[DreamSword]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON GARO: VANISHING LINE

The final arc and ending of a story can have a big effect on one's' feelings about it overall.

On one hand, some will say that it's the journey that matters and not the destination, and on the other, some argue that if the ending isn't satisfactory, then what's even the point?

Me? I really can't say either mindset is exactly wrong.

In my experience, I've ended up on both sides depending on the story involved. For example, the final act of Kamen Rider Faiz really messed with my headspace concerning that show. It was a story that I was thoroughly enjoying up until that point, and it's what always sticks in my mind whenever I think about the story as a whole.

Meanwhile, with, say, Hug! Pretty Cure! that is show that, while I feel the ending is rather rough, doesn't ruin all the great times I had watching it, and I still put it as one of my favorite magical girl shows to date. The journey was so good that a lackluster ending didn't do much to hamper my looking back on it.

I think the main factor on if a final bit of a show super dampens the experience for me or not is the length, and with that in mind, perhaps you'll see where I'm coming from when I say that, at the end of the day, I find Garo: Vanishing Line to be... decent. Not great, not horrible. Just an overall alright experience. But rather than just leave it there, I'm gonna bring back the final thoughts format I used for the previous two GARO anime. Here we go.

THE BAD

The endgame and the pacing.

Those final six episodes are a serious slog to get through. Not even just in terms of pacing, but in handling an ending off the arcs of every character involved.

I think the biggest factor that killed it all for me was how the show very much tried to have its cake and eat it too without actually going all in on any of the concepts that is brought to the table.

One minute Martin is an evil overlord, the next minute he's a pure soul who's misunderstood... there's alot of back and forth, and not even solely concerning Martin either. Sophie, like it or not, IS the main character of this entire show, and the final arc focuses on her so much that every other character is left behind.

They really bank on you being all in on her part in the plot, but unfortunately for the writers, as the show continued to go on, I began liking Sophie less and less and started liking Gina, Sword, and especially Luke way, way more. Sophie's' development lead to her becoming a self-centered brat, whereas everyone else took the exact opposite progression.

And also keep in mind that this is six episodes out of a 24 episode show. That's 25% of the run time, which is alot! Also not helping that is there's two episodes towards the middle that could've easily been cut: Episodes 12 and 15, which don't amount to anything at all in the grand scheme of things and aren't even particularly engaging to watch. I think it would've been alot better to have two more episodes in the anime's' beginning arc instead.

While I wouldn't say the beginning arc is bad, it's definitely a bit unexplored. The show does give just enough of it to be satisfactory for the big transition point, but I do think one or two more character focused episodes in Russell City would've done the overall pacing of the show some favors instead of an episode where nothing happens other than characters talking in a motel or a villain focused episode that doesn't tell us anything the audience doesn't already know at that point in the show's' run.

This anime's' endgame is a serious killer of its momentum, and while I wouldn't say it ruined the story as whole, definitely did make me knock it down a point.

THE GOOD

The middle chunk.

This was where the show really found its stride, with engaging character focused episodes and the two best action sequences in the entire show bar none.

While not perfect(again, episodes 12 and 15 could've easily been cut), I had a great time with that section of the show. The development that the Makai Trio go through felt very organic and were capped with very emotional moments.

Plus, it was a rather unique approach for the show to take compared to its previous two counterparts: Featuring the crew traveling to different locations each episode, meeting new people, and experiencing their stories alongside their own. Shout outs to episode 16!

It really is the sort of thing that only a Toku made into an anime could get away with, and I am so glad that the show went this route.

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Luke and episode 14.

While I do think that one more episode focused on him in the early days and especially a better ending to his story would've helped alot, Luke overall was a character that I came out really liking, and is easily my favorite in this cast.

Similar to Cruger in Power Rangers SPD, a big part of Luke's' story is about learning to not let the feelings of anger and vengeance ruin you as a person, and instead focus those feelings into motivation towards a better tomorrow for yourself and those around you. In other words, use them as a means to find better empathy towards others and their hardships, and work to lessen the impact of similar evils.

While almost every Luke focused episode is great, episode 14 is by far the biggest highlight, featuring not only great growth for him as a character, but also featuring pretty much everything that makes the GARO anime great: Mature themes, rich characterization, engaging atmosphere, solid comedic beats, and a stylish piece of action.

While not my favorite character in the entirety of the GARO anime(that's still Alfonso), he definitely became my favorite of the Makai Alchemists, and even if I did come out of this show not liking it, it would've been worth the watch if only for him.

OVERALL RATING AND FINAL THOUGHTS

If you want my rating up front, I give Vanishing Line a 3/6. I do think that it's overall the weakest of the three anime. While you could argue logistics of the plots of each one, when it comes down to it, the biggest deciding factor for me is that, really, the character work in Crimson Moon and especially Carved Seal of Flames is just way more my taste.

Sure, there's a few other things that hold it back, such as the lower budget compared to the other anime or the obvious setting up for a movie that never happened, but at the end of it all, that's the deciding factor for me. For all their flaws, the other two anime were just so much better at making their characters emotionally engaging(for me atleast). Is VL a bad anime? No, but with such a great track record this subset of the franchise has had, it had some big shoes to fill and it unfortunately just kinda fell short.

I don't regret watching it, and hopefully as time goes on my brain will remain more focused on its positive aspects like it does the previous two shows.

Until next time, Golden Knight...