your main character doing all the moves and enemies simply reacting to them, people and ghosts have their own motivations and just like in LotR, time is ticking

Nice everybody liked the appetizer, are we ready for a three course meal?

[shmaster]

Here she is, one of Yayoi's safe ally ghost.
Yayoi's inventory of pokemon are either blood thristy evil spirit or beatring super da gerous curses even they are not evil incarnate.
Jijindouji is one of those super rare risk free spirit.

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

Nice everybody liked the appetizer, are we ready for a three course meal?

Looking at the 2nd cour preview, we are most likely going to end at the end of the appetizer. Which is right before the Kyoto arc.

[Frontier]

It's always out of the frying pan and into the fire for Keitaro. They barely survive one S-ranked haunt and they're already ready to go to the next one. I mean, you can't leave Eiko out of the fun, right ?

Better find a good place to stash that mummified arm that doesn't get them all arrested for mutilating a corpse !

Also Keitaro once again having his secret passion for getting terrified out of his wits brought up and how that's actually a turn-on for his girlfriend, who has him wrapped around her fingers. Although even I'm not sure he's as into the occult and supernatural as Eiko is .

Oh hey, they updated the OP to show off Yayoi's ghost arsenal and the graduates! We even got to see God too !

So we finally meet the group behind the mummified arm that was messing with the Castle Ghost, and had the granny ghost keeping watch on things. Seem like they're a corrupt order of priests working to try to restore something...the Seed of the Moonless Dawn? AKA The Spectre of Death that Yayoi's been after this whole time !?

Meanwhile, said Spectre of Death is having a passing encounter with another dangerous spirit, Kishimonjin and his feral ghost babies, though they each go on their way...with the promise of a future encounter, probably involving our main trio. But is that giant naked lady spirit Yayoi's mom ?

I love how even dressed up properly for some outdoor ghost-hunting, Eiko is still a style queen .

So the next Graduate is a WW2 vet, but he isn't outright malicious or anything and he and Yayoi have a good deal going where he helps her if she helps him pass on...because the guy was practically immortal during the war and is now consumed by the spirits of the soldiers he killed as they try to consume him despite how sturdy he is as a spirit. And those fallen souls are the ones you need to watch out for .

Pretty handy setup where Yayoi got a TV that could broadcast the presence of the dead soldiers! Too bad they still end up latching onto Keitaro and chew at him trying to get his blood, and making him relive the war and their deaths and all-consuming need for sustenance .

Is that Shinichiro Miki as the Breakwater of the Pacific? Neat .

I love how there's no hesitation on Eiko's part when she sees her beloved Kei-kun in danger and knows she needs to run through a bunch of spirits to help seal up the Graduate. Of course she also seemed to genuinely enjoy her close brush with the supernatural as well, so it's a win-win for Eiko .

Time to hunt down the Tunnel F ghost! And maybe meeting a new cutie in the process .

New HanaKana ED! Just as serene and melancholic as before, while also showing off Yayoi's ghost arsenal, but the scene at the end with Yayoi and Eiko stands out the most. Is there some symbolism behind Yayoi waking up while Eiko doesn't ?

[FlareKnight]

Man...Keitaro's girlfriend may be cute...but she's all kinds of trouble. I'd say bail the heck out, but there's no getting away from that stalker now! And she's not stopping until she convinces him that he's as messed up as she is!

Sure on some level I'm sure there's a thrill even Keitaro gets from being scared. That's just a natural reaction to extreme circumstances. But he sure as heck doesn't want to get killed or deal with all this if it wasn't a necessity. Let's not reduce a desire to help Yayoi with the situation with her mother, removing their curses, and saving Ai's very life down to a perverted kink!

I wonder if there's a chance things end rather tragically for Eiko? Her obsession and almost lustful desire for the supernatural makes her a potential weak link for this group. She does care about Yayoi and does love Keitaro. But while the others have rather concrete reasons to be doing this...Eiko's reasons seem more likely to be manipulated by dangerous elements. Or she might take one step too far while in the heat of the moment and go somewhere that she can't come back from.

The bond between Keitaro and Yayoi remains pretty solid and honestly seems more central to this story than the romantic one with Eiko. If the story wanted to pull a twist and have them lose someone alone the way...she's the most easily removed. Just means they'd have a harder time getting around .

She'll probably be fine though. The more pressing thing is the group that is clearly taking actions in the background. I doubt they'll be fine with what Yayoi is up to or stay out of her way.

[grecefar]

yayoi is merciless, they almost die retrieving an ally and she wants to jump to the S rank place without break.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Man...Keitaro's girlfriend may be cute...but she's all kinds of trouble. I'd say bail the heck out, but there's no getting away from that stalker now! And she's not stopping until she convinces him that he's as messed up as she is!

Sure on some level I'm sure there's a thrill even Keitaro gets from being scared. That's just a natural reaction to extreme circumstances. But he sure as heck doesn't want to get killed or deal with all this if it wasn't a necessity. Let's not reduce a desire to help Yayoi with the situation with her mother, removing their curses, and saving Ai's very life down to a perverted kink!

I wonder if there's a chance things end rather tragically for Eiko? Her obsession and almost lustful desire for the supernatural makes her a potential weak link for this group. She does care about Yayoi and does love Keitaro. But while the others have rather concrete reasons to be doing this...Eiko's reasons seem more likely to be manipulated by dangerous elements. Or she might take one step too far while in the heat of the moment and go somewhere that she can't come back from.

The bond between Keitaro and Yayoi remains pretty solid and honestly seems more central to this story than the romantic one with Eiko. If the story wanted to pull a twist and have them lose someone alone the way...she's the most easily removed. Just means they'd have a harder time getting around .

She'll probably be fine though. The more pressing thing is the group that is clearly taking actions in the background. I doubt they'll be fine with what Yayoi is up to or stay out of her way.

I've seen some speculation that Eiko bringing up Keitaro's love of fear is her just gaslighting him into thinking he does.

[Frontier]

Time to take on the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost! We've even got surprise back-up (and jump scare) from the S Tunnel Ghost! Our trio could use all the help they can get .

I could listen to Eiko/HanaKana narrate horror all day! Well, so long as I didn't have to face said horror myself .

Surprise dark-haired cutie with thigh-highs voiced by Yukari Tamura! Anna is a YouTuber who is as much a fan of the supernatural as Eiko and they build a fast rapport when Eiko is seemingly separated from Keitaro and Yayoi...that's also quickly tested when both girls get stuck in the tunnel, unable to leave. Meanwhile Keitaro and Yayoi are stuck with someone who is decidedly NOT Eiko .

But if you were suspicious enough of some random girl just appearing out-of-nowhere and how she just so happens to know a specific story about this tunnel...well, you'd be on-point, because it turns out Anna is another one of the Old Old F Tunnel Ghosts' victims, and along with the rest of it's victims it's created a system of grabbing more people for the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost to hack and steal the faces off of so the other victims/spirits aren't alone and it gets a new face. Get out of there Eiko !

But you really have to feel for what Anna (and the other victims) went through. She slowly lost her limbs, had her face stolen, and was left with nothing but her skinned face as the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost hacked into her head. Said hacked up body and organs shows up to haunt anyone unlucky enough to get caught in the tunnel loop. And it broke her to the point where she was happy to watch her friend suffer in trying to save her so as to share in the pain, and that same friend tried to do the same thing to Keitaro and Yayoi. Peak tragic horror .

Tunnel Ghost vs Tunnel Ghost! But the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost proves too much and consumes the S Tunnel Ghost and her face, and drags Eiko into it's tunnel...leaving Keitaro and Yayoi no option left but to go in directly to try and save her. And they also have to somehow drag the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost out so they can use a graduate. Should be simple, right? Right ?

[grecefar]

Originally Posted by Frontier

I've seen some speculation that Eiko bringing up Keitaro's love of fear is her just gaslighting him into thinking he does.

I do believe that.

Hopefuly now that she was suffering alone like that and being separate from them she will be a little more mindful about what keitaro feels.

[FlareKnight]

Whew boy. That was a ride.

Even though that girl and the other spirits are dragging Eiko into it...I can't really hate them all that much. In a situation like that people are going to break. Anna was probably the kind of girl that we saw when she first approached Eiko. A pretty goofy girl that loved scary stuff and wanted something for her channel. Just went in there with her friend for some footage and got more than she could handle. No idea how well anyone would hold up when getting their limbs chopped off...and the rest.

Credit to her friend for actually trying to save her. Obviously the results would be the same no matter what since there was no escape. Even if she abandoned her friend it would have ended up the same way. So credit to her for trying. Understandable that her own horrific death and what she picked up from her broken friend in her final moments would utterly enrage her.

Was kind of cool to have a spirit Pokemon battle going there. Unfortunately Eiko while having a solid fighter (sort of) on her side that didn't matter. Her opponent despite looking like just a big lumbering axe fiend is actually pretty durable and surprisingly agile.

That thing may regret taunting and luring in Keitaro and Yayoi. Although I understand it's confidence. If it's smart it probably realizes that they can't fight it effectively in the tunnel. Otherwise it wouldn't need to bait them and would have gone right after them while leaving Eiko for later. So it'll be a huge challenge to both save Eiko and get the fight outside of the tunnel.

I'll be curious if all this has any impact on Eiko. I could see her just snapping back to normal pretty easily. But it'd be interesting if she actually learned a bit from this. Both how horrible true terror is and that Keitaro doesn't have the kind of fetish for fear that she thinks he does.

Will say it was fun having Yukari Tamura in this episode. Great voice actress. And good with characters that get quite into horrifying situations (like Furude Rika).

[Frontier]

Keitaro doesn't step foot for more than two seconds and the Old Old F Tunnel Ghost is already trying to crush his eyes...why do you have to do your boy Nobu dirty like that, Matsuoka!? And then it gets even worse when the thing tortures one of his victims into helping him catch Keitaro and Eiko in a deadly game of tag! Thank goodness for the alien doll !

"Kei-kun" is never going to feel quite the same when you've got a bunch of faces stapled to the tunnel chanting it all creepy like .

Were they not running from a monster trying to kill them, it would be cute how Keitaro is giving his girlfriend a piggyback ride .

Oh no, it's got Yayoi! Good thing Eiko threw in the doll at the perfect moment to save her! And now it's time to finally unleash the graduate on this thing !

The Imprisoned Martyr! A soul that is not malicious but cannot pass on because of all the people he's killed that has haunted him, leaving him with a near-immortal spirit body and an unending desire to dire. And that transfers over to his power, as he's able to instigate a field that imbues anything in the vicinity with those feelings and drains them and as he continually survives their attacks while deliberately weakening himself with his weapons the field gets stronger and stronger. Truly a crazy and dangerous ability fitting for a fearsome WWII vet spirit and the haunted dead that surround him .

Aw man, Keitaro threw Eiko ahead to protect her and got caught by it. Seems like he got drained a bit too. Is he going to be okay ?

Having a grenade explode in its mouth couldn't have happened to a nicer spirit. And even if Yayoi is willing to use him, she's not about to let him get away with what he's done, so she's going to basically neuter him and spike his doll so he'll experience firsthand all the pain and suffering he inflicted on others. She caught him, and she's going to make sure he's in pain throughout the entire experience. Fitting .

(Also it's just kind of funny to me that it's when he's screaming in the doll that you can finally tell 100% that it's Yoshitsugu Matsuoka voicing that thing )

Oh, yeah, I guess they have to clean up all the victims. Some are pure and aren't evil and deserve to be exorcised and passed on...but some are too far gone and vindictive. What about Anna? Well, she was latched onto Eiko the whole time and tried to kill all three of them by possessing the car, but Yayoi isn't about to let that happen. But what's Eiko going to do with Anna ?

Next week: Eiko character development and Ai finally returns !

[shmaster]

Almost here, next week. The worst of Eiko. Hurry, please!

[FlareKnight]

Oh boy. What a ride. The graduates really are some legendary Pokemon in their own way . That poor guy just really wants to die and truly pass on. But he's just too damn strong. He can try to achieve his death but by weakening himself, he weakens the one in there that could possibly kill him. By the end it's just hopeless and he easily scores a win. Great as an ally, but rough for him personally.

All this makes me wonder how the heck Yayoi is going to utilize these things against that God...Some of these skillsets don't exactly cooperate very well. I guess she can really got all Pokemon at it and keep throwing Graduates out until she wins.

I'm glad Yayoi let some sadism flow though. I shared Keitaro's reluctance to utilize such a horrible monster for their cause. So much suffering and torment for so many innocent people...So he deserves all the suffering coming his way. Scumbag gets what he deserves. He'll be used for their sakes but won't be allowed to enjoy himself.

It's a tough call with all those victims. Even the ones that turned evil probably weren't bad people to start. But when tortured and tormented by something that absolutely evil...people can break. Of course fair enough that they can't let people that have been corrupted like that out into the world. The harm they'd cause would be immense and some might turn into spirits as horrible as the one that did all this to them.

I get Eiko's feelings. She knows on some level that Anna didn't start out all that different from Eiko herself. Heck she was probably less warped considering Eiko's personality . But she did try to kill them all and has clearly lost her senses. The question is whether she gets used for their sakes or if she can be redeemed and released. It isn't fair that Anna and all those people had to die. But that's how it worked out. Not sure what Eiko will end up doing.

[grecefar]

Daisoujou and now the martyr, these are some pretty cool and terrifying battles. Keitarou had a close one there.

I guess eiko will now feel some empathy on what keitarou has been feeling now and this is more than she can bite with her thrill.

[serenade_beta]

Since the OP is not much to listen to and I kept skipping it, I just realized the OP changed to include her Legendary Pokemon

[Frontier]

It's been all fun and games for Eiko until she's almost killed by a serial killer spirit and has a spirit popping it's horrifying face out of her stomach. Not to mention Keitaro still has the weariness effecting him .

I love how Eiko always has the most stylish outfits....that top, that skirt, those boots, that hat...absolutely slaying !

It's always sweet how well the cousins get along, and that Yayoi won't think less of Eiko if she doesn't want to get involved in their ghost-hunts anymore. I mean, Eiko is one of the only family Yayoi still has left, and it's been just them together for so long (what about Eiko's parents?), she just wants Eiko to be happy .

I love how even when he's still reeling from a Supernatural attack and thinking on all they've been through, Keitaro still wants to make sure Eiko is okay .

So I guess Eiko really does think that dealing with all this scary stuff is supporting Keitaro and bringing them closer together? I'm still not sure it's quite the turn on for him that it is for her .

Visiting the grave of Taira no Masakado, huh? One of the three great vengeful spirits of Japan. Though time hasn't been kind to him and he's nowhere near as powerful as he was in his prime...but you still better not touch his grave .

Well, Eiko just can't help herself, she loves scary stuff and the sense of fear that propels her to keep following the supernatural or the occult. And that's something Yayoi shares with her no. These Hozuki women do love their frights. No wonder the cousins vibe so well .

Look at Eiko using her big brain to come up with the perfect body to house Anna's spirit so they'll forever be together as BFF's. I'm sure Anna is probably wishing Yayoi had just straight up exorcised her instead .

Oh hey, Ai is back! But she also runs into a temple to Abe no Seimei which causes the God in her react. But it seems like the Spectre of Death has caught his eye as well. Seems like a lot of spirits want a piece of that thing .

That's actually pretty clever of Eiko to shop for cheap houses they can conveniently store the Graduates in for easier access and gives them their own dormhouse. The Omakes practically write themselves. And best of all Eiko doesn't even need to dip that much into her big savings, they're able to find a spot that's perfect and only 100 yen !

I love how the guy selling it is coming in a motorbike and actually trying to get them not to buy the place. Pretty nice and cool of him .

A house that saw a father and daughter kill a bunch of people and then themselves? That also lead a female policewoman to birth a demon baby that killed her and itself? Should two young women really be inspecting this house? Well, they've gone this far, they may as well go in and clean up shop for the graduates .