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#1 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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I WANNA BE POPULAR!
Okay no not really. But, hey, if you don't know by now, I'm DreamSword(DS for short), and I typically handle my own thread wherein I talk about various anime that are either directly based on or inspired by other Toku shows. And not to steal Kamen Rider Die's' thunder or anything, but this year I felt like trying out something slightly different. Because see, this year marks a big anniversary for alot of things, most importantly the 30th Anniversary not only for Power Rangers, but also me as a person and by extension my dip into Toku as a medium. And it's due to that my mind began to think: Ya know, maybe I ought to give more Toku outside of the Big Three(and Godzilla) a try? Not to say I've never done that. Even discounting Toku Anime, I have seen stuff like Legend Heroes, Metalder, Ryujin Mabuyer, and Daimajin Kanon, but all of those were via extension of something else and not really me just gunning for something outside my element, you know? And so this marks the beginning of a project wherein I wanna take a look at as many different Toku that I can over the course of this year: Ideally atleast six. Starting off with 2005's' GARO. Granted, this is technically cheating because I have seen the trio of GARO anime already, but hey, baby steps, right? Plus this'll give me a convenient excuse to actually get around to watching it after putting it off for so long. As I've said in the Toku Anime thread, I can't promise some super in depth analysis full of personality akin to Die or Fish Sandwich, but what I can offer is just my full and honest thoughts as I go along, with me doing my best to exhibit the general emotions I felt while viewing these things for the first time. I tend to take alot of what a show offers me at face value; Only taking a bit of a deeper look if I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. What else could a Toku show possibly be if not entertaining, right? Like other threads of this kind, the rules are the usual you'd expect. Be respectful and all that. My only real direct request is that if you feel like you absolutely must bring up spoilers for the sake of discussion, that you use spoiler tags. I don't get email notifications like Die does, so avoiding spoilers is alot easier for me. I also plan to include the sequel movie in this watch. That being Beast of the White Knight. Red Requiem, and Kiba Gaiden will be covered alongside whenever a thread for season 2 happens, as like with the anime I plan to take a break between each major season. With all that out of the way, let's get started with...
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Last edited by DreamSword; 02-01-2023 at 08:35 PM.. |
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#2 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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Episode 1: Picture Book ![]() I must confess that I've actually already seen this episode. This was back when the first two episodes were uploaded subbed onto YouTube, and I had originally planned to keep up with further uploads to watch the show. Buuutt that alleged project never went anywhere, and so now I'm here watching the TV-Nihon subs as I couldn't find a solid enough upload of the GomenRider ones. And the translation, while a bit literal, doesn't seem bad? Technicals aside, I actually rather dug this episode back then and I still dig it now. Even having already seen the three anime entries before this, there's already alot to set this apart as a unique beast outside of it being the very first entry in the franchise overall. The action choreography is excellent, the air of mystery is intense, and the way the show just sort of throws you into this world very much reminds me how Kamen Rider Blade premiered; Which is one of my favorite first episodes ever, mind you. Heck, even in terms of plot, the idea of someone getting splashed in the blood of a Horror was never brought up in the anime. But I think the thing that stood out to me most was just the general atmosphere of the episode overall. It's rather intense and instantly drew me into this world and made me want to know more(again, like Blade!) Add onto that some rather interesting character work and some delightfully stylish action and I'm totally hooked. Koga buying a painting in order to give the girl a chance to run away did alot to endear me to him right away. And while the CGI is certainly dated nearly 20 years later, I think that it still overall works. Like with Kamen Rider Wizard, it helps that alot of it is done very stylistically which helps it blend into the universe that the show is creating. Stuff like the black markings on skin and the green flame emitting from the trademark Mado Lighter really do help in giving you the idea of this being an Urban Fantasy show. Or maybe it's just that the anime already warmed me to these ideas and thus I'm alot more lenient on them, I dunno. Oh, right, the plot. Well, being just the intro episode, there's really not much to it. We're introduced to the basics of this universe: That there are demonic creatures called Horrors that can possess and eat humans. In response, there are those called Makai Knights who live to defend humanity from the Horrors. And in this episode the Horror of the Week goes after an aspiring painter who seems to have some sort of connection to the world of the Makai, given that her dad often talked of a Golden Knight and she not only has dreams about Garo, but visions that warn her of nearby Horrors as well. It's all setup, which is to be expected of an intro episode, and I dug it all the way through. Koga just straight up stealing the painting at the end made for a pretty funny way to cap it all off too. Episode 2 is the only other one I've seen of the show so far, but we'll get into that tomorrow.
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Last edited by DreamSword; 02-12-2023 at 10:10 PM.. |
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#3 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 2,432
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Congrats on the new theme! Comment in support, so as not to be abandoned. I promise to follow as much as possible.
In fact, the choice of the first topic is very successful, because GARO, even if most likely closed, not so long ago was considered almost equal to the big three. And there are many shows in the franchise. And as far as deep analysis goes, I don't think it's needed here. Although GARO is positioned as intended for a more adult audience, I would not say that the shows I have seen claim to have great depth. These are rather simple, but captivating and stylishly filmed stories. |
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#4 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 1,001
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It's really great to see you checking out various other Toku shows outside of the Big Three. Ever since I decided to start checking out on Gavan once Toei Tokusatsu World YouTube channel started putting up English subtitles for other episodes outside of the first two in celebration of that show's 40th anniversary, I found myself being interested in wanting to watch other Metal Heroes shows, well, outside of Metalder which I've watched twice and considering watching again for the third time in the row. I did end up watching the first two episodes of Jiban on there as well out of curiosity. Through that and finally being able to find a good streaming site that contained most, if not all, of the Metal Heroes shows being English subbed, I was able to watch and finished Spielban which I really enjoyed for the most part and I am looking forward to watching more from that franchise especially the remaining MH shows that were as source material for VR Troopers and Beetleborgs and a couple of others that really caught my eye like Jiban and see what they have to offer as a Toku series/franchise. Anyway, the original Garo series is a very good show and I hope you'll be able to enjoy the rest of the series and maybe this might lead in you wanting to watch everything else about the franchise you haven't tackled yet.
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#5 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
|
Quote:
Congrats on the new theme! Comment in support, so as not to be abandoned. I promise to follow as much as possible.
In fact, the choice of the first topic is very successful, because GARO, even if most likely closed, not so long ago was considered almost equal to the big three. And there are many shows in the franchise. And as far as deep analysis goes, I don't think it's needed here. Although GARO is positioned as intended for a more adult audience, I would not say that the shows I have seen claim to have great depth. These are rather simple, but captivating and stylishly filmed stories. Quote:
It's really great to see you checking out various other Toku shows outside of the Big Three. Ever since I decided to start checking out on Gavan once Toei Tokusatsu World YouTube channel started putting up English subtitles for other episodes outside of the first two in celebration of that show's 40th anniversary, I found myself being interested in wanting to watch other Metal Heroes shows, well, outside of Metalder which I've watched twice and considering watching again for the third time in the row. I did end up watching the first two episodes of Jiban on there as well out of curiosity. Through that and finally being able to find a good streaming site that contained most, if not all, of the Metal Heroes shows being English subbed, I was able to watch and finished Spielban which I really enjoyed for the most part and I am looking forward to watching more from that franchise especially the remaining MH shows that were as source material for VR Troopers and Beetleborgs and a couple of others that really caught my eye like Jiban and see what they have to offer as a Toku series/franchise. Anyway, the original Garo series is a very good show and I hope you'll be able to enjoy the rest of the series and maybe this might lead in you wanting to watch everything else about the franchise you haven't tackled yet.
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#6 |
The Immortal King Tasty
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Every diner you've ever been to.
Posts: 3,949
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Congratulations, DreamSword, you're the person who actually got me to finally watch the first episode of GARO after over a decade of being moderately interested from a distance! I really should've done it back when it was uploaded to YouTube too, but, uh... well... anyway, thanks for giving me that extra push!
Also, I'mma just go ahead and embed that upload here in the hopes at least one person out there is tempted to click that play button and avoid making the mistakes I've made all these years: I'm glad I finally gave the show a chance, because it's one of those shows I just kinda knew I'd like? I'm honestly not too sure why it took me this long, besides one silly reason. GARO did well enough for itself to become a pretty sprawling little franchise over the years, which weirdly turned me off a bit? I feel like -- despite having absolutely no authority to say this -- it's probably best to consider the original series outside of all that? Like, you can't watch a show like this as the starting point for more content, you know? This is a show you randomly catch late at night once, having no clue what it is, and you're so mesmerized by how finely crafted and just plain cool that single episode is that you immediately become a fan of the series for life. It's a work of art that way. Much like a painting... or something. Okay, so obviously I'm just rambling here, but I can't help but try and describe GARO in terms of its vibe, because I feel like that's absolutely the thing you'd want to be selling the series to people with. I've seen just barely enough of Keita Amemiya's work to know how he rolls, and GARO was 100% Amemiya. It's slick and awesome and creepy and just generally darn well put together. I thought this was an exceptionally tight premiere that has that sort of "less is more" approach to storytelling I love, where it communicates a ton without having to directly say all that much. (And that's key to why the atmosphere is so palpable, too.) It's instantly engrossing, supremely confident in its execution, leaves off with a great setup for further drama, and is just all around good, any way you slice it. I probably still won't be watching more than this episode and maybe the second one for a while though. I mean, we'll see, I guess! You did get me to watch the Kikaider anime, which I should probably be thanking you for regularly, but I'm still not feeling quite pumped up enough to go grab some fansubs and watch along, unfortunately. But I absolutely wanted to make sure to come in here and show you a little support on this new project. I hope you have a great time with the rest of this show. Knowing what I do about your tastes, I think there's a rather good chance a show of this sort will click with you.
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#7 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,790
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As someone who has seen all of Live Action Garo, expect me to talk a lot in these threads. I might not say much, but I will offer some remarks as I consider Garo one of the easiest franchises to finish in Toku.
The highest an episode count goes is 25, there are only a few of those full length series as well, and the rest are short 1 cour series with the occasional special/movie thrown between. So it was very easy for me to say... spend like the better half of two months just downing the entirety of Garo including 2/3rds of the animes. I might watch along, but for now I just wanted to post because... Garo. I love Garo. And even though you have seen the anime, and even as the original, 2005 Garo really brings a special flavor to everything. I always like to say that all the Garo Leads are very distinct from each other, which is incredible when they basically all share the same armor. And Kouga (Who I lovingly call Live Action Seto Kaiba) here is no exception. Dude makes a strong first impression as we dive headfirst into the madness that is the Makai World of Garo. And despite having seen three entries already, there are new concepts, new ideas, and everything just popping up. And of course you're likely to get the explanations you didn't get when it came to watching the anime first. |
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#8 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
|
Quote:
This is a show you randomly catch late at night once, having no clue what it is, and you're so mesmerized by how finely crafted and just plain cool that single episode is that you immediately become a fan of the series for life. It's a work of art that way. Much like a painting... or something.
Quote:
Okay, so obviously I'm just rambling here, but I can't help but try and describe GARO in terms of its vibe, because I feel like that's absolutely the thing you'd want to be selling the series to people with. I've seen just barely enough of Keita Amemiya's work to know how he rolls, and GARO was 100% Amemiya. It's slick and awesome and creepy and just generally darn well put together. I thought this was an exceptionally tight premiere that has that sort of "less is more" approach to storytelling I love, where it communicates a ton without having to directly say all that much. (And that's key to why the atmosphere is so palpable, too.) It's instantly engrossing, supremely confident in its execution, leaves off with a great setup for further drama, and is just all around good, any way you slice it.
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I probably still won't be watching more than this episode and maybe the second one for a while though.
I mean, we'll see, I guess! You did get me to watch the Kikaider anime, which I should probably be thanking you for regularly, but I'm still not feeling quite pumped up enough to go grab some fansubs and watch along, unfortunately. But I absolutely wanted to make sure to come in here and show you a little support on this new project. I hope you have a great time with the rest of this show. Knowing what I do about your tastes, I think there's a rather good chance a show of this sort will click with you. Quote:
I might watch along, but for now I just wanted to post because... Garo. I love Garo. And even though you have seen the anime, and even as the original, 2005 Garo really brings a special flavor to everything.
I always like to say that all the Garo Leads are very distinct from each other, which is incredible when they basically all share the same armor. And Kouga (Who I lovingly call Live Action Seto Kaiba) here is no exception. Dude makes a strong first impression as we dive headfirst into the madness that is the Makai World of Garo. And despite having seen three entries already, there are new concepts, new ideas, and everything just popping up. And of course you're likely to get the explanations you didn't get when it came to watching the anime first.
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#9 |
Echoing Oni
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,599
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It's great to see someone experiencing Garo for the first time, even more so if you convince anyone else to follow along with you. Garo is one of my favorite toku franchises and I think that when it's good it's some of the best stuff that the genre has ever put out and even at its less successful it's still likely to be both unique and interesting.
My favorite branch of Garo is definitely the Saejima shows, which include this series that you're starting now. I've watched it twice already and started a third watch last year, although I still have about 7-8 episodes left to go through (may use this thread as an excuse once you get up to that point). The first episode, though, I think I've actually seen five or six times by now. So the first episode is pretty damn great, in my opinion. I went into Garo pretty blind outside of knowing that it was a late night show and that the director was kind of an auteur of tokusatsu. I think the first episode then does a great job of giving the audience enough to understand the basic premise of the Garo universe and a lot of this is due to having Kaoru as one of the main characters. I absolutely love Kaoru, she's such a delightful window into the insanity that is the world of Horrors and Makai Knights. That's not to discount Kouga, as he's also a fantastic character, just one that needs a little bit more time to open up so you really get to know his whole deal. Quote:
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#10 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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Quote:
So the first episode is pretty damn great, in my opinion. I went into Garo pretty blind outside of knowing that it was a late night show and that the director was kind of an auteur of tokusatsu. I think the first episode then does a great job of giving the audience enough to understand the basic premise of the Garo universe and a lot of this is due to having Kaoru as one of the main characters. I absolutely love Kaoru, she's such a delightful window into the insanity that is the world of Horrors and Makai Knights. That's not to discount Kouga, as he's also a fantastic character, just one that needs a little bit more time to open up so you really get to know his whole deal.
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cartoons
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