[DreamSword]

Episode 22: Engraving

We're gearing up for the final battle, so naturally there's revelations to be had.

And lemme just say that I have been absolutely loving how so many of the early episodes of GARO have been coming full circle as of late.

It really shows that the writers had a roadmap in mind for the show as a whole, as well as a level of detail that makes it easy to believe that they weren't just making things up as they went.

We also learn the backstory of Barago, the Dark Knight, and most of why he's able to do what he does. He fights like Garo because he was trained by Taiga, and he became a Dark Knight via letting his timer run out, resulting in his armor devouring the light of his soul.

And man, poor Kaoru. This poor girl just cannot catch a break. Marked to be a Gate for the Ultimate Horror known as Messiah at a young age, she's been cursed to be hunted for most of her life; blood of Horrors or not. And the CGI Engraving on her neck allows Barago to keep tabs on her regardless of where she goes or what she does.

But better than all of that is how the kindergarten episode comes back into the picture. While I had my own hangups with that episode, it was atleast good to see Kaoru get rewarded for her kindness, as well as learn exactly why the last page of her father's' picture book was blank: It wasn't unfinished, it was symbolism that went way over the heads of publishers. It's the sort of thing I'm sure many of us saw coming, but it was still nice to see play out.

Koga being alot more honest with his feelings was nice to see too. Him outright telling Kaoru that she's important to him is something that would've been inconceivable for the Koga towards the start of the show. I also liked how he didn't just instantly forgive Rei for all of the trouble that Zero has caused throughout the show either. The two are willing to work together as they have a common enemy, but it's not like there can be a totally clean slate given how Rei did try to kill both Kaoru and Koga.

As an episode that's half prep work, half character reveals/reinforcement, I thought it all came together rather well, and served as a nice breather before we fully hit the climax. Needless to say, I'm excited for what's to come!