Episode 2

**A Freezing Spell: Gikoru VS Zakeru** (氷結呪文ギコル VS ザケル, *Hyōketsu Jumon Gikoru tai Zakeru*) is the 2nd episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on April 13, 2003.

## Overview

Kiyomaro stays up all night attempting to decipher the language of Gash's mysterious red book but to no avail. On what seems to have been another normal school day, Kiyomaro catches a glimpse of a man, in the middle of conducting a carjacking, accompanied by a young boy who shares a great resemblance to Gash and is also able to use elemental powers just like him. Later in the day, Kiyomaro soon learns that his classmate, and his only other friend, Suzume Mizuno, is being held hostage at the local bank. With a little encouragement from Gash, Kiyomaro hurries to Suzume's rescue.

## Plot

Kiyomaro finds himself one morning frustrated at having stayed up all night going through as many foreign language books as he could think of in order to decipher the language of Gash's red book but making no progress. The only section of the book he finds himself able to read at all is a single passage in red that reads, "The first spell*, Zakeru.*" Kiyomaro thinks back on the events that had occurred yesterday starting with the moment he casts *Zakeru* towards Eita and Hyde. Kiyomaro wonders about the fact that despite Gash being the one who shot a powerful electric shock from his mouth, Gash doesn't recall that ever happening at all. Kiyomaro also reflects on how incredible it was he was able to face off against the school bully Kaneyama as well.

Later that morning, as Gash finds himself entranced by a show on television, Kiyomaro takes note of the fact that Gash's injuries from the previous day had already been healed, but also becomes suspicious thinking that Gash may not be a normal child after all. Kiyomaro also thinks who exactly were the individuals that they faced off with the previous day before he starts to head off to school. As Kiyomaro begins to leave, Gash stops him and reminds him that they'll continue their original "Ally of Justice" plan to help improve Kiyomaro's situation with school and friends. Kiyomaro refuses to allow Gash to come along with him not only claiming he's not interested in continuing the plan but having Gash tag along with him is embarrassing. Gash interprets this thinking that he'll just wear a different kind of duffel bag disguise so he doesn't make Kiyomaro feel embarrassed.

Gash and Kiyomaro eventually head off to school and the day presents itself appearing as a normal spring day. To Gash's excitement — and Kiyomaro's disbelief — the riverbed next to the path the two had been walking on had been completely frozen over with large ice spears containing fish protruding upward. Suddenly, Kiyomaro notices some commotion occurring on the bridge just above the river. A man with a blue book, Hosokawa, hijacks a car and accompanying him is a young boy, Reycom, who looks similar to Gash. Just as Kiyomaro deducts that it must have been the boy who was responsible for creating all the surrounding ice, Hosokawa and Reycom speed off in the vehicle fleeing the scene.

Meanwhile, Suzume is on her way to the local bank and reads her weekly fortune as she walks. She notices that her fortune claims that this week for her will be her luckiest week and then thinks back to how Kiyomaro had come to her rescue saving her from Eita just the other day. Suzume then decides that she would like to treat Kiyomaro out to a shake and other snacks using her allowance as a way to thank him but heads inside the bank first to finish her mother's bank transfers. Suddenly, Suzume finds herself held at gunpoint and is now being held as a hostage at the bank during a robbery.

At school, Kiyomaro walks down the hall and looks out the window while Kaneyama, who's head is mostly covered with bandages, continues walking by. Kiyomaro then overhears himself being the main topic of discussion by two fellow classmates who speculate whether or not Kiyomaro had gotten into a fight with Kaneyama. Gash, who had been following Kiyomaro into the school still in his duffel bag disguise, interjects in the discussion speaking on Kiyomaro's behalf boasting how Kiyomaro had defeated Kaneyama in the fight they had. Kaneyama, now upset over hearing this, confronts Gash about how unconvinced he is with the idea that Kiyomaro was the one who made Eita and Hyde flee from the fight yesterday. Kiyomaro doesn't attempt to argue against Kaneyama and chooses to leave school instead of fighting back. Gash, puzzled by Kiyomaro's decision just then, tries to catch up with him.

As the two of them walk through downtown, Gash tries to ask Kiyomaro why did he choose to back down instead of standing up to Kaneyama in the hallway and reminds Kiyomaro just how alive he looked when he had done that the previous day. Gash also questions Kiyomaro about how could he allow Kaneyama to even say such bad things about him to begin with. Kiyomaro responds to these inquires stating that he simply learned to not be bothered by those things anymore and just lets people say whatever they want about him.

Suddenly, a breaking news report can be overheard in a shop right by them reporting on an ongoing hostage situation at the local bank. As the news feed displays security camera footage of the hostages, Gash and Kiyomaro immediately recognize Suzume as one of them. Kiyomaro also notices that the man holding her at direct gun point was also the man he saw earlier that morning on the river bridge. As Gash tries to convince Kiyomaro that they need to do something and save Suzume, Kiyomaro finds himself frozen in fear thinking what chance do they even have against Hosokawa and Reycom who use ice-based powers and that the power that *Zakeru* has would be too destructive to use. Kiyomaro then tells Gash that this is a situation they would have to leave up to the police only to then be questioned by Gash if Kiyomaro is only lying to himself. This causes Kiyomaro to confront himself about his own fears and acknowledge the desire he has within himself to change and overcome his anxieties. Gash eventually convinces Kiyomaro to finally act on his instinct to save Suzume and the two speed off in the direction of the bank on a bicycle.

As the two approach the bank they notice that the entrance to it is blocked off by police. Kiyomaro devises a plan to bypass this by throwing Gash through the second floor window of the bank and while the police are distracted, he will sneak right past them. As Kiyomaro prepares to launch Gash through the air, Gash grabs on tightly onto Kiyomaro, not wanting to be thrown by him, and the two of them end up throwing themselves together through the second floor of the bank behind the counter before the bank robbers, Hosokawa and Reycom, even notice who broke through the window. With Kiyomaro and Gash successfully inside, Kiyomaro tries to come up with a new plan that would allow them to blast Hosokawa and Reycom with *Zakeru* without harming any of the hostages.

Just then, Kiyomaro notices that Gash is no longer with him and instead reveals himself to the robbers. Initially frustrated with this, Kiyomaro then realizes he's able to use this distraction to his advantage. That is until Suzume suddenly recognizes Gash and informs her out loud that Kiyomaro is hiding right behind the bank counter. Although upset with this, Kiyomaro still thinks up of one more plan to be able to distract the robbers. Kiyomaro secretly ties an office chair to one of his ankles just before he comes out of hiding and attempts to trick Hosokawa into thinking there's one more person with him as he shakes the office chair just a bit with his ankle from a distance. As Hosokawa investigates, Kiyomaro tells Gash to stare straight at Hosokawa so they can launch an attack right at him. Kiyomaro then tries to cast the spell *Zakeru* as Hosokawa is now moved away from the hostages only to soon discover that nothing had happened.

Frustrated, Kiyomaro tries to read the spell one more time to no avail. Hosokawa and Reycom notice that the spell didn't work and try to persuade Kiyomaro into handing over the red book. Gash immediately prevents him from doing so only to soon fall victim to Reycom's spell, *Gikoru*, which causes Gash to become completely frozen over in ice. Kiyomaro soon learns that this ice can't be easily destroyed and he is given one more chance by Hosokawa and Reycom to hand over his book. Kiyomaro refuses which causes Hosokawa to point his rifle gun directly at Suzume threatening to shoot her. Kiyomaro cries out he doesn't want Suzume to get hurt which suddenly causes the book to glow in a bright red light. Subsequently, Gash breaks free from the ice he had been trapped in. With newfound desire to rescue Suzume, Kiyomaro casts the first spell which blows away Hosokawa and Reycom. The explosion caused by *Zakeru* also finally cause the police outside to storm the building.

Gash, Suzume, and many other folks celebrate Kiyomaro as the hero who saved everyone from the robbers. Kiyomaro again asks Gash if he even remembers anything that had happened as he casted the spell to which Gash informs him that he doesn't remember anything. Kiyomaro also begins to speculate on the fact that if he's able to communicate his thoughts to Gash through the book itself and if it turns out it converts strong emotions into power. Soon after this, it is discovered that both Hosokawa and Reycom had fled the scene. As they drive off, they anticipate getting revenge on Kiyomaro and Gash for what they've done. At the same time Brago and Sherie, the same demon and bookkeeper pair who noticed the explosion caused by *Zakeru* from the previous day, take notice of the events that occurred today. Brago notes that each time *Zakeru* is cast, it acts as a signal for other nearby demons draws them over to Gash.

Now at home, Gash, Kiyomaro, and Kiyomaro's mother, Hana, watch the local news report that features Kiyomaro and Gash as the main headline of the day. Hana praises the two boys telling them that they appear to have grown up quite a bit from that morning. As Kiyomaro thinks on how he and Gash had grown, he soon notices a brand new readable passage has appeared in Gash's red book which read, "The second spell, *Rashirudo."* With this, Kiyomaro quickly figures out that Gash has suddenly gained a new power.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Gash Bell
* Praying Mantis Joe
* Kaneyama Takeshi
* Eita Kubozuka (Flashback)
* Hyde (Flashback)
* Hosokawa
* Reycom
* Hiroshi Yamanaka
* Suzume Mizuno
* Sherie Belmondo
* Brago

### Locations

* Mochinoki City
	+ Takamine Residence
		- Kiyomaro's Room
	+ Mochinoki Middle School

### Spells by Appearance

* Gikoru (Debut)
* Zakeru

## Manga & Anime Differences

* In the manga, Kiyomaro appears to be slightly nervous around Gash thinking that if Gash is facing directly at him, he could be hit by Gash's lightning and tries to keep Gash facing away from him as they talk with each other. This was never featured in the anime.
* In the manga, an additional flashback is shown depicting a point in time where Kiyomaro, prior to meeting Gash, had an opportunity to come to a fellow classmate's rescue when they were being beaten up by bullies but Kiyomaro instead chose to walk away from the situation. This moment was never featured in the anime.
* Events from the previous episode, where Kiyomaro was tasked with giving Gash a bath, had occurred during the night after Kiyomaro and Gash came home from school. In the manga, this takes place a little after Kiyomaro spends time trying to decipher the language of the red book.
* In the manga, when showing his mother a passage from the red book, Kiyomaro eventually learns that nobody else seems to be able to read it. This moment was never featured in the anime.
* Suzume never reads any weekly fortune while on the way to the bank in the manga.

* In the manga, it's noted that this day in particular is a school holiday and therefore there were no classes this day. In the anime however, all the events that occurred in the episode did take place on a regular school day as evidenced by the fact that Kiyomaro and Gash head off to school in the morning and stay for a short time.
	+ In the manga, because they never go to school that morning, Kiyomaro and Gash learn about the hostage situation at the bank at home while watching TV.
	+ In the anime, despite it being a school day still, Suzume is not seen at school but she still wears her school uniform while on her way to the bank.

* The anime introduces Hosokawa, Reycom,and Yamanaka much earlier than in the manga.
	+ Given that they had not originally been introduced at this point in time in the manga, Hosokawa and Reycom had no involvement in any of the events shown in this episode.
	+ The bank robbers were originally one-off characters introduced in the manga. The anime substitutes them for Hosokawa and Reycom instead.
* In the anime, Reycom sits in the front seat when in the car with Hosokawa. In the manga, Reycom sits in the back seat instead.
* As part of Kiyomaro's plan to take out the robbers while preventing any harm to the hostages, Kiyomaro originally figures he will use the large pole right in front of him to act as a lightning rod when he casts *Zakeru* onto it. In the anime, this part was never mentioned in his plan.
* In the manga, the police can be seen moving in just after Kiyomaro attempts to cast *Zakeru* but fails. In the anime, the police don't storm the bank until after *Zakeru* has been successfully cast.
* Sherie and Brago do not make any appearance in the original manga chapter this episode is based on.
* In the manga, the second spell, *Rashirudo*, appears in the red book just after Kiyomaro and Gash handle the situation at the bank. In the anime, the second spell appears in the book when Kiyomaro and Gash arrive home.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* In a scene where Gash tries on various bags to wear whenever he goes with Kiyomaro to school, in the original Japanese airing of the episode, Gash can be seen in a blue bag that features the Toei Animation mascot. In the VIZ localization, the logo was edited out entirely.
* In the original Japanese airing, the gun that Hosokawa can be seen carrying is a large rifle. In an attempt to censor this, the gun that Hosokawa is carrying is instead depicted, and is claimed to be, as a laser gun despite it appearing like that of a large water gun.
	+ In another localization of this episode by Hulu, Hosokawa's rifle was given another unique censorship this time appearing as a very crudely drawn laser gun.

* After Hosokawa confronts Suzume and demands her to put her hands up, he fires off his gun upwards as a warning shot. In the VIZ localization of this episode, this was edited out and the rifle in this scene remains still.