Honestly, the special was there mostly to just set up Ganon for Makai Senki and to show off some crazy visuals. It was actually filmed years after the original series and therefore really has very little to do with it.

I think reading the book first before jumping into the visual will have much better results...

http://livedoor.blogimg.jp/naosanae8...b/5b157924.jpg

Oh I'd completely forgotten about that Ganon carcass bit, where it was all narrated in English for some reason. And Barago was just....there, despite it apparently being really hard to get to.

So I just watched Smile and err...wot. I like how it was all just random nonsense and then out of nowhere it becomes this amazing character piece that really builds on Kaoru's character and really adds something extra to the series.

I know, right?

I love that episode.

Yeah man, it turned out to be one of my favourite episodes in the end.

I finally had a day off so I had the time to check out Byakuya no Maju.

Speaking purely of it as a film, Byakuya no Maju is....pretty bad, truth be told. The villains are uninteresting, the plot lacks focus, and even when it is focused it barely makes any sense and despite not even being ten years old yet, it looks insanely dated. Although the practical action and wirework is as impressive as ever.

That said, as a sequel to GARO this is where the film shines. It may not have quite as much fun with the GARO world as the Kiba Gaiden did, but each new addition here is a crucial, worthwhile and lasting one which makes it a great sequel to the TV show, even if it isn't that great a film. And in turn then becomes a worthwhile watch, at least to a GARO fan.

http://sva.2chan.net/cgi/g/src/1380791882286.jpg

http://svd.2chan.net/cgi/g/src/1380791913631.jpg

So I thought I finally got a chance to sit down and watch Red Requiem, when I was pulled into work... But here are my thoughts so far, I have roughly forty minutes of the movie left, for any one who is interested.

From most of the toku I have watched, they want to present the heroes as unwaveringly good, choosing to simply ignore how similar the heroes and villains often are, and the generally huge piles of moral grey that come with the toku superheroes. I appreciate that GARO doesn't bother with any pretense, it is true that GARO's mythology is garbled and barely comprehensible but we know enough that although our protagonist, is our hero, he works for a faction that the show and movies pull no punches for, when it comes to highlighting how corrupt, broken and archaic they are. And the fact that Kouga shares their views, not out of nastiness, but simply because of what he holds as truths as they are all he knows, makes him feel more layered and human, as he does have failings and flaws.

All in all, Red Requiem is just more thought provoking in general, featuring aspects of betrayal, tragedy and the overlying question that has always surrounded GARO, what separates man from the monsters in the first place? It's just a shame that a slightly more thought out narrative seems to come at the expense of the action sequences.

It's funny as well, because despite placing our hero into this fucked up faction, GARO features some of the most badass female characters in all of toku, who don't just feel like a cheap novelty while they are at it. I may have missed Jabi, but the Mary Elizabeth Winstead lookalike Rekka proved that there is room for one more badass female Makai Priest.

Red Requiem features perhaps the worst action GARO has ever created. Maybe it's because it was intended to be shown in 3D, and I'm watching the 2D conversion, or something but I dunno, just something doesn't feel right. It feels sluggish, it lacks impact and just generally feels cheap and unpolished as they balance limp wristed fist fights, and awful wirework, with gratuitous effects shots that both largely look terrible and rarely serve any purpose, I guess other than blowing wads of cash. Of course I want my movie spin off to feel bigger than what I got in the show, but I don't want it at the expense of purpose.

About the only saving grace, as always with GARO, is it's full of imagery that is so imaginative, it surpasses the modest budgets and sticks in your head for long after viewing.

So I just watched the first episode of Makai Senki. I wasn't even sure I was watching GARO. I mean there were visual trademarks in there, but I dunno, something about the tone and execution felt different.

And you know what? I LOVED it, the action felt extremely polished and was just awesome. And I remember very few of the Horrors from the first season, so it was nice that they seem to have really put a lot of effort into making Cigarein cool as hell. Shame he only lasted a single episode.

Who are these seven Apostle Horrors Kouga was meant to have defeated?

I've always thought there was a stark difference in tone between the two seasons. The first is more of a dingy macabre horror affair while the second plays up the fantasy elements a lot more.

Actually yeah, that actually makes it pretty clear. Although there were still horror aspects, it played out more like something like...Hellboy, as opposed to the first season which centred around much more hardcore horror and put less emphasis on the action.

Makai Senki 2. I'm bloody enjoying this show!

Since when could Kouga piece together crime scenes like some kind of supernatural CSI? Hell, I don't remember him ever even having to investigate before, he'd just sort of arrived where the Horror was somehow and kill it. I'm not opposed to this though, I actually kinda like this new direction.

Still, the best progression here is the action. This came out like what, six years after the original show? It's so nice to see a tokusatsu series evolve. Rider's progression was noticeable when you started to move into shows like Den-O, but it's really slowed down by this point and sentai has basically ground to a halt, so it's just so enjoyable to see how far GARO's action sequences have come - the stylised flashiness of the action doesn't seem nearly as limited by primitive CGI this time around, and they seem to be using a lot more practical shots of the GARO suit - when they have six more years of technological advancement to play with.

Probably the weakest progression for me, is the horror. Rather than more classic, atmospheric horror, we've moved to more modern grime, torture and gore horror. The show is still as twisted as ever, but I personally preferred the first seasons take on horror than the second, I liked the slow burn of setting a twisted scene, and that it didn't always have to end in some huge fight sequence. The Hell Mermaid episode proved just how fantastic GARO could be as a genuine horror show. This season seems to be playing more for shallow shocks, than true terror like in the first season.

Also, that Leo guy is totally guilty.

Makai Senki 3.

So nice to see Kouga drive and not just keep trying to run everywhere. Still, it was probably the weakest episode so far, feeling noticeably like filler, even the stunts weren't that enjoyable as they just blacked out the clear front helmet for every stunt just to advertise to the world it's a double. Why use a helmet like that in the first place if you plan to use a double? Although it is so nice just how much the CGI has improved.

It was fun seeing more of the Makai Priest magic though, after Red Requiem and now this, I think the Priests are way more interesting and I'm grateful they've become a much bigger and more integral aspect to the show. Just a shame this show totally just makes it up as it goes.

Oh well, Zero's appearance at the end seems to have put us back on track.

Makai Senki 4.

Dunno how to feel about this episode. On the one hand, I love the episodes of this show that really change the pace, and play around with a concept but man, when the whole mystery card game business came together, it ended up just being kinda stupid. Dramatic slow motion poker, with a ridiculously convoluted reason for being in the show!

Still, the low point of the episode was the Kaoru part. Firstly, why would Kouga put her directly in harms way so unnecessarily? I understand the whole gambling bent, but I thought Kouga's overconfident days are over, this just seemed out of character to me. Especially as now, a whole bunch of Horrors know what to target, to get to him, if they didn't know already. Spider-Man right now would be: http://makeameme.org/media/templates...man_cancer.jpg

The Horrors main form was hella goofy as well - although it was a really high quality suit, luckily the final battle was still awesome.

Makai Senki 5.

Not a lot to say on this episode, it wasn't that it was bad, it was actually very enjoyable but it was just doing more of what I enjoyed so much in the first two episodes, again and I don't want to be a broken record.

It really does just feel like they've improved every problem I had with the original, like a true sequel should. It even brought back the superior horror from the first season, for this episode was well, if I didn't have enough praise already.

Is that the girl who played Shion playing our Horror of the week?

Makai Senki 6.

Although this show has been like all filler so far, these standalone episodes are really well done. Both in the twisted nature of this show, but also in this shows ability to just tell really great stories, that really make us care, despite only having twenty minutes to tell it. The parents were, to all extensive purposes, monsters but knowing first hand what's like to lose someone that close, I could really appreciate why they'd be happy to kill for something so artificial, just to be around their loved one again.

About the only bump for this episode was that there is no way such a popular tourist spot, could also be the place where an old couple get away with mass murder. But I suppose suspension of disbelief is the main part of shows like this.

Also, Zero is back! So why don't poisons work on Makai Knights?

Fun bit of trivia: the son in this episode was played by the actor who played Kamen Rider Raia in Ryuki.

Because they have trained and discipline their mind's and bodies. To be sturdy, strong and able to withstand all sorts of things.

As you know they can basically jump-off The Empire State Building and land on there feet. :D

These dudes have super powers even before they transform!

Well you must keep in mind that. Majority of the time, a Makai Knight parents consists of a mother who is a Makai Priest and a father who is also a Makai Knight. So magic and strength runs through their blood.

Makai Senki 07.

I actually ended up watching this twice, I was exhausted when I watched this the first time and my write up on the episode didn't do it justice, because it was so so fantastic. This is seriously turning into the best toku show I have ever watched. I mean the first season was really great (if poorly paced) but this is turning into a real masterpiece.

Like when the masked Priest Knight Horror dude (come on man, is this Ichigo?) attacks Kouga, and the two literally start fighting through buildings, leading to them fighting in the wreckage of their battle that floats beautifully above the city, just like something you'd see right at the end of one of Marvel's movies and that is every other episode here.

GARO may not have the most polished effects in the world (could they seriously not have made those blades look so cheap and plasticy?), but it seems like a much higher quality product simply because it's so well staged. Most toku action is so disconnected from the real world, as it rages in abandoned buildings and quarries, it's hard to truly get a sense of 'epic' like you do with one of GARO's key confrontations.

What was the point of Lates? Does he become more important later? He just kinda appears, is an asshole for a bit and then just leaves. Although a lot about his appearance was kinda confusing. They travelled on that lift for hours, then got on that magic train that no one seemed to want to explain...to turn up on some random rooftop that wasn't even where the meeting was held? What? If they can just open doors from anywhere, seemingly run endlessly and y'know...FUCKING DRIVE, what was the point of this?

GARO is a mature show in more than just boobies, I understand gender roles is an important thing in society, period, but when we learn that women can't be Makai Knights and how much Lates looks down on women I couldn't help but wonder if this was a critique of toku, in general. You look at the sausagefest that is Kamen Rider, and how novel, rare and fairly useless the female Riders have been, or even as you look at Sentai, which always features a female or two on the team, but is usually simply tied to 'the female one' with no character beyond that. Go GARO full of pointless nudity, while also featuring a protagonist campaigning for women's rights (in the Horror hunting world)!

Although a hinted love triangle? Come on guys. The romance between Kaoru and Kouga is barely realised, let alone this shit.

It is actually their suits. It gives the knights extra protection against magic and poison.

Can you tell me where you get this?

What are you talking about?

Locke was referring to the episode, where the old couple were poisoning people and feeding them to the "Horror" tree in front of their house. They were doing their same routine, but was shocked to see that it didn't work on Zero.

Their suits protect them when they are actually wearing them. But even then they can still be harmed, if it's a powerful enough enemy. If what you say was even remotely true. Then "Red Mask" would've been able to put that "Death Mark" on every last Makai Knight.

Just keep watching Locke. ;) Men are the only ones who can become Makai Knights. Because Men are physically stronger then Women. So that is why the women become Makai Priestess and the men either a Makai Knight or Makai Priest.

Makai Senki 8.

Another stunning episode, God I love this show. It's actually really hard to write about this show, when you basically love everything and can only really criticise the smallest of nitpicks.

Really, probably my only problem, is a lack of consistency. I mean the show is gorgeously shot, wonderfully directed, full of memorable imagery and incredible fight scenes and as far as toku goes, it feels pretty damn glossy and high concept. So at the same time, it just seems odd that the show is so full of such cheap and tacky props, and such uninteresting monster designs.

Makai Senki 09.

I would complain about yet MORE filler, but man the standalone episodes in this show are just so good. This episode was just pure insanity, and one of the rare times that toku is intentionally laugh out loud hilarious. Even the Horror looked better this week, although he was still a bit bland.

Makai Senki 10.

I can't tell if this episode was brilliant...or awful. I mean on the one hand there were some amazing visuals, and real imagination at play here and yet it also kinda felt like Leo got Kouga's girlfriend high as fuck and then the two of them went on a drug fuelled haze wander around the city. I kinda half expected them to wake up in a gutter somewhere.

Getting to see Leo fight though, was really something. Something about him makes me feel really uncomfortable, but his is an undeniably cool character.

Makai Senki 11.

As far as this show goes, this episode was a weak one. Despite being a central part of the franchise, romance is not this shows strong point...like at all and when they put direct focus on the romance, it only highlights just how poorly realised it all is and how little chemistry our core duo have.

If this is the quality of the romance we're going to get, it's best served in the small doses it's been served in so far, those scenes are usually charming, rather than coma inducing like it was here.

Thankfully the action was just wonderful this episode. The actual context for the action was rather muddled and confusing, but it looked absolutely incredible. It featured probably the best fights in the show yet and that says a lot as this season has had consistently some of the best action I've seen from toku, ever.

All this multi-posting... Reminds me of when I watched Rescue Fire.

Well since I'm basically one of four people who posts in this thread, it doesn't seem worth making some huge abomination post of like twenty episode thoughts.

Makai Senki 12.

An episode for the Zero fans! featuring one of the coolest look Horrors yet. Most of Zero's backstory in the original show was pretty uninteresting so I'm glad to see they improved upon that, here, even if the way the episode paced made it kinda confusing to follow at points.

I love the amount of focus Zero gets in this show, in general. I guess he must have tested way better than Kouga with audiences, as he vanished for long stretches of time in the original GARO but here he seems to have as much, if not more, focus than Kouga does.

Makai Senki 13.

The return of Jabi! Man she and Kouga should be the central couple, they have much much better chemistry. Then again, I can't help but wonder if that is sometimes done deliberately to appeal to a very specific audience...

And...eh...what is going on? Zaruba just suddenly erupts in flames and everyone acts like they expected this, this is because the rings have...spring water in them? Why? And since when? How does Zero get around this? Did I miss an episode somewhere?

I love watching Jabi fight, the way she combines her long legs with her cool magic. The perfect balance between sexy and badass. I thought the special effects were very impressive this episode as well, it was very understated for GARO but I loved seeing her summon the spells beneath the water and stuff like that. It's just cool little tricks like that that make the fantasy feel tangible.

The fight with Red Mask though...eh? Although I think it's cool that they've got one villain who can go toe to toe with Kouga's sword and ALSO Jabi's brush (man was this fight a visual treat?!), but on the other hand it just seems a strange choice to make them all a single character. I don't get why they aren't a group of villains, because as several characters smashed together Red Mask feels like overkill in the most ridiculous Gurren Lagann sense.

We know Leo is evil already, stop acting like it's some kind of mystery!

Garo Soukoku no Maryuu - THis movie rocked!!! It was unique, it was funny, it had some wicked battles, incredible designs, and awesome characters. This just goes to show that Amemiya is the only man that knows how to do Garo correctly. Not to mention it was nice to see the real Garo again! Plus, it showed that if you make your story and characters interesting, you don't need to over do the armor scenes. My favorite character of the movie is without a doubt Kakashi, he freaking ruled!! Overall, I give this movie an excellent 9/10. Now excuse me while I go and play some Onimusha. :-D

Makai Senki 14.

Given the pretty incredible set up, I was rather disappointed with this episode. I mean sure, it was for in story reasons, but for a show that has Kouga travel through walls with flashy special effects when a door is only two feet away, it seemed a shame that Baron and Tsubasa would return simply as further victims to Red Mask, who by this point is so overpowered he's become boring.

The first episode with Keiji Matsuda. That means the next one should be that episode.

Oh man, I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on that one. :D

Oh God.

Makai Senki 15.

Lol, holy shit. This episode was sending me to sleep, I kept thinking "Why, 'that' episode?", then the twenty minute mark happened and it was like I was watching a live action episode of Madoka. This is basically Gaim as told in a single episode, isn't it?

So does Wataru not age?

Makai Senki 16.

I love this shows sense of scale. A big problem I have with a lot of shows, is they present a fate of the world narrative, yet centre it all in a single time and place. I love how although Kouga and Zero are some of the strongest, they are just two pieces on a much larger board, that transcends infinitely backwards and forwards through time.

Still though, Red Mask's Aizen levels of overkill is killing the show for me. I mean not only is he a top class Priest, Knight and wielder of Horror magic, but he can also build Horror killing mechs as well? Fuck off.

Oh wow, Leo was Red Mask all along.... *queue absolutely no shocked gasps from the audience at all* I was kinda holding out, due to the whole mask thing, that this would in fact turn out to be a woman, since they bothered dragging the gender roles business into the main series from the movies, as that would have made Red Mask way more badass. Instead that just turned out to be a red herring, and probably was never intended to be as such in the first place.

I'm wondering if Purple was also intended to be a Red Herring, as I started to wonder if they'd pull a whole death switch bait thing with him but no, it was just the most obvious answer possible. Red Mask sucks. And GARO still can't quite get its pacing right.

Makai Senki 17.

When it started with a Horror made out of text, I thought this was gonna suck so bad, but I hadn't realised how much I missed Rekka, until the show reminded me what a badass babe she was. I also love watching her fight, especially as they get her into situations like this: http://i.imgur.com/z6hyDUP.png

Everything aside from the action though...was weak at best. The romance aspect of this show is pure crap, but at least in the first season they tried, here Kaoru has barely been in the show at all so there has been no tension around Kouga trying to keep it a secret from her.

I don't care about Kaoru or her shitty picture book. I don't believe in their romance and Kouga has better chemistry with Rekka or Jabi than he does with the utterly bland Kaoru. Yet they still force this romance business right into the heart of everything and it's just like 'why!'.

Also random nudity, it's been a while!

Kenji Matsuda is just more badass than time.

Also, I swear Baron was in the movies before, but after the second episode with Wataru I realised I was thinking of someone else. There was a Silver Knight would could wield lightning, but the actual Thunder Knight...is blue and fights with a scimitar. (Wot?)

Yeah, the guy in the Kiba special was just a one-off character. Baron is a different guy and his brightly colored all CGI armor was an early harbinger of what season 3's suits would look like.

This makes me sad, the practical armours are gorgeous.

It's not Baron who's all CGI, It's Rodo. Baron as he appear episode 14 and 15 was a real suit and it was definitely not brightly colored since his color is dark blue, it's Rodo who has light purple color.

Baron
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__...ight_Baron.png

Rodo
http://s1.tsuki-board.net/pics/encyc...g?t=1351416173

So when I finish Makai Senki is there a bunch of stuff to check out, or is it straight onto the next season?

Makai Senki 18.

Oh my Lates turned out to be a villain, this show needs to slow down, it might actually play a twist that isn't coma inducingly obvious! And then he died. The episode redeemed itself at the end though, because now I have no idea what the fuck is going on any more!

The two movies from this year come first: the Kouga one and the Jabi/Rekka one. Season three is very much a clean break from the rest of the franchise, for better and for worse.

Too bad she can't act for ****. Rekka could have been a cool character if she had actually been given acting lessons. I would say she is the MEgan Fox of Garo, but she doesn't look like plastic.

I find it harder to perceive bad acting in tokusatsu, firstly because of the language barriers but also because of the almost theatrical performances that come with the genre, that give a very different flavour to the acting styles than you'd ordinarily find in TV shows. So usually I can only perceive bad acting, if they are truly atrocious, like say, Koyomi from Wizard.

Okay, thanks!

Well I love Jabbi. :)

http://www.bandaivisual.co.jp/garo/blog/jyabi01.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/f0b6e4464...q2poo1_400.gif

Also the movies that Switchblade was referring too are: Garo: Soukoku no Maryu. Watch this movie when you're done watching this series. It's the movie that wraps up to show actually.

Garo Gaiden: Tougen no Fue is a movie that focuses on and features. An adventure by Jabbi and Rekka. Lot's of high kicking in that one. ;)

Both are available through T.V.-Nihoh.

Thanks, I was on my phone and didn't want to stop and look up the titles.

Garo ~Yami wo Terasu mono ~ is finally on Family channel.
Also actors talk every week.

放送直前生放送スペシャル trailer

Thanks for the info guys!

Now for episode 19!

So wait, the actual twist was, that all along Leo wasn't actually a Priest, but a Makai Knight? He also happened to have a twin brother, who hates Knights because he's a sore loser? Well ain't that crap. For a show that can write such wonderful of the week episodes, it seems odd that it can't seem to make a convincing big bad at all.

The all CGI armour may not look great exactly but it still doesn't look quite as atrocious as it perhaps could have had. Seems a weird undertaking though, this must have been extremely costly.

How many characters is Shion going to play?

"ZERO" will be released in theaters and on Family Gekijou channel in March 2014.
TV broadcast TBA.

Also Golden Wolf Thanksgiving 2013 event will be on November 23.
There will be live broadcast on Niconico Live channel (7pm ~ 8:30pm JST), and also Family Gekijou channel (7pm ~ 9pm JST).
Backstage interview after the event will be available only on Family Gekijou channel.

http://garo-project.jp/event/2013-1123/images/bg.jpg