| The Perfumer | |
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 Episode 8 Episode 06: Daughter of Gandharva | |
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Japanese Name |
調香師 |
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Romanized Name |
Chōkō-shi |
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Airdate |
August 27, 2011 |
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Adapted from |
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Manga counterpart |
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"The Perfumer" is the 7th episode of The Mystic Archives of Dantalian anime and the eighth story shown in the adaptation. It's also known as Episode 06: Daughter of Gandharva.
Hugh and Dalian get into trouble when Fiona asks for help while running away from her father's employees. They discover that she's a talented perfumer, the lead researcher of the Famenias Company.[1]
Summary[]
Hugh is in his child form, back inside the Labyrinth Library. The girl in white tells him to leave, otherwise the library will consume his soul. Although she belongs to that place, he affirms that he can take her to another place with an airplane now that the gate is open. The child is excited, talking about flight, while the girl regrets over his presence. After all, before knowing Hugh, she was in peace, with no expectations.
In an alley, Noss is holding a bloodied knife. He had just killed at least three men. From a fire escape above, another man with a top hat observes him while smoking a cigar. Noss explains that he couldn’t stand their smell. He uses a perfume and rejoices over the product, as if it's a drug. The second man throws his cigar and starts a fire in the alley. He affirms that their next job will be obtaining the recipe for Noss' favorite.
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Dalian ignores Fiona's request.
Hugh and Dalian are waiting in line for hours. According to Dalian, the fried breads are so good that the country folk were going to the capital only to taste them. They eventually purchase twenty of them. A blonde woman pushes through the crowd, causing a commotion. She notices Hugh and approaches him to feel his fragrance. Somehow she concludes that he’s a good person. She asks for help. Apparently, she’s being chased by bad people. Dalian tries to push her away. Dalian tells Hugh to order some drinks too. Two men appear to catch Fiona. She takes the bag of fried bags from Hugh's hands. He gets in the way of Fiona’s pursuers, uncertain of how to act. Fiona tries to get away, but ends up tripping and spreading the breads across the floor, much to Dalian’s misery.
Hugh and Dalian meet Mr. Famenias.
Hugh and Dalian have a meeting with Fiona’s father, who apologizes for the trouble his daughter caused. He’s the president of the Famenias Company, a producer of cosmetics, which has Fiona as the lead researcher. While Dalian eats her breads, the man describes his daughter as a talented perfumer, responsible for their best-seller, the Blue Trance. Hugh notices a book carved on the bottle of the perfume. The book is supposed to contain methods to make perfumes, used by the family for a long time. Mr. Famenias had no potential to become a perfumer, so the book was passed down directly to Fiona. They are interrupted when a servant informs about the Padauk Company arrival. Hugh becomes tense when the name is mentioned. Before leaving, he asks to see Fiona again.
Fiona invites Hugh and Dalian to her laboratory.
A bodyguard leads Hugh and Dalian to Fiona's place. On their way, Hugh explains that the Padauk Company is a dubious trading company, in fact a crime syndicate specialized in illegal activities. Fiona greets them at their arrival. The servant hesitantly gives her the key, after she assures that she won't run away. She invites them to her home, where they see many chemicals and instruments. Fiona affirms that she’s not used to be around other people. After all, she can tell their emotions and thoughts by feeling their smell. The perfumer approaches Dalian and notices that she had been eating fried bread. Dalian denies it, but Fiona can smell her lies. The latter eats the bread she secretly took from Dalian’s hand. The Biblioprincess gets afraid of a small animal walking next to her legs. According to Fiona, one can extract materials for perfumes from a civet. Meanwhile, Hugh holds a yellowish lump. He learns that the substance is ambergris, another perfume ingredient.
An addict man appears to buy the Relic.
Hugh questions Fiona about her rebellion earlier on. She wants to confront her father’s ways. He was only thinking about profit, commercializing the Blue Trance, a failed work, without consulting her. Fiona’s dream is producing a perfume which can make people happy. After all, an aroma can bring back memories and affect one’s emotions. Fiona is asked to show the Phantom Book she received from her great-grandfather. Before she decides, someone knocks the front door. A desperate man wants to buy Relic. The perfumer wonders how he knows about that. The man informs that the Padauk Company is trying to kill the president, explaining why the bodyguard is absent. Hugh and Dalian follow Fiona, who runs to see her father.
Noss and Vance attack the Famenias Company to obtain the Relic recipe.
They see fallen men inside the company's headquarters. Fiona opens the door of her father’s study, only to see the bodyguard collapse. Mr. Famenias had also been killed. Noss is seen next to his body. The man asks if Fiona is the person who created the Relic. He uses a perfume, explaining how its smell brings unparalleled pleasure, removing any traces of sadness or pain. Fiona affirms that the Relic is a failure, a drug which drives people crazy, something she came by while developing the Blue Trance. The man with the top hat enters the room. Vance had found the recipe he was looking for. He wants to make sure that the Padauk Company is the only organization capable of producing the Relic. He tells Noss to kill Fiona.
Hugh draws his revolver. He can't allow the criminals to make money with such a dangerous drug. He looks away for a moment, telling Fiona to run away. Noss uses the opportunity to attack him with a knife. They fight each other. The enemy, under the influence of the Relic, doesn’t feel pain, even after shot in the leg. He gets angry when Hugh destroys the bottle containing the perfume. Although Hugh shoots both of his shoulders, Noss keeps charging. Fiona is stabbed by him while trying to interrupt the fight. She hits Noss’ face with a bottle containing a red liquid. The product enhances his sense of pain. Vance runs to intervene, but this time the woman uses a green substance with hypnotic effect. Both assailants collapse on the floor.
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The Labyrinth Library is opened. Hugh uses a Phantom Book to heal Fiona. She learns that Dalian is the vessel containing the Dantalian's Bookshelf. She thanks them before spraying something on Hugh’s face. Dalian kicks him awake after a while. The perfumer had ordered Vance to tie Dalian up. Fiona left them behind after giving Dalian the key for her laboratory. Hugh and Dalian can have The Scent God’s Scripture in her desk. Fiona probably used Vance to find the Padauk Company headquarters. Looking for her, Hugh and Dalian head to the criminal’s mansion. They see many bodies. The men had killed themselves, controlled by the fragrance created with the knowledge of a Phantom Book. Hugh and Dalian find Fiona, melancholic and bloodstained. She wished to atone for her mistake. The sales of the Famenias Company were declining and Fiona was almost losing her home. She had presented her father with the recipe of the Blue Trance, obtained by diluting the Relic, despite knowing the dangers of the perfume. The perfumer couldn’t accept how Mr. Famenias was selling the raw liquid as a drug to the mafia. In the end, she was unable of making him reconsider.
Fiona collapses, revealing a gunshot wound on the left side of her abdomen. She knows someone healed by a Phantom Book once can't be saved again. The woman accepts her punishment. Dalian tries to comfort her, saying that they will take her to a doctor. However, Fiona can smell her kind lies. Hugh and Dalian grieve in silence as Fiona passes away on the floor. Later, Hugh and Dalian see her laboratory burning in the distance. The fire was probably caused by the Relic addict they met before. A nice smell reaches the town, cheering its inhabitants. Even if Fiona is forgotten, the people will remember the fragrance during happy moments. Hugh asks what Dalian recalled while feeling the perfume. She doesn’t answer him. The Scent God’s Scripture is shown being consumed by the fire.[1]
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Light novel-anime main differences[]
| Light novel[2] | Anime[1] |
| - | There's an anime-only scene of Hugh inside the Labyrinth Library. |
| Fiona is caught after a Famenias' employee releases a stink bomb. | Fiona is caught after she loses her balance. |
| At the Famenias' headquarters, Fiona shows up after taking a bath. She takes Hugh and Dalian to her laboratory. | A Famenias' employee takes Hugh and Dalian to see Fiona. |
| Hugh questions a Famenias' employee to learn who attacked the company headquarters. | - |
| One of the Famenias' employees shoots Noss. The latter kills the employee. | - |
| Fiona gives ammonium alcohol to Dalian. The Biblioprincess uses it to wake up Hugh. Apparently, Hugh's head was resting on Dalian's lap while he was unconscious. | Fiona orders Vance to tie Dalian. The Biblioprincess kicks Hugh awake. |
| Hugh asks what Dalian remembered after smelling Fiona's fragrance. She looks at Hugh. She turns away and says "fried breads". She wants to queue up all night to buy more pastries. | Hugh asks what Dalian remembered after smelling Fiona's fragrance. She looks at Hugh. She doesn't answer him. |
Trivia[]
- Hugh and Dalian bought fried breads in a place named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, an Anglo-Irish commander hailed as a hero for his campaign during the Battle of Waterloo.[3]
- The cash register used by the clerk is probably based on a real model manufactured by American company known as National, founded in 1884, today called NCR Corporation.[4] As seen in the episode, cash registers from around 1900's had a fancy brass case with relatively good resistance for security measures.[5]
- Dalian tells Hugh to order drinks.[1] Among the options there is Earl Grey tea from English marketer Twinings, company founded in 1706.[6]
- A piece of paper at Fiona's laboratory shows part of a script taken from The Hound of the Baskervilles, crime novel published in 1902 and written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes.[7]
- On the same table, there's a recipe which uses lemongrass, citronella, vetivert, palmarosa and gingergrass, all aromatic grasses used in perfumes.[8] It's a recipe for Louisiana Van Van Oil, said to clear away evil, provide magical protection and bring good luck. The formula is associated with Hoodoo[9], a traditional African American folk religion.[10]
- The clerk is voiced by Sayaka Mishima. The Famenias' employee is voiced by Hiroaki Tajiri.[1] He voices Kenta Maezono from Ace of Diamond.[11]
References[]
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