Anime Pilgrimage RTT

Karin – episode 2

November 13, 2005 on 2:38 pm | In Karin | 1 Comment

“My preference is embarassing!”

“Mutant vanpire Karin: the fang aims at an unhappy person.”
In this episode we learn more about how these particular vampires work.

In this episode Karin finds out that Kenta works at the same restaurant as her. On her way home she runs into her brother, who has decided to help Karin find her “affinity” for blood; the type of person that she is drawn towards. They run into Kenta’s mother, Fumio, who looks set to kill herself. As they talk, Karin realises that the blood that draws her is that of the unfortunate … and that she desperately want to bite Fumio, permanently down on her luck.

The plight of Fumio was pretty sad, and it was an issue largely caused by her weakness. To see Kenta living with her and to see that she’s desperately trying to keep him in a good fashion, when he would be happier if she was just content, gives more insight into the character bound to be this series’ love interest. Kenta’s speech to Karin that she should care about more than money and that she shouldn’t do morally compromising things seemed to be less aimed at Karin than at Kenta’s general life situation.
The “hilarious misunderstanding” that this series is so far based on is not that hilarious, as the characters are treating it seriously, and for once it’s kind of believable; as believable as a vampire biting a man being confused for kogalism can be, anyway.

The conceit of vampirism in this program is interesting as it does not seem to be a fatal act. There is even an attempt by Karin to suggest that the act of vampirism is one of generosity as it sucks the negative feelings out of people. This is the part that I am dubious about, because a bite can essentially change the entire attitude of the person. Fumio, at the end of the episode, is entirely different to how she has been. This is probably going to be played for comedy, but I certainly hope her meekness is not going to be replaced with arrogance.

Something else that I noticed was that there were a lot of shots of Fumio’s reflection: in cups of coffee, in the window of the cafe and so on. I was disappointed that there were no comparison shots to show that Karin and Ren don’t have reflections of their own.

Karin is a clumsy character and there is something endearing about her. A vampire comedy has to have vampires who aren’t too sinister at its centre, but are her fangs ultimately for the good of the land or the detriment of all they bite?