Red Garden

Anime Review

Red Garden

Plot

Kate, Rachel, Rose, and Claire are all students at a private institution set on Roosevelt Island, New York City. Waking up one morning, all feel uneasy and restless as they deem strange that none of them can recall anything about the previous night. Their anxiety escalates when the school announces that Lise, another classmate of theirs, was found dead.

Afterwards, the following night for unknown reasons the four girls are drawn by butterflies that gather them to the same place, as if they have been summoned by something which they cannot explain. There, they are approached by a woman called Lula and her partner JC to tell them all that they are already dead, and must work for them if they do not want to disappear completely. Later she explains that the girls were reanimated on new, special bodies and their real bodies are in her custody. They are revealed to be on the side of Animus. Lula also claims she has the means to eventually return them to their previous lives when their job is done. Their job is killing "monsters" in the dead of night. Lula and JC will summon the girls on certain nights, and then they will fight certain "monsters" (that look almost like regular people). After a fight the girls feel drained and tired. If they fail, they will die for real.

The series also shows another character, Herve, who is trying to fight to save his cousin and his sister's lives as they are subject of a curse (that causes their complications to manifest and die), and his family are their enemies. They are the Delor clan. It is later revealed that the two sides of the battle have cursed book and the reason they fight is to retrieve the book from the other side. It is because of these books that Herve's family was cursed as they stole their book from the Animus. The Animus are also cursed in that their masters have been living for several centuries. They were forced to give up what is referred to as their freedom (they are in an inanimate state) and therefore they cannot die, again the only way to lift this curse is to take the cursed book back from the Delor family. The girls find out that if they retrieve the book from the Delor family then it will result in them losing their memories which would mean that they could not remain with their friends and family. However, if they lose then they will die.

Main characters

Kate Ashley (ケイト·アシュレイ, Keito Ashurei^?)

Voiced by: Akira Tomisaka (Japanese), Melissa Davis (English)

From an affluent family, Kate struggles to maintain her position as a member of "Grace," an elite group of girls tasked with enforcing rules and policing the student body. She was the closest to Lise. The both of them would exchange diaries. Kate is also used by Hervé who wants to become closer to the enemy using Kate as a means to do so. During battle, Kate is more notable as a support battler, helping out Claire, Rachel and Rose when they are in trouble. However, she has been seen taking the lead in a few episodes.

Rachel Benning (レイチェル·ベニング, Reicheru Beningu^?)

Voiced by: Ryoko Shintani (Japanese), Maggie Flecknoe (English)

A popular girl with a boyfriend and an active social life, Rachel finds it difficult to balance her old existence with her current situation. She seems to be the most mentally unstable of the four girls. As she comes to terms with what her newly profound situation is she slowly starts to resent all those around her. Her old friends and her boyfriend slowly find her harder to talk to and eventually she no longer associates herself with them. Along with Claire, Rachel is one of the more aggressive fighters.

Claire Forrest (クレア·フォレスト, Kurea Foresuto^?)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese), Kara Greenberg (English)

The most independent and aggressive of the girls. She lives alone in a run-down apartment and holds part-time jobs to make ends meet. She has a strained relationship with her father, but the reason why is unclear although she has stated that she harbours resentment towards him for working and not paying enough attention to the family. Episode 16 shows her arguing with her father and accusing him of working so hard that her mother went insane with worry. She also tells him that he only acts when it is too late. She is the most prepared to fight and has even whispered to herself in one scene 'kill, or be killed'. Staying alive therefore seems to be her drive to fight.

Rose Sheedy (ローズ·シーディー, Rōzu Shīdī^?)

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsuji (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)

A shy girl who won a place in the school by academic scholarship. She takes care of two younger siblings while her mother is hospitalized. Unfortunately for her friends, Rose lacks the courage to fight. Over the course of the series she must come to terms with what she must do and overcome her reluctance to fight.

Lise Harriette Meyer (リーズ·ハリエット·メイヤー, Rīzu Harietto Meiyā^?)

Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Taylor Hannah (English)

She was about to be reanimated like the other girls when she was kidnapped by Hervé. Her real corpse was discovered in the woods and it is her death which draws the attention of the police. Lise is being used by Hervé's family to try to find a cure for their family's curse.