anime dominion

Synopsis 

Ruri instantly knew that he was Sandra and he changed his form into Sandra. Seeing her able to switch between different person made Shiloh sad because his naivety for trusting Serafina endangered his friends live and she really worked together with Sandra all this time. Ruri asked why there was no presence of Lady BlackPearl. Sandra told them that she asked for Serafina's help to defeat Lady BlackPearl. Off course Ruri couldn't believe that because lady BlackPearl was the strongest Jumi. Once again Ruri asked why did Sandra tried to vanquished their fellow tribe and Sandra explained that the Jumi themselves started their own demise and revenge is just a part of her motive. Before long she introduced her master, the lord of Jewel; the mermanoid like creature that they encountered on the Mekiv cave. 

The lord of Jewel explained that everything he ate would fuse together inside his stomach. Sandra then said that in order to create another teardrop stone, they need to gather a large quantities of Jumi's core and feed them to her master. Shiloh suddenly realized the horror as it's mean he had shallow Jumi's cores. Ruri told her to released all of the Jumi's core from the lord of Jewel's belly and he explained how Hotaru-hime never considered herself as a sacrifice. In addition, she even asked them to stop Sandra's (Alexandrite) rampage on gathering Jumi's core. Alas Sandra would not change her mind and she summoned two jewel beasts while taunting them that she would personally deal with them after they managed to finish the Monsters off.

Ruri charged on and try to fight one monster while Shiloh tried to fight the other. After Shiloh fell due to the beast attack, Ruri threw the sword of Fate to

Ruri was badly injured which meant only Shiloh remained to fight Serafina. Serafina mentioned that Ruri's core already cracked yet she wanted him to live and continue as Hotaru-hime knight. Shiloh couldn't accept her offer, saying that he was Shinju-hime knight. Therefore, he shouted and asked Serafina to give back the Jumi Cores and tried to fight her. However, with Serafina already beat even BlackPearl, it didn't take long until Shiloh got several injuries in the battle. For the last time, Serafina asked him to protect Ruri but he insisted that no matter what he would not let any Jumi got sacrificed for the teardrop crystal. Serafina could not wait any longer and stabbed Shiloh right through his chest using her spear; leaving him in a semi comatose condition. After the scene, there was a shrieked from the lord of Jewel and the bright light illuminated the room. It seemed like he was taking so many jewels more than what he could handle.

When both Serafina and Shiloh opened their eyes, they found themselves in an unknown space with many Jumi's core floating and circling them. Both Hotaru-hime and Ruri's Core also left their body and joined the rest of the stones. An image of the Jumi was shown to them. The first image was about Esmeralda talking to the other Hime that she wanted to help Hotaru-hime. However, since she was unable to shed tears, she tried to smile in order to cheer Hotaru-hime instead. Another image showed the part where Marina was injured and Sapphor was nearby. He felt down because he was the Hime but he was unable to heal her. Marina tried to ease his sadness by saying that his presence was enough for her. The last image showed the part where lady BlackPearl personally asked alexandrite to hurt her if she didn't manage to find the sword of mana. Pearl wanted to shed tears in order to replace Hotaru-hime. Alexandrite said that he didn't want to hurt her but he promised that if thing didn't go well, he would fulfilled her wish. 

The images gone and both Shiloh and Serafina realized that all of the Jumis care for each other.  The space image diminished and all of the cores was dropped to the floor. Shiloh was on verge of tears seeing that all jumi person's were pure and basically innocent (including Sandra). Serafina told Shiloh not to cry for Jumi. Unbeknownst to her, she was also on the verge of crying. Shiloh tried to wipe Serafina's tear but his hand fell..he realized that his lower body started to become stone. Just before he was completely stoned, Serafina confessed that she felt really guilty for betraying them. Shiloh tried to calm her by reminiscing about their time when they journey together. He even complemented her cooking. As he turned into stone completely, Serafina couldn't hold her tears anymore and  soft tears poured down to her cheek. Soon after she also turned into a stone.

By miracle, their tears turned into a teardrop crystal and as the crystal dropped to the floor it revived every Jumis in the room back to their human form. Both of Shiloh's and Serafina's love to the Jumi had transcended the racial boundaries and created the legendary teardrop crystal; reviving everyone that had been killed (including Sandra who immediately tried to take her leave). Esmeralda was relieved to see everyone (presumably she was seeing her sisters). Meanwhile Ruri reunited with Shinju hime and saw Shiloh and Serafina had already turned into stones. Shinju-hime asked every Jumi in that place to give a bit of their life force to create more tear stones. The last scene showed Bud and Corona who was looking through Shiloh's home windows. They saw a big rainy storm in the horizon and remarked that maybe the Jumis were crying at the moment. After the storm subsided, the sky was clear and the sun shined throughout the land. At the very end they noticed someone was coming home.

Finally the Teardrop Crystal had finished with a bittersweet ending or maybe in the edge of a downer ending. I am glad that at the very least they give an explanation about the reason why Serafina helped Sandra too much. The emotion when Sandra found the abandoned Serafina and raised her, taught her how to fight was a spot on. Serafina was torn apart because Sandra was her parental figure while she also started to bond with Shiloh and his friends. I guessed it was good in term of giving us a reason for her conflicted behavior.

The anime didn't animate something crucial in this episode like what really happened to the Lord of Jewel..it just showed that he screamed and then a white light just fill the room. Leaving us wondering what really happened to him and make us had to search thoroughly for his fate. They didn't changed him into the last boss like in the game which really disappoint me.. Even the last battle between Serafina and Shiloh was cut short as if they just wanted to censor the bloody part although it could be a great last battle if they animated it well.

As for the ending I was quite dissapointed because they tried to leave it hanging.. The Jumi tribes(especially Shinju-hime and Ruri) don't feel sad seeing Shiloh's sacrifice for them. Did they know that it was curable so they didn't feel anguished seeing Shiloh's and Serafina's fate? Did they somehow cured the petrification through the teardrop crystal like the one in the game? The anime didn't show anything about it...it was a shame that the episode had to suffer important details. Alas it had it own charm though with how well they played our emotion through the somewhat downer-like ending. There was a scene in the ending title with Shiloh and Serafina stood in front of Shiloh's home yet the picture didn't clear and we got no part where they were healed .it seemed that the writer wanted us to interpret the ending by ourselves.

Well I tried to sum the entire series into the final mark up..what is it strengths and weaknesses will be summarized here.

Pros

+ Cute designed characters

+ Didn't stray too far from the original story

+ Decent soundtracks

+ The ending part made a good twist since it's deviate from the source material

Cons

- Very predictable scenario especially for those who played the game (expect for the last episode)

- Some parts didn't animate well..mising lots of good details. The battle/action part was stale 

- Lack of supporting characters' development due to the abundance casts and their limited importance to the plot.

Final score is 5 out of 10. I can't give much more due to how uninteresting some event/ episode of the series..Such a shame since I had a big hope for this one.

Both Serafina and Shiloh were running in Geo looking for Ruri and Shinju-hime. Finally, they caught a glimpse of them and called them. Just after seeing Serafina, Ruri instantly brandished his sword and asking why she was here. Shiloh try to protect Serafina by saying that the one who steal Esmeralda's core was Sandra not her. Serafina then took them to the Jewel store where Alex worked there as Gem appraiser. Alex explained that they were at the store during the night of Undine talking about the Jumi Core. The man said the Serafina was looking for Jumi core to help her friend but since he had no Jumi's core in store, he just give a quick tour about the stones that he displayed in there.

Shiloh asked if they wanted to met Diane. At the beginning Ruri forbid them to join..but since Shiloh said he had something he wanted to know about Jumi, he let them follow. They met with Diane just below the Merchant Kriestie's palace. Diane talked to Shinju-hime if she remember anything yet Shinju didn't remember her past live. Then Diane told them a story about a long time ago when the Jumi race was in a great war (the time before Ruri was born and Shinju-hime still on her Lady BlackPearl persona). At that time they were at the great war and there were many casualties from the Jumi side. Thankfully, many of the Jumi could be revived using a crystal teardrop. However, as the war grew bigger and more and more casualties arrived on the medical bay, the amount of the crystal teardrops kept diminishing until none left. Diane talked with Hotaru Hime to produce more teardrops as she need more teardrop to sustain the need. Being the only one capable to produce them made Hotaru home's core started to crack as the more she produced the tear the less her lifeforce remained. 

Just as they talked a familiar voice just entered the room. Sandra told Diane why did Hotaru-hime had to endure everything. She would die if kept crying that was the reason why Sandra kept Hotaru Hime away from Diane. The party just realized at that time that the Jumi huntress was also a Jumi and she did everything to protect Hotaru Hime from her eventual demise. After debating about Hotaru home's fate, Sandra tried to take Diane's core. Shiloh tried to help her but Serafina blocked his way; which in the end make Sandra succeeded in taking of her Jewel and ran away. Soon afterward, Serafina also ran away without telling her reason. Ruri said that Shiloh was too kind and trusting thathe ended up being taken advantage off. Ruri didn't get angry to Shiloh yet he asked Shiloh to not meddle anymore with them in the future. then, both Ruri and Shinju Hime said goodbye and left Shiloh alone.

Back to Sandra and Serafina, they gave Diane's gem to the Jewel monster. After Devouring the jewel, he said that at least he needed one more gem to create the legendary teardrop crystal. The scene moved to Shiloh who walked alone in the street of Geo. He heard a small sound of someone asking for help. He heard the sound coming from a gem palace so he entered the shop and kept looking for the source of the sound. He looked at a big chest with gem ornaments on it and opened it. Inside, a sleeping girl was murmuring and asking for a help. Shiloh wake up the girl and she felt thankful because Shiloh had just woke her up from a terrible nightmare. Just then a creature just appeared on them. She complained to the girl that her constant nightmare kept happening and it made her kept getting kick out from the dream world. The girl did not know what make her kept getting the same nightmare over and over again. The creature introduced herself as dream spirit named Belle. Then Shiloh introduced himself following with the girl who was none other than Hotaru Hime; the flourite Jumi.

What actually Rubens will do if they got no shortage of the teardrops

 

Belle explained to them about what was dream meant and he also explained that her plea for help had reached Shiloh which means that he was the answer for her trouble. Belle then said that she only need a good dreams to get riddance of the nightmare but in order to get it, Shiloh had to enter her dream and fixed what was wrong with her dream state world. Just as Belle snap her finger, the flourite Jumi fell asleep and Shiloh get teleported inside her dream. 

In the first dream, Shiloh encountered Rubens who had been slaying his enemy with crazy look in his face.Just as Ruben called his name, he tried to attack Shiloh. Shiloh managed to deflect the attack fortunately. Ruben asked why did he know his name. After telling him that he was a kind person who prefered to sacrifice his fiance rather than hurting a leaf man, Rubens regained his sense. Then, Shiloh got teleported to Esmeralda place. Esmeralda stood in front of a mirror admiring her sister's Jumi. Esmeralda just noticed Shiloh arrival and she called his name. Shiloh wondered why she had not change the core back to their real form yet Esmeralda explained that they can be turned back any moment because they got plenty of teardrop crystal ATM. Shiloh got angry and told her that her sister had sacrificed their life so that she could run away from the hunter. Just after hearing Shiloh's word, she realized about what really happened in the past and turned them back into her Jumi's sister.

The dream interior changed again and Shiloh just saw a figure of Marina begging for a teardrop crystal from Sapho. Sapho rejected her plea making Marina ran away from that place. Just then, Shiloh came and told him that she was a precious person for him. Sapho first said that he only cared for himself until Shiloh explained that he used to feel a big regret for acting cold to Marina. In addition, Shiloh told Sapho that his selfless nature even made him sacrificed his life to make sure the basket fist; his friend could have a more peaceful life and away from the hunter target. The last dream took Shiloh to Diane who was whipping the Jumi himes. She kept forcing them to cry in order to produce more teardrop crystal. Unfortunately, one of the Hime didn't even shed one piece of teardrop. With her hand, Diane took her game forcefully. Once again Shiloh came and told her that she was not that kind of person. Even though she had to kill her emotion, she only asked for Hotaru Hime because he cared for the other Jumis and she would never kill any Jumi for that. Dianr remembered her past life, thanked Shiloh and then disappeared from Hotaru-hime's dream. As Shiloh closed his eyes, he was back to the real world. Belle congratulated him for fixing Hotaru-hime's dream and then she took her leave. Then Hotaru Hime woke up with a smile on her face. It had been quite some time since she got a decent dream. Just then Ruri and Shinju-hime entered the room.

We re close to the anime finale so some important mystery will be covered in this episode. First of all, I am kinda disappointed with how Shiloh actually trusted Serafina and not taking countermeasure for her betrayal. I thought he would be more cautious against her but in reality he was just as naïve as ever. Sandra revelation as a Jumi was not shocking for me and since they need one more (maybe) they may try to get either Ruri or Shinju-hime stone in the next episode. As the way dream sequences goes, I think they really crammed every Jumi's alter ego in fast succession so that all can be solved in the most easiest way possible.

Talk about Sandra, she was the prime example of an antiheroes who took the mask of a monster to protect someone that she loved. She also uses the persona of the boy named Alex who opened the Jewelry in Geo. If you combined their name, Alex and Sandra will be an alexandra or we can called it Alexandrite one kind of precious stones which was also Sandra main core. Unfortunately, for those who already played the game, this revelation was nothing big.. unless you had never experienced the game, the spoiler that Sandra was also a Jumi might made a big storytelling. Two more episodes let's hope they can wrap this series in a decent finale.

It was getting closer to the end of the anime and soon we might see the conclusion of teardrop crystal. The episode finally answered some questions about Serafina's action from the two previous episodes. It seemed that Serafina was really responsible for Esmeralda's demise. Yet, she believed that if they managed to gather enough Jumi's core, the power of the tear healing crystal would save every Jumi that had been vanquished. The Lord of Jewel guaranteed that even if they sacrificed many Jumis, if they could create another healing tear stone, they could always save everyone again. One big reveal in this episode was about Sandra's identity. Sandra was actually a Jumi and she was a holder of the Alexandrite crystal. The very person that hunted Jumi was none other of a Jumi who was trying to save a person important to him; Hotaru-hime..But in doing so she had to sacrifice so many Jumis while technically she had pure intention as she didn't hunt Jumi core for money and personal gain.

It was endearing that at the end of the day, Ruri knew that if Shiloh's company might give a bad luck to him. The reason of him asking Shiloh to stay away was actually to protect him from their curse. other from that tender moment, I thought that the battle once again could not do justice for a video game adaptation as the anime could only display a small amount of action in their fight against Black Pearl. It seemed too simple and ended very quickly. In regard to Serafina, it obvious that she lied to Shiloh and she wanted to know the Jumi's location so she could snatch their Jumi's core later. It made Shiloh as the only main character on this anime and made Serafina seemed more like antagonist with good intentions role. Let's see if she will succeed or not in the next episode.

Both Shiloh and Ruri entered Shinju-hime's room and searched frantically for her as she was no longer in her room. Ruri got angry to Shiloh and interrogated him on spot about Serafina's action for taking Esmeralda's core. Shiloh tried to defend Serafina by saying that she must be Sandra in disguise. By then, he noticed a letter at the top of the table. It said that the precious pearl had been taken to Mekiv cave.