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Jul 11, 2009 6:43 PM
#1

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THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE.
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.... It was okay I guess. I wanted something a little more.
Feb 6, 2010 9:50 AM
#2

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Jun 11, 2010 8:58 AM
#3

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I have to agree, I wanted a little more for the ending but it was alright.
I was surprised they actually lost their memories, I thought something would happen and they wouldn't have to, oh well.

Another question.. Why didn't Hervé's sister turn into a monster? She just died.. I thought there would be someone that they fought hardcore on but I guess not.
Jul 12, 2010 12:14 AM
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-Alice said:
I was surprised they actually lost their memories, I thought something would happen and they wouldn't have to, oh well.

Another question.. Why didn't Hervé's sister turn into a monster? She just died.. I thought there would be someone that they fought hardcore on but I guess not.


Gothic inevitability and despair were fairly key in the series overall. Certain things were inescapable, including a fairly bad end for our heroines. Their only two options were always "die again" or "live forever without memories". There was never going to be a happy ending or a way to fix things, from start to finish the team worked to create a bleak gothic tale for the modern world. Not exactly uplifting lol, but at least they were consistent in their vision.

Anna died before she could turn completely. The lack of a "big boss" (per say) again fits in with the traditional gothic themes in the series.
Aug 10, 2010 11:55 AM
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I think it was a great series and great ending. 10/10
Oct 8, 2010 1:55 PM
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missdeep said:
-Alice said:
I was surprised they actually lost their memories, I thought something would happen and they wouldn't have to, oh well.

Another question.. Why didn't Hervé's sister turn into a monster? She just died.. I thought there would be someone that they fought hardcore on but I guess not.


Gothic inevitability and despair were fairly key in the series overall. Certain things were inescapable, including a fairly bad end for our heroines. Their only two options were always "die again" or "live forever without memories". There was never going to be a happy ending or a way to fix things, from start to finish the team worked to create a bleak gothic tale for the modern world. Not exactly uplifting lol, but at least they were consistent in their vision.

Anna died before she could turn completely. The lack of a "big boss" (per say) again fits in with the traditional gothic themes in the series.


Uhhh, actually, she didn't just die. Watch it again and you'll realize that her brother actually squeezes her to death in his arms. It was supposed to be this really tragic moment because he realizes he's too late and that she is doomed to be a monster. So he uses his strength to crush her.

Further, she does turn completely as evidenced by the fact that she starts chewing Herve's neck out. I think they just had her have that one moment of clarity before totally dying to try and milk more drama out of the situation, like somehow she gained awareness briefly because she was dying anyway. Frankly, that just highlights one of the issues that I had with the series: it was way too sentimental in places. The creator's often try so hard to get a sad/sympathetic response out of their viewers that the moment is completely undeserved and we can tell they're just trying to manipulate our emotions cheaply.

My main beef with the ending though is that they really didn't answer jack. Why did they need x amount of dead people in their little cult (the Animus say at one point that having a certain number to match the number of coffins is necessary, but not why this is so)? Who were those girls (the frozen ones)? What was the story surrounding them? Why in the world didn't they try to train their new recruits if they were so important to helping them? Like, why wouldn't they tell them from the start what was going on and help prepare them to fight? Why just let them get killed? What really happened that one day at the manor? (Seriously, we never get the full story on that and it bugs the heck out of me!) What was up with the red flowers? The list goes on and on and on....and on....and on.
Dec 2, 2010 7:05 AM
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Tsumayouji said:
Uhhh, actually, she didn't just die. Watch it again and you'll realize that her brother actually squeezes her to death in his arms. It was supposed to be this really tragic moment because he realizes he's too late and that she is doomed to be a monster. So he uses his strength to crush her....


I wasn't denying that Hervé killed Anna (he did, as you said). I was simply stating that her death occurred before she changed form completely (which was in relation to the question originally asked). Anna was in the final throes of the curse, but she did not finish her physical transformation. She wavered in and out of that state before Hervé put her out of her misery, killing her while a trace of his sister remained in that shell. If she'd transformed completely, losing herself entirely, she wouldn't have been able to say "Onii-sama" nor would her eyes have returned to normal or her hands been able to grasp at the wall. Suggesting that her transformation was complete at this point would make it inconsistent with the rest of the transformations in the series. I'm not suggesting she was "all there" by any means (most of her was clearly gone and her limbs had starting to make that snapping noise) but Hervé was able to kill her before that last trace of "Anna" escaped and her body betrayed her completely.

I didn't feel this scene was too sentimental or manipulative considering Hervé's plot had been building to it since Anna was introduced, but your own mileage will clearly vary.

Red Garden was never a series interested in solving mysteries or answering questions. This is why I mentioned its adherence to gothic staples in my previous comment. Though Red Garden is not a gothic text in the purest sense, the ambiguity and deliberate avoidance of certainty is paramount to the success of a title trying to invoke terror in such a context. In some ways definitely, this isn't fulfilling - I'd have loved to learn more about the original conflict, the origin of the clans, etc. etc. But when it comes down to it, none of these things matter all that much with regard to the narrative that's been presented to us. The lack of explanation adds to the overall feeling of terror and chaos. There is no black or white in this world, good or bad, right or wrong - it's unnerving to think that this universe denies us certainty at every turn.

While I like the ambiguity in the anime manor scene, the fifth chapter of the manga tackles it in a more straight-forward manner (and in what appears to be chronological order). The manga might be worth checking out if you liked the series but craved more structure, it's a solid re-imagining.
computerheatDec 2, 2010 7:35 AM
Dec 3, 2010 2:46 PM
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Ah, gotcha. My mistake, I misinterpreted what you said, and you are absolutely right. Though I do still question whether or not she made that final transformation. The biting of her brother's neck is pretty severe. An interesting, if minor, point for debate.

I actually do like tales with gothic themes/settings. My problem here is that usually such tales present an environment, a strong context for the characters to be in that affects their actions and then it's more about the characters working towards an relationship-based goal, like revenge by taking advantage of that environment. That way, you don't mind if plot elements are dropped. Now, arguably, Red Garden does do this, to an extent. But the relationship goals that would drive the story seem to involve the characters other than the girls. Yes, the main girls have issues, but their issues are very commonplace, coming out because of their situation, but not really wholly connected to the context (like Rachel has horrible friends, Clare can't appreciate her one friend/family, etc... These issues are highlighted because of the circumstance, but they aren't largely connected). The other characters, like Herve do have goals directly relating to the situation, so it seems to me that they either should have removed the greater supernatural subplot (the fighting covens) and just focused on the girls with the set-up of "They're dead and they have to fight" (without really ever telling us why at all), or they should have shifted focus to Herve and the other clan members.

I'm not sure if I'm expressing myself well here. I guess because of the girl's issues and how they are approached, the story often feels more akin to a soap opera rather than a true gothic tale, so throwing in those hints of a more action-based and concrete supernatural plot without fully explaining them feels disjoint to me. My interpretation of gothic tales is that the protagonist has to be in a situation that someone takes advantage of to create that air of unease and drama. Like the book/film Rebecca. I won't spoil it if you've not read/seen it, but the lead woman in that has a heck of a time when she discovers that her love interest used to be married to this woman, Rebecca. The actions of those around her are directly tied to the fact that something happened to Rebecca and so encase the story in a solid mystery that ends up dictating the tone and relationships. Red Garden has the context, but the girls (aside from being dead/alive and having to fight) don't have problems firmly tied to the clans conflict, so that's why it feels off to me.

Anyway, enough babble out of me. I think I will take you up on your advice and give the manga a read. Though I ultimately found it lacking, this is definitely a refreshing series in its uniqueness and characters, so it gets big points from me for that.
Dec 4, 2010 4:28 AM
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Tsumayouji said:
The biting of her brother's neck is pretty severe.


I'd venture that she was on the edge and Hervé managed to squeeze the life out of her at just the right moment. If he'd left it any longer, it seems unlikely she would have had that last second of clarity.

Tsumayouji said:
I actually do like tales with gothic themes/settings. My problem here is that usually such tales present an environment, a strong context for the characters to be in that affects their actions and then it's more about the characters working towards an relationship-based goal, like revenge by taking advantage of that environment.


I mention gothic themes primarily because the creators have been quite specific about traditional gothic literature providing key inspiration for the series. They commissioned some interesting articles on the official site (jp) that outline the genre and its relation to the series (they're hardly academic, but they're fun).

Both the variance and similarity between the "normal" environment (and the girls' issues within it) and the "abnormal" environment (and the girls' issues within it) are key to Red Garden's execution. Juxtaposition between routine elements and the supernatural tends to be paramount in most early gothic texts, particularly with regard to the successful execution of psychological terror. You need the monotony of the everyday in order for gothic terror to be executed effectively, it gives contextual grounding as well as a heightened sense of unease once changes begin to take place.

For example, Emily's familial issues take up a considerable portion of Radcliffe's "The Mysteries of Udolpho". You could easily suggest that these issues are not only commonplace, but banal (who hasn't had family issues?). Most of them are unimportant (plot-wise) until Emily is actually located within the castle. The early scenes with Emily and her father seem average and meaningless when read on their own. Yet, as the father lays dying he tells Emily to gain command of her emotions. The rest of the text focuses on Emily trying to do just that, albeit within the framework of a cursed estate.

One could argue that a similar journey takes place within Red Garden. The girls must gain command of their senses within a familiar environment in order to survive in an unfamiliar one. Their growth as characters cannot be limited to the supernatural world as, like any gothic-esque characters, their worlds are not primarily supernatural. Metaphysical events are terrifying oddities rather than accepted banalities. Having command over the senses in both contexts is the key to a gothic heroine's survival. In this context, the gothic journey is about overcoming (or succumbing to) a combination of the normal and the abnormal.

Tsumayouji said:
I guess because of the girl's issues and how they are approached, the story often feels more akin to a soap opera rather than a true gothic tale...


But melodrama is a key feature in gothic texts, particularly those from Walpole's period through to the Romantics. Every element is heightened and over-the-top in a gothic tale in order to build terror. To suggest that Red Garden is any more hammy than the texts that helped inspire it is... well, it's not entirely accurate.

Tsumayouji said:
My interpretation of gothic tales is that the protagonist has to be in a situation that someone takes advantage of to create that air of unease and drama.


This is what happened in Red Garden though, in several ways. The girls are lured to their deaths, their naivety being their doom. The Animus take advantage of these deaths in just the way that the Doral hoped they would. I'm not sure how being murdered and body-snatched in order to be re-animated into service isn't uneasy or dramatic.

Tsumayouji said:
The actions of those around her are directly tied to the fact that something happened to Rebecca and so encase the story in a solid mystery that ends up dictating the tone and relationships. Red Garden has the context, but the girls (aside from being dead/alive and having to fight) don't have problems firmly tied to the clans conflict, so that's why it feels off to me.


The girls have, as I mentioned above, problems tied to both the conflict and everyday life. Their primary concerns before being killed don't stop being concerns simply because they're in different bodies - had they instantly changed into killing machines the story would have lost much of its strength. As the series progresses they are able to let go of the everyday aspects to their lives and focus on their ultimate survival instead (which is in keeping with the plot and its context). The fact that they were innocent victims unrelated to the clan conflict is terribly gothic.

"Rebecca" is from a different period to the texts that directly inspired Red Garden and as such, has different thematic concerns. Unlike Red Garden, the supernatural aspects in "Rebecca" only provide a sliver of the overall terror invoked. Most of the unnerving, alarming moments relate to Mrs. Danvers and her obsessive, claustrophobic devotion to the estate and the deceased Rebecca. Red Garden relies more on the supernatural plot for its tension (which is both a strength and a failure, I feel).

The conflict in Red Garden is not set up as a mystery in need of being solved. It is something to be survived rather than pondered over. Why it began is almost inconsequential as solving its riddles would achieve little - the conflict does not end once its depth is revealed. This is where Red Garden seems to differ considerably from titles like "Rebecca", in which solving a mystery is key to surviving it. This difference seems to add to the overall sense of terror in the series. You can't "fix" the supernatural problems in Red Garden (which contrasts with the girls' everyday issues) nor can you escape them. It invokes a feeling of suffocation like du Maurier's novel, but its method and reasoning are not the same.

Gah, I didn't realise how long this post had become. I really enjoy Red Garden but I agree that it has its share of problems. The manga isn't licensed in English but the first volume is available raw online. In a lot of ways I feel the manga is more cohesive. It's only four volumes long so there's not a lot of time to devote to worrying about Rose's siblings or whatever-the-hell.
Dec 5, 2010 2:35 PM

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My goodness! Okay, well, I must submit to your obviously superior knowledge to the gothic genre. You are more well-versed, knowledgeable, and eloquent in relation to it than I. Fantastic points all around, and now, because of you, I really feel the urge to start studying the genre as thoroughly as I can. I do still diverge from your assertions in some minor ways. For example, you bring up that the power of gothic literature relies on the blending of the normal and abnormal problems faced by the protagonists, and that the girls in Red Garden have their share of both. While I agree that they do have issues of both veins, I guess, I realize now my problem is that the normal, commonplace problems hog the spotlight to the extreme. The abnormal problems don't get the same amount of attention, and once they move more into accepting the supernatural condition they are in, they don't seem to grapple with the new supernatural problems as they do their normal ones (which they still struggle with right to the end). In your example about Emily, her concerns do become more integrated with the supernatural toward the end, and aren't totally accepted or forgotten. The cursed estate creates an integrated atmosphere for character movement; it's not just a convenient backdrop. In Red Garden they do spend a good portion of the opening worrying about the fight/kill or die dilemma, but it's treated in a way that it IS tied to a mystery -- the mystery of their deaths. At the start, they always come back to "If only we could remember what happened that night," so the fact that they never do remember or solve that mystery is upsetting because in that fashion, the story IS initially more like "Rebecca" and those later gothic tellings.

I suppose also my one other remaining point of contention is that the girls don't act like someone in their situation really would. I completely agree that one of the goals of the story, and one of its better aspects, is that it takes people removed from the conflict and just throws them in, and we the viewers feel just as unnerved and disoriented as they do. They don't know all the answers, so we don't. And that works well for two-thirds of the series. However, at the end, they DO start to get answers, and instead of following up on them, like asking who the frozen children are, or what the deal is with the precise number of coffins, they just kinda shrug and go with it. Now, some people at that point would do just that; after all, they are screwed anyway, so who cares? But given how much the girls wanted answers at first, and how much they still crave them by the end, coupled with the fact that the four girls have radically different personalities, at least ONE of them should have asked those questions. It annoys me that those elements are seemingly introduced just to allude to something else going on, but really, if you took them away, you wouldn't lose a thing. They could have just left it at the Animus wanting to take out the other clan, and that's that. The girls never know more about how it started and why. And that would have been a more cohesive ending to me, because their unwillingness to answer questions later makes sense since they know the basic situation and there's nothing they can do to change it. But once you bring in hints about the "why in the world is there even a conflict, and who started it?" then you'd better have someone investigate those hints (unless you have one single protagonist that just really wouldn't do that and you're raising a point about that being a flaw in their character, or pointing out how that that lack of inquisitiveness either helps lead to or pull them out of their situation). Bringing that stuff in about the frozen ones and the coffins just seems to have absolutely no point! Unless it's to say that the girls are so accepting of their fates that they just don't care anymore, which doesn't work because they fear their fates to the end. And if the point was just "they're trying to accept their fates, as you can see here, but they aren't wholly successful as they obviously still do care," eh, well, I think there could have been a better way to achieve that without frustrating the audience by dangling those possible answers before them, and then not having them answered simply because the protagonists are indifferent.

Ehehe. This is becoming quite the sprawling debate! Good stuff. Though I do lament having it over text. It's much harder to articulate your ideas in the written form at times. Then again, it also allows you more time to think before you form a rebuttal, so there's good and bad there. In any event, it's good to know that there are some animes out there with real substance, and that there are also intelligent viewers. Ha! Fight that "anime is silly and vapid" stereotype! (Not that there's anything wrong with enjoying a silly, vapid anime. =D Just good to know there's variety.)
Dec 19, 2010 8:37 AM

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Ahaha I'm not particularly knowledgeable, one of my minors was in literature from the early gothic period so this is more like residual knowledge than anything else! It's a fascinating genre and the changes between different periods are particularly interesting. If you're ever interested in reading some books on the subject I'd recommend "Gothic" by Fred Botting (good introductory text), "Gothic and Gender" by Donna Heiland (what it says on the label), "Hollywood Heroines: Women in Film Noir and the Female Gothic Film" by Helen Hanson (great bit on "Rebecca") and "The Gothic Body: Sexuality, Materialism, and Degeneration at the Fin De Siecle" by Kelly Hurley (emphasis on 19th century stuff).

I don't disagree with you in regard to the emphasis on the commonplace elements of the girls' lives - their daily concerns certainly take up the majority of the series despite the encroaching supernatural. This seems to be a deliberate approach by the creators, something akin to creating even deeper disparity between the two worlds these girls inhabit (which is what makes their eventual acceptance so jarring). I agree that it lacks the seamless blending between atmospheres, though I can't help but wonder if that is deliberate too. As seminal as Udolpho is, it is similarly far from seamless (Emily switching between being useful and utterly useless depending on the situation springs to mind - oh gothic heroines).

Tsumayouji said:
However, at the end, they DO start to get answers, and instead of following up on them, like asking who the frozen children are, or what the deal is with the precise number of coffins, they just kinda shrug and go with it.


I appreciate your frustration, though there's not a lot to contend about the answers they are given by the final third of the series. Bringing the original Animus and the coffins into things seems like a play for impact, particularly with regard to the futility of it all. These frozen lolis just want to die and they don't care how many reanimated girls they have to use to achieve this end. While I agree that it would have been interesting to see this investigated further, I'm not really sure if this would give us any substantial answers - or even if further answers are required. In becoming aware of the true nature of the Animus clan the girls are put in a position not too dissimilar from the one Lula has been in for most of the series. Knowing enough to know you're doomed, but not knowing enough to change anything. Would investigating further turn up greater knowledge about the clans? Perhaps, but it would likely prove useless - the series seems to relish the futility of all attempts to eliminate or fight against the curse. You can be dissatisfied with your fate but accepting of your inability to change it - which I think is about where the heroines ended up. Rather bleak, really. I liked the bleakness in the sense that they didn't wimp out and try for a happy ending, we were told two clans had to fight to the death and, well, they did. Was it a flawed conflict? Absolutely. If I had a chance to make the series for myself I would likely change several things, but I can still see why the producers went the way they did with most aspects of the show.

I'm enjoying having a discussion about something with a vague amount of depth ahaha! It's quite hard to accentuate tone when you're typing stuff like this out though. D: I hate sounding so dry but I don't want to toss too much silliness into a pleasant in-depth exchange. I tend to enjoy craptastic anime so Red Garden being genuinely interesting is a bit of a change for me.
Jan 4, 2011 12:31 PM

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Really interesting anime... One of the most original I've ever seen. 10/10 from me and I think it's one of my faves... but wait, there is one more episode, can't wait to see what'll happen xD I have some uncertain things in my mind, but I hope I'll understand them from the ova.

Mar 1, 2011 10:05 PM

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I like the ending. Really good series.
Mar 1, 2011 10:05 PM

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I like the ending. Really good series.
Mar 20, 2011 9:34 AM

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(0_0) What did I just watch?

More unanswered questions than a bludger's test paper. I'm very disappointed. The 2 factions could've just sat down and worked on a compromise. Most of them didn't have jack shit to do with what their ancestors did anyway.
garytekMar 20, 2011 7:45 PM
Mar 21, 2011 9:02 AM

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garytek said:
The 2 factions could've just sat down and worked on a compromise. Most of them didn't have jack shit to do with what their ancestors did anyway.


The difficulty in compromising was that the one side basically had to lose no matter what. The way the curses were structured meant that it was a fight for survival only one side could truly win. The fact that the curse had nothing to do with the current generations is kind of the point? It's a residual conflict that is archaic in modern days but still brutally inescapable. The modern characters did not commit the sins and yet they are forced to pay for them anyway. I'd venture that this was one of the more clearly gothic aspects to the series (quite deliberately so) but I do understand your frustration - who wants to fight in a war that should have nothing to do with them?
Mar 19, 2012 10:13 PM

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mann good series- very sad but good 8/10
one more episode!!!
and i always hated herve but it was sad that he had to kill anna who he wanted to save so much.....

but herve and kate's relationship confused me when kate got kidnapped herve and emilio saved her but in this episode herve was so mean and determined to kill her
May 6, 2012 12:14 AM

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Ok, so I finished watching it, and I really was both happy...but then slightly saddened and annoyed by the ending. It didn't really leave at a cliff-hanger( Ex. Wolf's Rain) but the OVA explaining how they're still alive after centuries....that freaks me out! And it's sad. Herve and Lisa (girl who started it all basically) were still together, and I only wish they hadn't lost their darn memories! If they had to live forever then at least remember the 17 years before hand!....*sighs* now it makes me depressed.
But over-all, good series....still really annoying :P lol, they all change personalities in the OVA XD.
ANIME FEVER FOREVER! ^.~
Jul 17, 2012 3:46 PM

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One of my new favorites. Watched it in two days.
The only other show I've marathoned like this was the 1st season of Jigoku Shoujo.

I just feel kinda empty after watching this, it'd be cool if they had more episodes showing how their lives went on >.>

The animation and just everything about this sets it apart from most animes and I really liked that.
Real Hell is inside a person-Ai Enma (Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae)
Do you know where hell is? Inside your head-Chrona (Soul Eater)


May 11, 2013 9:52 AM

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Most worthless, pointless piece of crap anime i've watched... No wonder it took me 1 month to finish it...
Sep 6, 2013 11:00 PM

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"We are not dead!"
Damn, tough words there.

I'm glad Lise is alright though. Sad episode....seems like no one can live forever in this show. I'll rate this series overall a 6/10. It had some slow pacing problems imo but ultimately tied it together decently. The animation isn't very my style though....
Feb 3, 2014 7:41 PM

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The women were just dying for no reason, it seemed. It's as if they grew tired and gave up.

I thought the series was moving. I liked the beauty of the ending; the landscape of New York City complete with a fully finished Freedom Tower and the "rebirth"... I didn't like the ending, all that much, however.

I'm still confused about the whole story surrounding Lise.

1) The girls all died going into that mansion, but what were they all doing in there together? It's not like they were friends. They didn't become friends until they found themselves having to fight wolf/zombie people together.

2) Lise became a wolf/zombie in the other episode. She munched on the doctor's neck and then flew across the east river. What happened to her condition and why did she turn to dust like the rest of the women? Is she half of both species?

3) Why did she die, period?

9/10
Nov 20, 2014 3:38 PM
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wow the final was pretty cool. When did the girls learn to kick so much ass. Every fight iv seen them have they barely could do what they were doing just now. Im also guessing both clans are have both been wiped out.Though I wish the background would be explained more. Even though herve did some dirt things in the end I can understand why he did it. He saw his mom turn and die in front of him and didint want that to happen to his sister and would do anything to save her. In all accounts he was a awesome brother. It was sad seeing the girl he tried to save for so long turn in front of him and having to kill her himself. It was sad to see lisa not make. Overall it was a good show with some issues but still liked it.
Nov 20, 2014 3:39 PM
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wow the final was pretty cool. When did the girls learn to kick so much ass. Every fight iv seen them have they barely could do what they were doing just now. Im also guessing both clans are have both been wiped out.Though I wish the background would be explained more. Even though herve did some dirt things in the end I can understand why he did it. He saw his mom turn and die in front of him and didint want that to happen to his sister and would do anything to save her. In all accounts he was a awesome brother. It was sad seeing the girl he tried to save for so long turn in front of him and having to kill her himself. It was sad to see lisa not make. Overall it was a good show with some issues but still liked it.
Sep 20, 2015 7:12 AM
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I really enjoyed the series, but I can't honestly give it a score higher than 6. It had many inconsistencies all around from start to end and I just can't put them to rest.

At first, it wasn't made obvious that Lise was already dead when the story started. I thought all of them died at the same time, but obviously not since Hervé got closer to her to get the body. He had no reason to get close to her otherwise, right? Was Lise drugged? Since we know that death to Animus means turning to dust. If she was still a human, why on earth did Animus try to get her body? They knew something went incredibly wrong there. And Hervé didn't even need to get close to Lise. He could just kill any girl and wait for Animus to come and get her (they certainly had no qualms killing 4 other girls in one night). But then again, if she was an Animus, the rest should know about Hervé, but none of the Animus knew. And actually, the most important question, how on earth can they not possibly know who Hervé was? Isn't he supposed to be one of their great enemies? He was free to go wherever and Animus had no idea what their enemy looked like? Their organisation sucks.

Lise was a mystery more or less as well. she somehow connected everyone, but apart from Kate we barely knew how Lise knew the rest and to what degree as to actually get together and want to save her. Did Kate gather them? Randomly? Lise seemed to have lots of friends. If the 4 of them knew her all so well, why didn't we see more memories with the rest of them? I just got the impression that Lise was really poppular and knew a lot of people. Only Kate cares so much about her either way.

Also, there was no actual background story to this "feud". They all say they are cursed because of the books, but why did Doral steal the book in the first place? They never said about any abilities the Cursed Tomes had, except breaking the curse. If anything, why not give back the Tome? Couldn't there be some way for both of them to get the curse gone from both of them? And who are Dorals either way? We know how Animus are created, but Doral? It seems it's hereditary? A main family and branches? I don't get this. Their history is pretty much a blank and we don't even know what their abilities are. Do they get super powers once they are born? Those jumps and stuff aren't normal. Everyone's loyalty is just too extreme. Especially Animus that some of them fight for the Masters and could care less about living forever, considering winning and losing is pretty much the same to them. Like, why? Was there really any collective punishment if you didn't follow the rules? I only assume other Animus would kill them, but why would they really care if they actually cause no harm to humanity or something? And why is it Animus' job to kill the awakened beasts? Doral doesn't care that their men/personnel is out killing numerous innocent people? Do they want their secrets revealed or something?

That policeman played no role at all. Well ok, he didn't have that much screentime either way, but why did he exist at all? He basically achieved 0 and the story would be 100% the same if there was no police involved. I felt sad of course, but just useless and waste of time.

That flower bulb... what was it? Why were the awakened beasts drawn to that? The anime is called Red Garden and apart from that flower they planted, we only see them at the end and have no idea what they actually do or represent. I guess they have "animus' scent"? Ok?

And the girls are suddently 100% in control of their powers... when did that happen? If you are angry, all's ok? And during this all-out war, only the 4 of them survived? They are the newest, but somehow they fought off everyone and in the end, they only chased Hervé without having anyone else in their way. So all the rest who survived for years and even centuries died much easier than the main girls...

Well, either way, still I enjoyed it a lot. The girls most of the time had realistic reactions and their mood swings were believable with every new thing they learnt. It could have been an all-around story, but you can't have everything.
Nov 11, 2015 3:52 PM
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Jun 2015
2
Just finished it BTW Loved it!!! Any anime that i can finish in one day non stop without getting me bored is a great anime to me i was confused about the ending though did they lose they're memories and what was with all the Red Flowers
Jan 14, 2016 6:40 AM

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Oct 2014
417
well it's finally over

i really enjoyed this series and it's atmosphere - it was very unique and different than many of the animes I've seen before

i do feel that in this final episode, during the final battle, all of the women died pointlessly. all they had to do is be choked or thrown around and they'd disappear into ash. i was hoping lula would make t so i was pretty down when she died - i liked her character

anna and herve's deaths honestly made me cringe so hard though. i've seen a lot of cringe-worthy scenes (do the bunnies from blood-c ring a bell??) but him crushing her in half while she started to practically eat him alive honestly had me getting fidgety >.<

i knew lise wouldn't make it so i wasn't very surprised when she died, though i did hold out hope that the girls would be able to keep their memories in some way

overall i honestly loved this series. i put it off for the longest time - i would watch the first episode, and the art style plus the singing would weird me out (not much of a musical fan), but im glad i changed my mind because this is one of the best series I've seen

10/10
Mar 21, 2016 1:17 PM

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Aug 2012
1127
Glad I've given this a second chance. The show turned out to be surprisingly good.
The story is decent, but the characters are just great. I think their emotions and interactions are quite realistic and I enjoyed seeing them develop. Too bad their singing stopped so early though.
8.5
Apr 17, 2017 1:24 PM

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Jan 2016
20
I loved this series a lot. The best thing about it was the art style and how realistic the characters were. I'm a little disappointed they didn't develop Kate and Paula's relationship further, but I guess that feeds to the tragic feeling of the show.
The ending had me a little confused, though. Why did Lise's ashes turn into flowers and what happened afterwards? Didn't anyone question why the whole island was covered in pink flowers?
Aug 25, 2017 1:48 PM
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Sep 2015
346
Well that was, um, that. I would've rated this 7-8 for enjoyment but so much bad writing and plot induced stupidity. And then that ending >_>

The best part is that both sides wanted the same thing - to join the books together breaking the curses. And they killed each other to stop each other. And it was a lose-lose proposition for the mud girls - either they die, or they get full amnesia which is exactly the same thing as death. Just burn the fucking book and if you want to put the "dolls" out of their misery decapitate or burn or cut them into little pieces or something!

6/10
Jul 14, 2019 9:48 AM

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Jun 2015
2512
beautiful anime it was so beautiful
If you are going to disagree with me, don't bother talking to me. I will seriously hurt you!
May 25, 2020 2:50 PM
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Dec 2019
390
I was wondering why this series only had a 7 because 2/3 of the way through the characterization and drama were excellent. Turns out it was because of the massive plot holes, although I think this show is still massively underrated. This kind of went the way of Darker than Black where they have good stuff for about 80-85% of the series but then the writers can't come up with a good explanation and have everyone kill each other in the end.

Maybe people were more focused on the plot and lore, when really the supernatural stuff functioned to support the drama rather than the other way around. I think the function of the supernatural stuff was to act as a stimulus for the drama and also to put their problems into the perspective of life and death. It forces the girls to think hard about what really matters in their lives. The drama gives me Nana vibes, but I would never sit through Nana whereas I liked Red Garden because it supplemented the drama with some actual stakes.

While the main characters' journey was excellent, the plot holes distracted from it and I feel like they could've gone for a stronger conclusion if they thought things out some more.

Also, if you knew you were going to lose your memories, why wouldn't you just write a journal and record yourself and do so many other things to help you get back your life???? I get that they really wanted to push the losing memories thing, but I have to question if that narrative choice really accomplishes much. Perhaps the girls would have less reason to live their lives to the fullest if they weren't going to lose their memories (in which case I would argue their arcs could've been completed just fine without it) but I don't see any other purpose for doing so.

I wish they did some more singing too.
RecynonMay 27, 2020 10:26 PM
Apr 2, 2021 4:11 AM

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May 2020
1985
What a series. I agree with most of the people here, it has great characters but it's plot is what drags it down for the most part. Yeah, yeah, it's obvious that the supernatural stuff is not the main focus but it's also clear they did the bare minimum in order to invoke a conflict and nothing more.

Honestly, I genuinely think this could've been a solid 8/10 with a better focus on the supernatural side of things but as it is, it's a 6/10.
Nov 28, 2021 1:36 PM

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Nov 2016
31884
I'm satisfied with this ending. Not surprised that things were left open after the wrap up last episode either.

Had mixed feelings in the beginning despite intriguing premise, but the characters grew on me over the course of the series. Same can be said about the opening, lol.

6,5/10

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Sep 18, 2022 4:07 PM

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Sep 2017
2800
Wow. Not the most climatic ending in terms of action, but the action was never this series strong suite. I still really liked this series though. The ending was hella depressing with basically the families completely wiping each other out, and I really feel bad for Herve. Poor guy just wanted to save his sister (and cousin)...

So both families are done for and our girls wake up in a "Red Garden" presumably with their memories completely gone. Lise ends up dying because I guess of how much her Animus body was messed with in the experiments.

All in all I liked this series a lot, particularly with all the interpersonal drama stuff for each of our mains + Herve. Idk when trying to describe the ending in one word I think I'd say beautiful.

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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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