English Dub Review: Dark Gathering “The Old I Watergate: Pleasure District in Flames”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

The trio walks a dangerous path fraught with peril.  Otogiri will not return to her prison willingly, and the spirit that replaced Nagiko is still out there somewhere.

Our Take:  

Now I understand why this S-rank hunt takes a bit longer to accomplish than the other ones.  The spirit of Otogiri, which Yayoi summoned, has bested the ghost child’s grudge with her horrendous curse’s third and final stage.  This stage allowed her to trap the ghost boy in a burning pleasure unit and suck his soul with her butterflies.  Due to Otogiri’s multiple ways of healing herself, the raging spirit bested the young tormented child, breaking his curse.  Unfortunately, another problem immediately arises for the ghost-hunting trio, as they now have to dispel Otogiri before they fall victim to her vengeful rage.

Fortunately, the battle between the trio and Otogiri didn’t take too much time.  Yayoi used the Castle H Ruins ghost to distract Otogiri while Keitaro resealed the spirit.  After Otogiri was back in her prison, Yayoi captured the “Starving Ghost”, promising him she’ll keep him well-fed until his grudge ends.  After reporting the incident to the police, the trio encounters Nagiko’s sister, Namiko Shami, who has the same ability as Yayoi and warns of the spirits taking over humans, which changes their base color.  

This marks the conclusion of the Old I Watergate trilogy, which, while less intense than previous S-rank adventures, nevertheless offers sufficient moments to indulge in a thrilling and eerie experience.  However, that doesn’t mean all is well for the ghost-hunting trio, as the episode also delivered teases on what we’ll be facing next.  One is another powerful ghost that can steal the souls of people’s heads, leaving them brain-damaged.  Another tease is a mysterious young girl named Dorothy, whom Oswald sends to retrieve the spirit that possessed Nagiko.  I wonder how big of a threat she is compared to the other mysterious adversaries the series keeps teasing us with.