Dusk Maiden (昏黒乙女, Konkoku Otome) is the third episode of the Tasogare Otome × Amnesia anime series. It was released on April 22, 2012.
Synopsis[]
School days must also come to an end.
During one of these days, Teiichi reluctantly bids farewell to Yuuko before heading back home. Of course, Yuuko still wants to play with Teiichi, and is even okay if he could touch her again wherever he wants.
As this intimate moment unfolds at Seikyou Academy's rooftop, a certain person becomes their spectator.
The next day, Teiichi finds a letter snuck inside this shoe locker. Before he could take a peek inside the letter, however, Yuuko appears and welcomes him with a warm hug. Yuuko then shows her summer uniform, which she decides to wear after the days have begun to warm up. She then proceeds to play with Teiichi once again, but Teiichi has other plans... more specifically finding out what the letter contains.
As Teiichi runs off to class, Yuuko can't help but be suspicious. Meanwhile, Teiichi reads the letter in private, thinking that it might be a love letter, but it is actually a less romantic letter which asks him to go somewhere... and talk about "the girl behind him".
Teiichi ends up following what the letter asks him to do, and he misses his routine visit to the Paranormal Investigation Club room. Yuuko is a bit disappointed as well, as she is accompanied by Momoe instead of Teiichi for the day. Momoe soon proceeds with her daily report, and she mentions the story of "Spirited Away" among the new information she has prepared for Teiichi. Yuuko appears uninterested by this story, and instead wonders where Teiichi is.
Meanwhile, Teiichi heads to Kaede Hill, and at the tree on the hill's peak, he meets the sender of the letter... a girl who warns him of his dire circumstance.
As Momoe and Yuuko stay indoors, Teiichi and the mysterious girl continue their conversation under the gray clouds looming over Seikyou Academy. The girl tells him that he is "spirited away": that an evil spirit is out there to take his life. Teiichi quickly deduces that the girl can see that evil spirit (which he suspects is Yuuko), and in response, the girl tells the story of "Spirited Away".
According to the girl, there was a story of a girl who died in an accident. This girl lamented her unexpected death and becomes a ghost who lurks Seikyou Academy. She later begins a search of people who are willing to share her pain and drags them to the other world.
The girl then bluntly asks Teiichi to stay away from "her", as she would do the same thing as in the spirit in the story of "Spirited Away". Teiichi, however, doesn't take heed of what she is trying to warn him about. The girl suspects that Teiichi doesn't know what ghosts are capable of doing. She points out that only aggressive souls who harbor resentment and suffering are only capable to becoming a ghost, and she urges Teiichi to acknowledge what he doesn't know and to make himself stronger than any soul he encounters.
The girl soon heads off with an umbrella, leaving behind Teiichi soaked by the rain. Before the girl could leave, however, Teiichi confirms whether the girl could see Yuuko. The girl just tells him that if she sees something that she should not see, she would just pretend that it does not exist. Afterwards, the girl leaves.
At that moment, doubt lingers on Teiichi's mind... that a playful ghost like Yuuko might be an evil spirit that would eventually be his undoing.
Soon, Yuuko appears in front of him, and she immediately hugs him out of concern. However, for a moment, Teiichi fears Yuuko's presence. Fortunately, Yuuko's sneeze snaps Teiichi out of his thoughts, and they quickly head to the infirmary to dry themselves off.
As Yuuko takes off her clothes behind the curtains, Teiichi thinks about the girl's remarks about Yuuko being an evil spirit. Soon, Yuuko takes a look at what Teiichi is doing, and she ends up startling him because she is completely naked, save for a towel covering what should be covered. Yuuko then asks Teiichi about his absence in the club room, and she voices out her concern about him, as she has heard about the story of "Spirited Away".
After wrapping herself with a towel, Yuuko sits beside Teiichi and asks about what she looks like. Teiichi, albeit flustered at the sight of Yuuko's barely-clothed form, describes Yuuko as a girl with long, black hair, fair complexion and a gorgeous face. This relieves Yuuko, as she looks the same as her image when looking at the mirror. Yuuko then overwhelms Teiichi as she pins him on the infirmary bed.
Then, a voice awakens Teiichi's mind. "Do you want to die, Teiichi Niiya?!"
Yuuko clings on to Teiichi as a short-haired girl confronts Teiichi about his "stupid" decision of retaining his bonds with Yuuko, whom the girl deems a ghost who drags others into sharing her own fate. The girl then declares that she will unmask Yuuko's deceptive facade and, to Teiichi's horror, Yuuko transforms from a timeless beauty to a rotting abomination.
The girl then takes the chance to pull out Teiichi from Yuuko's deathly grasp, and they soon head to a bridgeway between two school buildings, where they take a rest from a long sprint from the infirmary.
Teiichi is still shaken by the revelation of Yuuko's true form, and the girl snaps him out of his shock. The girl reiterates that it is the Yuuko that she has been warning him of, an evil spirit who is up to no good. Soon, she introduces herself as Kirie Kanoe, a blood relative of the Dusk Maiden, Yuuko Kanoe.
Kirie soon explains that she knows many details about Yuuko, including her fame amongst the students of Seikyou Academy and her residence as the Ghost of the Old School Building. She also adds that she is the "demon" that pursues the players of the "Hidden Demon" game. Kirie first discovered the story behind Yuuko when she found her grandmother's old pictures, and she found out that Yuuko had died at the age of fifteen, back when her grandmother was still young. After that discovery, Kirie began to see Yuuko... or it's more appropriate to say that she had been seeing her, and has just noticed her more recently.
Initially, her image of Yuuko was of a beautiful girl of fifteen, just like on Yuuko's photographs. However, she discovered Yuuko's true form, and there, she was convinced that she is an evil spirit that should not be trusted.
Kirie then points out that Teiichi has been deceived by Yuuko's trickery and is overwhelmed by his own lust. This becomes a deadly combination that can endanger his life if left unchecked. Teiichi soon mentions finding Yuuko's corpse on the basement of the Old School Building, and with Yuuko on their tail, Teiichi and Kirie head to the Paranormal Investigation Club room to locate Yuuko's remains.
Disregarding all obstacles, Kirie exposes the secret passageway to Yuuko's remains. As Kirie marches forward, however, the lights suddenly go off, and an ominous figure leaps on Teiichi. Kirie, frightened by Yuuko's presence, runs off into the passageway, and this leaves Yuuko and Teiichi alone.
Yuuko realizes that Teiichi can no longer look at her straight in the face, now that Teiichi portrays her as a rotting corpse. She soon tells about how Teiichi makes her life more happy now that she had someone who can talk to her, and that everyday has been more meaningful because of him. Yuuko prepares to leave Teiichi with a remark of thanks, and Teiichi holds her hand before she could make a step.
Teiichi admits that he had been afraid of Yuuko and especially the truth behind her. At first, he rejects what is scary about Yuuko, and he calls himself a coward because of that. Teiichi then corrects himself, telling Yuuko that he doesn't remember Yuuko as a rotting corpse, but a beauty unlike no other.
Long, black and straight hair. Skin so white that it is almost seethrough. Sharp eyes, and a tall and slender physique. That is hiw Teiichi sees Yuuko.
However, Teiichi is not contented to see this side of Yuuko. He wants to see everything about Yuuko, and he proceeds to go to her remains, leaving behind a flustered ghost who is embarrassed to let someone see her remains.
Teiichi descends into the spot where Yuuko's bones are, and he sees Kirie crying at a corner. Kirie immediately puts a tough front and denies having cried in the dark, and Teiichi just proceeds in examining Yuuko's remains. On first glance, Teiichi finds that Yuuko's leg is broken, and Kirie realizes that the story might actually involve an accident.
Then, far behind of Yuuko's corpse, is an astounding find. A small shrine with dozens of paper amulets decorating the walls around them. Kirie then concludes that Yuuko might not be the ghost of the "Spirited Away" story... Teiichi, on the other hand, concludes that the ghost story of "Spirited Away" might have been twisted over time.
Kirie and Teiichi eventually leave the secret passageway, and Kirie finally accepts her mistakes in concluding Yuuko's involvement in the story. She apologizes to Teiichi, but still warns him about Yuuko. Teiichi remains strong, however, as he thinks that finding out about Yuuko's evil side might be an even stronger reason to confront Yuuko.
Soon, as Kirie presents herself to help Teiichi if any problem comes up, Yuuko emerges from behind the desk inside the club room, causing a startled Kirie to run away. Meanwhile, Yuuko asks about Teiichi's "examination" of Yuuko's remains. His answers cause Yuuko to shrivel up in embarrassment.
Meanwhile, Kirie wonders, " if Yuuko is not the ghost in the 'Spirited Away' story, then who is it?" As she dwells in her thoughts, a shadowy figure emerges to watch as she leaves the club room.
Yuuko soon fixes the planks covering the secret passageway to her remains, and the typical day in the Paranormal Investigation Club room begins once again. Teiichi comes early, and as Yuuko stands by him, Momoe tells a ghost story that needs investigating. This time, this involves another version of the "Spirited Away" story.
According to Momoe's version, Seikyou Academy is cursed because a shrine once stood where the school was constructed. That curse was the reason why the girl was spirited away. Teiichi thinks that Yuuko is the one who is spirited away, and a voice from nowhere echoes his thoughts about Yuuko's involvement in the "Spirited Away" story.
It is Kirie, and she returns after investigating Yuuko has taken her interest in joining the club.
With Kirie becoming the third (or fourth) member of the Paranormal Investigation Club, Momoe, Teiichi and Yuuko all welcome her to the club.
Characters[]
By order of appearance
Adapted from[]
This episode is an adaptation of Chapter 4, Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 of the manga.
Changes to the Adaptation[]
- The scene where Teiichi reads the letter he received from Kirie is done in an unknown room in the anime series. The manga series, however, depicts this scene in Teiichi's classroom.
Trivia[]
- Ruro'o, who drew this episode's end card, is a light novel illustrator who has worked on Mushi-Uta and Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru.
Quotes[]
- "Allow me to enlighten you on how dire your situation is." — Kirie Kanoe's first words to Teiichi on their encounter atop Kaede Hill's peak
- "If I see something that I shouldn't, then I'll pretend I can't see it at all." — Kirie's final words before ending her first confrontation with Teiichi