[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Gomen Rider never subbed it

Just one more reason not to watch this show with those subs then!

Also, uh... 26th episode! I straight up didn't know about that until now! Apparently it was a DVD bonus thing, so I guess, to be fair, it actually isn't part of the show's normal run.

I might actually leave a bit of a gap before I get around to that and the special/movie thing, because darn it, that finale was so good I think I owe it to it to let that sit for a bit. Despite going out of its way to assure us the story of GARO is far from over, it's like I said at the start -- best not to treat this series as a mere starter pack for more stuff.

Because, really, it's totally complete, as is, you know? Even if this franchise never did take off the way it obviously deserved to, these 25 episodes alone really feel like they kind of said and did everything they wanted to do, while bringing it all to a suitably satisfying and epic conclusion.

On the action front alone, it's top flight stuff all the way through. You've got two final bosses offering two very different, equally awesome flavors of battle. First in the FMV dimension, as grand in scale as possible, and then just like, the actual final boss of a really sick as heck PS2 action game, where it's this intense swordfight in a memorable confined arena against a bad guy with an awesome design and a similar enough build to the hero to make it some epic mirror match deal. (My mind goes to Metal Gear Solid 2, but I'm sure there are other options here.) It's the emphasis on location that really does it for me throughout the Kiba fight. The shape they're standing on, and the way it's moving through a larger environment directly affect how the fight plays out, which, once again, means it's a fight that has its own little narrative to it, escalating to ever more absurd levels of energy before deliberately bringing it back down to something a lot more still to make the conclusion feel that much weightier.

Narratively, it also does a ton of things I thought were important to get right. I was really glad to see Kaoru was allowed to play an active part in saving the day, and really, the use of the main characters in general doesn't disappoint. Nobody is left out, to the point that even Gonza gets his little chance to shine in there. Everyone's development wraps up nicely, and for Kouga in particular, man, what a journey we've been on with this guy. He's still got that awkwardly stoic exterior, but they really nailed making it clear just how much humanity he's found in himself through his relationship with Kaoru, and everything that's spun out of that fateful decision to spare her life. Zaruba was always Kouga's most reliable partner, and basically his only friend at first, so I think his "death" here is there to sort of underscore how much Kouga has grown, and dang, I mean, seeing Kouga teary eyed? You know, the biggest reason I didn't like the second ED as much as the first is that I felt there was *definitely* going to come a point in the story where the lyrics from the original fit something onscreen perfectly, and that scene with Kouga opening up that picture book is exactly the kind of thing I was imagining.

It's just really really really good stuff, all around, and obviously there are entire characters and things I'm not even mentioning in this post that's already gone on way longer than I've been trying to make these.

Again, I might wait a bit before popping back in here for those last couple of extras, and I'll probably save more detailed overall thoughts until then, but for now, I'm going to make sure I say thank you to DreamSword, because this is twice now I owe you know for giving me that push to watch a show that clicked with me more than I even expected. GARO has been a wonderful ride from start to finish, and I'm very glad to have finally given it the chance I probably should've years ago.