Karin ep.4

November 24, 2005 | 4 Comments

Unfortunately this episode feels a bit compressed to me. It seems as if the writers were trying to cram 4 chapters worth of material into a half hour episode. As a result, some scenes may be a bit hard to understand for those who haven't read the manga. I'm not sure how many episodes this series is going to have but if it ends up being 13, then that explains why the writers are in a hurry to include as many chapters as possible. Anyway, the animation also feels a bit off this time with the colours not looking as nice as in the previous episodes. Thankfully the characterisation reminds spot on although it's really hard to ruin this since the manga already does a good job of establishing each and every character traits. I am also glad to know that the VAs for Karin and Kenta did a good job in two key scenes within this episode.

The episode itself begins with Karin preparing another Bento for Kenta while remembering how he said that her Bento was delicious. Karin claims that she's happy to hear this because even her family never say anything like that to her. She suddenly becomes embarassed but excited on her own when she realises what her words mean. When she gets to school, however, Karin becomes unsure as to how she can give the Bento box to Kenta. Maki, who overhears Karin's words, thinks that her best friend is in love since it's quite unusual for Karin to bring a hand-made Bento for a boy. Karin, however, denies this and tells her friend that she just wants to repay Kenta's kindness for always helping her when she's in trouble. Maki seems to buy the excuse but nevertheless thinks that it's unfortunate that Karin has been afraid of boys ever since 'that day'. It appears that at one point when she was younger, Karin was bullied by a group of boys.

Unfortunately when Karin is about to give the Bento to Kenta, she finds out that he already left the class. Kenta is now seen inside the library thinking about how his mother has changed ever since that day she got bitten by Karin. She now seems energetic in everything from doing laundry to looking for new employment. Kenta realises that he should be glad that his mother is happier than she used to be. Nevertheless, he can't help but felling a bit weird about the entire incident and decides to research the two bite marks on his mother's neck. As Kenta reads over a textbook about vampire, he starts to wonder if Karin is a vampire as well. His thought, however, is interrupted when Karin arrives in the library to give him the Bento. When Karin notices the vampire book on Kenta's hand, however, she quickly makes an exit before Kenta can say anything else. Her action, however, only serves to heighten Kenta's suspicion.

At the same time, Karin is in a panic mode after the incident. She wonders if Kenta knows about her identity as a vampire. She is then reminded of the time when her mother asked her to ensure that no one knows her vampire identity because human is likely to assume her as a monster. Upon remembering this, Karin wonders if she should alter Kenta's memory and is about to press Anju's number when she hesitates about it. In the end, she decides to make Kenta happy for now instead of resorting to extreme measures. Unknown to Karin, her action is being watched over by a big scary bat. Meanwhile, Kenta tries to watch over Karin to see if she exhibits any sign of vampirism. Unfortunately for him, Karin doesn't seem to be similar to any other vampire. First of all, she likes sunshine and on doesn't seem to have any problem holding a cross. On top of these, for a vampire, Karin seems to have an unhealthy love for Garlic.

Kenta, however, can't shake his belief that Karin really is a vampire and at one point can't help himself from starring at Karin. Karin who sees his scary expression tells Maki that she thinks Kenta has been watching over her. Maki quickly points out that Kenta has always been watching Karin when she comes to school as well as during lessons. Karin is freaked out after hearing this and quickly makes an escape when Kenta tries to talk to her. Later on that day, as Kenta runs home in the middle of rain, he spots Anju standing in the middle of the street. Anju then eeriely tells Kenta that it seems Kenta has been thinking a lot about her sister. Having said that, she warns Kenta that her sister hasn't done anything bad so Kenta shouldn't try to corner her. She then asks what Kenta will do once he finds out the truth about her sister. The encounter seems to have traumatised Kenta to the point that he dreams of Anju and Boogie-kun offing him.

At school, Karin becomes flustered again when she encounters Kenta so she has to rest at the sick room. When she gets home from school, however, Karin is hassled by a guy who presumably tries to prostitute her. Thankfully for her, Kenta arrives in time to scare the guy off. After the guy flees, Karin sobs and tells Kenta that she was so afraid. This causes Kenta to wonder if back then he had mistakenly thought of Karin as a call girl. Because of this, he apologises to Karin tries to tell Kenta not to apologise because after all, he saved her. However, as she said this, she feels her blood about to go geyser again so she makes a hasty escape. Kenta is confused about Karin's behaviour but before he can do anything else, he is startled by Anju's presence. Anju tells Kenta that she saw everything and is willing ot give Kenta a chance. Meanwhile, Karin herself encounters a woman inside a park and decides to sink her fangs on the woman.

Unfortunately for her, Kenta sees everything, confirming his suspicion that Karin is a vampire. Karin immediately recalls a flashback to the time when she first nosebleed back in middle school. Ever since then, Karin got bullied and laughed at by her fellow students. Back to the present time, Karin completely panics when Kenta opens her mouth and notices her fangs. She immediately orders Anju to erase Kenta's memory but Anju doesn't seem to react to Karin's request for help. As Karin cries, she begs Kenta not to tell this to anyone else because then her family will then be driven away from their home. Much to her surprise, Kenta tells her that he's not the kind of person who tells other people's secret. Moreover, he believes that anyone who drives out anything else out of their home are trash. Their conversation, however, is interrupted when the woman wakes up and Anju falls unconscious. Kenta ends up taking Karin and Anju home but on their way back, Ren appears and asks Kenta to return his sisters.

Impression:

I have to say that I don't like the fact that the anime shortens the flashback to Karin's first nosebleed experience. I thought that if I hadn't read the manga, I wouldn't have known that Karin's father had to risk getting roasted in order to save her daughter from possible experimentation. I do, however, like the scene where Maki defended Karin after she got teased by other students. I don't think the scene was in the manga but I think it did a good job of establishing the friendship between the two girls. Another scene that is equally as good is the Karin and Kenta scene towards the end. I always like the scene because it contains a subtle message about human's tendency to fear what they can't understand. In this scene, Karin tries her best to beg Kenta not to reveal her secret because she knows other people will be afraid of her existence. I feel that this kind of subtle message seems to have gone from the anime version before but thankfully it remains intact this time around.

© memento 2003