D.Gray-man ep.14

January 9, 2007 | 23 Comments

I hate fillers. Most of the time they add nothing to the original plot and the individual storylines usually are not interesting or special either. Unfortunately, this one is no exception. I think if it's not for the ED theme, I might not have downloaded this but now that I have, I may as well cover it. As far as new characters go, the female Akuma freaked me out a little bit. But then the writers had to ruin the mood by showing the same Akuma shooting projectiles from her breasts. The award for worst original Akuma design in this episode, however, goes to be the Godzilla wannabe. I think the only good thing about this episode is the humour which shows Lavi braiding Kanda's hair. Speaking of Lavi, fangirls would probably be happy to know that this episode features a line where Lavi tells Allen that they should hug each other to keep their bodies warm. This is the first time I see an episode where the writers intentionally give fanfic fodder to the fans.

A girl notices a heavy snowstorm outside and asks her father if he's still going. Her father tells her that she can stay here if she wants but the girl decides to accompany her father. Back in Exorcist HQ, Allen orders a lot of foods from Jerry and gulps it up immediately much to Lavi's amusement. A Finder then informs Allen that Komui wants to brief him about a job. Komui informs him that there is a village which experiences snowstorm, which alternates with frequent bouts of hot winds. He believes this phenomenon is related to Innocence and therefore he wants Allen and Kanda to investigate the matter. On their way out of the HQ, Lavi and the Bookman decide to tag along so the four of them board a train together. During the train ride, Allen falls asleep while Lavi tries to tell him a story so in retaliation, Lavi uses black marker to make Allen's face looks stupid. He then goes to annoy Kanda by trying to braid the later's ponytail.

When the group arrives at their destination, they are greeted by a Finder called Michael. Despite the heavy snowstorm, Kanda decides to set off immediately. When Allen questions his decision, Kanda tells him that Allen and the others can make snowman instead. Not wanting to be outdone, Allen decides to go as well. On their way, they encounter the girl and her father passing out in the snowfield. Allen, Lavi, and Bookman decide to take the two back to a nearby inn. Kanda, however, insists on continuing his journey so Michael the Finder decides to accompany him. Later on, the group finds out from the owner of the inn that the father and daughter have been looking for the Leaf of Revival. Bookman informs them that this is a Norse mythology about a leaf, which is capable of reviving those who didn't die from natural cause. The old woman, however, thinks that the weather always takes a turn for the worst when people look for the leaves.

The next day, the snowstorm ends but in its place, a hot wind blows throughout the area. Allen suggests that they go to the area where the hot wind comes from because he thinks that's where the Innocence is located. Before they can leave, however, the girl, whose name turns out to be Elda, and her father set out to leave as well. Upon seeing the father and daughter using ski to leave the area, Lavi gets an idea to do the same thing. Unfortunately for Allen, he can't use the device well and ends up kissing the ground. Allen then tries to warn Elda and her father about the danger of entering the forest but Elda's father thinks that Allen just want to get the Leaf of Revival all to himself. Allen denies this and tells them that they're Exorcists, those who exterminate Akuma. Elda's father scoffs and claims that there is no such thing as Akuma. Lavi thinks that the fact the Leaf of Revival's existence suggests the presence of Akuma.

Allen advises them not to revive the dead because then they will regret it. Elda's father suddenly becomes angry and tells Allen that he doesn't understand anything. Before the guy becomes even more volatile, Allen and Lavi decide to leave the area. Upon seeing the two heading towards the forest, Elda's father tells her daughter that they should follow the two because he believes they know something. Back in the Noah family's house, Road is bored because Skin has taken the umbrella whose name is Lero. To alleviate her boredom, she asks another guy called Tyki to play with her but Tyki simply catches the doll that Road throws at him and uses it to tell Road to play on her own because he'd like to read his book in quiet. Inside a forest, Skin is pissed off because his underlings who look like normal villagers have not been able to find the Innocence. Meanwhile, Allen and Lavi find out that the weather has changed from hot to cold again.

Allen immediately worries about Kanda but Lavi is far more worried about the Finder who follows him. When Allen looks back, he realises that Elda and her father have been following them. Because of this, he thinks they should find a place to rest. They decide to dig a large hole and use it as a shelter away from the cold. Elda's father is not happy that he gets to share the shelter with Allen and Lavi but Allen reminds him that the one who followed them was him. When Lavi sees Elda putting a blanket on her father, he suggests to Allen that they embrace each other to keep themselves warm. Needless to say, Allen is not keen on the idea. The next day, Elda wakes up and finds Allen and Lavi about to set out again. She apologises for her father's rude behaviour. She actually doesn't believe that the Leaf of Revival actually exists but goes along with her father for his sake. Apparently he wants to get it because his younger son died in fire.

Elda's father then wakes up and they decide to continue their journey. On their way, however, they encounter the three villagers who work for Skin. The villagers pretend that they are lost and ask Allen if they can go together. Allen, whose left eye works again immediately realises that these three are Akuma. Since they've been busted, the Akuma don't waste time to reveal their true self by exploding their human body and revealing the grotesque form. Allen and Lavi begin to fight the Akuma and ask Elda and her father to run away. Since the Akuma can't attack Allen and Lavi easily, they decide to attack Elda and her father. With hide and attack tactic, the Akuma quickly manage to overpower Allen and Lavi. Before they are defeated, however, Kanda appears and uses Kaichuu Ichigen to attack the Akuma. After seeing Kanda, the Akuma decide to retreat. The episode ends with Allen opening his eyes and see Kanda and Lavi before passing out again.

Impression:

I thought that Finder is actually Toma without his mask but as it turns out it's just another Finder called Michael. I always wonder why Toma is hiding his face but with the amount of fillers that we have to go through, I doubt we'll get the story soon if ever. Anyway, the comedy is probably the highlight in this episode. Seeing Lavi trying to braid Kanda and drawing stupid expression on Allen's face was amusing. Ditto with Kanda telling Lavi to just stay behind and make snowman with the others while he goes off to find the Innocence. Another hilarious moment was when Allen kissed the ground after trying to ski down the slope. I've done the same thing when I first learned how to ski. That was beyond embarrassing when it happened and I'm still embarrassed when I think about it. It didn't help that my coach was a jerk and a half and had too many students to be able to give personalised advice to individual students who need one.

Moving along, the part where Allen encounters the three villagers who then morphed into Akuma was quite good. The idea of seeing 3 unknown strangers wanting to join your party is creepy enough but the part where they explode their body was quite horrific. Unfortunately the Akuma forms that appear look rather ridiculous. Another thing that annoys me is how inconsistent a filler like this can be. Last week Allen and Lavi managed to wipe out so many Akuma easily despite Allen's inability to see them with his eyes. However, they are easily defeated here by no more than 3 Akuma. I realise this is done to give Kanda a chance to show his power but it makes Allen and Lavi look weak in comparison. As for the story, it's obvious that the leaf of revival will probably contain the Innocence that Allen and the others are looking. The message of the story will probably something along the lines that you can't bring back a dead person without a consequence.

Ending Theme

「Pride of Tomorrow」 by JUNE - AVI format (26MB) | PSP format (14.9MB)

Definitely a lot better to me than the OP or the 1st ED. The song feels like 80s anime song and that's probably part of the reason why I like it. I've been hankering for some 80s anime lately so this song is a nice reminder of the kind of songs that one would normally find in 80s song. I've never heard of JUNE before but he seems to be a decent singer.

Preview

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