Ga-Rei Zero

[Ryllharu]

I must disagree. The whole point of this long flashback arc is to explain why killing Kagura was actually a coup de grace. She's so annoying a character that she's better off dead than lingering in that job she's so ill suited for.

...except this series is marketed as a prequel, and we know Kagura survives this ordeal. Not that I have read the manga, but I imagine she is considerably hardened from the experience, and acts a great deal more mature perhaps more like Mei before she got run through with her own weapon.

Like Everon, I expect the cold brutality of the show to return.

But the series really has little to do with Kagura. She has her own series. And while the intro episodes and certain parts of the series focus on her, the real protagonist of this series is Yomi. She just happens to be the kind of protagonist we know will suffer horribly before she died, and must be killed by Kagura to end the cycle of death that butterfly-boy causes.

[Everon]

[AniYoshi] Ga-rei Zero 08.mkv

Be sure to watch after the credits.

[Ryllharu]

I think anyone debating whether or not to drop the series at this point should definitely watch this episode. That means you Kraco. The build up was all necessary, and now we see why.


For a series where the theme has been betrayal, this episode really epitomized why. All in a single day, Yomi lost everything, except for Kagura. And Mei and her douchebag of a father caused it. Her inheritance, her weapon, her fiancee, her room. All for what? Jealously.

I did really enjoy where Mei became repentant after she touched Shishiou the first time. That a sword of that power could temporarily drive away the madness that had claimed her. As the boy said, that hatred was always within her, but that kind of thing is inside everyone at some point or another. I felt bad for Mei after she realized what she had done...even if it was what she had wanted, deep down.

Just like the line in the OP, this episode was what paradise betrayed looks like.

[Kraco]

What exactly is the boy, anyway? Some sort of Satan's right hand man or what? He's apparently immortal, can teleport, can track anybody anywhere, can summon dozens of high velocity flying spikes like Gilgamesh... He's no ordinary brat for sure.

I liked the moment in this episode when Yomi killed Mei despite her momentary return to sanity. That should happen more in anime. I didn't particularly like how Yomi has to become one of the demons so soon by that annoying, cheap brat. She would have been more interesting as a "regular" person completely cornered and pushed one time too many.

[Ryllharu]

Well, concerning Yomi's demise, the brat is very, very powerful. Mei was no slouch either, and he ambushed her the same way. Yomi got a little further by blocking his first two spikes. Mei fell to those, but the brat can obviously summon them out of nowhere. She could stop two, but I don't think anyone could have stopped the fifty that he materialized out of thin air from less than 5 meters away.

From what I can guess from flashbacks and other snippets of info they've tossed out in photos and other things, the brat is a lot like Yomi or Kagura. He comes from a highly ranked and privileged exorcist family like Kagura with a death stone just like Kagura's father has...just much much larger. I'm guessing that somehow, the family fell out of favor years ago. So then, like Yomi he was abandoned but never picked up the same way she was. He either died then or when the family fell the first time, and returned as a vengeful spirit, taking the death stone into his eye. He has all the same powers of a very strong Type A spirit, but with the huge death stone, developed all the other abilities from that, not just healing like Mei got.

What I liked about the way that Yomi re-killed Mei was that Evil Yomi pulled the exact same thing on Kagura in episode 2, but it was a trick, and Kagura fell for it. Yomi was so filled with rage that she did not. Yomi is a far more ruthless individual deep down. I guess that's why the brat wanted her so bad.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't think Yomi is ruthless at all. I would rather say that she is extremely pure, since even after losing everything, she still manages to care for Kagura so much even if Kagura is somewhat a representation of what she lost.

I think it is Yomi's mental strength that caused her to become what she was in the initial episodes. The brat mentioned that mental strength or a strong will is required to fully merge with the stone, so I think that rather than allowing one to resist its influence, a strong mind will only take it to the extreme.

Yomi is currently my favorite character, no thanks to Kannagi being cheap on Nagi screen time.

[Nadouku]

Emotional episode. Even if Yomi appeared as a gentle and sweet person, the boy manages to find her strongest hate and manifests it as her power. I wonder what kind of hatred, other than the obvious ones, did he manage to emerge from the depths of her heart?

[masamuneehs]

...i just watched episode 7..

is AniYoshi decent? i hate delaying pleasure... and if they're about on the same level as Aero, then I'd be glad to change over...

[Nadouku]

is AniYoshi decent? i hate delaying pleasure... and if they're about on the same level as Aero, then I'd be glad to change over...

Their quality is pretty good and translation is nifty, almost comparable or even better than most fansubs. I would give them a try.

[Buffalobiian]

...i just watched episode 7..

is AniYoshi decent?

From experience, AniYoshi produced solid work.

I should really stop reading this thread, even if it's glancing, since I'm waiting to catch up from Ep 4/5 later in the month.

[masamuneehs]

well, mother of hell, that was a good episode...

the last scene before the ED is just both shocking and almost heart-wrenching. part of you has to wonder if Mei came back to her senses then, or if it was just a ploy, but, either way, it isn't like her pent up emotions and hatred didn't play some part in what she became...

and, wow, that's some serious after the credits shit going down... goddamn...

this show is so confusing. some times it does crap like stupid fanservice and comedic romance, but then it turns right around and has cold blood murders, gore, and this sense of a complete loss of hope. the whole thing is ridiculously dark and i can only think of one other thing that had me wondering "how the FUCK can it ever possibly end well?" like this show has...

[Yukimura]

AniYoshi rocks, upper-mid to upper tier group IMO. They've got depth (finishing stuff) and a solid history of quality unlike Aero who are good so far but still don't have a full series under their belts.

In any case, I thought this was a great ep as well. The suddenness and brutality of Yomi's demise caught me pretty off guard, especially after she so deftly blocked the first attack and seemed so full of confidence. It occurs to me that she had Kagura's sword with her but we know that Kagura gets her sword back, and also that Yomi still has to meet the pistol wielding guy from eps 1 and 2. I'm thinking she's going to quit her current position with the Ministry of the Environment and and go work for the Defense people. As to the effects of the Stone it's a toss up between her fighting it for a while but ultimately succumbing to it after re-dying or whatever effect it has will remain passive until the kid decides to make use of her.

[Ryllharu]

It occurs to me that she had Kagura's sword with her but we know that Kagura gets her sword back, and also that Yomi still has to meet the pistol wielding guy from eps 1 and 2. I'm thinking she's going to quit her current position with the Ministry of the Environment and and go work for the Defense people. As to the effects of the Stone it's a toss up between her fighting it for a while but ultimately succumbing to it after re-dying or whatever effect it has will remain passive until the kid decides to make use of her.

They showed Yomi having the flashback when the Ministry of Defense buffoons showed up on the bridge in the beginning of the episode. It was the same scene we saw the pistol wielding guy have. It was either that or Yomi had the flashback when she saw the stone embedded in Mei's chest.

It seems that the event between the two of them already occurred.

[Yukimura]

That flashback was in this most recent ep? I guess I must have missed it then. Now the question is if Yomi is going straight to chaotic evil or not, and if so how is Kagura going to get her sword back...

[digitalrurouni]

Hmm I am gonna try out Ani Yoshi as well. I wonder if the quality is as good as aero subs at least in terms of visuals. I remember the reason why I switched over from AY to Aero at the beginning of the series was just comparing both the releases by comparing a few episodes, and I went with Aero then.

[Nadouku]

[AniYoshi] Ga-Rei Zero - Episode 9: Download

[Kraco]

No number of dying characters is too high for this series. They are all so nasty.

[Nadouku]

I guess the amount of suffer Yomi gets would eventually get to her, even if she denies it so well. I guess the next episode would either go back to when she held Kagura or expand more on her madness, or killing spree.

[Ryllharu]

I thought it was pretty brutal the way they depicted her vocal chords having gotten cut. Unlike a lot of other series where they are just silent, when Yomi tried to speak, there were pops or faint raspy gasps. That level of realism we rarely ever see (hear) kind of got to me.

I'm guessing that Yomi hates being pitied.

The little brat healing her was also very obviously intended to look like a molestation or rape, but worse still, it was the kind where the victim begins to enjoy it after a while. It was super-creepy. Makes the audience really hate that little fucker.

This episode was really good. Powerful stuff.

[shinta|hikari]

This is my favorite episode by far. Being abandoned by everyone around her, I have to side with Yomi in this one. I hope she cuts up all of those bastards (ie the uncle, Nori and yeah, maybe even Kagura) It doesn't matter what reason they have for not being with her when she needs it the most, be it sincere or out of fear. When your friends, sister, and fiancee start doubting (it doesn't matter if they actually believe it or not) you as a murderer even after you get cut up, paralyzed and muted, you have the right to despair.

As much as I hate him, I have to admire that evil brat for his schemes. The lack of freedom (of expression and of action in this case) is a very powerful tool to instill hatred. The way he let Yomi taste such freedom once again slowly (part by part in fact) is what drove her to accept the jewel. If he tried to force her in one go, maybe Yomi could have resisted until Kagura got back, in which case Kagura will have to die and Yomi will not accept the jewel because her hatred would transfer to the brat for murdering her sister.