D.Gray-man ep.20

February 20, 2007 | 12 Comments

I kind of like this episode for some reason. Maybe because it has the right amount of comedy and mystery in the same episode. I just realise that some of my favourite D.Gray-man episodes are the ones that involve a good amout of comedic scenes and this one is not an exception. In addition to this, there is a rather nifty additional scene implated towards the end of the episode. That scene alone shows that there are things from the manga that the anime can improve. However, these improvements are usually better achieved in small scale so that it actually adds to the manga as opposed to changing it completely. At any rate, I'm surprised that the animators manage to stretch the arc this far. I thought two episodes would have been enough to cover the entire story.

The episode begins with a flashback where Allen was told by Komui that he'll be sent to Romania in order to find someone. Allen tried to point out that this is not a job for an Exorcist but Komui insists that it's an important job. When Allen sees the photograph in question, however, he recoiled from terror and had to be restrained by both Komui and Lenalee, who convinced him that he's the only one who can do it. A close up reveals that the photo that Allen saw belong to none other than that of General Cross, Allen's teacher. In the present time, Allen and Lavi sense someone approaching them but the person suddenly disappears. Allen and Lavi quickly spot the creature again when one of the villagers who came with them got bitten by it. Upon seeing this, Allen and Lavi realise that the creature really is not Akuma but a Vampire. Allen's voice can then be heard saying that this is why he tried to refuse the chance to look for his teacher.

Despite his fear, Allen tells Lavi he can't let the guy harms anyone else in the village. Lavi agrees and the two transform their anti-Akuma weapon. Their attempt is laughed at by the vampire, who asks them if those weapon are supposed to kill him. With that said, the vampire runs towards Allen and if it's not for Lavi, Allen would have been attacked. Lavi then attacks the vampire from above by transforming his hammer into a large size. Much to his horror, the vampire easily blocks the attack using only his teeth. He then throws the hammer and Lavi using the same teeth. Before the guy can move anymore, however, Allen transforms his anti-Akuma weapon into a large hand and captures the vampire with it. The vampire, however, simply laughs it off by calling Allen and Lavi 'strange children' and asks them if they are monsters as well. He then demands that Allen let him go and sunks his teeth into Allen's anti-Akuma weapon, biting it hard.

Allen and Lavi are horrified about this but thankfully, the vampire himself is freaked out when he realises that the blood in Allen's hand taste bitter. He immediately flees from the area, leaving Allen confused. Unfortunately for Allen, the bit he received caused everyone including Lavi and Timcanpy to be afraid of him. Meanwhile inside Krory's castle, a mysterious woman addresses the vampire as "Master Arystar" and asks the guy if there is something wrong. Arystar explains that he becomes vampire once again and shows a look of regret as he looks at the dead body on the floor. He tries to see if there is a sign of life from the body but he gets no response. Arystar cries again, wondering what kind of monster he's become. He also explains how the villagers tried to lynch him. He really believes now that everyone hates him. Upon hearing this, the girl called Eliade tells him that it can't be help since he's a vampire.

Upon seeing Eliade's bare neck, Arystar barely able to contain his blood urge and sets his fangs on the woman's neck. Before he can bit her, however, he stops himself and backs away from Eliade, asking her not to get close to him. When he tells her that he loves her, she also tells him the same thing and gets closer to him. She asks him not to worry about other people and to live together with her in this castle forever. Meanwhile, the villagers decide to celebrate's Allen victory....from afar. Lavi explains that they think Allen will become vampire after he got bitten by Krory. To prove his point, Lavi also wears a necklace of garlic and carries a large stake. Allen decides to head towards the castle since Arystar took one of the villagers. Later on inside the castle, Allen wonders what vampire has to do with his teacher. He, however, becomes alarmed when he senses a particular smell. Before he can warn Lavi about it, Lavi already passes out.

Allen soon finds himself facing a bunch of man-eating plants. While demolishing them with his anti-Akuma weapon, Allen creates a lot of noise, attracting the attention of Eliade. Eliade is angry to see this, asking them what they're doing since these flowers belong to Arystar. Much to her surprise, the now unconscious Lavi suddenly wakes up and displays a wolf mentality towards her. Allen quickly reminds Lavi that they're about to get eaten. Upon seeing Allen's uniform, Eliade realises that these two are Exorcists. Eliade introduces herself as Arystar assistant and asks the two what they're doing here. After Allen explains that they're looking for a missing villager, Eliade pulls out a casket, explaining that the guy is inside. She then throws it down so the plants can eat the man inside it. As soon as the plant eat the casket, however, they explode, destroying parts of the castle as well in the process.

The villagers who see the explosion from afar celebrate this while inside the castle, Allen and Lavi barely survive the explosion. After they climb back into the castle, they are stunned to find 8 graves in front of them. They quickly realise that these are the graves of the people who were killed by Krory. When Allen tries to check one of the graves, however, he ends up opening it a bit. However, because of this, he finds out that there are star marks on the ground where the victims are supposedly buried. Allen and Lavi realise that these are Akuma marks. Lavi reminds Allen that when the man-eating plant ate one of the victims, they also displayed the star marks as well. This leads Allen to wonder if Krory's victims all of these times are actually Akuma. If that's the case, Allen believes that there's a big misunderstanding. The episode then ends with Eliade observing the two from a window. After a while, she left with an annoyed look on her face.

Impression:

The part where they suddenly shows all of the dead Akuma inside the grave was creepy. That was definitely a good decision on the part of the animators. Speaking of creepy, Eliade on her own is quite creepy. Yeah, they try to make her look like a femme fatale but it doesn't disguise that there's something inherently wrong about her. She's just so calm in these situations. Anyway, there weren't that many comedic scenes in this episode but I really like how the villagers freaked out after Allen got bitten by Krory. It was also amusing to see Lavi acting like the wolf from a typical old-school animation after he saw Eliade. Come to think of it, Eliade's design is similar to Hello Nurse in Animaniacs. One thing that I don't get is how at the start Allen was freaked out upon seeing the picture of his teacher. Maybe it's because I haven't read far into the story but I don't know why the picture of his own teacher terrify him.

Preview

On next week's episode: Eliade reveals her true self.

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