「ワルプルギスの夜」 (Warupurugisu no Yoru)
“Walpurgis Night”

As this was primarily a setup episode for Yuki’s transition into the world of the Giou clan and their battle with the Duras, one of my personal highlights was the Tooko scene with Inoue Marina bringing all the cuteness when Yuki addressed her distantly with honorifics. It was brief and didn’t really have any impact on the overall story, but was one of the things I was looking forward to seeing animated when I read it in the manga. It also happens to be the reason why I said I was looking forward to Marina’s role the most in this series back in the Spring 2010 Preview. With the lack of females so far, Tooko and Takashiro’s personal secretary, Shikibe Ibuki, are getting a bit more attention from me each episode. That in turn has made me realize how much Ibuki reminds me of Kuzuho in Nabari no Ou, except she comes off more like Ichiki since she’s voiced by Amano Yuri.

In terms of plot, things moved rather slowly after the sudden appearance of the Duras last time. For the most part, this week focused on Yuki’s decision to not go with Takashiro and the others to Tokyo, as well as the upcoming Walpurgis Night where Duras apparently come out in the full force. In the case of the former, it was surprising to see how Zess (a.k.a. Luka) isn’t particularly fond of Takashiro’s plans to awaken Yuki’s powers by putting him in danger, so much that he would outright attack him to get that point across. Due to Takashiro willingness to put up with that and insistence that they need Zess for their cause, I’m at a bit of a loss on what to make of his character.

After seeing how pissed off he was about Yuki turning down his offer to move to Tokyo and learn how to hone his abilities, he’s hardly someone I would consider trustworthy. At the same time though, Takashiro doesn’t seem nearly as bad as the necromancer Reiga he has nightmares about, who just so happens to be voiced by the same seiyuu as Kanata — Ishida Akira. Given how Kanata’s been foreshadowed to be an antagonist both before and at the end of this episode, I highly doubt that’s a mere coincidence. As of now though, I’m actually more curious about Takashiro. It’s clear he has a vendetta of sorts with Reiga, but I wonder if my distrust in him simply stems from the fact that he’ll use anyone to settle that vendetta, namely Yuki. I’m sort of leaning towards that being the case, but there may be more to it than that as he happens to have a book of his own, which mirrors the Key of Raziel that Kanata possesses.

In any case, I’m a bit amazed at how many episodes they’re spending on getting things revolved with Uzuki, whom I’ve more or less regarded as a throwaway character from the very beginning. I gather we’ll reach a semi-conclusion of sorts next time though, as Yuki is lured out during the Walpurgis Night despite Zess’ warnings for him to stay indoors.

 

Preview

8 Comments

  1. I’m also surprised that they’re spending so many episodes on a minor character. Well, these episodes also serve as an introduction to the world Yuki will be a part of, though I’m sort of impatient for them to at least introduce Shuusei and his partner. Does anyone know how many episodes are scheduled for this btw?

    Blue
  2. This was a pretty slow episode, but at least next episode looks promising :3. I’m hoping the pace in general picks up a bit more after this, which in theory it should since the “intro” phase should be over by then lol.

    Oh, and random – Luka is freaking badass, and Tooko is adorable <3 lol.

    Yume
  3. I have really been meaning to watch this but I cant get a good chance to watch it.

    “how Zess (a.k.a. Luka) isn’t particularly fond of Takashiro’s plans to awaken Yuki’s powers by putting him in danger, so much that he would outright attack him to get that point across.”
    how many times have I seen that on guys overprotective on their love.

    as ive mentioned before, it reminds me of blood+ except saya finishes the enemies off after hagi weakens them.
    he might transform into a girl later when he awakens.

    amado

Leave a Reply to Blue Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *