HGTV would have quite a lot of fun giving the Twilight Mansion a makeover.
What They Say
The Twilight Mansion
The Review!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the core cast of characters now firmly in their places as the two latest additions have made their full appearances since Yuki came to Tokyo, it's time to move on to the next setting. And that setting is the Twilight Mansion itself where Yuki will be living, a rather beautiful place located deep in the woods in the heart of the city. Surrounded by a barrier, it's a place that doesn't exist on any map and is set to keep away those that don't belong, giving them basic peace and security from normal folk, though likely no real deterrent against any sort of Duras attack. The mansion also holds at least on surprise in the form of Aya, a very classic Japanese female character in a kimono who serves as an employee of the place along with a Giou named Tachibana who is the manager of the Twilight Mansion.
Much of the first half of the episode is all about the introductions the mild tour of the mansion. There's a bit of wacky involved when Doctor Isuzu finally shows up as we get that he's the kind of disconnected but brilliant type who does amazing work as a doctor but also as a researcher into the Duras, something that keeps him pretty occupied. Yuki gets to check out his room which is pretty nice considering he came from an orphanage and he also gets to meet the mascot of the series in a cute little plushie bat-dragon-mouse of sorts named Sodom. All of it culminates in an amusing balcony scene where Yuki is looking out over the area and Luka is down below gazing up at him, giving us one of the more obvious moments of shounen-ai in a series fairly thick in it already, much to the surprise of some I'm sure who haven't realized what kind of show this is yet.
The second half of the episode plays up events between Yuki and Luka fairly well as we have Yuki starting to feel the impact of so many changes. It's starting to overwhelm him and he finds himself missing his best friend from the orphanage as well, which leads to a nice little recollection he gives to Luka, a moment that helps them get a little bit closer. Much of what we get here is the slow gazes that the two engage in about each other though, with Luka feeling very strongly about Yuki as he serves as his protector. It's almost paternal in a way, though there's also the obvious undercurrent of there being something more with the kind of gazes they give each other. We get a few other little nods toward a larger plot thrown in as well, but it almost feels a bit tacked on considering the nature of this episode is to help bond Yuki to the mansion and the others living there.
In Summary:
Watching an episode like this, I'm still a little surprised that they even have a character like Toko in here as usually there aren't any women in these kinds of shows at all. The focus on the mansion and those who live in it is done fairly predictably as we get some normal characters, as normal as someone as Aya is in a show like this, to the more eccentric like Doctor Isuzu. Add in the mascot character and a few more supporting servant/worker types and you have a fair number of people introduced here. They're not all that key though other than to flesh out the reality of a place like this and to get Yuki to adjust to the idea that they're a greater family that looks out for each other. As with other episodes so far, it's about the pacing and atmosphere, the feeling of the show, rather than plot advancement. It's a relaxing show that has some neat ideas overall but will never really get a chance to fully explore them since they must gaze longingly at each other, without realizing what they're longing for.
Features
Japanese 2.0 Language, English Subtitles
Review Equipment
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70" LCoS 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
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