[Fish Sandwich]

I definitely liked this episode, but I also can't shake the feeling it's a bit plain? I feel like an episode like this, dealing with some backstory that's only been hinted at for a huge chunk of a series, there's generally some kind of extra hook to it that this one doesn't have. Like some character would be finding this information out too, and it changes the way they feel about something or another; maybe a character in the backstory changes a bit in the present after some introspection about their past; or maybe just, as viewers, there's some secret within that story we never would've guessed. I don't really feel like the episode does any of that, which is maybe a criticism, but...!

...None of that is some absolute I want to force on an episode that is absolutely well-executed and emotionally engaging even just as is. I can call it "plain", but that also means it's an episode that gets in, does what it's doing super cleanly, and gets out with not a single extraneous thing ever once pulling focus away from the core concept. It's cool to do this just as its own episode, really giving it that time to breathe, and there are a lot of great touches throughout. The way they establish how Soul Metal works and then use that to symbolize how much of a struggle Kouga had living up to his legacy is brilliant, for one thing. Plus, you know, as a Kuuga fan, I appreciated how this show's two kanji, one word episode titles allows the name of this one to literally just be Kouga's dad's name. Like, what's this one about? Well there ya' go! Could not possibly be more fitting.

[DreamSword]

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I also like how in the training sequence, there's a bunch of silhouettes of different Kouga's from different points in his training. And you can see just a clear side by side comparison of how he improves as he gets older. It's really nice.

That was such a great directing choice! Sure, it'd've been easy to just fade to each stage of Koga's' life and show him practicing, but to have them all side by side, hammering in how he compares to himself over the years, it was so cool to see and delivered in such a visually stimulating way!

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

or maybe just, as viewers, there's some secret within that story we never would've guessed.

I mean, just speaking for me personally, I never actually guessed that Taiga was directly connected to the Horror who killed him, much less the heavily implication that it was a fellow Makai Knight. Especially given how every other character has talked down about Taiga before now. It made the entire thing even more personal than it already was.

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The way they establish how Soul Metal works and then use that to symbolize how much of a struggle Kouga had living up to his legacy is brilliant, for one thing.

It also retroactively puts way more symbolic emphasis on the sword Koga used to achieve Goten; It was only by letting a peace of his father go that he was able to move forward and become greater. Heck, makes me really wish that "Ordeal" were placed after this one.

[DreamSword]

Episode 13: Promise

Recap episode.

...Oh, you're still here? Uhh, alright then. So, this episode has Zaruba break the fourth wall to both recap and fill us in on lore that the audience might've missed.

And I'll admit, it actually was nice for me given that there were a few small details that I'd either forgotten about or totally did not realize their intent after the initial viewing of the episodes they highlighted.

For example, we haven't seen any Horror Mooks since episode 1, and I did not realize that Koga slotting his sword into the dog statue was him purifying his blade. And by extension, I never got what was up with the tiny swords either. Until now I just figured they were trophies or something.

And on that note, I do wanna say how smart it is that the show is very intent using the word "seal" when it comes to defeating Horrors and not "slay." And it helps to clarify why the Makai Order has such extensive notes on each Horror and why ancient beings such as Zaruba know so much about them. It's a detail that I don't remember the anime ever bringing up.

I also found it very interesting that Zaruba had no idea who the Watchdog's' Butler was. I imagine that'll be a plot hook for later; Just as Kaoru's' guidance counselor so obvious is.

Also didn't expect there to be an official music video at the end either!

But... yeah. It's the halfway point of the show and they probably wanted to save some budget, so it makes sense to do a recap episode here. I'm not complaining, especially given that I got something out of it, but it does mean it leaves me with not much to talk about.

Tomorrow we return to the plot at hand!

[Fish Sandwich]

I really did appreciate the extra effort to end with the punchline that Garo was, presumably the entire episode, in the middle of like, the most awesome fight ever, and we just barely got to catch the end of it, completely divorced from context.

Also, I now like to imagine Zaruba is secretly always recapping his favorite TV shows and making sick as heck fan music videos out of them. Even a magic ring has gotta have hobbies, right?

[Enchilada645]

Not my favorite Garo recap, there are like two in contention for that later on. But this one's cute because of the greater context at the end.

The fact that Zaruba was like "Okay this is business as usual, let me break the fourth wall and give you all the tea" while Kouga's fighting a bunch of Horror's in a fantastical set-piece with us only getting to see the end of it... it's a fun way to do a recap.

Also the fact that Kouga was listening the entire time. Simple but effective I'd say, especially for a weekly show with a lot to chew on like Garo.

[DreamSword]

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Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Also, I now like to imagine Zaruba is secretly always recapping his favorite TV shows

So he's Kamen Rider Die, got it.

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and making sick as heck fan music videos out of them. Even a magic ring has gotta have hobbies, right?

Oh wait, nevermind, he's En-chan.

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Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Also the fact that Kouga was listening the entire time. Simple but effective I'd say, especially for a weekly show with a lot to chew on like Garo.

It was a cute little moment for sure. Thankfully I don't think about these things too hard or I'd start wondering who the heck Zaruba was actually talking to in-universe. Maybe he's a Godtuber like Gowasu?

[DreamSword]

Episode 14: Nightmare

I came out of this one pretty disappointed.

Like, right off the bat, is it bad to say that I actually like the first opening way more than the second?

What makes the first opening so good is both how much the song used matches the overall tone of the show as well as all of the greatly done, striking visuals that went into it.

Meanwhile with the second opening, sure the song is nice and all, but nearly all of the visuals that accompany it are reused shots from either the first opening or the show itself, and what few aren't are just stock CGI action shots. And to top it off it premieres in an episode that guns for melodrama nearly all throughout.

Getting to the episode at hand though, this one felt like it was two different episodes glued together. For the first few minutes we have the backstory of Rei, and while it is nice to know what exactly his deal is, it's a major letdown after how thorough the Taiga episode was, as not nearly enough is put into this entire segment, especially comparatively.

It gave me bad flashbacks to Kamen Rider Build in a way with Banjo and how utterly confused I was at how the show handled all of the characters involving Banjo's' driving motivation. Sure, I get why Rei does what he does, but I would've really felt so much more for him if I both got to know all of the characters more as well as if the entire segment didn't just feel like clunky exposition dialogue.

Making it worse is that the rest of the episode really doesn't do anything with that entire flashback? It ends and... that's it. It's back to business as usual. Only this time almost the entire rest of the episode is a giant CGI battle against a hoard of Horrors which, while cool sounding on paper, I found very underwhelming in execution, especially for a show that's had such incredible fight choreography up to now, CGI or not. There's really no character development to speak of to cap anything off either.

That's not to say the episode is a total wash though. I did find the idea of Koga and Rei exchanging Mado Jewelry to be a fun idea, even if not much was done with it. Got a decent chuckle out of how Silva prefers to have a friend as her partner whereas Zaruba prefers someone more mission focused. Though I do have to wonder how exactly they're supposed to function given how one has to make a pack to work with a piece of Mado Jewelry. The idea of the color-coded letters is also a neat bit of lore, given that something like that was never brought up in the anime.

But outside of those few things, yeah, this episode really did nothing for me. Which is a crying shame because really, on paper this all should be right up my alley, but the execution left alot to be desired.

[Enchilada645]

Ah I see you're not vibing with Saviour in the Dark as an OP

But I should mention that this is pretty much the pattern for Live Action Garo's that are more than 12 or so episodes. The first half will have a more atmospheric/different lyricless opening before switching to one Jam Project does.

I think I remember a painting that Kaoru does in this that's of both Garo and Zero. But other than that I remember it just being a "forced team-up" episode that made me raise an eyebrow at our Watchdogs given what ended up happening.

Oh yeah we also got a new ending... which I don't really like as much as the first one. While the first one isn't my favorite ending theme in the series (we'll get to those later), it's still a step up visually from what we get in this one.

[Switchblade]

I love Savior in the Dark as the opening, but always preferred the original ending theme and imagery.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Ah I see you're not vibing with Saviour in the Dark as an OP

But I should mention that this is pretty much the pattern for Live Action Garo's that are more than 12 or so episodes. The first half will have a more atmospheric/different lyricless opening before switching to one Jam Project does.

So I'm gonna like all of the first openings way more, gotcha.

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I think I remember a painting that Kaoru does in this that's of both Garo and Zero. But other than that I remember it just being a "forced team-up" episode that made me raise an eyebrow at our Watchdogs given what ended up happening.

Yeah, and it's a nice looking painting too! It's kinda weird though because it seemed as though it was being used as a sort of framework for the episode, and yet Garo and Zero never actually strike that pose during the war sequence. Maybe in a future episode.

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Oh yeah we also got a new ending... which I don't really like as much as the first one. While the first one isn't my favorite ending theme in the series (we'll get to those later), it's still a step up visually from what we get in this one.

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Originally Posted by Switchblade

I love Savior in the Dark as the opening, but always preferred the original ending theme and imagery.

Ah, right. I forgot to compare the endings. I don't think either is particularly great, but yeah the first one wins easy. The visuals for the second ending are practically non-existent.