Episode 39

**Desperate Situation! The Hunter Without Appearance**(絶体絶命! 姿なき狩人（ハンター）, *Zettai Zetsumei! Sugata Naki Hantā*) is the 39th episode of the Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Anime. This episode first aired in Japan on January 11, 2004.

## Overview

Gash tries his luck on a local lottery with hopes that he could win a yellowtail that's being offered as a prize. Although he doesn't get the prize he had his eyes on, a man offers to give him the first place prize that he had won as consolation — a free hot springs trip. Gash accepts this offer and soon he, Kiyomaro, Kiyomaro's mother, and Suzume all head out together to enjoy all that the hot springs have to offer them. Little they know however that this hot springs trip was part of an elaborate trap set up by a new enemy team.

## Plot

In a lottery being hosted in town, Gash has his eyes set on the yellowtail prize and hopes that he gets the lucky spin required for it. Things don't go his way however as he is told he did not win anything and only receives candy as his consolation prize. Gash's visible disappointment and distress seeing others win the yellowtail prize gets noticed by Garza, who offers him the grand prize he had won from the same lotto to cheer him up. Seeing as the grand prize was not yellowtail, he first politely declines this but Garza informs him that the grand prize is a free hot springs trip. Gash is unsure at first if it's alright for him to accept, but when he's reassured by Garza that he won't be needing it due to other plans, Gash gladly takes it.

Seeing that the hot springs trip will allow up to four people, Gash ends up inviting Kiyomaro, Hana, as well as Suzume to join him on this brief vacation. Much of the early part of the day consisted of the group enjoying the various luxuries the hot springs had to offer. When Kiyomaro and Gash return to their room, they find a strange flyer on the table that had not been there earlier. The flyer itself mentions a secret hot spring as well as a map on where to find it. On top of the flyer too is a small note mentioning all-you-can-eat yellowtail which instantly catches both their attention. Gash finds himself very excited at the idea of such and soon he and Kiyomaro quickly head out to find this secret hot spring.

As the two of them venture off, they come across a suspension bridge that they need to cross in order to keep going in the direction they're going. From the distance however, Garza and his demon, Baransha, watch Kiyomaro and Gash's movements closely and comment that their "hunt" for them has now begun. Kiyomaro and Gash travel deeper into the woods before they come to a stop. As Kiyomaro looks at the map, he finds himself wondering where the supposed hot springs could be as he sees that they are standing directly where it should be. Suddenly getting a bad feeling about things, he ends up suggesting to Gash that they should start heading back. With the perfect vantage point facing them, Baransha unleashes a long distance attack spell, *Wokeru*, which manages to travel both fast and far enough to land a direct hit on Kiyomaro. Kiyomaro collapses to the ground after taking the attack and Gash tries to look around the surrounding area for the demon responsible for this. After Kiyomaro gets up, he tells Gash that they should start running and try to make their way back in the direction of the suspension bridge. Just before they get there, Baransha uses another *Wokeru* to destroy the bridge before they cross it. Seeing that there's nothing but a steep cliff and a river below where the bridge once was, Kiyomaro and Gash come to the conclusion that they've been trapped and that the entire trip and the flyer given to Gash was all one big set up to lure them in.

Kiyomaro and Gash end up running off again as Kiyomaro points out that them staying in an open area will be dangerous as the demon attacking them can fight from a distance. The two of them find a small rocky area with cliffs surrounding both sides of them and they position themselves against a wall with the idea in mind that the enemy won't be able to attack them at random and be forced to confront them face to face. Figuring what their strategy is, Garza and Baransha close in on them and Garza casts *Gu Riaruku* which causes Baransha to become invisible. Baransha positions herself infront of Kiyomaro and Gash and unleashes another *Wokeru* directly at them at close range. The two of them end up getting knocked back and left to wonder how they could have taken such a direct attack. They then try and use *Zakeru* in the direction they think Baransha is at but end up missing as they can't see her. Kiyomaro soon comes to the conclusion that they won't be able to fight her due to her ability to become invisible which leaves them to try and find her bookkeeper instead. When they run back into the woods to try and find Garza, they hear some nearby bushes rustling and prepare to attack. Just before Kiyomaro casts *Zakeru,* he stops abruptly when he sees the head of a deer pop out from the bush. Unknown to him however, this ends up being revealed to be Garza who uses his deer hat to trick and move away from them. Baransha, while still invisible, appears just behind them and Kiyomaro casts another *Zakeru* in the direction she thinks she might be in but misses. He does the same thing again but with the same results only now it's becoming evident that he's starting to tire out.

As the day drags on, Kiyomaro and Gash find themselves unable to do much other than remain where they are and focus on their surroundings. Each time Kiyomaro thinks it's Baransha coming out to attack them, the stress associated with consistently anticipating an attack gradually weakens him more and more. Baransha eventually does make another appearance but once again Kiyomaro and Gash waste another attack. The physical toll of constantly casting spells finally catches up to Kiyomaro and he collapses from sheer exhaustion. By contrast, Garza and Baransha settle down and enjoy a feast on top of one of the cliffs. While they enjoy themselves, Garza talks openly about their ongoing strategy to weaken their prey to the point of physical and mental fatigue before they strike. As Kiyomaro tries to rest to regain his strength, Gash brings him some nuts he had found. These nuts end up being gingko nuts which are particularly known for its strong putrid smell. While these nuts aren't going to be useful to eat, Kiyomaro tells Gash he has a winning plan that will involve using it.

When Garza and Baransha decide it's finally time for them to finish the battle, they see a sudden flash of light in the distance caused by one of Gash's spells. When they head in the direction that blast came from, they see nothing but the scorched ground they're standing on and Kiyomaro's sweater left on a tree branch. When Baransha retrieves the sweater, she lets go of it immediately as soon as she realizes the strong smell coming from it. Soon after, the two of them hear Kiyomaro cast a spell and Baransha ends up taking a direct hit by *Zakeru* from right below her where Kiyomaro and Gash had been hiding. While Kiyomaro claims that they managed to successfully trap them, Garza and Baransha still remain confident and Garza would then cast *Gu Riaruku* once again to turn Baransha invisible. From there, Gash declares he'll try and fight her without using spells so Kiyomaro is able to regain strength. While Gash tries to dash in Baransha's direction, she moves away and thinks to herself that Gash would still be unable to fight her if he can't see her. Unexpectedly for her, she sees Gash suddenly change directions to continue to follow her despite being invisible which causes her and Garza to become panicked at this. Garza would watch helplessly as he saw Gash continuously chase and attack Baransha despite her spell being in effect.

While watching and trying to figure out how this is possible, he ends up realizing that the sweater that Baransha had grabbed ended up rubbing the scent from it onto her and Gash is able to follow her through the smell. After Gash finishes his attack on Baransha, Garza realizes that the two of them need to retreat from the fight but still find themselves being chased by Gash through the forest. The two of them would end up right back at the same place where they had destroyed the suspension bridge and realize they aren't able to escape because of that. Kiyomaro soon catches up with Gash and confronts the opposing team. Despite being cornered though Garza still remains overzealous in his belief that he and Baransha can still win. He then casts her strongest spell, *Gigano Gadoruku*, which allows Baransha to be covered and protected in large spiky battle armor. Fed up with them, Kiyomaro follows this up by casting their strongest spell, *Baou Zakeruga*.

The appearance of this spell ends up frightening both Garza and Baransha who did not expect Kiyomaro and Gash to have so much strength remaining. Before the spell hits them, they both try to flee by jumping off the edge of the nearby cliff where they would both fall into the river below with their spell book still intact. With Garza and Baransha gone and the morning sun now shining on them, Kiyomaro praises Gash for how well he performed in the battle and Gash returns the same thoughts to Kiyomaro. After taking a moment for themselves, they'd soon get back on their feet to try and find a way back to return to the inn they had come from.

## Features

### Characters by Appearance

* Gash Bell
* Naomi
* Garza
* Kiyomaro Takamine
* Hana Takamine
* Suzume Mizuno
* Baransha

### Spells by Appearance

* Wokeru (Debut)
* Gu Riaruku (Debut)
* Zakeru
* Gigano Gadoruku (Debut)
* Baou Zakeruga

## Manga & Anime Differences

* Despite being briefly present in this episode, Naomi and Suzume make no actual appearance in the original manga chapters this episode was based on.
* The manga shows some minor backstory as to how Gash was able to play the local lottery and it's due to the fact he was given three tickets as a gift from someone from some chores he had been doing that day.
* In the anime, Garza and Baransha keep an eye on Kiyomaro and Gash from a distance on top of some cliffs as they wander through the woods to find the hot springs. In the manga, they are seen quietly following them from behind.
* Baransha's *Doruku* spell is never seen in the anime despite it appearing in the manga. In the manga, she uses *Doruku* to attack Gash and Kiyomaro from behind the wall they positioned themselves behind on. She uses this spell again to try and attack Kiyomaro before ultimately being attacked head on from *Zakeru* when Gash tries to protect him.
* In the manga, Garza and Baransha do get hit directly by Baou Zakeruga when they are cornered by the edge of a cliff but somehow manage to survive the attack with their book intact. They would then run off before Gash is able to catch them. In the anime, the two of them end up falling down the cliff and into the river below where they would be seen being swept away by it.

## Censorship & Other Localization Differences

* A pair of crudely drawn white boxer shorts can be seen drawn over Gash when he was seen swimming in the hot springs.
* A minor scene showing Garza drinking alcohol was removed entirely in the VIZ localization of the episode.