D.Gray-man ep.13

December 29, 2006 | 15 Comments

I can't believe it took me one and a half day just to write this up. I think the problem that I have with shounen series like this one is that up to a certain point, I'm not sure what else I can talk about without spoiling future plots or repeating myself. Anyway, this episode made me realised that Allen gets a royal rapid age treatment from the author. Well, it's either that or General Cross stays forever young. The last time we saw Cross was in a flashback from episode 2 where he knocked Allen unconscious. He looked as young then as he is in this episode's flashback where he's supposed to be younger. As a side note, next week will be a week off for the series. The series will be back on the 9th of January 2007.

The episode begins with Road re-appearing in one of her alternate world, assuring the Pumpkin umbrella that the Earl won't be angry at her. Speaking of the Earl, he has now appeared inside a town and becomes excited to know that there are many people in it because it means he can turn them into Akuma. He immediately visits a widow who's just lost her husband and asks her not to cry because she can have her husband back. First thing first, she has to call her husband spirit and channel it into one of the Earl's doll. Unknown to her, she simply turns her husband into an Akuma which proceeds to kill her as well. At the same time, Allen wakes up from his sleep and asks Komui if Lenalee is getting any treatment. Komui assures him not to worry because Lenalee is getting an acupuncture treatment. Allen then has one more question for Komui. He knows that Komui is busy so it's likely that Komui didn't just come here to check on him and Lenalee.

When Komui doesn't answer this, Allen decides to ask him about Noah's family. Before Komui can answer the question, Lavi appears to tell him that he should ask question like that to people like himself. Lavi then explains how Noah's family has appeared again and again throughout history but they have never been recorded in any written work. Lavi believes that Komui has come here to talk to the one and only Bookman....who comes out and kicks Lavi in the face. Bookman reminds Lavi that his information should only be given out by himself. Lavi argues that one day he'll take over his reign as a Bookman but the Bookman refuses to acknowledge this, calling Lavi too young to become one. In retaliation, a pissed off Lavi calls Bookman "Old Panda" but he gets clawed by Bookman for saying this. Bookman then introduces himself to Allen while Lavi tries to tell Allen that their job is to investigate the truth behind a written history.

After checking Allen's eyes, Bookman informs him that his left eye has started to heal on its own so he doesn't have to treat it with needles. Having said that, he can tell right away that the eye was cursed. Allen admits that he received it when he turned his father into Akuma. Bookman suggests that Allen rest but Lavi suggests that they go out for a walk. As the two walk together, Lavi asks Allen for his age so Allen reveals that he's only 15. Lavi immediately claims that he'll be his older brother since he's 18 years old. He then introduces his name again and asks Allen if he can call the guy "beansprout". Needless to say, Allen is pissed off so Lavi explains that it's a nickname that Yuu gave to Allen. Allen doesn't understand who is "Yuu" until Lavi explains that "Yuu" is basically Kanda's first name. When the conversation top9c turns into the Millenium Earl, Allen suddenly is reminded of what Road said during their encounter.

Allen becomes angry when he remembers what Road said and ends up saying out loud that he became an Exorcist to kill Akuma and not humans. Frustrated with his situation, Allen decides to walk off on his own. When he gets into the city, he passes a group of villagers dressed up in Halloween costumes and became horrified because without his cursed eye, he can't tell which ones are humans and which ones are Akuma. A little girl approaches him to seel flowers but before Allen realises it, the girl suddenly transforms into an Akuma pointing its gun to his head. Thankfully for Allen, Lavi comes in time to smash theh Akuma with a giant hammer. Another Akuma attacks them from a rooftop so Lavi returns the favour and destroys public property in the process. Lavi thinks it's dangerous fighting Akuma in the town so he asks Allen to grab onto the hammer tightly. All of a sudden, the Hammer lifts off to the sky and takes them away from the town.

Meanwhile, Bookman has given Komui a bunch of notes on Noah's family. Upon seeing the look of concern on Komui's face, Bookman comments that Komui must be disturbed to know the existance of these people in addition to the Akuma. Komui, however, denies this and claims that the Exorcists are the ones who have it hard are the Exorcists because Komui has thrown them deep into the Earl's darkness. Bookman assures Komui that it's hard for everyone because in war, the only thing that is equal is the suffering. Back to Allen and Lavi, they arrive inside a forest safely so Lavi uses the opportunity to tell Allen that he's going to get killed if he waits until an Akuma reveals its form before using his weapon. Lavi also knows that Allen must be afraid of humans now that he's lost his ability to distinguish them from Akuma. When Allen asks Lavi what he normally do, Lavi claims that he and other Exorcists suspect that everyone could be the Earl's minion.

Lavi also points out that this is the reason that they wear their coat: to lure out Akuma. This reminds Allen of the time when he was still with General Cross. Back then Allen realised that his teacher always stands out in a crowd due to his coat. When they got surrounded by a group of Akuma during one night, Allen blamed Cross for wearing something that attract the Akuma's attention. Cross, however, argued that there's no point hiding from those he can't see. By wearing the coat, at least they can narrow their suspicion to those who try to get close to them. Allen becomes nauseus thinking about this and asks Lavi if he's not afraid at all. Lavi admits that he's always afraid because someone who's a friend yesterday could be his enemy today. Even those who look like good guys could turn into Akuma as well. Allen remembers that his teacher once said that in order to protect those who need to be protected, one needs to see humans as enemy.

Their talk is interrupted when a group of villagers come with several policemen who want to arrest them for earlier disturbance. However, Lavi immediately threatens the police with his hammer. Lavi's instinct proves to be correct when the policemen suddenly transform into a group of Akuma and so are the rest of the villagers. As Allen fights the creatures, he realises that Lavi, his teacher and other Exorcists constantly see humans as enemies while fighting. Allen realises that all of these times he's been a fool for not understanding what his teacher meant back then. Eventually, there is only one Akuma left who is holding a girl hostage. Allen easily kills the Akuma so the girl runs to Allen to express her gratitude. She, however, turns into Akuma and aims her gun at him. Allen tells her that she's too late and blasts her away. The episode then ends with Allen's patch falling off and him realising that his eyes are completely healed.

Impression:

I was actually watching this in the middle of the dark and the scene where the townsfolk suddenly turned into Akuma in Allen's mind scared the crap out of me. The scene in question reminds me of numerous zombie films where the protagonists are surrounded by many people and some of them may have been infected by the zombie virus. There's just one thing that bothers me about the episode and that is the ability of the Millenium Earl managed to convert that many villagers into Akuma. While I'm sure some of those people have lost a loved one, the likelihood that they are still grieving over their lost one at the same time is very slim. On other note, I like the idea about the Exorcists using their coat in order to attract the Akuma out of their hiding place. Having said that, I think this tactic would be more effective if they work in pairs with one wearing the coat and the other incognito. This will at least minimise the chances of them being ambushed.

Versus: In a battle, which one is stronger? Allen or Lavi? Whose weapon will be far more effective?

Preview

There won't be any episode next week. But the one that comes after that seems like an original filler.

© memento 2003