Karin 19-21

The Times They Are A-Changin’.

It’s Christmas time in the Karinversum and everybody is happy. While the Maaka family is celebrating already,

Karin and Maki are shopping for gifts.

Maki tells Karin about a scarf she knits for W-kun (complete with a “W”-Symbol) that she will present him at Christmas. Karin is pretty impressed and vows to do something similar for Kenta. Of course she is also clumsy at knitting.

Anju gets a yummy cake as present, but while Karin enjoys eating it very much it seems to be rather untasty for Anju.

Might there be a deeper meaning in this? Nah.
Next day at work Kenta and Karin have to sell Christmas cakes outside of the restaurant in embarrassing costumes.

Kenta complains about the cold and comes to tell Karin about his youth in the northeast of Japan.

These memories are sad enough to give Karin some high pressure. Luckily she suddenly seems to doesn’t care anymore about biting people unknown to her.

Must have missed something, thought she don’t want to bite anybody. Well, never mind. Meanwhile Kenta comes home greeted by his mom. She is in a good mood and has the usual bite marks at her neck.

Wait, didn’t they disappear a while ago? It appears that somehow things changed a bit while watching little Ren’s adventures. Well, details. Kenta surprises his mother by asking her to tell him something about his dad. She gladly grants his request.

At night Karin and Maki phone as usual. Maki has the plan to confession her love to W tomorrow when she gives him the knitted scarf.

Karin doesn’t comprehend all of this but is now powered up to finish her present. The next day at work Karin first shyly practice giving the present to Kenta

while he himself is standing right next to her staring into space (I especially liked that he returned to the exactly same expression after being spoken to).

After some time (and comforting talk) she finally overcomes herself to give Kenta the present she knit for him.

It’s happens to be a pair of gloves. Kenta is happy and because of the cold weather he gives Karin the left glove and grasps the change to share a pocket with her.

Awwww… happy end. I don’t know what could possible go wrong after this.

While the whole world seems to be all lovey-dovey the scene is changed to lonely Maki preparing herself to face her beloved W-man.

Something tells me that this might not go so well. Dammit girl, he doesn’t even know your name!

While standing there shivering not only because of the cold she is startled by her beloved one shouting nonsense (as usual) and running from left…

…to right.

None the less Maki is able to stop him by calling after him.

W doesn’t look very patient right now but Maki is determined to give him the present together with her confession right now. So she begins to speak while holding the present to W but is interrupted halfway by him. He asks her to forgive him

and to “save such trivial matters for a later time.” (Ouch!) And off he runs leaving the shocked Maki all alone in the snow.

Maki’s heart broken at 20 minutes and 08 seconds of the 19th episode.

Really, this is one of the saddest moments I’ve seen in all animes. Poor lonely Maki.

..

By the way, W’s reason for his hurry is his grandfather, who arrived just now at the local airport. With showing the happiness of all the other people (except for Anju looking sadly out of the window) and making Maki’s fate even sadder this way the episode finally closes.

This night Anju has a dream. A dream where she bites her hypnotized sister in a … uhm… very catholic way.

After waking up Anju is rather concerned about her dream. On top of that her puppet isn’t answering her “Good morning”… at first. Maybe this means with her awaking (as a vampire) her puppets become lifeless again (for whatever reason).

To give another hint it is shown that the light of the sun seems to be rather unpleasant to her.

Well, change of scene. While cleaning the restaurant, Kenta makes his move and invites Karin on a date for tomorrow.

Karin is more than happy and both of them don’t notice poor little Maki watching them sadly from the outside.

Later that day Karin also doesn’t notice that Anju is undergoing some changes right now and is instead happily preparing the food for her date.

Anju is watching her quiet pleased until Maki, already a little psychotic, calls Karin and asks her to meet before her date with Kenta.

Karin is still perfect carefree, but Anju seems to be worried now. She has observed Maki with her familiar and knows that Maki might ruin Karins fresh luck. Afterwards Karin and Anju have a (very symbolic) talk about the fun they had building snowmen together in their childhood but how sad they were when those melted. In the end Karin promises Anju to build another snowman at the time of the next snowfall.

Meanwhile W has met with his grandfather V who tells him that “the fiend” is finally in the country and that it is time to hunt it down.

The next day Karin leaves early to go shopping before meeting Maki. She wants to buy a souvenir for Anju. Anju bids her farewell which is a bit surprising for Karin but she doesn’t worries about it. After Karin has left the house Anju herself gets ready to leave while being begged by her puppet to stop what she is going to do. It seems like Anju will do something that will leave her crying. In town Karin finds the right present for Anju, a barrette with a snowman that will never melt.

At the same time Maki is sitting on a bench in the park waiting for Karin.

While waiting she begins to rip up the scarf she made because alone the sight of it pains her. Suddenly Anju appears before her. She sits down beside Maki and after short time Maki asks her if Karin was angry about the call yesterday.

Anju denies and Maki begins talking about how good of a person Karin is, always cheerful and without any subterfuge, and that it is a good thing that she finally comes clear with Kenta. But she just can’t feel happy for them for some reason (I bet the reason begins with a W). All this time she continues to rip up the scarf (which looks kind of scary). Eventually Anju interrupts her by saying that she understands and that she will make her feel better while getting intrusive.

Finally she bites her and Anju’s puppet at home losses the rest of it’s life.

Welcome to the vampires, Anju. Karin arrives at the time Anju is finished and is shocked by the sight.

While Karin wants to know why of all people Maki was her first victim Anju tells her how great it was to suck someone’s blood and that her taste in blood is jealousy. They begin to quarrel

and at the moment Anju mentions the sweet taste Kentas blood might have Karin snaps. She hits Anju with the bag containing the souvenir,

shouts at Anju that she will never bite him and that she hates her and runs off, leaving her sister (and unconscious Maki) behind. All this time Kenta is waiting at the designated rendezvous place.

Shortly after Maki awakes confused but refreshed,

Anju speaks with her (lifeless) puppet about how hard she worked and that Karin can now be with Kenta forever and finally begins to cry

and Karin sits lonely and sad on a bench at the harbor

when a SMS from Elda reaches her. Elda has learned how to turn Karin in a true vampire. One more thing to think about for Karin. As the night falls she begins to wander around aimless in town until the happy people all around her make her remember the date she has with Kenta. She dashes to where Kenta is waiting for her, but when she arrives he is nowhere to be seen.

She leaves again sadly, passing by the phone booth in which Kenta is right now trying to contact her.

This way they accomplish to miss each other by two blinks of an eye. At the same time W & V discuss the oncoming hunt of the Sinclair bane: The Marker Family.

W already imagines his subsequently marriage with Karin. For the engagement ring he uses the fangs of the slain Vampires.

Meanwhile in the real (anime-)world Karin gets importuned by some bad followers.

But luckily W’s hunt leads him (after separation with his grandfather) directly to her. At first he kicks major butt

but soon falls for one of the oldest tricks in the book and gets beaten badly. In the end Karin saves the day through routing the thugs by nosebleed.

Somewhere else in town V and Elda meet and after a short chat their battle begins.

Alongside we get to know that V’s full name is Victor (D’oh!). While fighting all over the place they happen to meet Karin and the W-man, who has recovered passably.

As Elda teams up with Karin the W must discover that his beloved Karin is a vampire. V hands him a gun to shot her.

But, of course, W can’t do it.

He instead even protects her against his grandfather. Elda and Karin make a run but get chased by V again. Elda starts fighting him to buy Karin time to get away.

But where should she run to?

Well, so much for the comedy. Finally Karin and Kenta are practical a couple and then everything around Karin falls apart. Maki’s part was quiet moving and while I do understand that Anju did what she did for Karin I don’t understand why it was necessary. Would be the envy of Maki really be that devastating for the relationship between Karin and Kenta? Must Karin leave her family to be able to live with Kenta? Well, maybe the last three episodes will tell about that. Or maybe not.