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09-09-2020, 08:22 PM | #81 |
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--- Episode VII: Sorrow Beast This is the first episode that I didn't really care for, if I'm being honest. It felt to me like it was two separate episodes fused into one, and one of the those episode being one the show had already done, but not as well executed. The editing is also pretty weird in this one. The biggest offense being when we cut to a scene of Leon getting chased by a bunch of Royal Knights, only to suddenly flash back to... 5 minutes ago, where he starts being chased by said knights. Was that really necessary? What did it even add? I guess if I had to choose the highlight of this episode, it'd be the appearance of the Black Knight, who we'd only heard about in a previous episode. The way he Morphs is pretty cool; Being kinda similar to how the Riders in Kamen Rider Blade transform. And I like that every Knight does use a different style of swordplay. Though it does make me wonder how he was able to recognize that Leon was trained by Herman. After that we get the second episode, where Leon gets amnesia and people confuse him for a man named Pepe(and no I'm not going to do the obvious joke). The entire second half of the episode is, as a result, predictable. The mystery has a predictable answer, the twist involving Leon's' memory loss I saw coming a mile away, and even the lesson about revenge being a corrupting force was done way better with the Bloodville episode. I guess what I'm trying get at here is... what was even the point? If it weren't for the Black Knight showing up at about the halfway point, I'd almost recommend skipping this episode entirely. Even the ending scene, which I was liking, got ruined by and ill-timed and unfunny antic with Herman. Atleast we got to see why Hakai Knights do their best to remain hidden, I guess? The only other real positive I can think of for this episode is that, in terms of action it was... okay, I guess? Seeing Garo run on his own tassel was cool, even if it'd be impossible in real life. Outside of that and the Black Knight just being inherently cool... yeah, can't say I dug this one. Sorry!
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Last edited by DreamSword; 09-10-2020 at 07:47 AM.. |
09-09-2020, 08:39 PM | #82 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,601
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Nah I'll be real, this and the next episode are honestly pretty iffy for me to be frank. So I don't blame you for not really caring much for this one in particular. Like they both have some real good stuff in them, but then they have these weird like other things happening that just aren't as interesting.
I nearly checked out of the episode prematurely because of the whole amnesia Leon plot thing. So again, don't blame ya. |
09-10-2020, 02:42 PM | #83 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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Episode VIII: Full Monty I feel like this one screenshot sums up the entire episode pretty well. And to give this episode some credit, I suppose this one is a bit better than the previous episode, a little? Episode 8 is all about what Herman was doing while Leon was missing during episode 7, and I suppose is what is meant to serve as a sort of breather episode, or atleast this show's' idea of one? The main issue is that the episode itself isn't really funny to me. I did laugh a few times yeah, but they ran the gag of "Herman is naked!" for too long, and I actually got a bigger laugh out of the incompetent guards who were chasing him, mainly thanks to the acting of the VAs who did them. I will definitely give Full Monty one major point over Sorrow Beast though; the plot of this one is actually pretty important to the overall narrative. Heck, the opening of this episode means you can infact outright skip Episode 7! But the main reason it remains relevant is due to the bit with Emma(pictured above) which happens at around the middle point. We get to see a bit of backstory concerning Herman(then referred to as Roberto), Anna(Leon's' mother), and Bernardo(the Black Knight). How they grew up training together as Makai Knights(and Alchemist in regards to Anna), a glimpse into their group dynamic, and how Bernardo fell from grace. It was really cool to see, and it really made me wish the entire episode was all about that, rather than just being relegated to about 3 minutes of a subpar episode. Overall, I didn't really hate this one. It was mostly just "whatever" to me. Even the bits I didn't find funny, I at the very least didn't find them annoying, which trust me, that's a huge victory in comparison to other shows and movies I've had to suffer through. I'll take "dead neutral" over "actively angry" any time. --- Quote:
Nah I'll be real, this and the next episode are honestly pretty iffy for me to be frank. So I don't blame you for not really caring much for this one in particular. Like they both have some real good stuff in them, but then they have these weird like other things happening that just aren't as interesting.
I nearly checked out of the episode prematurely because of the whole amnesia Leon plot thing. So again, don't blame ya.
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09-11-2020, 11:22 AM | #84 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
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Glad I'm not the only one who could've went without the amnesia plot. Like, I'd've liked it more if it'd served any sort of bigger purpose, like maybe making Leon reconsider his life as a Knight by giving him a direct comparison to the simple life of a villager, but the episode really didn't go there or even do much of anything with it other than to have a subpar mystery element.
As for this next episode, yeah it's basically the better of the two, on principle of well, Germán's antics are pretty fun to follow to an extent, and we get some real good backstory out of this episode. But after that, it starts to wear on you and these two episodes definitely don't pair up well watching one after another. That being said, if next episode is the one I'm thinking of then we're finally moving into some fun stuff. |
09-12-2020, 12:13 AM | #85 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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Episode IX: New Hope Star Wars joke. Now that that's out of the way, this episode was friggen AWESOME. MAN what a way to make up for the previous two episodes! This episode has Leon and Alfonso's' goals lining up. Leon wishes to fight stronger Horrors to grow stronger, and Alfonso wishes to complete his training to become a full fledged Makai Knight. You know what that means? And their interactions are great. There's a nice bit of comedy that comes from Alfonso being clueless about how to interact with commoners as well as Leon's' bickering with him. Plus, the two do have great chemistry once they become friends and begin to work together. And yeah, working together is basically the only option once the two reach the Horror they've been assigned to fight. It's here that things kick into high gear. The action really showcases the advantage that animation has over live-action. From the effects, to the choreography, to the absolute scale of the Horror and the very creative interpretation of what a chimera is. Heck, even the music really stood out this episode. Every track chosen was perfect, and made me really wanna hunt down this show's' soundtrack later on. I won't spoil how the episode ends, other than that I was wrong. I predicted that Alfonso would become the next Silver Knight, but he instead becomes the next Magenta Knight. And you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. He earned the spot, and Raphael passing the torch was a great moment. Overall this was a great episode. Definitely my favorite so far. --- Quote:
Ah yeah, it's honestly a shame they didn't do that and it was basically just there to have like a subpar mystery. Would have definitely been interesting.
As for this next episode, yeah it's basically the better of the two, on principle of well, Germán's antics are pretty fun to follow to an extent, and we get some real good backstory out of this episode. But after that, it starts to wear on you and these two episodes definitely don't pair up well watching one after another. That being said, if next episode is the one I'm thinking of then we're finally moving into some fun stuff.
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09-12-2020, 09:24 AM | #86 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,601
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Still though, glad to see you enjoyed this episode, had a feeling you would. Also yes I believe that's the official spelling, it's just you know, pronunciation and names, the G is silent though you can kinda hear it sometimes depending on how it's said. So it sounds like Herman but it's really Germán. |
09-12-2020, 11:07 AM | #87 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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I'm not sure how much weight this will carry, but the soundtrack was done by Studio Monaca, the guys best known for their work on Drakengard, NieR and Automata. They've also done a lot of Tekken stuff too.
Still though, glad to see you enjoyed this episode, had a feeling you would
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09-12-2020, 12:01 PM | #88 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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Episode X: Fallen Blood This episode went places, man. First off, props to the title of the episode itself for actually having multiple meanings in terms of the plot itself. I love when titles manage to do that. Second, we actually get some backstory on Mendosa and Octavia. Their ambitions, the reasons they became the people they are, how Mendosa's' Forbidden Artifact came to be, and how Mendosa's' hatred blinded him to even those who valued him as a friend and ally. It took up like a third of the episode and I didn't mind at all. Speaking of which, I'm actually kinda surprised we're at this point in the story already. In most other stories of this ilk, this would be Final Battle territory. Does GARO technically have two seasons despite being listed as one whole? Third is what I think shined the most about this episode; The character interactions. Everyone is together now and how they play off of eachother is totally on point. From Alfonso and Leon bonding over their sacred duties, to the excellent comedy resulting from Alfonso trying to get used to the typical antics of German and Emma, everything in terms of character was on point here. They even made the Naked German joke way funnier than the entire episode centered around it! Still, it is a shame that Emma won't be around for the raid on the castle, but I suppose that was a way to hint at the audience that this technically isn't the endgame back when the anime was airing. Speaking of Emma though, her attraction to German kinda came out of nowhere, but whatever. There's no real action to be spoken of in this episode, but that's a-okay, because this episode ends with a pretty big promise to fill the action quota during the next ep, with probably the best "next time" hook they've done yet: Seriously, having Bernardo suit up just as the episode ends? Fantastic way to get me craving for the next episode!
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09-12-2020, 12:47 PM | #89 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,601
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I guess you could say that this is Part 1 of 2 of the first Garo Anime, which is funny because I do believe like normally through Volumes and like digital stores. Part 1 consists of Episodes 1 to 12, while Part 2 is 13 to 24.
In a sense this episode is basically setting up for the Mid-Season Finale and hoo boy, what a Mid-Season it is going to be. |
09-13-2020, 08:37 PM | #90 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,448
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Episode XI: Shadow Slasher Shadow Slasher sounds like the name of a Megaman weapon. With that out of the way, this episode is all about Bernardo. His past, his vendetta against the Makai Knights, and his rivalry with German coming to a head. There's also this B-plot about Leon and Alfonso hunting down Mendosa inside of the castle but like who needs that? Bernardo and German are the real meat to this episode, through and through. I really dug the extended flashback brought about by Bernardo telling him story to German. I'm sure you've all heard the old phrase "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." And it's no more true for Bernardo. His desire to keep his friends safe becoming twisted and working against him in the end. I also really liked Mendosa during this whole sequence. Not only does he tell Bernardo exactly what he wants to hear, but the way he heals Bernardo; Destroying his old body and replacing it with an all new one, if a fantastic literal metaphor for what happened to the Black Knight, ontop of being a really cool effect in its own right. And this is of course all topped off by an excellent action sequence, wherein we get a nice demonstration about what two veteran Makai Knights can really do; Their battle literally tearing the entire castle apart piece by piece. In the end, German claims victory, resulting in the death of the Black Knight, but he gets to, if only for a brief moment, see the man he called friend again. It's a pretty heartfelt moment, and I approve. I assume the next episode will be the "final" battle. Looking forward to it!
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Last edited by DreamSword; 09-14-2020 at 06:10 PM.. |
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