Stark700

Sometimes, old ideas never die and Garo is an example that feels timeless regardless what setting it takes in. Upon being announced for a new anime series, I was rather ecstatic upon realizing the setting this show would take place. Contrary to some of the past series that took place in dark fantasy world, we got a modern Garo. That’s right, a series that takes place in modern times with politics, technology, and new dangers lurking in the shadows. Confession time. I’m actually not a huge Garo fan. In fact, my first exposure to the franchise is from 2014 when Garo: The Animation aired. Basically, Imissed out on the original series that aired over a decade ago and only understand the anime side of the franchise. That’s no problem though as it seems that any new viewer can jump into this anime right away without a big question mark. You can basically watch Garo Vanishing Lines even if this is your very first Garo series as a whole. The real question is whether you can accept and enjoy this series for what it is. Taking place in a modern setting, Garo Vanishing Line breaks the traditional norm. Because of this, the mood of the show at first feels different. Upon watching the first few episodes, I had a sensational feel about how the series would be presented down the line. The roadmap seems to follow a format that people may feel familiar though. The typical monster-of-the week starts the adventure for our main characters. The rogue gallery consists of Horrors that gets more twisted and twisted each week. It shouldn’t take long for viewers to get comfortable to watching this series once you realize what you’re in for. That being said, Garo Vanishing Line offers a peculiar character cast consisting of Sword, Sophie, Gina, and Luke. All of them have distinctive backgrounds, personalities, and motivations in this series but it’s easy to see how they connect. The most prominent relationship is between Sword and Sophie. From strangers to becoming close friends, they grow close during their time together. It’s also important to note that after being exposed to the existence of Horrors, Sophie’s character begins to grow more confident and sets a promise to find her lost brother. Sword (known as Garo the Golden Knight) plays the role of a badass protagonist with the motivation to find “El Dorado”. Throughout the series, we can see that he is similar to some of the other Garo characters from previous franchises. He reminds me of German Luis the most as both of them are known for their lustful personalities yet are also very courageous in the face of danger. On the other hand, there’s Luke. As a Makai Alchemist, he is a lonewolf type of character and seeks vengeance for the murder of his mother. Throughout the series, we learn more about his own story and it’s easy to understand his personality. Finally, Gina enters this series as a professional thief. Also known for her skills as a Makai Alchemist, she is what I initially see as a femme fatale. She’s the type of woman known for her dangerous charms and can be quite manipulative. However, her more delicate personality is shown through interacting with Sophie. Throughout the series, she almost seems like a mother figure to her and it’s not hard to see why once you see their character chemistry. Her interaction with Sword plays on a lot of flirtatious moments although her feelings also seem genuine in later episodes. So there you have it, the diverse main cast of the series. Whether you like them or not isn’t the point but rather how these characters all build on one another to make this story. While this series follows a monster-of-the week format at first, later episodes focuses on a more complicated storyline. It gets thrilling, emotional, and some scenes are very impactful on the characters’ state of being. The most prominent example is Sophie as she discovers revelations beyond her imaginations. I think for most parts, this show adheres to psychological horror with a sense of dark comedy. For me, the series can be both heartwarming and depressive to watch. The storytelling’s pacing catches up after building up events and hits its climax in some ways that you may be unprepared for. On the other hand, the series’ flaws can be looked at for some of the inbalanced storytelling in its first half. A few of those episodes can be quite forgettable as there’s little value that comes out of it. In essence, “filler episodes” can really be either memorable or forgettable depending on your perspective. The main plot carries some of these problems too if you’re not invested into the main cast. And trust me, I wasn’t really sold into the main cast until after I watched a good amount into this show. Personally, I wasn’t invested in Sword’s role in this series much as he feels like a one dimensional character and receives little development. However, this series did make me realize how sad some of the characters’ background stories are. In particular, I feel like Sophie is the most tragic characters in this series after seeing what she’s been through. Poor girl. Adapted by studio MAPPA, Garo Vanishing Line presents the mature vibe that is very suitable for this anime. The graphic violence is carried by the action scenes with the fighting involving Horrors. It isn’t shy to throw in violence whenever it finds a situation suitable. As such, expect limbs to be blown off, blood to be spilled, and bodies hit the floor in stomach-inducing ways. The Horrors also gives off a Lovecraftian horror vibe with the way they’re designed. There seems to be a larger variety of them too ranging from shapeshifting types to even Horrors that can control people and technology. Also, be prepared for fan service. Gina is the main culprit of this as the series makes her look as sexy as possible with her outfit, curves, and alluring face. As this show also contains heavy action, expect the choreography and battle scenes to have a fast pace. Sometimes, it feels like it’s hard to keep up but once you get used to it, it’s very electrifying. Finally, I want to say the series’ creative team did a wonderful job at crafting the setting for this show. Russel City (based on New York) not only shows the concept of the modern era but also carries a dark metropolis feel. It has a very different style compared to the previous animated Garo series but works creatively well. To me, Garo Vanishing Line’s main voice cast did a pretty decent job at their roles in particular for characters such as Gina and Luke. The way they speak reaffirms their personalities while showing how they can react differently under certain circumstances. The battle OST and music molds a variety of style to present this action thriller. Some of the emotional scenes in this series also look impactful with the moody soundtrack. The theme songs are also made with care with its thrilling details. Even as a new series introduced to the Garo franchise, it feels that the show always fit right alongside with the others. With a new group of characters, it will take some time to grow and accept them. In fact, you may end up not liking any of them in the end. That’s okay as Garo isn’t a show that is suitable for everyone. This isn’t one of those series that feeds you along the way with every episode. Honestly, I think Garo Vanishing Line stood out with how it was able to take its new ideas and makes an identity for itself. And that’s a thumb up in my book.

KANLen09

Garo: Vanishing Line, the 3rd installment of the Garo series, which *SPOLIER TIME* if you don't know, here's a trait of these types: 1) Every Garo story takes place in a different city (Spain, Japan, US) 2) Whatever the story is, the good vs. evil divergence story setting is STILL the same with Makai Knights vs. Horrors and the masterminds behind each series 3) Expect intense action with good yet improving CGI since all of the Garo anime series are done by the one and only MAPPA. ...except, when you realize who's directing this series, and it's a Korean! This is Park Sunghoo's 1st role as director, and whilesome (or most) of us don't quite agree that Koreans should take helm at Japanese anime, I definitely feel that regardless of origin, they can still make wonders and it shines here. Personally, this is my 1st ever exposure into the Garo series, since my niche wasn't action-based and while I wasn't looking forward to watching the others before it (but luckily they weren't related to each other), I gave this a shot, and it holds out pretty well. Story (in a nutshell coz it's too long): There exists Russell City (in the setting of the US), a prospective city in New York, with Garo now being brandished under a very muscular man named Sword who for most intentions, is a lustful oppai worshipper *pun intended* other than his Garo self. His intentions of smirking around the city comes in a form of a passphrase "El Dorado", a sinister plot by the Horrors to use the people in gain for their purposes. An encounter with a girl named Sophia Hennes and her near-encounter death when the Horrors strike down on her from her missing brother's request to bring her into "El Dorado" caught the sight of Sword, and both people (along with Gina and Luke who joined hands later) decided to vain in search only from the lead that is the world of "El Dorado". From the outset, as mentioned in point no.1, every Garo story is set of from a city universe. Along the way, the story did get interesting with the CGI-supported action that really sometimes feel like a letdown, but yet feeling accomplished after all that is said and done, and when it came down to the ending, I was feeling nothing but pure satisfaction that arose from the interest from the very beginning, and I really have to say that this is the pinnacle of the Garo series. Characters: Sword for one, he's strong, robust and doesn't give second thoughts when it comes to exterminating evil as the Makai Golden Knight Garo. Other from his worshipping oppai lustfulness that sometimes rack my funny bones out, I've gotta say that Sword is a full-on-experience person. But all this could not be said without some tragedies, which he lost his sister in the past, and strives to take upon himself to find out what's going on and eradicate it. Most importantly, with his trusty motorbike aid Zaruba who serves as an advisor and a Horror detector, Sword is a character that though can fight like his determination will go, but too has a heart of gold for the other characters, especially for Sophie (as like a father to a daughter). Sophia Hennes is the oddball BUT plot-moving pointer in the series. Her search for her missing brother Martin Hennes come forth in a password that is "El Dorado" a city of people used by Horrors to power their existence (which he was proclaimed the King of El Dorado, but only as a tool). Once an orphan, took into a home to be taken care of until the Horrors searched for her with the unknown purpose of the Horror masters. Her character might be whining from the start as her pursuing of her brother who's a genius hacker and had outstanding IT skills, and as a brother who cared for her in many ways, sets up the mood for how Sophia journeys with Sword, Gina and Luke into discovering the same purposes and fighting off against the same type of evil they were searching for. Gina, another Makai Alchemist, and probably the character we adore the most in this series, as her flirtatious but manipulative self serves as the supporting role to help Sword and Luke fight off the Horrors. When it comes to Gina, her actions light up the overall supporting action that was once great, but her appearance made it better tenfold. Though a woman in heart, when it comes to her sensitivity, there's nothing else that could beat her likeness as her closeness with Sophia re-enacts her decision to protect her ultimate goal (as like a mother to daughter). Luke, yet another Makai Alchemist, and one that might be the most stubborn in the crew, but yet has a life mission in his hands: to overcome his past of a family conflict when he was trained to be a Makai Knight by his father, Knight (now the Dark Knight which serves El Dorado) until the gruesome murder of his mother became the source of hate for him against Knight which he swore his revenge on, improving his skills and awaiting the days where he could take down the Dark Knight, eliminating the hate of years gone by. The gun-welding person in the crew, with bullets targeted to manipulate and eradicate Horrors, he sometimes cannot be empathized for his behavior against the others, but at times the figure of understanding his past gives light to who he is in training towards the fights that he encounters, that solidifies him as the support character in the most sensical way. The Horrors, Bishop, Knight and Queen, did their job at stopping the Makai Knights from realizing their goals, and I'd bet that they truly evoke the "pure evil" tried-and-true villain requirements, that was handsomely put down by the thought of the Makai Knights whose goals have been to eradicate Horrors from the get=go. Overall, a wide range of the cast of characters, but the good kind of showy action. Art/Animation: I'm a huge fan of MAPPA's works, so to see that their expertise from the very get-go doesn't draw any cutback and instead let us right through into the scenes...with intensive action that's led by the CGI effects. Here's the caveat though: Often outlandish action doesn't mean the action lines up with whatever the storytelling is, but whatever Garo: Vanishing Line does, it strikes the chord of well-balanced heavy action with the storytelling, with switching from light-hearted to dark, depressing moments. Props to MAPPA for a series that has consistently improved ever since the 1st installment (since I've heard that the preceding ones didn't do as well of a job as this one does). Sound: With cool, good-looking action, comes some crazy-intense BGM, and it's finger lickin' good (and yes I know it's a pun, but it really supports the action VERY outstandingly well, and always gets me pumped for whatever's to come). But the OPs and EDs...while they're OK, nothing to scorn yet say of its achievements. At first I really thought that people will praise the soundtrack, but that totally backfired. For my preference, I do like JAM Project's songs, and while most people hate the 1st OP, I actually do love the intensity that it gives and it never disappoints. (Rant at me all you want you haters). Same as with the ED, the 2nd one is a vast improvement over the mellow 1st (since the story hasn't yet fleshed out by that point). Overall an OK OST by all terms. Overall: Garo: Vanishing Line, a series that I didn't thought would sell my soul into, became one of the (only few) action anime that I would eventually come to love and set as one of the recent favorites. For all its intensity though, setting this at a 2-cour, 24 episodes setting is really putting a lot of strain on the storyline because thought it might feel that some episodes are canon to the series, it did help set the future stories in motion for their effort. All in all, if you're someone who loves heavy action, try this new installment of the Garo series. You can choose to watch the ones before, but serves no point since they're NOT related to one another, so better off watch this one instead. It's for all intentions, a story that will grip you from start to end.