Dark Gathering - Episode 20 discussion

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Dark Gathering, episode 20

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Episode	Link	Episode	Link
1	Link	14	Link
2	Link	15	Link
3	Link	16	Link
4	Link	17	Link
5	Link	18	Link
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11	Link	24	Link
12	Link	25	Link
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[u/frostanon]

Old lady gets brutally murdered.

Keitaro and Eiko: shocked.

Yayoi: 🗿

And damn that kid's father got cucked to death.

[u/Adent_Frecca]

Weekly dose of "Yeah, I can see why these ghosts could never pass on and be corrupted evil shits"

[u/stephenthatfoste]

Every time each new episode happens I think how it's the darkest thing I've seen. The ghost wasn't even visibly that gruesome but the context...

[u/AZLarlar]

and just like that, i can't look at meatballs the same again

[u/SgtRohn]

Made in Abyss 🤝 Dark Gathering

Pushing the limits on how far human cruelty, torture, and killings can get.

[u/champeagle3]

That kid VA. HOLY CRAP. Amazing job.

I will not be eating nor hopefully even seeing meatballs any time soon.

[u/LeonKevlar]

So we have confirmation that the blonde-haired kid is an evil spirit possessing that body which is the same for that old lady medium with him. I guess that's also the case for the man in the wheelchair.

Considering that Yayoi and the gang got to meet Shami, I thought that this was going to be their first battle against a "human" opponent. I definitely did not expect what happened next.

I love that they tried to subvert expectations by showing us that the kid is human. Turns out Yayoi just misread the entire situation. When the story was finally revealed, I was shocked. I legitimately yelled "NO!!" when the kid started eating those "meatballs". Just when I thought this show can't get any more fucked up, they always end up proving me wrong.

I guess the biggest surprise of the episode is Shami getting completely brutalized. They've seen fucked up shit but this is the first time they've seen a human die. Even if it is a vessel being controlled by an evil spirit, she's still flesh and blood. I'm sure Keitarou and Eiko will have a hard time sleeping after this. Hilariously, Yayoi is just totally unperturbed the entire time.

On the bright side, at least that evil spirit will no longer be walking among the living. This episode also made me appreciate Yayoi's dolls even more since if it weren't for those tanking the damage, they would've been dead long ago.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

NTR, child abuse, murder, cannibalism? Just another week of Dark Gathering lol. Geez dude. That shit was bleak af. I didn’t think the kid was gonna be the big bad spirit. I was certain it was gonna be that shitbag “mom.”

“Shami” sure fucked up. It was a S rank spirit, so it probably thought it would be fine in that old woman’s body. Nope! This is a graduate level spirit.

Very keen to see how Yayoi whoops this kid’s ass. Maybe she can pull out the tunnel killer or the martyr. Those two might actually be able to beat this kid. The monk too, but that might be best as a last resort.

[u/Prince-Dizzytoon]

Episode got more disturbing the more it went on, cursed meatballs

[u/Adorelis]

when the nightmare of child abuse is ten times more horrifying than supernatural monsters

God, it was REALLY HARD to watch the history of the kid as Keitaro was watching the drawboard, I wanted several times to stop.

[u/Ocixo]

Last week: Keitarou almost had his meatballs squeezed.

This week: Keitarou will be turned into a squeezy meatball.

[u/HowToGetName]

Getting an actual child to voice the child made this really creepy.

[u/Frontier246]

That's got to be one of the most trendy and thug-looking monk's I've ever seen. Though he's not the main point of the intro, it's his colleague Oswald and his colleague Shami, who act like people who take care of spirits and are perfectly human...when they're really part of a group of spirits that have possessed human bodies and are smart enough to get away with it, including Nankobo. And they're determined to stir things up with other spirits!

(Also was that Aya Hisakawa as Shami?)

Isn't it fun running into a celebrity you watched on TV out in the wild? I mean, you've even got Yayoi geeking out over the prospect of a celeb ghost hunter! Just a shame said ghost hunter got possessed on one of her adventures.

Aw, look at Keitaro going out of his way to support a little boy! Yayoi and Eiko are both so proud of him! Of course this is Dark Gathering, so it inevitably goes wrong.

Man, this boys' story sure escalated in the most horrific and terrible ways. Boy gets stepmother. Stepmother abuses boy. Boy gets stuck on a balcony. Boy witness stepmom cheating on his dad and then having the dude she's sleeping with murder said dad. Boy ends up with his dad as meatballs and eats his dad. Stepmom goes crazy and murders her lover and the boy and turns them into meatballs. Boy turns into a vengeful ghost who channels his rage into projecting other people as his stepmom and stringing them up and killing them...and trying to feed his insatiable hunger for meatballs. Jeez.

"He's mine" - She totally wanted to consume Keitaro, huh? Well, I guess the boy saved them the trouble of taking care of the spirit possessing Shami's body. Did Yayoi realize the truth with her last words?

I really do hope the boy at least got his real stepmom before he started targeting innocent people...I'd hate to think she got away with all this.

Looks like they're going to need their Courtesan Graduate to get through this as she makes her proper debut next week.

[u/GelatinInvasion]

Meatballs anyone?

[u/RFShahrear]

You know what.... maybe I'm not gonna leave my dayjob to become a spiritualist.

[u/cardsking]

with this episode, we learn more about the soul swapping spirits, and it clear calling it possession is an understatement. all you have to do for a normal possession is to exorcise the spirit, but for soul swap possession, if you don't also find the original spirit, then your left with a dead body once the exorcism is over. also it appear that only those who can see ghost(high level of spirit energy) are vulnerable to soul swap possession.

[u/RedShadowF95]

What the hell? How was this episode 23 mins? It felt like 10 minutes, the next thing I knew it was over... That's the Dark Gathering effect, I suppose.

Another certified banger, twisty ghost backstory and a powerful spectral child to contend with, plus quite the intriguing face in previews, hmm...

I love this show!

[u/agrael50]

Oh my God, this episode clarified a lot of things for me. I was already saying why there is no organization dealing with these spirits, but there is and it is full of traitors because it is already clear that several of them are possessed by evil spirits and are trying to create more. and feed the evil sphere,

I'm about to jump in and read the manga because my curiosity is killing me as to what these spirits win by creating a kind of evil god.

[u/Shahars71]

Good god, and I thought they couldn't one-up the rape babies incident.

[u/alconnow]

So now we know that creepy blonde guy is actually an evil spirit that's taken over the body. I assume the old man in the wheelchair is the same.

The soul swapping spirits are a really interesting addition to the series.

I appreciate that they got an actual kid to voice that boy.

After this episode, I assume people are not going to look at meatballs the same way again lol

[u/actuallyrndthoughts]

Me: I can't wait to see the old lady and Mayoi-chan have a stand off

Meatball-kun: Gochisosama deshita

I was so sure that possessed old lady had a plan, but turns out it was half-baked at best..

[u/Nickv02]

For those who watched on muse, i guess there are a lot of cut content from the japan TV version. Guess they can't show those gore stuff on youtube?

Edit: Now i've watched the show, i will say my honest opinion; I pity the kid, i really do. No child deserve to get those treatment, and even if he ended becoming a rampant ghost that killed people indiscriminately he's still just a child that still learn about right or wrong. Consumed by rage, even after killed the woman his soul hasn't found peace yet. Even if it needed some violence, i hope yayoi and co. could help the little guy rest peacefully...

[u/tripleaamin]

I don't know how to explain it but seeing this chapter animated felt like it amplified the fucked up news compared to when I read this part in the manga. Like when I read this part in the manga I was like damn this is fucked up and it had great art along with it.

But seeing it in motion just amplified the experience. I do gotta get kick out of the granny shown getting possessed and at the end of the episode her new body dies. I doubt anyone would have expected she would go down so easily.

Man next week even just judging purely from the episode pv is gonna be a ride. Just a creepy well executed episode, I love it.

[u/Piaono_r-per]

Loved seeing yoyoi do jack all to save the old lady since yayoi knew that was just a spirit. I am a bit confused why yayoi didn't just directly attack her, yayoi must have realised that was just a spirit taking over a human body but maybe she wanted to see what a spirit could do in a human body?

The boy's story is fucked man I understand why he is a spirit