Episode 16

**Freezer Showdown. The Invulnerable Robnos**(冷凍庫対決 不死身のロブノス, *Reitōko Taiketsu Fujimi no Robunosu*) is the 16th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on July 27, 2003.

## Overview

Suzume's absence from school from a fever strikes Kiyomaro as odd considering the fact that this was the first time she had ever missed school. When Kiyomaro comes home however, he finds a mysterious statue carved from Suzume's image waiting for him in his room. With the statue comes a mysterious note telling Kiyomaro to meet at a specified location by a certain time or else their hostage, Suzume, will be in grave danger. With no choice but to come to Suzume's rescue, Kiyomaro and Gash must face off against a new opponent.

## Plot

While walking home from school with fellow classmates Yamanaka and Iwashima, Kiyomaro is asked if he'll be visiting Suzume, who had been absent that day from school due to a fever. Taken back by the sudden question, Kiyomaro tries to ask why they have to usher him into visiting her only to soon figure out that both Yamanaka and Iwashima are convinced that he may have a crush on Suzume. His attempt to deny this is left hanging as Yamanaka and Iwashima soon part ways with Kiyomaro.

As Kiyomaro walks home, Gash patiently waits inside their house eager to tell him of important news. As soon as Kiyomaro opens the front door, Gash immediately leaps forward only to end up having the door slam on him as Kiyomaro finds himself distracted by a snail in the garden bushes. Gash eventually comes outside to inform Kiyomaro of important news and soon shows him the mysterious statue that was left right outside their door that Gash brought back into Kiyomaro's room.The statue itself is revealed to be a life-size sculpture of Suzume being tied up. As Kiyomaro inspects the statue, Gash hands him a note that was hung around the statue's neck. The note tells them that they have until 3PM to meet them at a specific warehouse by the harbor or Suzume's life will be on the line. Seeing the deadline that they have to meet this new enemy, Kiyomaro realizes that it's already 2:50 PM and they only have 10 minutes to make it to the specified warehouse. Gash then asks Kiyomaro about what the note had said given that he's unable to read Japanese kanji and quickly hears from Kiyomaro that Suzume had been kidnapped.

Gash and Kiyomaro make it in time to the specified warehouse at Mochinoki Port and find out that this specific warehouse is also a freezer. Kiyomaro figures that this warehouse was chosen because the cool conditions may give the enemy an advantage during a fight. With no choice but to accept these battle conditions, Gash and Kiyomaro head straight into the warehouse freezer. Inside, Kiyomaro begins to feel much colder than he anticipated. From behind them, the door leading to the outside closes and the perpetrators behind the note and statue reveal themselves. The enemy team standing before them consists of Robnos, another demon child, and Luc, Robnos' bookkeeper.

Robnos proudly introduces himself proclaiming to be an invulnerable demon who also enjoys sculpting, singing, and picking on weaker opponents. Feeling proud that his sculpture's message reached Kiyomaro and Gash, he decides to sing for them only to be met by hostility by Kiyomaro as his song ends. Robnos eventually goes on to explain that he had come to Japan to defeat Gash and had simply used Suzume as a way of luring the two of them out. Irritated hearing Robnos reveal his intentions to both humiliate and defeat Gash in battle, Kiyomaro makes the first move in their battle by casting their first spell *Zakeru* at them. Moving out of the way in time, Robnos then calls on Luc to cast *Biraitsu*, which allows Robnos to shoot a laser beam that manages to graze Kiyomaro's shoulder. After being grazed by *Biraitsu*, Kiyomaro takes a moment to analyze what had just occurred. While he notes that *Biraitsu* is a laser attack, he figures that ultimately it shouldn't be difficult to dodge for the next time it's used. When Robnos unleashes another *Biraitsu*, Kiyomaro prepares himself to cast *Rashirudo* which successfully defends and deflects *Biraitsu* right back towards Robnos. Robnos evades this attack once again but is then caught off guard by Kiyomaro casting another *Zakeru* which lands a direct hit onto Robnos sending him crashing into some storage boxes. Seeing Robnos taken down, Kiyomaro calls out to Luc ordering him to surrender their spell book and Suzume seeing as the battle is over. As Luc steps aside however, Robnos is seen back on his feet appearing unharmed despite taking a direct hit.

Kiyomaro and Gash find themselves shocked seeing Robnos appear perfectly fine with no scratches or wounds to be seen. As Kiyomaro struggles to understand how this could be, Robnos laughs as he notices Kiyomaro's confusion and boasts about his power. As Robnos prepares another attack, Kiyomaro snaps out of his fear and confusion to immediately cast another *Rashirudo* to defend against the incoming *Biraitsu* attack. Unexpectedly however, Kiyomaro finds himself attacked by *Biraitsu* from behind despite there being nobody behind him to begin with. Kiyomaro becomes even more confused as he struggles to understand how Robnos' attacks are coming from behind and how Robnos doesn't seem to accumulate any other wounds.

Seeing Kiyomaro appear defeated as he tries to understand what's going on, Gash comes to Kiyomaro's side urging him to get up and fight back in order to save Suzume. Remembering Suzume gives Kiyomaro enough encouragement to get back on his feet to try and come up with a plan to attack. While Kiyomaro tries to think, Luc casts another *Biraitsu*, but this time, Robnos aims toward the ceiling of the warehouse which causes the *Biraitsu* beam to reflect from the ceiling to strike Kiyomaro and Gash from above. Kiyomaro and Gash narrowly avoid this but Kiyomaro now figures out that Robnos is able to reflect his attacks using the walls and ceiling of the warehouse. As soon as Kiyomaro realizes this, Robnos wastes no time and uses *Biraitsu* once again. As Kiyomaro dodges *Biraitsu*, he takes into consideration the angle it's going to reflect at and moves just in time to avoid it again. What Kiyomaro did not account for however was the fact that *Biraitsu* will reflect again after dodging it twice already. As a result, the third *Biraitsu* reflection manages to hit Kiyomaro's leg.

Seeing their attack land a direct hit on him, Robnos and Luc enjoy the moment by laughing at Kiyomaro. Unexpectedly, Kiyomaro shows he's still determined to continue and fight. As Kiyomaro stands up, he credits this determination to the fact that Suzume's life is on the line in this battle and knowing he has to protect her gives him the strength he needs. As Kiyomaro's spell book glows bright, Kiyomaro goes on to talk about Suzume and recalls some rather memorable moments such as how she had ruined his rescue plan back when she was held hostage at the bank and how she brought him fruit with faces drawn over them when visiting him at the hospital while also managing to get herself lost. Kiyomaro ends up going on to mention certain traits about her such as how she can be a little dense, a clumsy klutz, and even mentions she has cankles. Taking everyone by surprise, Kiyomaro ends up sadly concluding there's nothing really redeeming about her. Gash then speaks up in Suzume's defense claiming there are many positive traits about her such as the fact that she's kind, honest, and the very first friend Kiyomaro ever had. Remembering this, Kiyomaro finds newfound strength and is determined once again to rescue her.

As the battle continues once again, Robnos and Luc prepare another attack. Gash steps in front of Kiyomaro ready to act as his shield to protect him. However, as Robnos shoots another *Biraitsu* beam, Kiyomaro moves Gash out of the way as he explains he's good at being able to calculate angles and predict laser reflections. Using this knowledge, he's able to find a specific spot where the lasers will not strike. Angered at seeing the two of them avoid all reflections of their attack, Robnos readies another *Biraitsu* and once again by moving to a specific spot, Kiyomaro and Gash remain safe from being hit. Suddenly however, a rogue *Biraitsu* beam manages to strike Gash from the side of his body. Confused again at this, Kiyomaro takes a moment to analyze the situation once more. Kiyomaro's thoughts end up interrupted as Robnos strikes again using *Biraitsu* and Gash is once again struck down. Just then however, Kiyomaro experiences a sudden realization as to how this was possible.

As part of his plan, Kiyomaro then proceeds to destroy all objects around them inside the warehouse using *Zakeru*. As a result of the destruction caused, ice shards are scattered all around the warehouse floors. As Robnos and Luc prepare another attack, Kiyomaro ends up hearing the sound of ice shards being crushed just behind him and orders Gash to aim in that direction. Kiyomaro casts *Jikerudo* and just as expected to him, a second Robnos was forced out of the rubble and attached to the warehouse walls. Kiyomaro then explains how he was able to figure this out as he notes the rouge laser that struck Gash and the fact that Robnos didn't appear to have any scratches or wounds after he had taken a direct hit. Kiyomaro concludes that this was due to the fact that the Robnos that they originally faced and hit with *Zakeru* ended up trading places with his twin. By having spread out ice shards on the floor, it was only a matter of detecting the footsteps of the other Robnos.

Despite having figured out their tricks, Robnos boasts that he's only shown Kiyomro just half of his power so far. Ready to show them their true power, Luc casts a new spell, *Reri Buruku*. A strong blue light surrounds the Robnos beside him and the force of it pulls the other Robnos from the wall to combine with him. Wasting no time however, Kiyomaro casts another *Zakeru* to attack Robnos but only to end up seeing their attack get blocked with just Robnos's hand. Robnos, now in his combined form, explains that this whole time he had been analyzing their power but now that he's at full power for attack and defense, their attacks are no match for him now. Luc then adds that they've also been stalling for time in order for their plan to work as the longer Kiyomaro is exposed to the cold, the weaker he becomes. As their book glows and as Robnos charges up power, Kiyomaro makes a mental note of how Robnos' head glows as he prepares an attack and how this attack will be stronger than what they've already seen. Kiyomaro's theory is proven true as they narrowly avoid an even deadlier *Biraitsu* blast. While Kiyomaro stops to think of how they can approach Robnos now, he realizes that in addition to all their spells being ineffective against Robnos, he's only strong enough to use only one more spell. Just then however, Kiyomaro thinks up a risky plan.

Kiyomaro, now with an iron bar in hand, readies himself to execute his plan. Seeing the ridiculousness of this, Robnos and Luc laugh this off seeing it as a useless attempt to attack them. Gash then carries Kiyomaro on his shoulders and begins sprinting towards them at fast speeds. As Robnos aims himself, Kiyomaro orders Gash to throw him towards Robnos. Confused at what to do, Robnos asks Luc for instruction on who to aim at and is told to aim at Gash seeing as how a human's attack will do nothing to him. Just then however, Kiyomaro lands directly on top of Robnos' head and jams the iron pole through his helmet. Luc once again reassures Robnos to ignore this and focus on attacking Gash. As Luc readies a spell, Robnos' head begins to glow bright as it charges with energy. Just before they can recite another *Biraitsu*, Kiyomaro orders Gash to aim directly for the iron bar. Once they had cast *Zakeru* onto the metal bar, it was then able to use the energy stored in Robnos' helmet as an amplifier for their lightning. This overwhelming power ends up being too strong for Robnos to handle and his helmet is then destroyed in a large explosion.

As Robnos' book is engulfed in flames, Kiyomaro orders Luc to release Suzume to them. Unexpectedly however, Luc reveals that they had never taken an actual hostage and reminds Kiyomaro that they had mentioned before that they used her to lure them into battle. Robnos confirms this as he also reveals that he had made the sculpture using only a photo of her. As Robnos laughs at their stupidity, he decides to leave them with some interesting information before he disappears. Robnos mentions to Kiyomaro and Gash that while he was in England, he had seen a look-alike of Gash. Immediately grabbing Kiyomaro's attention, he asks Robnos to explain what that means. Robnos responds saying he doesn't know either and it's on them to find out about it. His final parting words to them as his spell book is reduced to ashes is that he could only imagine to see the look on their face when they find this person and laughs this off. Now with Robnos gone, Kiyomaro and Gash are left to only wonder about this Gash look-alike.

Meanwhile, it is soon revealed Suzume is unharmed and at home this whole day resting due to a fever. As Suzume lays in bed trying to slowly recover, she calls to her mother informing her that she's hungry.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Gash Bell
* Suzume Mizuno
* Hiroshi Yamanaka
* Mamoru Iwashima
* Robnos
* Luc

### Locations

* Mochinoki City
	+ Takamine Residence
		- Kiyomaro's Room

### Spells by Appearance

* Zakeru
* Biraitsu (Debut)
* Rashirudo
* Jikerudo
* Reri Buruku (Debut)

## Manga & Anime Differences

* As Kiyomaro tries to think of Suzume's redeeming qualities, in the manga, one panel depicts a minor flashback of her during their summer camping trip. In the anime, their camping trip has yet to happen and instead of depicting a flashback of that, the anime shows a minor flashback of when Suzume was there with him when he and Gash faced off against Canchome.
	+ In the anime, Kiyomaro brings up how Suzume has cankles which is something not originally mentioned in the manga.
	+ When Gash tries to think of a redeeming quality for Suzume, in the manga, he originally brings up the fact that she's good with knives which proves to be satisfactory enough for Kiyomaro to conclude Suzume is a good person. In the anime, Gash brings up some positive traits about Suzume such as how she is kind, honest, and the first friend Kiyomaro ever had.
* In the manga, after Kiyomaro had discovered and trapped the original Robnos they faced, he then proceeds to try and attack Luc and the other Robnos with *Zakeru* before they go on to reveal their real plan. In the anime, Kiyomaro does not cast a spell until both Robnos combine.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* Many songs and themes that were originally present and part of the Japanese airing of the series in various episodes are often replaced by other tracks or, in some cases, scenes that were originally intended to have a music track play in the background would either be silent or dubbed over instead. When Gash reminds Kiyomaro of the fact that Suzume was the first friend he's ever had, the following flashbacks of her at school were originally silent only with background music playing. In the VIZ localization, no such background music is heard during this sequence and Gash instead talks over those flashbacks.
* When Robnos begins to slowly disappear along with his book, as he spoke to Kiyomaro and Gash, his voice was originally slightly distorted for effect. In the VIZ localization, Robnos continues to speak as normal.