Episode 45

**Battle to the Death: Gash VS Barry**(果てなき死闘 ガッシュVSバリー, *Hate naki Shitō Gasshu tai Barī*) is the 45th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on February 22, 2004.

## Overview

Gash and Barry's battle rages on as neither side shows any signs of giving up. Even when pushed to total exhaustion, Kiyomaro and Gash still continue to fight in order to achieve Gash's dream of becoming a kind king. It is in this fight too that Barry realizes the kind of king he wants to become.

## Plot

The battle continues between Gash and Barry as Gash attacks him with *Zakeru* but Barry manages to withstand his spell. Gustav then takes a moment to reflect on the fact that Kiyomaro still appears to be determined to fight even after taking Barry's punch some time earlier and shares with Barry this observation. Barry then remembers the initial hesitation he had shown when he was about to strike Kiyomaro. He grows angry from this as he declares he will be fighting more seriously from there on. Barry's fighting aura flares up and Kiyomaro and Gash waste no time in using *Zakeruga* to attack once again. Barry however takes the attack on his own and deflects the concentrated *Zakeruga* attack by using only his fist. He and Gustav would then try and pursue Kiyomaro and Gash by using *Garuzonisu* to propel themselves to their position.

Although Gash and Kiyomaro try to run, Barry and Gustav would manage to catch up to them. Barry and Gash would then charge at each other and Barry would deliver a barrage of physical attacks to Gash who tried to remain on the defense. Gash would then grab Barry's arm and before Barry is able to strike him with his other arm, Gash unleashes another *Zakeruga* attack towards Barry but misses despite being at close range. Barry then tosses Gash back towards Kiyomaro and attacks the ground beneath them using *Zonisu.* As Gash and Kiyomaro fall, Barry would then follow it up by using *Gigano Zonisu* to annihilate them while they're helpless. With no other way to avoid the incoming spell, Kiyomaro has Gash aim his next *Zakeruga* to fire through *Gigano Zonisu* in order to protect themselves from most of the blow of the spell. As this goes on, Kaneyama, Suzume and Umagon are seen together trying to make their way to the abandoned factory where they think Kiyomaro and Gash are at but end up getting lost along the way. Eventually, Umagon would end up catching a familiar scent from the trail and Suzume and Kaneyama would follow him as he leads the way.

Meanwhile, Barry's spell had destroyed most of the factory and both he and Gustav looked upon most of the destruction for any signs of their opponents. Gustav concludes to Barry that it seemed that the battle is over but Barry still appeared to be extremely frustrated with things as he still couldn't understand why he had been feeling so annoyed up to this point. Just before he leaves, he senses both Kiyomaro and Gash's presence and sees that they're still willing and able to continue fighting. It's there that the two of them decide to put all of their strength into using their most post powerful spell, *Baou Zakeruga* to end the battle right then and there. Barry tries to defend against the spell using *Zorushirudo* but struggles holding up against *Baou Zakeruga's* strength and ultimately succumbs to the spell. With Barry appearing defeated, Kiyomaro finally collapses onto the ground from total exhaustion but relieved they thought they had won the battle. Unfortunately, they would soon find out that Barry was still standing even despite taking their most powerful spell and Kiyomaro is left being unable to cast any more spells or even move his body.

With Kiyomaro down and unable to protect the spell book, Barry unleashes another *Zonisu* attack to destroy the book. Gash however uses his body to take the blow of the spell in order to protect Kiyomaro and the book. He soon charges right for Barry and Barry likewise does the same and prepares to strike him with his fist. Unexpectedly, Barry finds himself frozen in place when he had looked into Gash's eyes and he questions why he suddenly finds himself unable to move. He's then easily struck down by Gash and when he gets back on his feet, he sees that both Gash and Kiyomaro had disappeared. In the distance, Gash carries Kiyomaro and places him against the side of a forklift where he would then tell him he would be fighting on his own and urges him to rest and recover as much as he can. Kiyomaro apologizes for this but assures Gash he'll try and help as soon as he's able to. Gash tells him to take things one step at a time and expresses to him his determination to win the battle and become the kind king he had been striving for this whole time. The two of them then promise to each other to not give up no matter what happens.

Just as Barry and Gustav look around for signs of Gash or Kiyomaro, Gash suddenly bursts from behind some nearby rubble. He rushes straight for Barry and slams him onto the ground before charging towards Gustav in order to take his spell book. Barry manages to stop Gash by prying him off from Gustav's arm then throws him onto the ground. Just then, Barry and Gustav narrowly avoid some large falling rubble coming down on them from the roof of the factory. This was caused by Kiyomaro who is seen operating a forklift with the intention of trying to destroy the pillars of the factory to collapse the ceiling onto them. Before Kiyomaro is able to do anything else, the engine of the forklift dies out and he crawls out onto the ground believing he is still able to participate in the battle. Barry notices him coming close and rushes at him in order to attack and take his book. Gash again steps in between them ready to protect Kiyomaro and Barry once again hesitates when looking into Gash's eyes. Although he wasn't able to punch him, he still manages to kick Gash away. Gash continues to defy him by refusing to let him get through but Barry persists in fighting him on his own anyways. Despite his relentless attacks, Gash still stands right back up to keep fighting. Barry's fighting aura flares up once more and as he runs towards him to end their battle with a single blow, he freezes up again when his and Gash's eyes meet.

Gustav, who had been paying close attention to this phenomena the entire battle, finally breaks his silence and asks Gash about the kind of king that he was striving to become. After Gash gives a firm answer, Gustav would ask the same thing to Barry who initially struggles to come up with a response. Gustav then points out to Barry about the fact he had only ever engaged in fights without any real goal behind it all and it explains that this is why he is unable to even hit Gash whose aspirations are able to be seen in his eyes. Barry strikes the ground in frustration after hearing this and Gustav asks Barry the same question again. Barry finally gives his answer saying he wants to become a powerful king — a king who is able to crush anyone who opposes him with a single blow and lose to no one. Barry then tells Gash and Kiyomaro that he'll let them go this time but the next time they meet they will find out whose more worthy of becoming the king they're each striving to be. As Barry starts to walk off, he asks Gustav for advice on what he should do in order to work towards his new goal and realizes there's no good in engaging in meaningless fights like he had been doing before. Gustav responds saying there's many things he has to be able to do and Barry expresses his eagerness in being able to learn all that he needs to. Gustav then goes over to Gash and Kiyomaro to speak with them one last time before leaving with Barry. He expresses his gratitude to them in helping Barry being able to find what he had been looking for but leaves them with the grim reminder that they could have easily burned their book at any time. He then wishes for the two of them to become stronger for the next time they meet. With Barry and Gustav's departure, Kiyomaro realizes then how he ended up failing Gash in the battle despite what he had promised him earlier. The two of them cry in silence as they come to terms with the painful reality they had lost.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Gash Bell
* Vincent Barry
* Gustav
* Takeshi Kaneyama
* Suzume Mizuno
* Umagon
* Donpoccho (Flashback)
* Kolulu (Flashback)
* Shiori (Flashback)

### Spells by Appearance

* Zakeru
* Zakeruga
* Garuzonisu
* Zonisu
* Gigano Zonisu
* Baou Zakeruga
* Zorushirudo (Debut)

## Manga & Anime Differences

* All appearances Kaneyama, Suzume, and Umagon have in this episode is entirely filler and they have no involvement during these events in the manga.
* Kiyomaro's attire between the anime and manga is different from each other. In the manga, Kiyomaro is seen wearing a sweater vest with a long sleeved shirt whereas in the anime, he wears his school uniform.
* The manga shows a minor scene in which during a flashback, some time after they had first met, Gustav asks Barry if just winning random battles is really enough for him in order to become king.
* A scene in the anime shows a brief hypothetical situation in which Gash's spell book is seen burning and him disappearing along with it. This scene was not originally depicted in the manga chapters this episode was based on.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* Scenes showing smoke from Gustav's cigarette were edited in the VIZ localization of the episode.
* Details such as blood from injuries are cleaned up from characters in the VIZ localization but other things such as scratches and clothing tears are usually left alone. All blood seen on Kiyomaro and Barry would be cleaned up in the VIZ localization.
* A scene that showed Kiyomaro expressing his shock originally had a red lighting filter over it. In the VIZ localization, this scene was removed and replaced by using a recycled scene that did not have this lighting on it.