[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

Am I out of line in thinking that the GARO franchise draws alot of inspiration from JRPGs?

I mean, I've made that comparison myself twice already, so at the very least, we can be out of line together.

Anyways, I thought this one was pretty great, if that's any surprise. First of all, it gives me a chance to mention how much I like the way GARO has occasionally made room to give us these scenarios where Kouga is prevented from transforming, the kind of dramatic handicap that takes full advantage of being a transforming hero in the first place. It's as cool as ever here; almost as cool as the crazy robot tank dragon thing Kouga has to fight, even! There are quite a few nice things I could single out about this episode, but the moment that most made go "oooooohh I like that!" was definitely how they landed that thematic parallel, where Kouga going up against a literal emotionless machine that exists only to fight Horrors is used to give him a chance to reflect on how he's grown since meeting Kaoru. He even kinda sorta wins the day with the power of friendship, rather than his own brute strength, making it land that much more. Everyone has come a very long way in 20 episodes!

[Enchilada645]

Yeah a very straightforward episode if I'm being honest, but given the content it makes sense.

I was also nicely surprised despite being the very first major plot event, we aren't ending on Kaoru's time limit because of the Horror blood. Especially now that we have a lot more gears turning than that.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

There are quite a few nice things I could single out about this episode, but the moment that most made go "oooooohh I like that!" was definitely how they landed that thematic parallel, where Kouga going up against a literal emotionless machine that exists only to fight Horrors is used to give him a chance to reflect on how he's grown since meeting Kaoru. He even kinda sorta wins the day with the power of friendship, rather than his own brute strength, making it land that much more. Everyone has come a very long way in 20 episodes!

Yeah that was nice, and Koga calling the Mado Tank "boring" as a way to dig at his past self gave me a chuckle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

Yeah a very straightforward episode if I'm being honest, but given the content it makes sense.

I was also nicely surprised despite being the very first major plot event, we aren't ending on Kaoru's time limit because of the Horror blood. Especially now that we have a lot more gears turning than that.

Really glad that the show isn't going to end on Kaoru dying due to running out of time, yeah. And having Koga prioritize healing her over the Dark Knight business shows just how much his priorities have shifted.

[Sunred]

Man, OG GARO had everything; Orchid Undead, Dragon Orphenoch, Kamen Rider Saga, Freddie from live action Cromartie High(Which had Ryuki and Gao Red in it), Hironobu Kageyama, and so on and so on.

[DreamSword]

Episode 21: Magic Bullet

The GARO formula is back, and with quite the bang!

I won't lie, I absolutely adored this episode from start to finish, and it managed to throw me for a loop in a few different ways!

Remember the bartender lady who collected fingers from early on in the show? Well this episode is all about her father, and the impact that his daughter's' death left in its wake.

And it's through that angle that so many really awesome story details and ideas are brought up. How do the loved ones of those possessed by Horrors deal with them suddenly disappearing without a trace? What about those connected to everyone the Horrors have eaten?

Unfortunately for Koga, he's not exactly properly equipped to handle this sort of emotional aftermath either, especially given that Makai Knights are forbidden from getting involved in human affairs. It's telling that Koga doesn't have a direct answer to all of the questions and accusations getting flung his way. All he knows is that once someone becomes a Horror, there's no turning back, and it's his job to put them out of their misery.

But outside of the philosophical debate on ethics, we're treated to some more slick action with Koga essentially becoming a Yakuza protagonist and slicing through a small army of gunman, with their leader being a Horror with a giant gun barrel for an arm. It's every bit as fun and cool to see play out as it sounds. And it comes with an unexpected comedic bit from Zaruba!

While that was all enough to get me super into the episode, the most unexpected part was that very final shot. What at first just seems like a nice transition from the previous episode to this one is then turned into something to lead everyone into a false sense of security before revealing that Kaoru isn't exactly out of the woods as of yet. Although I'll admit that if it were me in that situation me dumb initial reaction would probably be "Oh hey, sick tatoo" haha. This is why I wouldn't last in the GARO universe.

Anyway, yeah! This episode got a nice, big, emotional reaction out of me, and I couldn't be happier with it. While I don't think it's my favorite episode, it's a rather good one and made for a great time.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sunred

Man, OG GARO had everything; Orchid Undead, Dragon Orphenoch, Kamen Rider Saga, Freddie from live action Cromartie High(Which had Ryuki and Gao Red in it), Hironobu Kageyama, and so on and so on.

And from what little I know of cast in the franchise as a whole, there's only more in store when it comes to future entries!

[Enchilada645]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

I will say after looking back on the series, it is one of my favorite episodes.

Well hey, would you look at that?

Finally get to bust this quote of an earlier comment out because yep, this was exactly what I meant. As a singular episode, the bartender lady plot was very alright to me. Then you get this plot 13 episodes later? And wow... I was legitimately not expecting them to come back to a prior story and basically explore the fallout of what a Makai Knight/Priest does when it comes to those possessed by Horrors.

It's such an interesting discussion to have and ponder about really. Because we only see snippets of these people and their lives before they become Horrors. It really fleshes out the world by giving you this big unknown to think about that we usually won't see. Because it's not like your usual purification or your random monster appearing, these are people who are essentially erased from the world.

Really great episode tbh, the gun vs sword fight was a cool way for Kouga to have some nice action, to where it's crazy how the most intense scene is where Kouga is forced into a corner and potential gun fight. Not to mention the part where the father basically becomes the Horror his daughter was and realizes what exactly that entails? Really nice but heartbreaking scene.

Oh and of course, ha ha, you thought Kaoru was out of the woods? Not yet she ain't.

[Fish Sandwich]

This totally felt like an early episode of the series in the best of ways. You've got a really strong, simple concept (one sword vs. a whole lotta guns), given a suitably dramatic context to make it truly engaging, right down to one of those classic Kouga lines where he just says one sentence about a thing (here with that bit about his armor) that feels like there's probably a monologue worth of weight behind it if you go digging a bit. It's tense, it's exciting, it raises lots of interesting points, and it does an astonishing job getting you to hate the antagonists in this show when you stop to realize they basically twisted this poor guy into throwing his life away hunting down Kouga, pretending like they aren't the ones who were actively pointing him in the direction of most of these Horrors.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

It's such an interesting discussion to have and ponder about really. Because we only see snippets of these people and their lives before they become Horrors. It really fleshes out the world by giving you this big unknown to think about that we usually won't see. Because it's not like your usual purification or your random monster appearing, these are people who are essentially erased from the world.

It really is the sort of detail that we just kinda ignore or take for granted in other toku shows, isn't it? The fallout of monster attacks and those who respond to them is very rarely explored, and GARO here managed to find a great way of bringing it up without going too deep into it so as to undermine its own weight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

It's tense, it's exciting, it raises lots of interesting points, and it does an astonishing job getting you to hate the antagonists in this show when you stop to realize they basically twisted this poor guy into throwing his life away hunting down Kouga, pretending like they aren't the ones who were actively pointing him in the direction of most of these Horrors.

And it really makes me wonder if the Watchdogs have been essentially gunning for Koga to die throughout a majority of the show. Like, obviously they wanted him to keep making the daggers for them, but outside of that? It's little wonder they didn't give much of a crap about whatever Rei had going on, right?

[Mesnick]

Yes, this episode is interesting not only because it relies on the previous filler, but also because it overtakes Koga at the most vulnerable time. He himself has just felt what it means to be afraid of losing a loved one, and therefore he cannot see in his father who has set foot on a dark path simply an enemy or a hindrance. But the action part is also on top, not inferior to the emotional one. A good episode, which, despite its filler and closeness to the finale, does not seem superfluous or distracting from more important events.