And so we're at the final stretch, who knows how this'll end. Well I do, but I ain't saying anything.

I also find it neat that Sigma's little, 'Armor Copy' technique that he uses to form Jaaku can basically mimic any armor. Like I figured it was possible given how it worked on Garo the first time. But seeing it copy Lord for a few moments was actually neat.

That said I feel as though we're forgetting the big floating extra-dimensional head in the room. That is to say, did you enjoy the return of Gajari? I know you had pleasant things to say about him last time.

Funny fact: TV-N translates the name of Leo's' suit as "Road."

I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHAT THAT THING EVEN IS.

The Seals of Destruction are gone, but the battle isn't over yet.

As Koga begins to be slowly devoured by the corpse of Ganon, it's now up to our heroes to save the man who saved all of them.

And I gotta say, I rather like that angle. It helps to show that every main character we've gotten to know so far is just as important as Koga is, even if Garo might be the strongest.

But yeah, this is very much just the prelude to the final battle, and even if history repeats and Koga ends being the one to take on and defeat the final boss, I think that, with the addition of this extra focus that everyone else is getting, that I'll be ultimately okay with it.

And so the final battle draws near, and we finally fully kick off one of my favorite endgames in the GARO franchise to date.

And while last episode definitely kicked off everything, this episode sets the stage for a different kind of finale. I like that they decide to take full advantage of the cast they've been building up for this. Having this ragtag group of people band together to save a friend they all hold dearly.

Also this is one of my favorite usages of the 2nd ED, the slow pan across Kaoru's room before landing on the picture of her, Kouga, and Gonza just fits with the flow of the song.

For sure. It was a nice surprise too, as I had no idea what they planned to do with the credits this time around.

Very cool idea, but the execution was not to my liking.

On paper, this all sounds really cool: A big battle wherein characters other than Koga are center stage, and Kaoru and Koga's' bond being what breaks Koga free.

Except there were alot of things that took me out of the experience. The green screening was pretty spotty in places. Rei has also been massively nerfed: Having been equal to Koga in the first season only to now not even hold a candle to him.

And worst of all, they revealed what Kaoru drew on the last page of the picture book at the end of the first season. Not knowing what she drew was one of, if not my favorite aspect of the first season's' finale, as not only did it provide some degree of interpretation, it made it feel as though whatever she drew was incredibly personal to Koga himself.

It's not a complete wash, as there are certain aspects I did like, mainly in terms of the action and how much a grand scale almost everything felt. Especially once Idea is fully activated and transforms into GARO's' version of a super robot. There was also that small callback to the Kid Koga episode that I liked.

But yeah, I really felt this whole thing could've been handled alot better. Or at the very least they could've brought Tsubasa back. Where the heck is he? Did he die offscreen? You got back Jabi and Zanki! BRING BACK TSUBASA!

You know what they say, play with fire and you're going to get burned. I think the funniest part about Sigma is the pure hubris on his part to think that he could control Ganon while constantly feeding it which was bound to wake it up.

Not much else to say here, though it is nice to see that we're this deep into the finale and we've got this huge gathering of folks already. Things are only going to keep ramping up from here!

He really does share the same energy as this guy:

https://i.imgur.com/iMGh3NP.jpg

Life comes at ya fast, and so does alot of things in this war sequence!

It's funny though. Me, being a viewer from the future who came in via the anime, probably had a bit of a different reaction to this one than viewers at the time did.

Like, the entire plan of Ganon; to rip open a hole between Earth and Makai, and in turn flood the world with Horrors, was literally the exact plan that Mendosa was gunning for in Carved Seal of Flames.

And really it makes me appreciate the anime more, as it took a similar premise yet showcased it from a totally different angle. But, hey, I'm a sucker for some good action too, and this episode sure as heck ain't short on that! It's nonstop battle from start to end, and if you love CGI models then boy is this for you!

But yeah, like I opened this with, alot of info is thrown our way in very quick succession. Rei's' horse is named Ginga! Mado Rings can work like Walkie-Talkies! Knights and Alchemists have a super duper powerful team attack that we've never heard about until now! Amemiya really likes both Legend of Zelda and Castlevania! It's alot being thrown every which way.

However, the most important detail, other than Tsubasa being alive and still kicking ass, is probably that Steel Knights exist. I could see this being a big surprise to viewers at the time, but given I come from the timeframe where Inheritor of Steel is a thing, I just sorta figured we'd see them eventually. And given what very little I know about that show, I must wonder if the existence of "Generic" Knights was hotly contested back in the day.

Because thinking about it, I can see why they might be: Up to now, every Makai Knight has been something unique, and there was no real reason to figure otherwise. But on the other hand, I don't think even Amemeiya had the kinda cash to design and create like 100 unique suits, and since the story really wanted to lean into Garo being something special, having "Standard" suits of armor helps lend credibility to that idea. And on a personal note, I'm a fan of Knights of the Zodiac. The concept of Steel Knights are nothing new to me.

Regardless, I had fun with this one, and am looking forward to seeing how this fight ends tomorrow.

I think what makes me appreciate this finale a lot is how much of a team effort it is. You've got the Priests all providing support and stalling Ganon, you have multiple notable Knights all charging in to use that stalling to their advantage. And beyond that you've got an army of Makai Knights willing to duke it out alongside everyone else.

Really goes to show that despite all the issues that had been popping up all season with Knights and Priests, that they are able to band together when the call to action is heard.

But yeah the Hagane armor makes its first official appearance here and uh... I'll be real I kinda chuckled at seeing all the different plain CGI armors. I wouldn't say it's the best first impression but I did kind of push that aside due to the sheer scale of what Amemiya was going for here. That said I do think the Hagane get their due once we get to the series that actually focuses on them. But that's way down the line...

That said, another instance of ED2 having a really nice sequence to pair with it and that transition of GARO punching that transitions to the ink painting, that then transitions to the series title was a really cool way to end this off.