Overview (Spoilers Below):
They now have seven Graduates, but fighting a god also requires an ambitious, daring plan. With Ai’s time running out, the trio prepare for their next journey; Kyoto awaits.
Our Take:
Yayoi’s school situation has been handled, but the real issue still lurks around her new tutor friend. It feels like just yesterday when I first thought Dark Gathering would be another average horror anime with cheap scares and humor. However, I was genuinely surprised at how much it improved in its second half regarding its high-stakes plot and presentation. But, of course, that experience has to end sooner or later, especially since Yayoi and the others have a nefarious god to kill.
While we should also be concerned about the spirit possessing Dorothy, the gang’s main priority is rescuing Ai from her arranged marriage. If you expect an action-packed ending to the first season, you’ll wind up disappointed with the result. This is more of a preparation episode than a proper conclusion to the season, with Yayoi, Eiko, and Keitaro organizing a risky strategy to combat the god. Since the god can use his minions to heal himself, the trio would have to use the curses from their seven Graduates to defeat it. They’ll have to place five of them in different locations to form a protective ward over Kyoto and turn the god into a substitute so that the curses will hurt him instead of everyone else. With the addition of Eiko’s self-sustaining substitutes and Keitaro’s Graduate deployment kit, they’re all set for the ultimate fight against the god, which will likely be the main plot of the show’s second season.
The season one finale of Dark Gathering certainly has moments that highlight the trio’s trust and support towards each other, especially Yayoi and her loyalty towards helping and protecting others. However, regarding the structure, it wasn’t exactly what I expected, offering more of a tease of a potential second season than a proper conclusion. Moments like this can really grind people’s gears, especially since they prefer watching an anime adaptation over reading a manga. It can also worsen the situation when they’re forced to read the manga to know what happens next if the next season doesn’t happen. Currently, there’s still no word on whether the series will continue, either as a second season or as a movie. I seriously hope it does because the translation from manga to screen regarding the presentation is undoubtedly impeccable, and it’ll be a shame if the anime gets the axe.