[GuardianAngel87]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I meant what I said earlier about it!



Looking up his resume, the most surprising bit to me is how he was in the iCarly movie. It's such a funny disconnect!

He also did a lot of stunt work for Kamen Rider Dragon Knight which I thought is really neat.

[DreamSword]

Episode 25: Heroic Spirits

Man, they really went all out with this final battle.

It's got practically everything people could want out of a final battle. The hero becoming more powerful than he's ever been, a final opponent being taken down by someone in their weakest state, over the top and impossible acrobatics, obvious greenscreen effects, and an emotional reuniting of various characters.

And, yeah, I'd be lying if I said that none of it at all worked for me. I was practically all in on this from beginning to end. The hype was real, despite certain aspects being outright impossible(where the heck did Kaoru's' parents come from??).

But that being said, I think I still have a couple of small critiques to give when it comes to this whole thing.

I think it would've been much more emotionally satisfying to me had it been Garo and Zero both who took down Kiba at the end, with them striking the pose that Kaoru painted of the two working together earlier in the show. And while I get the idea behind Koga's' "I'm not alone!" speech, rather than citing the legacy of Garo, I think him citing the friends he's made along his journey would've been alot better and a way to symbolize the entire cast coming together to overcome all of the chaos that the past 100 days have brought into their lives.

Again though, these are just small critiques that I think would've made something that was already great that much better for my personal tastes. If you wanna know my personal favorite touch of the finale, it's actually that we never actually get to see the final page of the picture book that Kaoru painted herself. I felt that was a really good move!

All in all it's a really well done payoff in terms of both emotion and action, and you can tell everyone involved gave it their all. Had everything ended here, I'd've been incredibly satisfied overall. We're not quite done with this show yet though, as in usual GARO fashion(unless you're Vanishing Line), we still have an epilogue special and a movie to get through! The extra episodes have been some of the most interesting bits of GARO media to me so far, so I'm very excited to see what's done with the original tomorrow!

[Enchilada645]

This was a nice finale. And you talking about how you wanted Kiba to be the final boss basically had me giggling a bit the entire time cause I'm like "Oh I know something you don't" in regards to how exactly 25 plays out.

I realize now though that the thing I was thinking about to talk about in 24 doesn't come into play until later. But I'll be able to talk about it soon enough. Though I can say, after the scare Silva gave us last time... uh... poor Zaruba! I sorta danced around mentioning this elsewhere I believe, but man... dude really gave all he had to Kouga.

Still though, fantastic final battle with Messiah that includes a nice 11th Hour Power-Up as is the GARO tradition. Though my absolute favorite part of the fight is when Kiba revives and the entire building shatters once the giant ring gate grow massive.

Like, were you wondering how they'd top a fantastical fight like Garo vs. Zero? That's your answer. It's so insane in how clearly handicapped Kouga is at the moment compared to Kiba, but he manages to push through pretty well.

So fun fact! I will be joining you in witnessing the fabled 26th Episode of GARO 2005 as a first time viewer... because Gomen Rider never subbed it and those were my subs when doing my GARO Marathon.

I ended up downloading it a while ago but never ended up watching it. Might as well make you watching it the perfect excuse I need.

[GuardianAngel87]

I am really glad you enjoyed the first Garo series. This definitely reminds me that I really need to watch the epilogue special and the movie that takes place afterwards at some point plus its sequel series, Makai Senki.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enchilada645

This was a nice finale. And you talking about how you wanted Kiba to be the final boss basically had me giggling a bit the entire time cause I'm like "Oh I know something you don't" in regards to how exactly 25 plays out.

I was so glad to see him pop out of the portal the way he did, you have no idea.

Quote:

I realize now though that the thing I was thinking about to talk about in 24 doesn't come into play until later. But I'll be able to talk about it soon enough. Though I can say, after the scare Silva gave us last time... uh... poor Zaruba! I sorta danced around mentioning this elsewhere I believe, but man... dude really gave all he had to Kouga.

That reveal at the end, that Zaruba translates to "Friend" was really touching. Dude really earned that namesake!

Quote:

Still though, fantastic final battle with Messiah that includes a nice 11th Hour Power-Up as is the GARO tradition. Though my absolute favorite part of the fight is when Kiba revives and the entire building shatters once the giant ring gate grow massive.

Like, were you wondering how they'd top a fantastical fight like Garo vs. Zero? That's your answer. It's so insane in how clearly handicapped Kouga is at the moment compared to Kiba, but he manages to push through pretty well.

is it bad that all i could think of once the ring started rolling down the highway was this

Quote:

So fun fact! I will be joining you in witnessing the fabled 26th Episode of GARO 2005 as a first time viewer... because Gomen Rider never subbed it and those were my subs when doing my GARO Marathon.

I ended up downloading it a while ago but never ended up watching it. Might as well make you watching it the perfect excuse I need.

Yeah, I noticed that alot of GARO Compilation Packs actually exclude that episode for some reason, which made tracking it down slightly annoying. But thankfully TV-N always has our back when it comes to stuff like this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GuardianAngel87

I am really glad you enjoyed the first Garo series. This definitely reminds me that I really need to watch the epilogue special and the movie that takes place afterwards at some point plus its sequel series, Makai Senki.

There's alot to like in this show! I can really easily see why it'd eventually become the Unofficial 4th of the Big Three.

[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.

[DreamSword]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

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

I just want you to know that your potshots at Gomen Rider never cease to amuse me.

Quote:

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.

Understandable! And yeah, this finale for sure does its best in going all out on basically every front. They absolutely were prepared for the scenario in which this creation of theirs stopped here and never became a franchise. And I really couldn't imagine it ending in much of any other way.

Whenever you do decide to check out episode 26 and the movie, I for sure look forward to reading your thoughts on them.

Quote:

(My mind goes to Metal Gear Solid 2, but I'm sure there are other options here.)

I'm sure En-chan would list Mundas and Vergil ala Devil May Cry.

Quote:

to the point that even Gonza gets his little chance to shine in there.

That moment where he's briefly able to lift the soul metal due to just his sheer determination to help is not only a good comedic beat, but just a great character moment in general!

Quote:

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.

You're far too kind. I'm just glad I was able to share stories that I ended up really enjoying, and really, I probably never would've even checked out GARO, let alone Toku outside of Power Rangers and Kamen Rider, to begin with if not for this forum. So really the credit should go to you all.

[Enchilada645]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I'm sure En-chan would list Mundas and Vergil ala Devil May Cry.

You're right, I would and I shall by quoting this!

I'll also go with the Final Boss of Kingdom Hearts II in which you fight a monstrosity of a dragon-like creature in a world of nothingness through various spectacle based phases before finally facing down against a singular guy at the very end.

But given the similar build and parallels with Kouga and Kiba... Dante vs. Vergil is like the best comparison full stop.

[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreamSword

I just want you to know that your potshots at Gomen Rider never cease to amuse me.

I'd be less aggressive about it if this weren't the same situation as when I told Die to watch Agito with TV-N's subs. I stopped being very thorough about it around halfway in, but I kept checking to see if they made the same mistakes, and like nine times out of ten, in spite of their reputation, TV-N would actually have the meaning of those lines down much more accurately. Which means some of those mistakes still started with TV-N, of course, but also that Gomen-Rider was fixing things that weren't broken, considering it's a scrub of TV-N's work to begin with.

I really hope that official release is both good (if it's what the YouTube uploads used, it should be) and becomes more readily available at some point. I say this about a lot of shows that are stuck with early 2000's fansubs (or their halfhearted clean-up jobs), but GARO deserves better, you know?

[Enchilada645]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

I really hope that official release is both good (if it's what the YouTube uploads used, it should be) and becomes more readily available at some point. I say this about a lot of shows that are stuck with early 2000's fansubs (or their halfhearted clean-up jobs), but GARO deserves better, you know?

Given the first half of 2005 is basically out of print, I am seriously hoping that Discotek (now known for doing Toku stuff more often) grabs ahold of the Garo Franchise.

This series deserves better than a 25 Episode Series being split up into 2 Sets and both being like 50 bucks or so each.