Thank you for visiting Anime Rants today. Tasokare AKA twilight is what we call the gentle, glowing atmosphere just after the sun has dipped out of sight. It is a beautiful, mysterious, and nostalgic hour. Because it’s nestled between day and night, twilight is also seen as a symbol for something that lies between. That’s why “Twilight Hotel” is the perfect name for a realm that lies between life and death.

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Episode 1: Twilight Girl

Episode Rating: 8/10

The opening concept is that the Twilight Hotel is place for people to stay while they are unsure if they are alive or dead in the real world. Guests are either having near-death experiences or are already functionally dead. They arrive with no faces or memories, and must search their hotel room for clues. Once they remember their identities and life events, the guests can resume their journey either to the world of the dead or back to the world of the living. It’s a great concept.

In addition to the starting concept, I also liked the protagonist and her speaking style right away. She is adorable. However, at this point in the episode, the girl has no face or name. As she enters the fancy hotel, she meets the hotel Manager, a big man with fire for a head. I love this character so far. Throughout the first episode, Manager has shown his good nature and goofiness. He is also extremely polite and gracious most of the time. I look forward to learning more about Manager.

After searching her room, the girl discovered some clues about herself and regained part of her memories. She also regained her face when she found her name on an ID card. The girl’s name is Neko Tsukahara, and although the hotel staff will call her Miss Tsukahara, I will refer to her as Neko. You can’t have a name that cute and not use it! Anyway, Neko remembers that she was a big idol fan who went to an idol concert. She still doesn’t remember what happened afterward.

Now let’s mention the rest of the hotel staff. There’s a young man with light grey hair and blue eyes named Atori. He can’t remember his full story yet, and he got bored of waiting around the hotel, so he started working as an employee. There’s also a cute kitchen helper girl by the name of Ruri. Neko finds her adorable and is acting very gay about it. She’s practically drooling. It was funny, but I also can’t blame Ruri for being uptight when faced with such direct, fawning attention.

There is a bar/restaurant in the hotel where guests can eat and drink. Two more staff members are employed in this area: Menou and Kiriko. Menou is an attractive humanoid woman with goat-like horns and an impeccable fashion sense. She seems to be the bartender. Kiriko is a tarsier with clothes, a goofy hat, and a gold tooth. I think he prepares food? In his own ugly way, Kiriko is cute.

The rest of the episode was spent unraveling the mystery of the guest with the tarot card head. She is a lady and the card on her head is “The Lovers.” Atori isn’t too excited about helping this lady because she keeps calling him “Amorun,” the name of a famous streamer with a similar face. The streamer, Mamoru Agata, was known as a fortune teller. Neko expresses interest in helping with the case and is allowed to participate. She and the card lady and Atori search the hotel room for clues.

In the end, we learned that the lady is named Yumi Hoshina and she was an overbearing fan of the streamer “Amorun.” When she heard he was on hiatus, Yumi went to his home to encourage him. Still, she was committing harrassment and trespassing. The streamer assumed she was there to attack him. He reacted by striking her head with a fortune teller’s crystal ball. As Yumi remembers her story, the crystal ball in her hand breaks apart in dramatic fashion. It was an aesthetically pleasing shot.

Yumi remembers that she’s still alive, but she is in need of encouragement and inspiration to continue her life. Neko tells her she should try fortune-telling herself, which seems to be enough to give Yumi the push she needs to leave. With Yumi gone, Neko has successfully helped solve a guest case at the Twilight Hotel. I enjoyed this pilot episode, although it wasn’t anything stunning. I think I’ll like this cute side-series.

~Thanks for reading~

Written by 7Mononoke

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Tag: Tasokare Hotel

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