First impression:
When I thought it couldn't get any more epic...It apparently did! From the start to the end, I was so hooked and I can't believe I held my breath for certain parts. There's so many things to unpack here so let's start!
Scenes:
1. Dream
The episode starts off with Allen's dream. He was stabbed by Crown Clown and the background filled was debris all around. The destruction all around kind of reflects his emotional instability within him. I like how the dream is a one sided conversation by Allen and the Noah's theme song ringing softly in the background really do add to the haunting atmosphere. Mana's appearance in Allen's dream is disturbing too. The dream plays out innocently enough but every question, notice that Allen's name slowly gets cancelled off. I have a few theories about this. This could be reflect the identity crisis or crisis of faith that Allen is suffering from. Or it could be that Allen was never Allen at all. Remember Cross said Allen was a host to Neah but what if Allen was not just an unfortunate host? I don't think Allen's original name was called Allen. Anyways the dream is very impactful especially in setting the dark and morbid tone in the later part of the episodes.
 |
| Allen's Dream |
2. Neah
Of course I have to mention this no matter how brief it was. The moment when Allen woke up from his dream and his eye colour was yellow I was like "Oh shit! It's Neah!" I mentioned previously how Allen when being vulnerable or in shock can lead to Neah waking up and this episode once again proves that. I'm pretty sure between his last appearance and this one only a few days has past. The fact that he can wake up so soon again signifies how Allen is slowly losing control of himself both mentally and physically. When Allen woke up as Neah, his facial expression was just so disturbing and it brought chills to my spine! Props for the anime evoking that emotion within me.
 |
| Allen waking up as Neah |
3. Tykki's suffering
It has been long established that Tykki had always embraced his dual personality; the human side of him and the Noah side of him. However this episode as explained by Wise, he is paying the consequences of it. He is suffering because neither personality can coexist with one another and their clash was slowly destroying him. Though I would like to think there was something more deeper in his suffering than just that. When he was in pain, he said, "he is hurting" and he wants "shounen to explain to him why" to which I immediately associated shounen with Allen. Since Tykki is the Noah of Desire, he may have picked up Neah's desire. If that is the case then we know that Neah's intention is not that simple after all but then again the face that Allen/ Neah was showing was rather evil looking.
 |
| Joyd suffering |
4. Allen and Marie
Marie is a cool character and this scene makes me appreciate Marie even more. After this scene I would love to know more about Marie especially when he stated specifically that Kanda was the one who saved him. He is a good character that did not have much chance to shine during the older anime and I'm glad the new one went ahead with this current route. The most important thing about this scene is still Allen trying to reclaim his identity or his beliefs. He is in a dilemma and like Marie stated he is special. He is probably the only exorcist out there who wants to bring salvation to Akuma's soul which is probably due to his ability to see the Akuma's soul and emphatise with their suffering. This scene reinforces Allen's vulnerability. It's sad to see Allen lost but it is effective in enhancing this sombre mood that the episode presents us with.
 |
| Allen and Marie |
5. CROW
So it has been explained that Kanda and Alma Karma are second exorcist while the CROW are third exorcist who are genetically modified into half Akuma taken from Alma Karma cells. This is courtesy of the remains of the millennium egg left behind which Link picked it up and submitted to the Leverrier. The CROW were once humans whom could not accommodate an innocent but still want to do their job to save mankind. At first I was put off by their arrogant behaviour especially Toukusa. But towards the end I felt a bit sad for them. It was only natural they couldn't understand the pain that Allen felt when he couldn't save the souls of the ones that were bound to the Akuma. The Order seems sketchy now and I really wonder how many more inhumae experiments have they engaged in. From their stance I can see things going ugly when they realise what's happening to Allen.
 |
| Allen realising the souls bound to the Akuma's are lost as well |
Like I mentioned previously, the CROW are likely to be more powerful than the exorcist in terms of the magnitude of their powers. We see Toukusa so easily dragging the hoard of Akuma's down when Allen he himself was struggling and feeling a bit weary. However clearly they do not possess an innocence hence they have very limited effect on the Noah. Seeing Toukusa getting so easily wrecked by Joyd only shows how powerful Noahs are and that they are way out of league for the CROW.
 |
| Toukusa easily defeated by Joyd |
6. Introduction of the 13 apostles
All 13 of the Noah are reintroduced well except for Skin bolic who was killed by Kanda previously. However now we know all 13 of them with Tykki being reborn into a new body as Joyd. As stated by the Earl, once one of them is killed, they will always be reincarnated hence there is technically no way one could even defeat them. What I would like to point out more is the fifth apostle, Wisely the Evil Eye. Wisely is as his name suggest the wisest of all. He knows a lot of things and he can also read minds of people. Hopefully with his power we can understand more about Neah's real motives. Also, it's interesting to note that Wisely is very close to the Earl.
 |
| Noahs |
7. Wisely and Kanda
Oh yes the end is another cliffhanger again! But the direction that the anime is heading is definitely to Alma Karma's ark. Wisely is a know it all and it is no surprise that he knows about "Alma" as well. In the earlier part, we kind of were already hinted at the possibility of Alma Karma being revealed. Since Alma's cells were used for the Third exorcist project it shows that Alma is still alive. I'm very interested to see how episode 5 will turn up especially with a cliffhanger like this!
 |
| Kanda falling into Wisely's trap |
Overall, this is a exciting and thrilling episode like always and I'm enjoying the new haunting and sombre tone that the episode presents us with. I can see D. Gray Man Hallow going for the emotional aspect instead of just plain action sequences. Now let's lay the positives and negatives!
+ I take back my word about Road previously. She looks so damn adorable in this episode!
+ Neah's aura just reeked evil and the Noah music added on to the haunting atmosphere
+ Allen's emotional turmoil is effectively portrayed throughout this episode
+ The fighting scenes are good as always
+The ending is so tensed. The soft voice of Alma and Kanda's overwhelmingly loud heartbeat effectively bring out a tensed atmosphere.
- The art. Allen's hand that has merged with his innocence looked so ugly! The previous anime drew it better with better colour contrasts and texture rather than this current plain red.
- The art again. I remember how Akuma's used to look distorted and grotesque but now they look like furry animals gone wrong.
No comments:
Post a Comment