Karin ep.6

December 8, 2005 | 4 Comments

I really have no idea why but for some reason this episode is far more enjoyable than the one before it. I think I'll assume that this has to do with the bright colour scheme that this episode uses as opposed to the dull grey-ish colours that were used in the previous episode. I also think that comedy-wise, this is a lot funnier. Although the storyline-wise, I really have no idea how close it is to the manga because everything seems to be all mixed up. As a side note, the special edition DVD is now up for pre-order at Amazon Japan. The extra includes a reversible cover, a DVD box, and a special CD featuring radio program. In addition to these, 3 special 'Dragon magazine' all stars cards, 32 page booklet, and an undecided special present for first-pressed buyers will be included in the DVD as well.

The episode begins with Karin preparing Bento box for Kenta while on the other side of the city, Kenta wakes up inside his house and finds his mother in happy mood as usual. Unfortunately, his mother still hasn't been able to find any kind of job. Later on at school, Maki teases Karin for bringing a lunch for Kenta. Nevertheless, Karin presses on with her plan and presents the Bento for Kenta. Kenta feels bad about this but Karin tells him that she should be the one who feels bad (for asking him to keep her secret, I assumed). But Kenta assures him she shouldn't feel that way because he promised her and he feels lucky to receive her bento. As he said this, Karin notices a rice grain stuck on Kenta's cheek so she points this out to him and the two laugh about it. Unknown to either of them, the entire situation is seen by a little bat that then goes back to Maaka's residence to report the situation to Anju.

This creates a bit of jealousy on Karin's father who hopes that Kenta would not dare to go further or else. That night, Karin feels pleased with herself and thinks that maybe her nosebleed will be over now. Unfortunately for her, she still has the urge to nosebleed when Kenta gets near her the next day and wonders if the Bento didn't do any good. Later on that day, Karin tries to find something that is cheap and can build stamina for Kenta but since meat is too expensive, she settles in on Garlic! Her family is, of course, unhappy about this and orders her to keep the thing away from them. Later on in the kitchen, Karin can't help but wonder why Kenta is still not happy. That probably has to do with the fact that he has to work extra hours to help his mother. The next day, Kenta tells his mother to eat her portion instead of giving it to him. His mother thanks him and tells him that she got a prophetic dream of getting a job last night.

Later on that day, Karin bumps into Kenta again in Julian's and promptly has to get back to the change room because she feels her nosebleed threatening to burst. Meanwhile, Kenta's mother is seen attending her job interview but unfortunately because she has no qualification or driving license, she fails to get the job. Back at Julian's, Karin is asked by the manager to give some cheesecake to Kenta so Karin uses the opportunity to visit him and ask Kenta if there is something that worries him. But in the end, it's Kenta who ends up asking her if she's okay. Unfortunately for Karin, she accidentally knocks over her teacup and in her attempt to clean it up, trips herself into Kenta's body. Before anything exciting can happen, however, the two are interrupted by the arrival of Kenta's mother. Karin, therefore, decides to go back after telling Kenta to talk to her if he has any type of problem.

The next day, Kenta's mother decides to go to another interview, but much to her surprise, the job description which was advertised as 'Telephone Appointment' turns out to be a telephone sex service (:O). Kenta himself is not having much luck at his work place. Because he is really tired, he ends up spraying the manager with water, dropping the plate, and entering at least 114 Donburi (rice dish) into his ordering device when the fact is the customer only orders 1. So the manager and the chef have no choice but to eat them all. What kind of a restaurant is this? Surely someone will check first before making that many orders. And I'm surprised Kenta is not fired because of this. Anyway, the manager informs Karin the Kenta has been working non-stop everyday lately. Later on, Karin finds out that Kenta is trapped inside a freezer after so she decides to save him. Strangely, when she opens the door, purple-coloured mist begins to pour out.

Eventually, however, the mist disappears and Karin manages to save Kenta but because she gets to close to him, she nosebleeds again. Later on, Karin tells Kenta that she's a bit sad because Kenta always guards her secret and yet she can't do anything to help his problem. Kenta tells Karin that he and his mother always on the move so he doesn't have anyone he can confide in. Kenta thinks it will be nice if his mother can get a job here, prompting Karin to realise that this is Kenta's real trouble. Meanwhile Kenta's mother goes home looking sad when she remembers that she kicked a prospective employer's crotch because he tried to harass her. It also appears that Karin's bite mark finally disappears from her neck so she becomes depressed again. Meanwhile a blond guy with a large hat is seen arriving at an airport and saying how it's been a while since he was in Japan.

Impression:

I wonder what that purple haze/mist is supposed to be. Is it supposed to represent Kenta's unhappiness, which is why Karin reacted badly to it, or is it some kind of real power that Kenta possess. At the moment, I'd like to think that it's the former since there have been no signs of Kenta actually possessing any kind of special power before and I don't remember him having any power either in the manga. Well, not the volumes that I've managed to read. Having said that, I think the storyline has reached the point where it feels quite different to the manga version. If I remember correctly, Kenta's mother actually managed to get a job before she loses Karin's bite mark. In this version, however, she already loses the bite mark before she can get any kind of job. It's probably for the better though since the bite seems to only induced momentary happiness.

In other words, the happiness that Kenta's mother shows is more akin to someone who got happy after a few drinks at the bar. The next day, the person will still have to face the headache and the harsh reality. Anyway, it is interesting to know that the guy who is supposed to be Kenta's rival for Karin's affection already appears in this episode. I don't know if this is such a good idea considering there are so many unresolved plot threads but the anime writers seems to like mixing all sorts of different plot into an episode instead of just concentrating on one plot before moving on to another. I personally prefer them to tackle one plot at a time but maybe that method will make this adaptation a bit boring especially whenever the focus turns into Kenta's mother and her search for that elusive job where she doesn't get sexually harassed by her employer.

© memento 2003