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Weis Kreuz Gluhen - Season 1

A lot has happened to the Weis boys in the intervening time. Aya is now the head of a new, young team and we don't even see Youji and Ken until half way through the season. Strange things have been occurring at a prestigious private high school and Aya goes undercover as the new history teacher. The other major character is a young kid who is posing as a student and he is basically the "new Omi". The story revolves around him but I can't for the life of me remember his name. We basically find out that there is a covert plot whereby the school is being used to brainwash, program, genetically engineer, breed, who-the-heck-knows kids so some secret organization can control the world. Or something like that. I think. But who really cares - the plot is so convoluted that I stopped trying to actually understand anything. What makes Gluhen intriguing is not the plot but the characters.

Enough time has passed for Aya to grow a Duo-like braid, dye his hair a dark auburn-purplish color and get gray contacts. Even without the red hair-purple eyes combination, he is still hot. Especially with glasses. This Aya is not really the Aya from the original series. It's as though he has gotten over some of his personal demons or has become a very good actor. He actually interacts with others, talks to people, offers words of support and comfort and even smiles! He doesn't really begin to display old Aya-like tendencies until Youji shows up again (which did my fangirl heart good). But don't worry - he still has plenty of issues

Omi is now Mamarou Takatori. He has discovered his past and knows that who he thought was his uncle was actually his father. Omi is now acting as Persia and is conflicted about it. He has really grown up and is much more mature given that he is now the one making the life and death decisions. No one else seems to know that Omi is Persia, though Aya appears to suspects. For the first part of season 1, Omi doesn't actually interact with the others and the ultimate reunion should be quite dramatic.

The thing you notice first about Youji is that he has the worst hairstyle imaginable. As if realizing the despair that most fangirls would feel over his short hair, the producers have attempted to compensate by having him naked to half-naked for most of his screen time. Youji is still Youji in many ways. A charmer, a pure flirt, a lover of women. In the original series, he was probably the most normal next to Ken, his one hang-up being that he couldn't get over his dead girlfriend. He is a much darker character under the veneer of casual disregard. We learn that having to kill Neu/Asaka affected Youji a WHOLE LOT more than it originally seemed.

In terms of change, Ken is second only to Youji. While always cute and rather attractive, he has now moved into the realm of Bishie. Wow. When he is in normal clothes, he is quite hot. He is also crazy. Really crazy. Psychotic in fact. In his intro scene he bemoans the fact that there were not more people for him to slaughter. Not a good sign. We don't get to see the 3 interact with one another that much but there is definitely more tension there now.

The Angst Factor: High

The atmosphere of this Weis is darker and more violent than the original and, therefore, more intriguing. The show is, after all, about the torture, murder, and brainwashing of children. In addition, the personal demons are more intense and the external evil far more powerful and intelligent. The Weis boys are forced to deal with insanity, homicidal rages, mass slaughter, deceit, betrayal, dark secrets and mistrust and that's just in their interactions with eath other. With Schwartz soon to make an appearance, it seems as though the assassins are faced with a battle they cannot hope to win this time around. With more violence, blood, and pain, this one is a must for fans of the original and those in search of some good angst wrapped in pretty packages.