[KRWolfblade]

Episode 1 thoughts: It's not a particularly original plot. Kind of follows a basic isekai-ish plot. People 'trapped' in a video game (world). Must fight to survive and win (the prize being GARO and a wish). Although not everyone is a gamer so how they interact and react with the world and others is at least different (you have like the small group of shady-ish business men who decide to just fight for themselves brutally).

While it does have a somewhat refreshing take/twist on the GARO formula, it is definitely missing the key trademark that every main series followed: actual armor transformation. Instead of the whole "who you are and what powers you receive are up to you", everyone should've got that basic Makai Knight armor from Makai Senki and Honoo no Kokuin. So while they are armed, they're all novices to how to fight properly so it makes the whole "fighting to survive" more engaging and impactful when they get picked off by Horrors.

A plus I would give it is that it throws you straight into the plot. No 10-15 minutes of set up then the plot kicks off. You're straight into the story and told/shown what's going on. Characters are alright so far. It's only been 1 episode so not really much to go off of.

The opening theme. Yeah I am not a fan of the opening. I know what they were going for but I feel like they missed the mark. I dont think there's been a single 'bad' opening of GARO, ZERO, etc (there's some that are definitely weaker or stronger than others) but i dont think this is a good opening.

Overall, this was an average start IMO. I'll stick with it to see how it goes and hopefully it gets better. And I hope the armor gets an actual suit. I dont want a repeat of season 3 where it's partial physical or completely CGI.