Short Synopsis: If there ever was a “calm before the storm”-episode, it’d be this one. This episodes showcases the final interactions Kate, Rose, Rachel and Claire have with their surroundings.
Good: Even though no major events happened, this was a heart-warming episode. Red Garden just continues to deliver.
Bad: Ooh, let’s hope it won’t have a screwed-up ending. *crosses fingers*
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8,5/10

I’m going to be quick with this review, as I can hardly wait to see the next episode. Like mentioned above, this episode showed the last interactions the girls have with their friends. It’s slow, it’s quiet, but it works perfectly. Every scene just has some kind of deeper meaning. I just loved Rachel, as she was in the cafetaria, all alone, drinking coffee. I just loved Claire, as she sees her father in a car next to her, and has trouble speaking. I just loved Rose, as she covers her siblings with a blanket. I just loved Kate, who was given some make-up by Paula. And I can continue for a while, weren’t for the fact that I’ve got episode 22 waiting on my hard-disk.

There was no tension at all. Except perhaps with the only scene Hervé appeared in, in which he watched his sister, and the ending of the episode, but the huge number of hidden meanings in the different scenes made this episode just as enjoyable as the previous ones.

Also, a total irrelevant, but nevertheless interesting fact: JC’s real name is Jeremy Charles Ferhlan.

Short Synopsis: Okay, so Kate doesn’t die. Instead, others do. Quite shocking at this point of the anime.
Good: Kate just continues to be an amazing character; The Deaths were awesome.
Bad: So, the series is going to end at episode 22, while the final two episodes will be released on DVD? I don’t think I can wait that long!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 8.5/10

Oh god, that was an amazing episode! First of all, Kate was awesome when she was in the building. I haven’t seen many characters which acted so genuinely at those points as she did. And can you blame her? I mean, she has been abducted, she wakes up, half-drowsy and then she suddenly sees Lise, whom she thought to have died long ago.

Claire and Rose meanwhile continue their own stories with their fathers a bit. Especially Claire was heart-warming when she found out that the reason her father was in Europe while Randy committed suicide was because of Randy himself. Her father finally has the courage to speak his mind to Claire, and this has some great results.

And then the deaths! Emilio, Hervé’s uncle and the main researcher just die like that. Especially Hervé’s uncle was something I SO didn’t expect at this point. Hervé then makes use of the confusion in order to make himself the head of the Doral. Lise, meanwhile, hit the limit, and transformed into the beasts we’ve been seeing.

The final explanation of the story is also given at the end of the episode. Doral once stole one of the cursed tomes from the animus. This caused the leaders of the animus to be frozen in time, unable to move, only speak. They’ll be able to die when the stolen cursed tome is obtained.

Short Synopsis: Oh God no! Not the brainwashed main character!
Good: Well, at least Souta’s out of the picture for most of the next episode.
Bad: Oh God no! Not the brainwashed main character!
Overall Enjoyment Value: 6.5/10

No! No! No! Hansel and Turude were interesting, because the two of them were well-developed. But Souta just got converted and reverted back in only one episode. That’s way too short in order to allow for good development. It’s a shame. He was a near-perfect character to be watching from the side-lines. He was brilliant when he just observed and commented the stories of the others. But the fact remains that he’s way too dull for a main character.

Ack! I hate this. My once favourite show of the time suffers from the bad-ending-virus. Ah well, at least the next episodes show promise, as Akazukin is going to do what she’s good at: kick ass!

Still, what I’m really hoping for is a BIG role for Ringo and Randagio. Especially Ringo. I’ve been longing for a bit more screentime of her. She was such a major character in the beginning of the show. I’d love to see her back.

I guess I have been fearing this. I didn’t want to admit it, but basic storytelling just has to include the two main characters in a clichéd situation, unfortunately. Please, let at least the final two episodes be worthwhile!

For the past few episodes, I’ve also been waiting for the subs for this show by TV-Nihon, as at one point, they just released their files two dais after the original airdate. Unfortunately, they’ve been releasing in batches again. Luckily, it’s batches of two, instead of four or five. Still, I’m going to be watching the final two episodes raw. This anime showed me that watching raws does have a certain charm above watching the subbed version, even though some of the dialogue goes past me.

Perhaps this is because the raws allowed me to give my own interpretations to the story, instead of TV Nihon’s version. I never really realized this before, but a lot of the meaning of a show does get lost when I watch the subs as well. With the subs, it’s just the minor details that never reach me, while with the raws it’s the major details.