Episode 14

**Tomboy Tio and the Idol Megumi** (おてんばティオとアイドル恵, *Otenba Tio to Aidoru Megumi*) is the 14th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on July 13, 2003.

## Overview

Kiyomaro spends most of his day with Suzume as they go see the Japanese pop idol Megumi Oumi live in concert. While all seems to be well on stage, from behind the scenes Megumi finds herself worrying over the safety of the concert attendees. Megumi's demon partner, Tio, reassures Megumi there's nothing to worry about as she stays on the lookout for an old "friend" from the Demon World.

## Plot

Kiyomaro ends up going to one of his first concerts along with his friend and classmate, Suzume. As Suzume thanks Kiyomaro for going with her to see the idol Megumi live in concert, Kiyomaro can't help but wonder what his first concert experience will be like. Not too far behind following them, Gash tries to sneak into the concert with them while in his duffel bag disguise. From backstage inside Megumi's dressing room, Megumi openly considers the idea of cancelling her performance out of concern for her fans. Megumi's demon partner, Tio, says otherwise as she argues with Megumi about allowing the performance to go on as she deals with any threats herself. Tio goes on to remind Megumi of not letting her fans down since her job as an idol is to make people happy with her songs. Unable to argue back against Tio's will, Megumi reluctantly decides that the concert will still go on.

Changing the subject, Megumi ends up expressing to Tio how she wishes that the demon who's been chasing them was actually Gash, who was known as an outcast and a weakling in the Demon World. As Megumi goes on to explain what she means by this idea, saying that Gash could be on their side as a friend, she quickly notices Tio's change of mood as Tio has become visibly upset at the idea of such. Megumi lets go of the idea and recites Tio's belief that there are no friends and only enemies in the battle to decide king. Tio goes into agreeing with this and even expresses her doubts that someone as weak as Gash would still be in the battle by now.

Back outside the concert hall, Gash finds himself caught by outdoor security who are checking in bags for the concert. Kiyomaro, not wanting to associate himself with Gash's antics, walks off while pretending he doesn't know him and meets back up with Suzume. Gash is eventually kicked out and becomes frustrated as he wants to be able to attend the concert with Kiyomaro. Determined to see the show still, he soon decides he'll find another way in on his own and heads off to look for a back entrance. Soon after, another demon, Mars, and his bookkeeper, Rembrandt, arrive standing in front of the concert hall as their search for Tio and Megumi has led them to her summer concert.

Meanwhile, Megumi is informed that it's finally time for her concert performance. As Megumi gets ready to go, Tio wishes her good luck with her performance. As Megumi looks at Tio, she can't help but think about Tio's belief in how there are no friends in the demon battle. Megumi also gets caught up in thinking about their weaknesses in demon battles as they only have defensive spells and any offensive spells they have are incredibly weak which leaves them no option but to constantly run away from any fights. Worrying about Tio brings Megumi to tears but is reminded that she has a concert to do and must cheer up for her fans.

As Megumi's music performance goes on, Tio begins her job of staying alert for any enemy demons. For this, Tio stands facing towards one of the back entrance doors as it is the only other way into the concert hall. She then develops a plan where if any enemies show up, all she'll have to do is divert their attention to her and not at the on-going concert. Despite her initial confidence, Tio begins to have her doubts as to if she'll really be capable of doing this job after all. Tio eventually gets caught up in thinking about Megumi's words when she had mentioned that Gash could have been a friend to them. She eventually disregards this as she remembers how weak Gash was in the Demon World and how easily he would get scared or cry whenever she would tease him. As she convinces herself once again how there are no friends in this battle, she thinks back to an incident that had occurred when the battle to decide king has just begun.

Some time ago on a ship sailing in the middle of the night, Tio reunites with one of her friends from the Demon World, Mars, who happens to be on the same ship as her. Tio was relieved to have been able to run into someone she knew from the Demon world as she had been alone ever since she had arrived in the Human World and had not met her bookkeeper yet. As Mars turns around to face her, Tio immediately feels off-put by Mars' nefarious demeanor as he raises his hand to attack despite the fact that they were good friends in the Demon World. As soon as the demon battle had begun however, that was when everyone had started to change and even began betraying one another.

Tio's thoughts are suddenly interrupted with the sound of a turning doorknob in front of her and she soon concludes that Mars must already be there. Unexpectedly for Tio however, it turns out to be Gash who managed to find a way in to go see the concert. Tio is at first taken back but immediately tackles Gash and begins strangling him as she suspects that he's come to defeat her in battle only to be surprised when she hears that Gash was only there to see Megumi's concert. It soon becomes evident to Tio as she talks with Gash that Gash doesn't remember her at all. This then causes her to become upset with Gash once again while trying to remind him that she used to tease him all the time. Gash attempts to further explain himself by telling Tio that he had lost his memories and that he truly doesn't know who she is.

As Tio tries to understand this, Mars suddenly appears from behind and announces he had finally found her. After seeing Mars again standing in front of her, Tio attempts to run away only to be threatened by Mars that he'll just go ahead and attack everyone who has attended Megumi's concert. This stops Tio in her tracks as she then proceeds to tearfully plead with Mars asking that if she's defeated by him there that he leaves Megumi's concert alone. Seeing Tio's desperation, Mars gives Tio another suggestion: not only will he defeat her, but he'll then go on to attack the concert anyways. As Tio stands helplessly waiting to be struck by Mars' first spell, *Garon*, she soon sees Gash standing in front of her and shielding her from Mars' spell with his body.

As Gash uses all of his strength to hold back Mars' spell, he informs Tio of his bookkeeper, Kiyomaro, who's also at the concert and tells Tio to bring Kiyomaro. As Tio watches Gash hold back Mars' *Garon*, Tio begins to feel conflicted trying to understand why Gash is trying to help her like this and remembers how weak he was in the Demon World. She once again thinks to herself how there are no real friends in this battle and nobody would truly go out of their way to save anyone else like this. As Gash once again urges Tio to retrieve Kiyomaro, Tio, who's now in tears as she helplessly watches Gash protect her, still struggles with her inner thoughts about the idea of having friends in the battle. She eventually hurries off telling Gash that she'll bring his bookkeeper right away. Mars, frustrated with Gash trying to hold back his attack, attempts to push him away again while his spell is still active only to see that Gash still continues to hold on.

As Tio runs off determined to find Gash's bookkeeper, she eventually finds the entrance to the on-going concert show. As she opens the door, she only sees in front of her masses of other people who are currently enjoying the show with Gash's bookkeeper not in sight. As Tio looks downward, she suddenly sees herself back in a memory during the night of the incident on the ship with Mars. Back in the flashback, Mars had just attempted to attack Tio with his spell just barely reaching her. Tio questions Mars as to why he would do this considering the fact that they were such good friends. Hearing "friends' ' being mentioned makes Mars at the idea of such and explains that the battle to decide king isn't about making friends but rather eliminating everyone, including any friends, until you're the last one standing.

He then goes on to comment how Tio hadn't even found a bookkeeper yet which makes it all the more convenient for him to eliminate as he detests weaklings who try and fight back. Before his spell was cast, his final words to Tio on that night was that she had lost the battle the moment she had trusted him. As Tio tries to escape from Mars on the ship, Mars' *Garon* is cast which hits Tio from behind causing her to be pushed off the ship and be plunged into the waters below. As Tio remembers those words Mars had once said to her, she also thinks back to Gash who had placed his trust in her to find and bring his bookkeeper. Thinking about Gash, Tio begins to suspect the possibility that Gash too might be trying to trick her the same way then finally closes the door to the concert entrance.

As Megumi finishes the first half of her performance, she soon sees Tio in the backstage area waiting for her while holding her spell book in her arms. Tio and Megumi rush back to the back entrance area where Mars had come from only to soon see Gash who's battered and bruised collapsed on the floor before Mars. As Tio comes to Gash's side, Gash questions Tio why had she not brought his bookkeeper with her. Tio ends up truthfully answering this question only in her thoughts as she thinks he had lost the battle the moment he had trusted her. To answer Gash's question out loud, she responds saying that someone as weak as him can't possibly defeat Mars. She then moves Gash aside to rest as she and Megumi face Mars and Rembrandt on their own.

Tio's battle against Mars begins with Mars using another *Garon* attack only for it to be soon deflected by Tio's *Seushiru*, a light shield that protects her and Megumi from all around them. They soon follow this up by using *Saisu* to attack Mars directly. This offensive attack however doesn't do much to Mars as he is easily able to protect himself using only his body. Despite their disadvantage on being able to defeat Mars with brute force alone, they soon decide to rely on a defensive strategy where they'll simply continue to defend against his attacks in order to dwindle his energy down to nothing. They soon show this off as they manage to successfully block Mars' *Ganzu* *Garon* attack using *Ma Seshirudo*, an even stronger defensive spell. Mars then uses a new spell of his, *Eijasu* *Garon*, which summons a spiked iron ball that's fast approaching Tio and Megumi. The two of them decide to opt for their most ideal defense spell for this spell, *Seushiru*, as a way to block it from most directions. However, it's soon revealed that they did not account for the possibility that *Eijasu* *Garon* is able to attack from the ground below them, which allows Mars to get a direct hit on both of them and destroy their shield at the same time.

Both Tio and Megumi end up collapsed onto the ground barely able to move after such an attack. Tio tries to force herself back up again as she thinks of Megumi's safety and wants to be able to get her to somewhere safe. Tio then openly requests Gash to help take Megumi safe as he's the only person she can rely on but soon discovers that Gash had disappeared from the spot where she had left him. Tio then thinks to herself as she understands why Gash would leave as this situation as this was one that he would have lost in if he continued to stay and fight. Tio then remembers that how she had been alone all this time and still managed to be fine. Likewise, as she stands up to act as Megumi's shield, she plans on continuing to fight on her own like she always has. As *Eijasu Garon* is about to be cast, it's soon interrupted by Kiyomaro's voice as he casts *Zakeru* first which instantly blows Mars and Rembrandt away. Tio soon turns to see that the source of that spell was Gash, who had returned with Kiyomaro after all. Kiyomaro then approaches Tio telling her she had done a great job on her own but it's their turn to handle the rest of the battle now. As Tio looks onward at Kiyomaro, she then cries in a sense of relief seeing that they're really there to help her.

 Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Suzume Mizuno
* Gash Bell
* Megumi Oumi
* Tio
* Mars
* Rembrandt
* Eita Kubozuka
* Hyde

### Spells by Appearance

* Garon (Debut)
* Seushiru (Debut)
* Saisu (Debut)
* Ganzu Garon (Debut)
* Ma Seshirudo (Debut)
* Eijasu Garon (Debut)

## Manga & Anime Differences

* The appearance of Megumi's concert ticket is different between the manga and anime adaptation. While in the anime the concert ticket is shown to list general concert information, the concert ticket in the manga features an image of Megumi on it.

* In the manga, the scar on the back of Tio's neck is seen only once after the first time Tio recollects her previous encounter with Mars as she stands guard at the back entrance door. In the anime, Tio's neck scar is seen multiple times and was first shown as she turns away from Megumi while speaking with her in her dressing room.

* As Tio speaks with Megumi in the dressing room, Tio briefly brings up the fact that, at that point in time, there are only 70 other demons remaining in the battle including her. This detail however was never mentioned in the anime adaptation of the series.

* Mars and Tio's first reunion in the Human World is portrayed significantly differently between the manga and anime adaptation.
	+ **Manga Events:** Tio reunites with Mars in the middle of a town during the night. After Mars gives his explanation in regards to his sudden change of attitude, he then attacks Tio using *Garon* ( although never explicitly shown ).
	+ **Anime Events:** Tio reunites with Mars on a ship as it sails during the night. After Mars acknowledges Tio's presence, he uses a spell to attack the ground just in front of her but doesn't reach her at first. After Tio questions this and listens to Mars' explanation of things, Tio then tries to run away only to end up being pushed off the edge of the ship's railing by Mars' *Garon* and plunges into the waters below.

* In the manga, when Megumi suddenly notices Tio standing off to the side waiting for her with her spell book in hand, Megumi runs off stage immediately to follow Tio. Soon after, an announcement is made that there will be a one hour break from the concert. In the anime, Megumi finishes her first performance and is then told she has a few minutes to get dressed and ready for her next performance. After she's told this, she then notices Tio standing with her spell book waiting for her.

* When Tio tries to get back on her feet after being struck by Mars' *Eijasu Garon*, in the manga, she thinks to herself that Gash could help bring Megumi somewhere safe before she notices Gash had already disappeared. In the anime, Tio instead asks Gash out-loud of this request and how he's the only other person she can rely on.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* A section of text on Megumi's concert tickets was edited to remove a portion of Japanese kanji originally saying, "Oumi Megumi Challenge Concert" and was replaced by the phrase, "Ticket admit one". General spelling of English text on the ticket was also fixed in the VIZ localization.

* Details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters but details such as scratches and clothing tears are otherwise kept in the VIZ localization of the series. All bleeding from Gash as well as any bloodstains on the floor and walls from various scenes were all cleaned up.
	+ Various scenes in this episode were removed due to such scenes focusing on blood dripping from Gash or Gash appearing blood stained. For the purpose of removing these, other scenes were instead chosen to keep looping and repeating until the episode moves on to show Tio running away to find Kiyomaro.