If any of you actually get the joke behind this edit then congrats, you have a fondness for obscure horror games just like I do.

As for the episode itself, this one cleared a few things up for me.

The big one being that, I'll be honest, I so far wasn't exactly seeing what made GARO here an "adult" toku, especially given the time of 2005. Alot of the content in it lined up with stuff already going on in Kamen Rider.

But then the premise of this episode came, and things started to make sense. The Horror Plot this time being about one possessing an old hooker, and tying into that(though very much a minor detail in the grand scheme of it all), Kaoru unknowingly taking a job interview for a bar/whore house hybrid.

And while that in itself is already an interesting hook(pun slightly intended), it somewhat unfortunately also has to share time with the arrival of Rei, another Makai Knight known as Zero. And I feel it's sort of apt to compare this to Kamen Rider too, given how Rei very much reminded me of Daiki from Decade in terms of both spotlight stealing and personality.

I'll give the episode some credit in that the primary focus this time around seemed to be about the action and building a mystery around Rei, and in those respects it does do well, I just wish it had leaned a bit more in either direction since combining those aspects with a Horror Plot that I felt had some solid potential made things feel uneven. I think that, had they made Rei only fully reveal himself at the very end after the Horror had been dealt with, that it would've worked a bit better for me, as him being the one throwing the Haja Daggers from the shadows was already enough to establish that he had it out for Koga.

Still, I get the general idea. Rei is very much meant to be the foil to Koga, and that's highlighted in alot of ways. From his outfit, to him dual wielding, to how he gets directly involved in human affairs, it's quite the interesting turnaround from the usual Main/Secondary Rider dynamic that we see alot of, and in that respect I very much dig it. Plus just from his introduction alone I can tell that Rei won't annoy me as much as say, Date or Kosuke, so that helps.

But yeah, this episode isn't bad, I just felt there was a bit of a better way to balance the two plots that it had. Or alternatively, just hard focusing on one or the other would've worked alot better to my tastes. What seemed to be the overall message about inner beauty felt a bit under cooked too. Koga's' prank giving Kaoru a hangover was pretty amusing though.

Next episode is one where I assume we'll get to see the Silver Knight in all of his glory, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

Yeah this is definitely a wonky episode in terms of it doing a balancing act from what I recall, mostly cause we're introducing a change to the status quo and going with a usual Horror Plot though a bit more screwed given the person who becomes a horror this time. I seem to recall her breaking tombstones and piling them into her purse to use as a blunt object to just, kill people with?

Also I did not get the reference but I did get a laugh out of the furniture replacing the tombstones in the picture.

That being said, Rei! Oh man Rei's a fun dude and I'm glad you've taken a liking to him already. He definitely makes a nice foil for Kouga, and it'll be fun to see you witness the interactions between the two going forward.

Oh, Ray's debut! Although hardly full-fledged, given that he did not appear in armor. In fact, I like him even more than Koga, given that Rei is not so wooden. Yes, and his solo shows are shorter and therefore better convey their story. Even though I'm already getting ahead of myself.
At the expense of adulthood, GARO agrees. Except for the occasional thread like this, these shows are very innocent compared to not only Amazons/Black Sun, but even Inoue's Cutie Honey version.

Yeah basically. Although in fairness, she didn't actually kill the first guy she assaults, and we don't see how the fight started, so maybe it was self defense?

For those curious, it's a reference to the obscure horror game Galerians, which is a game that's not exactly good, but man is it entertaining. The sequel is surprisingly good though.

My favorite aspect of him so far is just the sheer energy with which he does all that he does. The actor seems to be having fun playing out the role.

Interesting comparisons. Having only seen Black Sun myself, I'd actually argue that GARO carries itself alot better than what Black Sun did. Politics aside, at the very least GARO is handling its story and characters in a way much more akin to my tastes, and atleast so far hasn't had a scene where the writers try to make the audience feel bad about themselves. The content might be less gory, but the overall tone and artistry is alot more appealing overall in my eyes.

I meant exactly the "adult" part of the show. Personally, I would still rather consider GARO a teenage project, 14+ maximum. And in general, the show is very romantic and lacks the cynicism that is characteristic of most adult tokusatsu.
P.S. And Cutie Honey from Inouye, I would still advise you to look. This show is an insane masterpiece. In the first episode, this is imperceptible, but when it is revealed, it will not leave you indifferent.

Watching Rei's initial scenes was fun for me because it was basically like "man, I'm really loving this guy; he sort of reminds of... like, like Kitazaki from Faiz for some rea--WAAAAAAIT!"

I've long been vaguely aware of this being Ray Fujita's other big toku role, so I guess it's to GARO's credit that I was drawn into the world enough to forget that for a second. I'm generally pretty down for fun foil characters in general, and I think this was about as solid a debut as a rival can have. He really does feel like nearly every individual element of Kouga flipped to the reverse setting, which is neat.

I don't know why, but I always forget that Rei shows up this early in the series.

Yeah, they definitely did a good job at showing every major way he's the opposite of Koga in one fell swoop. Would only be even more complete if only his coat was black and the rest of his outfit was white.

I was actually surprised he showed up this early too, as I'm far more used to the Silver Knight showing up towards the halfway point due to the anime.

I feel like Rei and Hiiro from Kamen Rider Ex-Aid would find some common ground.

The whole episode is a slow build up to an absolutely explosive third act that in any other show would've been a final showdown.

But before getting to that, I wanna highlight what, surprising even to me, was the aspect that stood out most for me in this episode: That being the overall sound design. Yes really.

And I'm not just talking the music either(though it is good). Whoever did the sound effects for this episode I think totally deserves a raise. Every sound effect, especially those during the big fight at the end, was absolutely on point and felt incredibly powerful to me.

But while that is the biggest aspect that stood out to me here, it's not like the rest of the episode is any slouch. Half the episode is dedicated to just how opposite to Koga that Rei really is. Not just in terms of looks and personality, but also in the way that they handle their work, and how despite those differences, both are every bit as dedicated in what they do.

What results is a very interesting juxtaposition wherein while Koga initially had no real attachment to Kaoru, and his overall stoic demeanor, he still ended up choosing to ignore the code of the Knights and spare her, and is currently trying to find a way to purify Koaru. Meanwhile, while Rei is much more easygoing and lighthearted, and though he does initially seek Kaoru's' affections, once he realizes how she's been splashed by Horror blood, he's all in on killing her.

And of course, this results in an absolutely explosive, top notch fight between the two, and what rightfully is what will stand out to most people when they think of this episode. And really, there's so much going on here that I'd find it incredibly surprising if anyone just didn't get anything out of it. From the incredibly well choreographed civilian fight, to the absolutely bombastic clash of blades as the two fall from the skyscraper after donning their armor, it's something that just keeps on escalating and had me really hyped up the entire time.

I think my favorite bit in the entire thing though has to be when a Horror spawns nearby, and what ensues is the two Knights fighting eachother while also still fighting the Horror, and in the end just getting rid of it as quickly as they can because the damn thing just keeps getting in their way.

Besides that, the other thing that stood out to me most in terms of the fight is just how evenly matched the two are. Just when it looks like Koga is getting beaten down, he comes swinging right back just as hard. It's so great to see after so many shows where the new guy who shows up just outshines the hero in every which way, and it's one of my favorite ways of handling a rival battle, whether it be in toku, anime, or whatever. It reminded me alot of s-CRY-ed, which is what I see as the gold standard for this sort of thing.

So... yeah. This episode was almost like an entire action movie condensed into 23 minutes, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Like I said, I appreciate just how much work goes into the out of suit combat scenes in Garo. They do some wonderful stuff every time and it's a joy to see.

Also as you touched on, both Kouga and Rei are evenly matched, with both gaining the advantage every now and again. It puts Rei has someone extremely competent but doesn't talk down Kouga's power in the slightest. They do just make really good rivals right off the bat.

But also man, that entire scene on the dual skyscrapers. That was insane and they pulled that out in Episode 7 of all things! Garo does love its big set-pieces and usually long enough series manage to pull out a fair few of them within their episodes.

That being said, there's one aspect I love about Rei present in this episode.

http://www.tokunation.com/forums/att...1&d=1675474259

This dork has a gigantic sweet tooth.

This kind of feels like the absolute least mature and adult episode of the series so far to me. Like, it is just 100% two macho dudes beefing the entire runtime, putting the focus all on how cool it is to watch wolf knights fight each other while any other dimension to the plot -- be it Kaoru's perspective on things or a standalone story with other unique and varied individuals -- mostly takes a backseat.

I should maybe be bemoaning that storytelling decision, but man, have you seen this episode? It's freakin' rad as heck, man!

I think this is actually the first episode since the initial two personally directed by Amemiya, and that probably explains a lot. It really is an aggressively simple episode in terms of plot, but such immense care was clearly taken with the execution of that single note of "Kouga and Rei don't get along", that it somehow winds up being a standout of the series so far. The gradual escalation is handled super well, and once things do hit that boiling point, the action just keeps rising anyway. The big fight between the two contains several setpieces that would make good climaxes individually, and strings them together flawlessly. Kouga and Rei throwing down in a room! Kouga and Rei throwing down while going up a building! Garo and Zero throwing down while going down a building!

It's absolute top-tier, thrilling action the whole way through, and the most raw fun this show has been so far. I put that at the start like it's a negative, but honestly, it's good to have such clear confirmation that GARO doesn't consider itself above this sort of thing, especially when it's this good at it.

https://i.imgur.com/z2GIJhI.png

Should the show ever get a domestic blu-ray release, this should be the tagline they put on the box.

It's for sure great to see, especially since, atleast for me personally, a big appeal of Toku in general is that it's a medium that's so easy to have fun with. So for GARO to embrace that side of itself only made me like the show even more.

I was initially feeling disappointed in this episode.

One thing that the anime(namely Crimson Moon) touched upon, albeit briefly, was that not everyone who does bad things ends up as a Horror.

And I was initially thinking that this episode was going to really dive into that, to the point that I was actually incredibly disappointed and felt as if the Horror coming in was incredibly obligatory.

But then the episode managed to turn me around with its wonderfully strong sense of thematic storytelling, ontop of some wonderful character development for Kaoru which ties into it. The cinematography was pretty top notch in this one too, making the visual aspect of the storytelling all the stronger.

This is the episode that essentially spells out what the entire overarching theme of the show is for those who hadn't been getting it up to now(like me!). That theme being time. How we all have limited time on this Earth, what specific moments in time do in terms of shaping our lives and our beliefs, and how people go about spending the precious time they have left.

While I turned her obsession with hands into a bit of a joke with that screencap edit, I really did feel for the bartender here. Does it justify what she does? No, but it's easy to see how much one traumatic event shaped the rest of her life and threw her off the deep end. And using fire and ice as visual metaphors for her desire to turn back and be stuck in the time she was happy for eternity really warmed me to the Horror being at all a part of the plot.

And like I noted earlier, it helps with developing Kaoru as a character too, with her taking the advice she gets to heart, and realizing just how important her art can actually be. Her laying her hand upon the drawing of Koga's' at the end? I felt like that was not only her dedicating the girl who got possessed to her memory, but also her symbolically trying to reach out to Koga, of whom she's had trouble connecting with despite them living together, not to mention the spat they got into within this episode alone.

Though I wouldn't call this the best episode in the show, it is one that managed to impress me despite my own initial first impression, and really, that might make it the most impressive episode so far? But then I could easily see other people reading my observations and going "Well yeah dummy, alot of this stuff was so obvious from like, episodes 1 and 2!" But hey, I eventually got it in the end, right? Yeah? Maybe? Whatever. Here's to looking forward to how Rei's' relationship with Kaoru develops, given she's chosen to keep her alive(for now). And Zaruba is taking a liking to her now too!

GARO has yet to fully disappoint, and I hope it doesn't anytime soon.

Why am I not surprised you ended up making that the thumbnail lol

Again, a lot of episodes are hazy for me as it's been a while but I remember enjoying this one. There's not much to say than us continuing the usual formula but now we've got Rei added into the mix as a fun foil for Kouga.

Yeah not much else to say, but I will say after looking back on the series, it is one of my favorite episodes.

This is one of the episodes I've always remembered the most. It didn't have the most epic fight scenes, but I found the woman's story really engaging.

Also, Goro-chan.

I remember this episode. A sad story and fire and ice are very beautifully shown.

This episode seemed weirdly like something Toshiki Inoue would write to me (I think it's the combination of "musician + tragic event"), but I kind of mean that as a good thing. It's a solid standalone narrative that has a way of pulling you into its sometimes very heightened drama, and not only is it good on its own merits, it also feels especially appropriate to come at this exact point in the series. Like I said, that whole Garo VS Zero episode was sort of an indulgence compared to what the series was normally like, so to have the episode right after that put Rei more into the background to do something more like how the show started out again is reassuring in its own right. As cool as Rei is, I wouldn't want him dominating the entire plot right away, you know? We'd miss out on stories like this.

I dunno about favorite, but it is an episode that I'll definitely remember for a good amount of time.

I wonder if this one knew how to make gyoza?

Yeah, they for sure got really creative with the Horror in this one, both visually and thematically.

Oh man, if we're measuring this in terms of Inoue, then this episode is like, Reverse Inoue for me, given my relationship with most of his works. I see what you mean though.

Yeah, Rei in general is being handled very well so far both in terms of spotlight and character. So far GARO very much knows what its strengths are is playing to them very well.

I didn't like this one.

Tokusatsu stories are full of bad parents, and unfortunately, GARO is no exception. This episode deals with the legacy left behind by our leads' fathers.

And unfortunately in the case of Kaoru, it's a story that's all too common: Her dad abandoned his family at what is arguably the most important time in their lives, but by the end all is forgiven for a deed that's not even close to being of equal value.

Yeah, sure, the painting was based off of some random moment in Kaoru's' childhood and depicts her mom as a goddess. So what? That doesn't change that fact that he refused to be with his wife in her final moments and remained emotionally distant from his daughter. Doesn't even matter that the painting is in a kindergarten. He pulled what I consider what we in the business call an incredibly dickish move, to say the least.

Meanwhile with the Koga side of the plot, it just feels incredibly made up as a way to justify him getting a cool horse. It's allegedly about him facing and accepting his dark side... even though there have been no hints at all that that's something he'd been struggling with up to now. It's like the Ryuki tribute in Kamen Rider Zi-O all over again.

And yeah, the horse(Goten) and the song that comes with it is cool and all, but the entire climax is framed like Koga made this giant leap forward in terms of his character, when I was unaware there was even that sort of character flaw to overcome to begin with. At the very least Kaoru's' plot established an issue she had with her dad. Koga just fights an astral projection of his father's' armor and then is all "At last I have come to terms with the shadow in me." Like, what? Wouldn't it have made more sense to have him overcome his father's' shadow instead?

I dunno, maybe it's my own personal hangups, but this whole episode just really fell flat for me. Probably the weakest character work the show has had so far, and that's even comparing to the first episode which was mainly just introductions. I'm sure someone like Kamen Rider Die would love an episode like this, but as for me, I ain't a fan.

Ah yes, there's our Jam Project. Say hello to Savior in the Dark.

Don't have much to say about this episode because all I can remember is the ending fight, I do like that the Garo armor gets like these super long tassels flowing out from the back which I don't think the anime did for whenever they ride Goten. Savior in the Dark is pretty good, and is probably one of Garo's most iconic songs. But I'd say in terms of Jam Project stuff it only just barely scratches like the Top 5.

I'd have to listen to a lot of Jam Project again, which I wouldn't mind, but yeah.

えええええ... that's a big bummer, because I really did like this one! I wish I could articulate that in some meaningful way, but it's not really something where the words come to me immediately. I adored the way the script rhymes Kaoru and Kouga's sides of the plot so directly (more of that narrative cohesion I love so much about this show), I thought it built nicely on Kaoru's character on its merits while working great for Kouga more as part of the overall picture it's gradually been painting of his feelings towards his dad. I feel like this might be the sort of episode that's maybe easier to grasp in retrospect, knowing the show's whole story, but I don't know, even without that, it was way up my alley. I feel like the cool horse isn't the only reason this is another one Amemiya felt it was important to direct himself. (The horse probably helped motivate him though. It's a cool horse.)

JAM Project always puts in the effort no matter the project. Afterall, their lead singer did give us this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fPimCB4qqA

Man, I dunno if it's just TV-Nihon's' subs or what, but I really didn't get the impression that it had all that much to do with with Koga's' dad and was more gunning for Koga himself. Had there been more focus on Koga's' thoughts about his father, I probably would've been more into it.

Cool to see his dad had a cape though.

See, that's the part I really wish I knew how to explain better! It definitely felt to me like the show was nicely implying stuff about like, things, but it's less like I have some smart interpretation of the story ready to go, and more like, I'm too dumb to really get it, but I think the story itself probably is pretty smart. Like Kouga, I'm deciding to trust my instincts!

I always liked this one because a) I found the Kaoru storyline really engaging and fun and b) the debut of Savior in the Dark. Generally speaking, I always love an episode that has some really good Kaoru stuff.

She's a great lead character for sure. Much more engaging than Sophie from Vanishing Line in my eyes.

I felt this one was overall fine, though its execution felt a bit weird to me.

Basically, it brings up alot of concepts that it doesn't really fully dive into, and I'm not sure if it's meant to simply be a stepping stone episode or not.

Made weirder for me because I actually rather liked many of the aspects brought up in the first half: Koga and Kaoru's' fathers being connected, Kaoru's' fondness for her old teddy bear she had as a child, and the Horror's' gimmick.

It reminded me alot of a similar plot that was done in an episode of Legend Heroes, and while I had some minor gripes with that episode, GARO here goes in an entire different direction both from LH and from what I was expecting, and I didn't really get much out of it.

See, given how the episode opens, I was suspecting that the Horror's' power of bringing people's' inner thoughts to the surface was either going to result in Koga and Kaoru fully opening up to eachother, or alternatively the episode would talk about how while there are thoughts that they keep to themselves, not everyone "wears a mask" as it were.

But it was not to be. The whole moral dilemma that the Horror brings forth is instead refuted with "humans are liars, but oh well" which I mean, valid take I guess, but it's not exactly emotionally satisfying, ya know? And that's not even getting into how Rei is suddenly brought in in a way that frames that the second half of the episode will be about him, but then it isn't. He's instead just kinda there to show off how he transforms different from Koga.

I also wonder the artistic merit of having the monster clown make Legend of Zelda noises as it fights, but it's a giant CGI monster so anything goes I guess. Heck, on that note, both this Horror and the one in previous episode aren't even established characters -- not really. Especially in comparison to almost every episode beforehand, which, granted, they aren't the main focal point, so I'm not trying to harp on it too much, but it is a bit of a letdown after GARO has shown how well it can balance character focus and development so many times before.

In the end, the episode itself is overall just fine to me. The Kaoru stuff was engaging(though I question how that publisher had Kaoru's' old teddy bear), and the plot hook about her dad being connected to Koga's' is a solid one, but the rest of the episode was just kinda whatever. Not a bad episode, but not one that's a super standout either, and I really do hope that it's more meant to serve as a building block for future developments rather than its own standalone sort of thing, which I'm sure it will be used as one, but still.

A step up from last episode at least.

The most I remember about this episode is the giant clown monster that made weird sounds.

Yeah that's about it. Episode didn't really resonate with me that much since I can barely recall it.

Yeah, that and that the guy who sexually harassed Kaoru at her her new job was the cafe owner on Kiva.

I always felt like the clown really didn't fit the general aesthetic of Garo, even if the way he ate people was pretty visually unsettling.

The sound effects on the monster clown are such a bizarre decision. I really have no idea what they were going for with that.

Boy, that's gonna be an interesting parallel to make whenever I get around to watching all of Kiva.

Yeah, I'd guess I'd agree this isn't necessarily the absolute tightest the show has had to offer. Even so, looking at it from a more Series Composition point of view, I think it's placed super well. It's the first time we've had Zero just kind of in a normal monster plot, which is fresh, all the more so because Rei was completely absent from the previous episode (which even used the old opening without his credit). Plus, that episode was all about Kaoru and Kouga separately exploring their father's legacies, and hey, what do you know? They start to tie those together here, which is absolutely a super interesting idea!

Also, you're all talking about Clown Guy's weird noises, but I'm more focused on how adorable his hand puppets were.

It's not one of my personal favorites, but I'd still say it's a show worth watching.

Sure, I can see that. I just wish it had focused in more on just about any specific aspect it'd brought up. For example, having Rei in on a normal Horror plot is cool and all, but it would've been way cooler had he been the primary focus, especially after that scene where the Watchdogs tell him he's gotta start splitting work with Koga from here on out.

As a stepping stone/setup episode it works fine. I guess my main point is that I felt the episode was juggling a bit more than it could handle.

Fun bit of trivia about me: I actually have a friend who makes dolls and puppets, and they outright looked like something he'd make, haha.

I've heard alot of mixed opinions about the show, but the grand total of two episodes I've seen so far made it look interesting if nothing else.

I won't lie, this Horror would've eaten me without much difficulty.

This episode is a bit of a return to form after the previous couple, which is nice to see, I think.

The only part that really felt out of place was the giant text screen detailing Kaoru's' inner thoughts, which I felt was rather unnecessary given that what she was thinking was rather obvious given the context of the scene.

Outside of that though, it's an episode that's really mostly focused on having a bit of fun with itself while still making sure everything remains in order in terms of overall tone and characterization. And I felt that they really nailed it on striking that exact balance.

While the comedic aspects are mainly within the first five-ish minutes, they absolutely nailed it. From the Butler not being able to catch a break, to Koga being so genuine in his claim that the only thing he ever thinks about is slaying Horrors, I got some solid laughs out of this one. And the Game Show Horror's' gimmick is a fun one despite relying totally on green screen and CGI.

It's all pretty simple when you get down to it, but then, winding down and loosening up a bit is the entire point of the episode, and as such it was all pulled off rather well. It was overall a nicely done little breather episode, and I can't complain about that.

Also, 3D Jenga.

Oh yeah this episode, a good breather tbh, and the game show Horror honestly is one of my favorites in the way he goes about being confronted by Kouga.

You mean this line?

https://i.imgur.com/nW04Mfx.jpg

「罰として、二人の命を一日ずつ剥奪します」

'Cause that's a mistranslation on TV-N's part. They're actually saying both Kouga and Rei are going to be punished for fighting one another by having their lives shortened by one day each. (I think TV-N were thrown off because of what a deliberately weird thing that is to casually throw out there) There's even dialogue following up on this in the episode after. It's a line less about the plot of this specific episode, and more about dropping some of that juicy lore, because, again, this definitely seems like an episode mostly concerned with propping up other episodes in the future. Very selfless of it! ...I guess is a positive way to spin it! But yeah, I won't argue too much about the script being a little too scattered, especially with how tight a lot of these episodes have been.

Oh, and speaking of really tight episodes that stand on their own -- episode 11! Really adored this one. The whole romance novel style plot with Kouga and Kaoru is easily the thing that's got me most invested in this show, so to have this episode where Kouga has to go to obnoxiously huge lengths to rescue this woman he's sworn to kill later anyway, I mean, it doesn't necessarily progress the narrative, but it encapsulates a lot about the story so far beautifully, while also being a ton of willfully silly adventure with a completely bonkers visual style. It's like Kouga is traveling through some final dungeon in a JRPG where reality as we know it just kinda doesn't exist, and I was all over that. It's one big experiment with the visual effects, and I thought it was delivered in way that makes the obvious green-screen fakery of it all into a strength. It is another Amemiya-directed episode, and I think you can seriously feel the creativity going into this one. Even Kaoru's weird silent movie thought bubble thing, I don't know, I'd believe it if you told me there was some real intent there. (Even if that intent was probably just "maybe this'll be neat to do")

(Also, have you really not seen Kiva? I could've swore I remember seeing you talk about it on here before somewhere.)

It helps that his actor has some seriously great facial expressions. Loved whenever he raised his eyebrow, haha.

That explains alot actually. Especially since this episode has Zaruba and Necklace Lady talk about the Knights' lives being shortened as punishment.

You'd probably get a kick out of the show Knightmare then!

Anyone remember that show? The one where kids went through a CGI dungeon while roleplaying along the way?

...O-Oh, just me? Okay then...

I don't doubt I've talked about it a little bit here and there. But yeah, I've only seen the first two episodes when they got put up subbed on YouTube, along with the occasional clip here and there via scrolling through social media.

If nothing else, Kiva certain has a really great visual aesthetic!

Yeah, I have only seen the first two episodes of Kiva myself through that same website. It’s one of the seasons of Kamen Rider I’m hoping to watch at some point during this year along with Fourze, Blade, Kabuto, Drive and a few others.

Here's to hoping you enjoy them all!

Now see, this is more akin to what I wanted out of episode 9.

That is to say, this episode is all about exploring what exactly Koga's' deal is via a nearly whole episode flashback full of his relationship with his father.

And man, everything here was on point in regards to this backstory. Characterization, story, visuals, action, music, and the ability to hit me square in the feels for maximum effect.

Making it even better is that a good chunk of the flashback plays out like an average GARO episode, only with Taiga as the lead. It really does feel like to get a sense of a good majority of Taiga's' life story just through the single episode we have with him.

It helps to emphasize how Koga became the way he did too. Kid Koga is adorable! Unfortunately, such a thing is doomed to end in the world of a Makai Knight. It makes total sense as to why Koga ended up closing his heart off the way that he did. The context of the entire ordeal racing through Koga's' mind as he trained made for some powerful stuff.

Taiga's' final bout highlighted it best, I think. Think about it, Koga is taught that Soul Metal reacts to the heart of the one who tries to wield it, and so when Kid Koga attempts to save Taiga by taking hold of the Garo Sword... he can't lift it. It's so easy to see how that would instill a ton of shame and guilt that'd fester for years. I do believe Koga blames himself for his father's' death, as the sword wouldn't move when it seemed like he wanted it to the most.

This was a really well pulled off episode not just in turn of its own structure, but also in where it's placed in the series too. We're just about at the halfway point, so finally answering the question of what exactly Koga's' big hangup is and his relationship with his father feels absolutely satisfying to see. Heck, it felt great to see for me after 12 days, I can only imagine how good it felt to those who watched it weekly and had to wait 3 months for these answers. And especially if the viewer is already invested in Koga like I was.

But then, maybe I'm just a sucker for origin episodes. Those consist of some of my favorite bits of shows like Kino's Journey with Kino's' origin episode, The Legend of Korra with the Avatar Wang two parter, and Kamen Rider Ex-Aid having Episode Zero, detailing Snipe's' backstory afterall. And I didn't even care for Snipe all that much!

Regardless of if I have a certain affection for these sorts of things or not, I felt this episode as a whole was pulled off really well, and I dug the hell out of it.

Yeah, this episode is definitely another highlight for me.

We get to see Kouga's father, Taiga (Rest in Peace Hiroyuki Watanabe), and even if it isn't for that long, it's still enough to tell a gripping story. I also like the cool detail of showcasing how both father and son have a small but distinct differing feature in their armor. While Kouga's eyes are green, Taiga's are red. It's a neat minor touch tbh.

There's also some cool sword in the stone kind of symbolism with how the Garo Sword is just sticking out from the ground with Kouga training hard to eventually pull it out. I also like how in the training sequence, there's a bunch of silhouettes of different Kouga's from different points in his training. And you can see just a clear side by side comparison of how he improves as he gets older. It's really nice.

Overall a solid episode and a standout for this season in particular.