Ok the last series of events with this show honestly felt a little odd to me. I mean first we jump into Oz’s power regarding the abyss and then jump back to his father in the last episode. It just felt like they were thinking “oh we go back to the parental situation.” Honestly the last episode felt odd since they hurried the discovery of Oz’s father being the one who attacked him and then went to find him. A pretty rushed way to end a series. Still, Oz’s father being the one that sent him to the abyss wasn’t a surprise. I mean there isn’t anyone else I can think of that Gil would stop Oz from attacking except a member of Oz’s family. Since the uncle didn’t seem like a villain to me it really only left Oz’s father.

Impressions:

There were some interesting things that we got to think about though. I suppose the whole existence being a sin thing makes more sense at this point. Considering Jack’s connection to Oz and to Alice that kind of conclusion could make sense. I guess the question is how their leader Glen factors into all of this. Did they think it would move them towards finding him again if they sent Oz into the abyss? It would I suppose be sending what is left of Jack to her. Anyways I suppose those questions will remain unanswered for the time being.

At least it was nice to see all the characters in actions for a while. Of course having Break in action usually means a lot of blood will spat out. Though was nice to see Eques in action as well. Even if not much got resolved by it at least the action was pretty entertaining. Still talk about a massive blow to Pandora’s forces since they got slaughtered right there.

Final Words:

I suppose due to the manga’s situation we had to stop here. It’s just too bad there is still so much to be dealt with. They haven’t really recovered many of Alice’s memories. Also the issue of Vincent is still a major problem. You have the Baskervilles, will of the abyss, and even Jack who hasn’t appeared much lately. Can they solve everything before Oz runs out of time? I even wonder if they can solve it before Break runs out of time since his body can’t handle using the mad hatter so much anymore. I wonder if we’ll see Raven in action other than being used to suppress Alice’s power.

Anyways this was a series that started off a little slow in the first episode. But over time they really added a lot of forces and raised questions. Oz did develop as a person through this show and at least isn’t going to be so willing to throw his life away anymore. It’s a good thing that he figured out that dying means you won’t be alive to protect anything. Alice was a pretty interesting character who had a more complicated background than I ever expected. I can’t wait for the show to come back just to see how she continues to grow. Gil actually turned into one of my favourite characters. He still has to face his past which is a hurdle for him. Still he grew up into a pretty cool guy but the situation with Oz’s sister is a bit dangerous. Not sure how he feels about her but she can make a pretty cute expression when Gil is involved.

Anyways I did enjoy the series. There were some pretty likable characters and I got pulled into the story. The only downside is that it ends with so much left to be resolved. Plus the last episode just felt like an attempt to rush in the father angle at the last minute. Despite that I’m looking forward to a sequel at some point down the road.

The journey into the Chesire Cat’s dimension lead to great revelations about many of the characters.

Impressions:

Wow this last series of episodes has been pretty huge in terms of tossing out information. Alice, Gil, and the tragedy of 100 years ago. Hard to believe they are all connected, but it does appear to be the case. It’s kind of ironic how similar Gil and Alice can be even though they don’t get along. Both wanted to and forget the events that happened back then and both are clearly connected to both Jack and Oz Bezarius. I suppose after that 10 year time jump anything should be possible, but I never really considered Gil and Vincent to be travelling that far into the future. Gil must’ve saw something so horrific that he couldn’t help but want to shut it away.

Alice being human at some point was something that shouldn’t have been too surprising and yet was. So the memories they have been tracking down are from her time as a human being. I can understand somewhat her reason for wanting to forget. She really lost everything including her own life back then. Dying, losing those you cared about, and then becoming a chain would be hard for anyone to bear. Of course the end result being that once you forget you wonder about the memories that have been lost and seek to find them. A painful cycle to go through.

I pity how things ended for Chesire. I’m sure Oz saw the similarities to himself when he was destroying that dimension. I guess Break had a point in that devoting yourself too much to a person might end up causing you to point your blade at them. Chesire was so determined that he abandoned everything to try and fill that role of a knight that he so wanted. But against Break’s power he just had no chance. It was definitely fitting to have that man using the Mad Hatter chain. Of course the price for using such great power is a high one.

The ending for this journey to the dimension of the Chesire Cat had a emotional ending. Oz determining that makes Alice herself isn’t whether she is human or a chain. But also an important point was the ‘loss’ of Gil and Break in the collapsing dimension. Though I can’t imagine those two are dead since they definitely have a greater role to play. Not to mention we can’t assume Sharon is safe either since Eques dropped them off not where Sharon was but in the middle of a Pandora meeting which was the last place Oz and Alice should be seen. On a lighter note Eques is a pretty cool looking chain with the black unicorn look.

Anyways it seems things will only get tougher for Oz and Alice as the series continues.

Wow I knew Oz had some serious issues with his father, but seeing the flashback was something else. It’s amazing how someone can have that much hate for their own child. You have to wonder where that is based. I can’t imagine it was something that young Oz did that resulted in being disliked to that degree. Brings up questions about whether Oz was even a legitimate child. Maybe the father was fooling around and had to take responsibility. Though that guy does seem a bit too serious for that kind of thing. You just have to wonder where his father’s feelings are coming from.

Impressions:

It definitely makes it more possible that his father was part of the group that sent Oz to the abyss. I mean someone that felt that way about his own kid wouldn’t have problems with doing it. Though makes you wonder since I can’t see Gil taking a hit for that guy. But again it would still hurt Oz to injure or kill his own father so Gil might have still jumped in for that reason.

Of course the other part comes with Philip and his father. The man was willing to make a contract with a chain in order to make his sons life better. He didn’t actually ask Philip what he wanted before making such a rash decision. Clearly the status and money made him happier so he probably thought it would make his son happier. Now part was also to try and save his wife which would indeed make his kid happier. Still he killed others and put his life at risk for that. The worst case scenario came true and the child was left all alone. Without support the kid will end up alone on the streets and may end up dying.

I really feel for Alice through all of this. The girl is lacking memories and doesn’t have any family. All she can do is watch as Oz is hurting and try to be there. I’m impressed she managed to keep such a cool head even though Oz stopped her assault on the chain.

Really family can be a strength for people. Other times it can really be a source of pain. In the end the characters have to move forward before Oz’s time runs out.

An attack by Zwei leads to a revelation regarding Raven’s true identity.

Impressions:
Well I don’t think there was a great deal of surprise over the identity of Raven. The first moment we saw him I was pretty confident he was Gil. Of course didn’t expect him to be taken in with a rival house to Bezarius. Still that doesn’t change who he is at the core. Oz can be pretty reckless but he put a lot of faith in Gil. I’m sure Gil was pretty satisfied that he got to shoot Zwei at least once. Now he probably wouldn’t have minded pouring a few more shots to pay back for all that pain, but there will definitely be another chance down the road to settle things wtih that nut.

I had a feeling some time had passed, but was something to find out it had been ten years since Oz had been thrown into the abyss. Of course it brings up the question of why someone like Sharon hasn’t changed at all. If she still looks the same there is nothing to go against the thought that she wasn’t as old as she appeared earlier in the series. Some real questions about this Pandora group. Being gone ten years is a pretty big thing so wonder how long they intended to hide that truth from Oz. True enough that showing up to his family after all this time would cause quite the scene. His sister would be all grown up now and now I’m curious about how she turned out.

I feel sorry for Alice who had to feel envious about the bond between Gil and Oz. Even before it was revealed that Raven was Gil she could tell how strong their friendship was. For someone without memories she wouldn’t even know if she ever had someone like that. Right now Oz is pretty much all she has and if he ever distanced from her then it would be a very painful moment. At least she got some support near the end of the episode. There is certainly a similarity between her and Oz. Too bad for the will of abyss, but the guy has made his choice of who to stand beside.

Overall it was a good couple of episodes to restart the friendship between Gil and Oz. We got to find another memory of Alice which only makes me wonder more about her past. There are certainly plenty of forces against Oz, but with some close friends he should make it through alright.

I think it was beneficial to have such a slowly paced first episode so the next episodes could have something to work from. Events surrounding the Abyss were pretty interesting to watch. Oz had to go through quite a heavy trial when his ceremony was completely turned into a disaster.

Impressions:

I’m still trying to figure out just what went on during that ceremony. It seems like the Soul Reapers felt like their actions were justified, but they hardly seem like good guys in this. Using Gil to attack Oz and then sending a kid to the Abyss for simply existing. I only have one guess to the identity of a Soul Reaper involved. Considering Gil’s attempt to protect the man it would have to be a member of Oz’s family. Considering he wasn’t supposed to be at the ceremony I’d put the identity as Oz’s father. Though why a father would do that to his own son is beyond my ability to understand,

The presence of Alice in these episodes made them even more of a treat to watch. It’s something to know that the fights she fought were when was limited. Even with her powers restrained she managed to beat the Soul Reapers and some of the chains that went after Oz. We can only imagine how powerful she is now that the contract has been made with Oz. I’d agree with Oz that while she is pretty out of control sometimes she still doesn’t feel like a bad person. You live in an environment like the Abyss for such a long time and who knows what kind of personality you’ll develop. Now have to wonder what kind of control she can have over Oz’s body. They’ll have to figure out their goals now that the Abyss is behind them.

The interactions between Oz and Alice promise to make this series all the more entertaining. I mean Oz has a great ability to throw Alice off and make her react. The first thing he calls her after she saves him from a chain is “Ms. Sexual Harassment.” Just kept me laughing for a few moments even after she kicked him. Alice certainly thinks herself to be much more important than Oz. Since the second episode she’s called him property, prey, and subordinate. Of course she was certainly moved by him thanking her for rescuing him. If she does start developing feelings for Oz, she probably won’t easily talk about them. Have to think there is something beneath the surface for Oz as well. While he had the over the top reaction to a girl like Sharon, he still showed confidence in Alice. Now that he’s back with Sharon and the others have to wonder how his feelings will develop.

There is also this mysterious link between the two of them and that watch. Through the watch Oz met Alice or at least someone that seemed to be her. Yet inside of the Abyss, Alice didn’t seem to remember the encounter at all. The personalities did have some differences and just increases the mysteriousness. Even ignoring that meeting both seem to have nostalgic feelings. Alice felt that way from hearing the watch and Oz felt something after hearing Alice’s name. I’m really wondering about the reincarnation thing since there is definitely a link between them.

At this point there are still a lot of questions in this series. How Gil seems to have changed from a little kid to an adult overnight for one. Though considering the state of the building it would appear Oz was in Abyss for much longer than he felt. I’m not sure where things will go from here, but it should be a good adventure. The events within the Abyss have confirmed that this will be a series I’ll enjoy watching.

Well this was a pretty good episode though the first half did feel a little slow. They were trying to set up the setting and introduce characters so I can’t really blame them for taking their time there. Still it was a relief when the story started to pick up after finding that grave. After that point everything got much more interesting and the end of the episode came before I knew it.

Impressions:

The OP was a pretty good one from my point of view. It was a nice song to listen to and they showed some nice images. You can tell that a lot is going to happen here and that there will be some dark moments along the way.

The characters were pretty interesting so don’t think it will be that hard to care about them. Oz is a pretty good guy but certainly isn’t against playing around with people and driving them up a wall. Feel bad for the woman having to track him down and his servant Gil. But considering that dangerous times are apparently coming its probably good to have a mixed personality. Besides he has a good heart considering he wanted Gil to be part of the ceremony. No matter what he says not having his father around is something that bothers him.

That meeting after finding the watch was definitely the high point of the episode. It is a pretty unsettling situation to land in a room full of talking dolls. Sure you happen to be bigger than them but the numbers are pretty unnerving. That girl in particular made the whole thing more intense. First you get the feeling of a strange girl, but not quite something to be terrified of. The fact that she passed right through Oz like that was pretty strange. Then the whole situation went downhill with her snapping and scaring the daylights out of the guy. The whole knife being driven right at him would scare anyone.

It just leaves me wondering about what is going on. Oz clearly has a connection to that watch and the girl that he saw. Would almost feel like it’s a bloodline thing or possibly connected to reincarnation. Either way I’m betting that Oz has inherited a serious problem. Unless he was getting involved with this girl when he was really young and simply doesn’t remember it.

The end of the episode was a pretty interesting event. Gil’s body has been taken over by someone and now there is a very close threat to Oz. Things are going to get very busy and very bad. Right now I still don’t get why all this is coming at Oz, but sooner or later the answers should come. The only thing to do is try to patiently wait for next week’s episode.