(Hi) Dark Gathering

[Frontier]

This wrathful child ghost has a hankering for meatballs! Human meatballs, that is! That he projects as his vile and murderous step-mother. Honestly I don't blame Keitaro for puking .

I actually have to appreciate the kid went to the trouble of drawing Eiko's braided hair in his illustration. I know it's spiritual magic, but still .

Okay, they need to remove the kids' sketchbook, but like...how!? Especially when he nabs Yayoi even with her finger lightsaber. Though smart of Keitaro to prioritize saving Yayoi, he knew there was no way they could get out of this without her, even if it meant Eiko having to leave him .

Good job Eiko! Luckily she's got a "Gal Pal" to take some of the blows for her, though Yayoi ends up saving her from the spectres of the step-mom and her murderous lover with some nice assist from the alien ghost .

Props for the plan Eiko! Sometimes all you need to do is just hit a kid with a rock .

This kid is very hands-y...as in he has a whole legion of hands that can consume him and transform him into an even more dangerous form even without his sketchbook (which you can also see in the OP). So this fight is definitely not done .

"Come at me motherf#$%er" Yayoi-chan, language !

We were waiting for it all episode but the Graduate is finally unleashed! Though not before making sure she got hit so she'd target the boy immediately instead of our trio. Because you don't want to get on the wrong end of Otogiri Oiran, the Soul-Sucking Courtesan .

Well, figures the kid would see Otogiri as his mom, though he scrapes her skin and he ends up having to deal with her soul-sucking butterflies that enrich her beauty as she sucks the vitality of anything in her vicinity while also infecting him from the same pestilence she dealt with while she was alive...though the kid recovers quick with some meatballs from the spirits around him. This fight isn't over yet .

The last phase of Otogiri's curse is instigated by making her see her decayed and corpse-like face, reminding her of her past as a top tier courtesan who had everything going for her...her beauty, her prestiege, a man who was willing to buy her freedom whom she cherished, and even an apprentice...until said apprentice Kurenai poisoned her man, said man beating her and ruining her body in a rage, and Otogiri left desperate to restore her beauty to clear her name even as she completely falls apart and loses everything. I honestly can't blame her for burning herself and Kurenai alive in her last act. And that's her final act as a ghost too, a self-sacrificing Burning Manse that consumes her and her opponent as she laughs maniacally. And Yoko Hikasa knows how to laugh crazy .

[grecefar]

that was hilarious from yayoi xD

of course tragic past of otagiri oiran and her powers are great, but I still think martyr is way cooler.

[Alchemist007]

This and Kusuriya featuring poisonings at brothels in the same week.

[gecd]

Originally Posted by grecefar

yeah, the boy's story was really dark. That mom was pure evil.

but ngl, she is hot.

[Frontier]

We now return to the fierce supernatural Pokemon Battle between Otogiri Oiran and Meatball Kid! They've both been unleashing their powers and respective healing abilities, Otogiri Oiran finally clinches her victory with the Burning Manse, a move that turns her environment into an enflamed pleasure quarter as her butterflies absorb and incinerate everything they touch, not only healing her but cutting off her own opponents from whatever they can use to heal themselves until they're burned alive. All the while she dances in joy at her victory. I feel bad for anyone on the wrong end of those flames .

Of course now they have to seal her up, which is easier said than done because she's not just dancing obliviously...she was trying to throw our trio off so she could get her butterflies in place to take them out and free herself. Luckily Yayoi brought the Castle H ghost so she can protect them and blind Oiran. It's Saori Hayami vs Yoko Hikasa in a ghost off .

Wrap like you've never wrapped before Keitaro! Especially before Eiko gets incinerated !

They did it! Of course Oiran's not going to just go back without cursing them and saying she'll suck their dynasty dry when she's finally free like you'd expect from an evil spirit. Which is kind of funny because she had to go straight for their dynasty when Keitaro and Eiko haven't even had sex yet .

They can't forget about the Meatball Kid...and he's so weak now that he can finally see that the people in front of him aren't his step-mom. He's consumed so many innocent lives in his rage over his situation and the woman he hated, and there has to be consequences for that, but all the same he is just as much of a victim. And Yayoi can totally relate to losing her dad. So the least she can do is put him to use, feed him the spirits that deserve to be consumed, and take care of him in her own way. And Yayoi finally somberly catches the I Watergate ghost .

I guess if one thing came out of this adventure, it's that the trio can't keep doing this without the full team anymore. It took all three of them to succeed in this adventure .

They did have to report the bodies, but this is the first time the trio have directly interacted with the police. I'm glad they're cover stories held up (and that they worked that out) so they're not suspected of anything or in legal trouble...though they did end up bringing a dangerous spirit to the police station with them .

Oh hey, Shami had a sister! Namiko! Also voiced by Aya Hisakawa! And she seems to be an even stronger medium than her sister, and knew she'd been possessed. She seems like she has a lot of knowledge and experience that would be useful for the team, and Yayoi, in their endeavors even if Yayoi doesn't feel like she needs to apprentice herself at this point. Though I fee like Namiko channeling her grief for her sister into rage over those that possessed her will bring her back in the path of our trio sooner rather than later .

Those poor, poor police officers...they didn't deserve that. And now Oswald's "sister" Dorothy picked up the ghost and their organization knows about the trio, this Gothic Lolita has her eye on Yayoi! Going back to school is about to get really complicated !

[grecefar]

it's finally over and the trio may have found a powerful ally besides the S-rank ghost. Namiko looks powerful.

I mean, it would be good a beach or pool chapter you know?, I little break would be nice after all that horror without break but not chance

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by grecefar

it's finally over and the trio may have found a powerful ally besides the S-rank ghost. Namiko looks powerful.

I mean, it would be good a beach or pool chapter you know?, I little break would be nice after all that horror without break but not chance

Didn't they mention a haunted onsen? I would love seeing Eiko in a swimsuit though .

[Frontier]

The trio managed to survive another successful yet dangerous night of ghost-busting, although just in time to realize that while they've been away Ai's been in a train accident, the God and the Spectre of Death have exchanged blows and words, and things are rapidly escalating around them .

And, unfortunately, Golden Week is over so the trios' movement is limited, especially for Yayoi who still has to go to school. She wants to immediately ditch and focus on helping Ai, but she doesn't want to do wrong by the Hozuki's for taking her in by slacking off in her studies...though luckily Keitaro and Eiko are already planning to head to Kyoto for Ai !

Some random Goth Loli shows up out of nowhere, says she goes to your school and has the same supernatural sight as you, and wants to go searching for ghosts with you? There are, like, all the red flags hanging over this situation. Though she didn't technically lie about going to the same school, Dorothy was a real girl, one who was just really freaked out by Yayoi and all the spirits hanging around her (that samurai looked cool!). Except that's not really Dorothy in that body .

Intellectually I knew Yayoi probably had to go to school but it feels weird seeing her in a normal class setting. And she actually has people she talks to, if not friends then people who don't avoid her, like the class rep trying to keep her in-check along with her gal pals or the class tough guy always picking a challenge with her. And of course Dorothy ropes them all into investigating the seven haunts of the school. More and more red flags !

There aren't any really dangerous spirits and the seven haunts are nothing more than just typical school gossip...at least until Dorothy marks the walls and sends the spirits on a path to consume each other and feed a spirit with murder on the mind and that consumes the entire school when they release it, trapping Yayoi and the other kids .

And who is this bloodthirsty spirit? A bullied teacher who was framed for touching one of his students and lost his family in the process, who killed himself (with shears!) and cursed his students out of revenge. And now he haunts the school playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek with kids, whom he sees as nothing more than the same students who mistreated him, as he hunts them down to consume their souls. I wonder if he already got his original class ?

Dang it, Dai-chan! You never relax or leave your hiding spot in these kinds of stories! I wonder is he really killing these kids or just mentally breaking their very essence? He was left a shell of himself who could only say "I'm sorry" but is he past the point where Yayoi can save him when they deal with the ghost ?

Poor class rep...phones never really work in horror movies, and when it seems like they do, it's all just a trap. All this girl is guilty of is ditching after-school tutoring once. Luckily it seems like Yayoi DOES save her next week, but they still have to deal with this thing and Dorothy as well .

[grecefar]

man, all the stories in this anime are so dark. I hope those children who ruined that teacher life for fun had some karma bite them.

[Alchemist007]

Yayoi ready to duke it out with a guy double her size, nice.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by grecefar

man, all the stories in this anime are so dark. I hope those children who ruined that teacher life for fun had some karma bite them.

I'm assuming they were his first victims and after taking them out he lay low until Dorothy boosted him with other spirits.

[gecd]

Poor (real) Dorothy. I hope she is not dead and her soul still exist somewhere. Maybe trapped inside the doll that (ghost) Dorothy always bring with her?

[Frontier]

Class rep, no! Good thing Yayoi knows how to make an entrance and swing a bat (and to use a bat as a ranged weapon), saving her in the most cool way possible! And Alien Ghost is a master of chomping off ghosts !

Seriously, though, Alien Ghost just chomping and chomping like he's Pac-Man !

Well, pictures in place of crows head is definitely...one way to denote all the people you still have trapped in your dream world. Luckily Yayoi is quick on her feet before she almost got caught before freeing herself .

Once they find the brain of the thing, the Alien Ghost wastes no time chomping it up. But while his feelings and desire for revenge became corrupted, ultimately the teacher was just a victim who didn't deserve this, and he deserves to rest in peace. And even if he came to hate his students for what they did to him, he still cherished them as his students once upon a time .

The Alien Ghost has evolved! It almost looks like he's achieved his final evolution, he's just missing his memories. Sounds like he's voiced by Hochu Otsuka too! And Yayoi made a deal with him that she'll keep him in battle until he's fully restored and a 100% graduate .

Oh, of course Dorothy would call emergency services for an incident SHE caused. Though all the same it's good that everyone is okay, even Dai-chan, though now pretty much everybody will have immense trauma when it comes to crows. But at least they're alive .

I guess when an incident becomes national news, it makes sense you'd close the school down for a bit, which works out great for Yayoi because it gives her more free time. Which is the exact same though Dorothy had, as well as testing Yayoi's abilities, and Dorothy reveals more of the plot going on and her group's connection to the Spectre of Death .

Yayoi pretends she's also a possessed spirit to get an "in" with the possessed spirit group as she and Dorothy test each others' mettle, and Yayoi truly makes first contact with their main antagonist group. I guess on the plus side, the real Dorothy is still alive and in that doll...even if the spirit keeps torturing her in the process .

Eiko walking around the hospital as the most stylish woman ever and finally mentioning her parents are out of the country in case you were still wondering what happened to them .

So it turns out class rep and Eiko might be two birds of a feather, girls who are cute, polite, and normal on the surface...but also have a dark and morbid fascination with the supernatural and horrific bubbling to the surface, especially the thrill of it alongside their companion. And Eiko seems intent on fostering this girls' desire for horror and making sure she turns out like Eiko. She even has those dark, hallow, eyes !

I love how Yayoi has a Shami app on her phone. And now it seems like they're going to be building up their own forces for the confrontation with the Possessed Spirits group. It's time for war !

A minute of Keitaro in case you thought this was going to be an episode without him! Looks like the finale is going to be everyone getting prepared for the next stage of the conflict .

[grecefar]

Originally Posted by gecd

Poor (real) Dorothy. I hope she is not dead and her soul still exist somewhere. Maybe trapped inside the doll that (ghost) Dorothy always bring with her?

you called it.

it was funny "if she is lying, she is just a child so there is not need to worry."

they don't know who they are messing with.

[Frontier]

It's nice to see Keitaro get in touch with Ai. It's rough watching the poor girl blame herself for the train accident. It's not her fault she's become the plaything of supernatural and cosmic forces and other people get caught in the crossfire! And at least now she can look forward to her friends coming to visit her in Kyoto .

You don't really need to twist Eiko's arm to put up surveillance, she's probably already bugged Keitaro's room as much as is physically possible. And we see how she rationalizes it in her head .

Okay, so they've come up with a pretty tight and effective plan for taking on the God! 1. set up a curse perimeter around Kyoto with the Graduates they've collected and using Oiran and the Martyr's draining powers to weaken the God. 2. use substitutes to transfer the effects of the hex onto the God, so the people of Kyoto are safe and he bears the full brunt of it. 3. Defeat that God and come out happy! Really the main complication is going to be clearing out the haunted spots they need to put the Graduates in to establish the field they need. That might take half a season all to it's own

Eiko's exposed cleavage! Eiko's exposed thighs! One last Eiko treat for the road !

I love how Yayoi totally respects Eiko's game by coming up with a clever substitution method, though even she's a little thrown off her effectively mass-producing it all on her own. But that's Eiko for you .

Jeez, now the God isn't even letting Ai get a good nights sleep! First she's a beautiful bride, then she's being haunted by her dead aunt (the God's previous vicitm?), then she's getting stripped and turned into a pure Japanese bride with the promise of the God taking everything important to her and eviscerating her when her time is up...and that time is coming soon. They need to get to Kyoto and save Ai as soon as possible !

They've gathered up their team and Keitaro has come up with a handy remote Graduate release system that's perfect for their plans! When it gets souped up by Eiko, it'll probably be even better! Great job Keitaro !

They hide the arm to prepare for whatever move the possessed spirit group is going to make...but wouldn't you know it, they're ALSO going to Kyoto, all to prepare the Spectre of Death. As if they didn't have enough to deal with. We even got an eyecatch with the antagonist group all facing off against our protagonists .

Let's Gho...sssst to Kyoto! And it really means a lot this time that Keitaro is joining in enthusiastically! Of course with the possessed spirit group, Shami's forces, the God, and the Spectre of Death all moving towards their own purposes, it looks like Kyoto is about to turn into a supernatural warzone! Good luck, gang !

[Huh...?]

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for final thoughts:

9/10

Wow, I did not really have any expectations of this anime before its airing, but it was pretty damn good. And actually kinda scary at times too. Hanazawa also did a really good job as Eiko.
Don't really have any specific complaints, but I won't give it a 10/10 because it just ends in a middle of the story. 10/10 is only for animes that I would absolutely suggest others to watch, and something that doesn't end rarely deserves that score.

And also, Pokemon

[stray]

Solid 8.5/10 I would say, I really enjoyed this all around though as I understand it there's nowhere near enough content for S2 right now. Hopefully someday though, I've already picked up the manga but am slow to get into it.

[grecefar]

7/10. It was a nice anime overall but I guess I'm not that into terror anymore and some of the stories were too much.

preparations are done and a plan to beat that scum god that deservers the worst for torturing Ai like that. If she were to wake up with her memories loss, I would've been really mad.

[Alchemist007]

While it had all the elements of a great anime, a few too many repetitions in the way the plot went held it back. The horror elements were more on the creepy side than scary. There was also a bit of comedy which could be hit or miss.

7/10

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?