Ga-Rei -Zero- - Episode 5

Ga-Rei -Zero- continues to defy those rip-roaring opening two episodes by carrying on along the path its chosen ever since, although in episode five the focus of the story becomes far less about Yomi and Kagura, instead concentrating on the rather strained relationship between Yomi and Nori.


Although this particular couple are engaged as part of an arranged marriage between two powerful families, things really aren't going to so well on several levels - For one, Yomi and Nori are at each other's throats most of the time, and secondly we also see some in-family turmoil at the choice of an adopted child to take on this particular mantle, especially when there's actually a daughter who is related by blood to accept the role. Indeed, said daughter Mei seems rather keen to take this position within the family no matter what, refusing to fight Yomi's arranged marriage under the auspices of the fact that "she'll probably be killed sooner or later anyhow" - An ominous foreboding for the coming episodes perhaps?

Beyond laying out those details, I can't help but shake the feeling that this particular episode of Ga-Rei -Zero- felt a little like filler, taking a very light-hearted approach to both displaying and rectifying Yomi and Nori's problems with one another. While it did have its amusing moments, and there's something about Kagura that never ceases to be adorable, it really didn't work quite so well for me as the past couple of episodes in terms of the interplay between the characters it depicted.

Still, with those incredible opening episodes in mind, and the fact that the past couple of instalments have been really pretty decent at what they set out to do, I can't be too harsh on this episode at all - Overall, the series still counts as a positive in my book, and thus I remain as keen as mustard to see in what vein it continues.