Dark Gathering – 08

「神の花嫁」 (Kami no Hanayome)
“Betrothed to Divinity

Dark Gathering’s latest episode introduces a brand new character as Keitaro takes on a new student to tutor. But when Ai, the flighty gyaru girl is revealed to be dealing with a brush-in with spirits, it turns out that the logic behind her difficulty with learning stems from how often she’s tormented by ghosts.

COULDN’T BEAT HER SMILE

Ai is a very fascinating new character because there’s way more to her than meets the eye. She initially comes off as someone who hadn’t taken her studies seriously, and much of this winds up being reflected in how hard it is for her to pay attention to Keitaro’s instruction. But it looks as if a huge reason why she’s like this is also the main reason behind her clumsiness.

It’s interesting how it subverts this by honing in on supernatural interference as the explanation behind Ai being perceived as flighty. Without being plagued by her ghost brother or ghost fiance, Ai is shown to be clever, kind, and compassionate. There are still gyaru eccentricities, but while most shows would lean on the mean-spirited humor behind her being silly, it paints Ai as someone who would have had an easier time around others had she not been contending with both the trauma of losing her brother and the torment of being under the thumbs of multiple spirits. I got a bit overwhelmed this week, so the most I could say is that it’ll be neat to see how she pans out as a new friend to Keitaro, Yayoi, and Eiko now that they can mutually bond over their wish to hunt spirits.