Dark Gathering – Season 1 Episode 25 Recap & Review

Dark Gathering

Episode 25 of Dark Gathering begins with Ai calling Keitaro over the phone. She’s upset and feels the train accident wouldn’t have occurred if she hadn’t been there. Keitaro recalls the discussion they had earlier in the season about her unlucky nature. Keitaro tells Ai it’s not her fault and she’ll feel better once she hangs out with him, Eiko, and Yayoi again. Additionally, he tells her that everyone’s worried about her. Keitaro ends the call and Ai sends him details about the hospital she’s located at. 

Keitaro returns to Eiko’s home to inform Yayoi and Eiko. Upon his arrival, he learns about what happened at Yayoi’s school and the body snatchers she’s temporarily in cahoots with. Simultaneously, he asks Eiko why she’s setting up spy cameras. Eiko says it’s to catch potential body snatchers. While flustered over this ordeal, Yayoi says she’s prepared herself for their upcoming Kyoto trip and reminds the two of their goals to visit Ai and confront her god spirit. 

Yayoi explains what she did during her battle with another godly spirit. Knowing Ai’s God is more capable than any spirit she’s encountered in the past, Yayoi tells Keitaro she’s created a plan that’ll raise their odds of beating it. Yayoi breaks down her plan to Keitaro and Eiko. Essentially, she wants to place 5 of their 7 graduates in select haunted locations, forming a pentagram called the Bellflower of Blasphemy. This will weaken Ai’s God Spirit, allowing Yayoi’s most powerful graduates, Martyr and Oiran to weaken it. 

Then, she’ll retrieve the other 5 and have all 7 use their powers to defeat Ai’s God Spirit. To prevent Kyoto’s residents from getting affected by the pentagram’s curse, Yayoi plans to create two substitutes, one for the city and one for Ai’s God Spirit. She says this will allow them to transfer any damage the city would receive from their plan to Ai’s God Spirit. Essentially, Yayoi wants to turn Ai’s God Spirit into a substitute by marking its flesh with a symbol she created. 

We receive several visuals of how this plan will work and Keitaro’s shocked by how well thought-out everything is. Keitaro helps Yayoi craft a proper schedule to ensure this plan’s success. Afterwards, Yayoi asks Eiko and Keitaro if they’re up for this endeavor. She says she’ll give them time to think about it. Yayoi requests them to visit her in the morning if they’re willing to go through with it all. At Eiko’s home, Eiko asks Yayoi to show Yayoi the F Tunnel girl ghost she imprisoned a couple of episodes ago. 

Yayoi praises Eiko for her efforts. Then, Eiko shows Yayoi a closet full of self-sustaining substitutes she mass-produced with her 3D printer. She explains these products’ advantages over regular substitutes and tells Yayoi this will up their survival odds. Yayoi praises Eiko again as we cut to Keitaro contemplating the dangerous quest he’s about to rope himself into. At the hospital, Ai’s excited to see her friends again and dreams about the wedding scenario. In this dream, she’s approached by her aunt and mom. 

Ai wonders why her aunt’s here as everything fades into darkness, resulting in Ai finding herself in a spooky environment. Suddenly, ghostly paper entities harass Ai and forcefully make her wear a white garment. She tries calling out to her friends but slowly loses herself. She feels like she’s transforming into something horrifying. Then, she sees her God Spirit and he tells her it’s “almost time.” Ai wakes up from this nightmare and cries.

Keitaro arrives at Eiko’s home in the morning, bearing some of his grandmother’s lucky charms. Then, the trio travel somewhere and Keitaro shows them his Graduate Deployment Kit project he was working on. He says it’ll allow them to release and seal their Graduates remotely. Yayoi thanks Keitaro for inventing this device and the trio work on their preparations for the Bellflower of Blasphemy plan. During this plan, they visit the Graduate Dorm and lay a trap for Dorothy and the other body snatchers. 

Elsewhere, Oswald and Nankobo discuss Yayoi’s affiliation with Dorthy and her possession of the left cursed arm. Dorothy overhears them chatting about her and heads inside. Oswald ensures her they’re only interested in the arm. Nankobo says the Spectre of Death is still growing but isn’t strong enough yet. Oswald leaves to visit the Spectre of Death with Dorothy. Nankobo warns the two to tread carefully. Yayoi informs the audience they finished setting up their cameras and are ready to move on to their plan’s next phase. 

While traveling to Kyoto, Eiko asks Yayoi if she wants to visit the train scene. Keitaro thinks it’s a brilliant idea since Yayoi could learn something about what happened there. Yayoi refuses because she wants to focus on Ai. The episode closes with multiple scenes involving all this tale’s major players getting ready for this upcoming battle. 

The Episode Review

While this episode isn’t what you’d expect from a season finale, it gives fans high hopes that its follow-up season will deliver an exceptional and thrilling experience. That said, this was a set-up episode at its core. It features Yayoi, Eiko, and Keitaro discussing a plan that should assist them in achieving victory over Ai’s God Spirit. 

The conversation was insightful and gripping. Additionally, viewers will love seeing Keitaro and Eiko provide meaningful input in this discussion and offer Yayoi suggestions on how she can make this plan work. Furthermore, viewers will love seeing Eiko and Keitaro go beyond the call of duty for Yayoi. Some examples include Eiko’s 3D printer substitute project and Keitaro’s Graduate Development Kit. 

Hopefully, their Bellflower of Blasphemy plan succeeds in season two. Yayoi and her friends aside, this episode also provided viewers with nightmarish sequences involving Ai’s character. It was a difficult watch, considering how much pain and agony Ai’s been through since her introduction. On top of having some interesting developments with Oswald and his allies, this was an interesting way to wrap up the season. Here’s hoping the next season airs soon.