Garo: Honoo no Kokuin

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

If you were one of the people who dropped Garo back in 2014 because the plot seemed a little too aimless, this is a PSA: Y’done goofed. What started off as a slightly clumsy and generally directionless action romp with only a mature tone to differentiate it eventually came into its own and emerged as a visually stunning, well written, memorable action-drama complete with strong characters and an emotionally investing plot. Garo was arguably the best anime that aired this season and it deserves far more attention than it is getting.

Synopsis: In a world full of bloodthirsty creatures known as horrors that terrorize ... the people, the only ones who can protect them are known as the Makai Knights; a secret organization dedicated to preserving peace throughout the kingdom. However, little do the people know, the king is being manipulated by his advisor into painting the Makai Knights and alchemists as evil witches in order to eradicate them.

Before you even figure out what Garo is about, one thing will stick out: It knows how to have a mature tone. Too often do anime fall into the trap of confusing maturity with gratuitous blood, guts, nudity, and/or death; but not Garo. This show deals with topics of emotional loss, altruism, coming of age, sex, and violence without ever feeling like they are in over their head. This alone is commendable because it opens up a far wider spectrum of potential material to deal with that you won’t be able to see in a typical anime that’s bogged down by fanservice, moe, etc.

The biggest complaint that can be made about Garo is that it seems to lack direction or even a real overarching plot, but this only really applies to the first half of the show. Lots of people lost interest in this anime early on because there wasn’t any specific goal in mind, and that’s understandable. However, what emerges from the initial failures of the show is a touching tale about coming of age. It’s complete with some great drama without ever feeling forced, great pacing, and the perfect mix of dialogue and action. It puts you through a great deal of emotional ups and downs, really making you never want to take your eyes off of the screen. If you can tough it out through those first few episodes, you definitely won’t regret it.

While the plot really manages to come into its own, that phenomenon can largely be attributed to the growth and development of the fantastic cast of characters, who are the highlight of Garo in my opinion. Leon, the protagonist, starts off an insufferable, angsty teen. He complains about everything, is never satisfied, and is all around insufferable. So basically, he’s your average teenager. What makes him such an effective focal point for the show is how he learns and grows from his experiences; Leon is a dynamic character who ends up becoming supremely likable and even sympathizable.

However, Leon is only one of the many interesting, dynamic characters. German, Leon’s “father”, accounts for a lot of the personality in the show. He’s very funny without ever diminishing his important and rather serious role in the plot, which is not an easy balance to achieve. There’s also Emma and Alfonso, who each bring their own intriguing subplots to the equation as well. When it comes to characters, Garo overwhelmingly succeeds at fleshing out their respective backstories and motivations. The characters are the reason I was able to stick with the show through the slow start and the payoff ended up being much amazing than I ever thought it could be.

The last thing I’ll mention is how studio MAPPA, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite studios for having the balls to take on risky projects, deserves a lot of praise for the superb animation in Garo. The Makai armor battles are perhaps one of the greatest examples of CGI done right in anime to date, but even more impressive to me were the detailed landscapes and the fight scenes that didn’t use CGI at all. There is one particular fight in the later half of the anime between two main characters that is easily the fight of the year so far. The amazing choreography took my breath away; I probably watched that scene five times just for the hell of it. Combine the uniquely great animation with a… “interesting” soundtrack (watch the OPs and you’ll know what I mean) and you have an anime that delivers in the aspect of presentation.

In conclusion, Garo is a well-written drama with a mature tone and a focus on action that is definitely worth watching. The meandering plot eventually finds its way home and delivers a lovely narrative that you will remember for a long time. I highly recommend Garo to anyone who has a little bit of patience. Here’s to season two!

I will refrain from spoilers in this review

Garo, has turned into one of my favorite anime at the moment. The story follows a young Makai Knight named Leon, and his father German who is also a Makai Knight. Makai Knights have a job to play and that is to kill the "Horrors", which are people who have been possessed by dark spirits, that threaten the every day lives of humans. Leon, the Main Character of the series, is a Makai Knight who still hasn't fully matured. He is learning what it means to truly be a Makai knight, with his father as his teacher.

At ... the same time there is a prince named Alfonso who has been betrayed by someone within his own castle and forced to leave in to avoid death. The castle is then overtaken and so is the kingdom by a man named Mendoza. Alfonso must then search for the legendary Golden Makai Knight who is destined to save the kingdom, this Knight so happens to be Leon. Thus starts the adventures of Leon and Alfonso in their attempt to retake the kingdom from the hands of Mendoza. This anime is astounding in the pacing it takes to tell the story of these characters. It never moves too slow or too fast it takes its time to tell the story they way they truly want you to experience and to watch the show as it slowly grows into an anime worth watching.

The art in this series is great, I love the approach they take. The characters look rather simple in details, but not simple in a bad way but simple in a pleasant way that makes you admire it for a bit. They also use CG for the armor of the Makai Knights which is great in showing the contrast between humans and Makai Knights, giving them a shine to them and it makes them stand out. The sound was fine, it wasn't unpleasant or overwhelmingly great. It did it's job in creating the perfect atmosphere for the right times.

I believe the characters in the series is what makes this anime so easy to watch for me. You have young, fierce, and naive Leon. The upright and strong Alfonso. The silly and playboy father. The beautiful and independent Ema and many more characters that make this show great. Even minor characters play heavy roles in this anime, some effect characters for the rest of the series and some play towards a role much bigger than you expected. Each character is there for a reason whether they show up one episode and leave, die in the next episode, or stand with the story the entire way. You will enjoy every character in some way.

In terms of enjoyment, this gets an easy 10 in my book. The series started off kind of slow, I wasn't sure if the anime would turn out to be any good but once I got to episodes 7-12 the plot picks up quickly and you see that the first 6 episodes weren't wasted to fill up the time the show has for 24 episodes. This show developed beautifully, over the course of these 24 episodes.

Overall I give the show a 10 (Outstanding/Masterpiece). Garo stayed true to the story they had worked to build over 24 episodes, and they really have you get attached to the Main Character, Leon, seeing what he goes through and his duty in the end. This show doesn't pull any stupid strings to give a happy ending, what happened happened and Leona and his allies have to deal with it. Garo is an idependent story, meaning it didn't come from another source such as Manga/VN/LN, seeing as to how there was a Second Seasons and a Movie planned when this series was at a mere 6 episodes shows that the creator has planned everything well in advance and it looks promising that the second season won't disappoint us at all.

Thanks for your time.

If you're talking about the season's most under-appreciated, you're sure to have mentioned Garo somewhere in your conversation. No one expected an anime series that could hold itself together, much less walk on its own legs. The series does not aspire to be more than what it is nor does it condemn itself to its own confines. That is exactly what Garo does - and it does so beautifully.

Essentially, Garo is a story about good versus evil. There is nothing special nor wholly new about it, but that is where the show keeps it tight. The series takes us to a fantastical but horrific world ... of plagues and demons and the protectors who fight against them. We follow Leon, a young Makai Knight, struggling to discern between two ethos: a desire for revenge or the duty to protect. Its narrative may be sorely lacking and at times questionable but it does have an ample amount of intrigue and cleverness. All in all, Garo unfolds a pretty decent and solid story - a tale of discovering one's duty and purpose.

One of the more striking things about Garo is that it handles the ideals it holds impressively. While they are thriftily given, the ideals never stray too far. Instead of being pretentious and overzealous, they are humble and, more importantly, relevant to the story, something not all anime series can easily grapple with. In the event of introspection, realization, and declaration, the characters never spew out random, nonsensical lines just to sound cool. They say the just right thing at just the right moment while placing importance in saying with simplicity.

The character development during the most part of the series is focused on Leon. His wasn't a grand, 180 degree turn. It was rather kept simple. The rest have their fair share but it would take only one or two episodes for their development to be completed. At the very least, these characters weren't used for unwarranted fan service. Though archetypal, each of them remain distinct and memorable.

The art in Garo does well in portraying the setting. The Knights are ornate and flashy but not overbearing; the Horrors are terribly grotesque. I would say it's all fitting. The music does a superb job in keeping the scenes exciting. The animation especially in the fight scenes are an outstanding feat. The choreography is neat and elegant, fluid and energetic - something one would not totally expect if they're only seeing Garo at surface level.

To sum it all up, Garo comes as a surprise. It may lack the intricacies and refinement that adorn the bigger anime shows but behind all that it is one daring and remarkable effort.

You know there's a sort of irony to the fact that my favorite anime of the past two seasons happens to be the one that nobody likes all that much. Actually, scratch that, they didn't pay attention to it at all when it aired, which I find kind of weird. I know Rage of Bahamut looked prettier and had the more bombastic start guys, but that doesn't mean you should just flat-out ignore Mappa's other fantasy show because it had sex, theatrical drama, and CG fights that look too busy at times but were otherwise well-choreographed and...no seriously, why did people ignore this show? Are ... anime fans just so used to the medium having to be "kawaii moe uguu" or "porn-star level flamboyant" that the mere notion of "cool" gives them hives? Do we accept that every cartoon from Japan trying to recapture the essence of Tenchi Muyo is the rule now? I thought there was a reason the noitamina timeslot was so loved by a fair amount of people.

Well whatever. It's not like I expected much from Garo when I first read about it other than "it's a Mappa show not directed by Watanabe, so I'm hoping it to be good and establish Mappa as an animation studio I can trust". And like most people going into this, I never watched the original live-action stuff. I did know it had a lot of sex and violence for a tokusatsu series - sometimes to the realm of the absurd - but that's about it. Plus, I read beforehand that the anime would be different from the live-action stuff, which did not sit well with the hardcore tokusatsu fans apparently, but let's not dwell on that. So I went into the show expecting a solid series and lo and behold, I got what is possibly the "coolest" anime I have ever seen in the medium.

It's kind of weird to praise an anime for being "cool" considering how subjective the term can be. I mean when you get down to it, isn't Jojo cool? Isn't Rage of Bahamut cool? Isn't Gurren Lagann cool? Well you can argue that, but the coolness in this show stands out to me all the more because it has none of the flamboyancies and anime-isms that make up a good chunk of those shows. Make no mistake, whilst there are some stereotypes like the male tsundere and the aloof-but-well meaning father, this is an anime for people who have hobbies outside of being otaku. It does have its share of light-hearted moments to prevent itself from becoming as impenetrable as Mamoru Oshii when he makes something after reading emo poetry, but you're not going to see people screaming their attack names like a teenager with the mind of a ten-year-old or spouting one-liners that James Bond would find embarrassing. You're going to see these characters take the silliness of the their CG outfits 100% seriously whilst taking part in battles that are guaranteed to end in blood.

But what good is coolness without substance? Well the anime takes place in a fantasy world where a group of demonic beings called Horrors exist and the only people who can stop them are a group of armor/magic-users called Makai Knights/Alchemists. However, seventeen years ago, said group of people were given the Order 66 treatment by the king of Valiante due to manipulation by his treacherous advisor, and now the few that remain are scattered throughout the world, continuing to protect the people whilst trying to avoid getting killed by them. The series is centered on an angsty kid named Leon, a Makai Knight-in-training who has a hard time living up to the requirements of protecting the people due to his recklessness and his constant anger at his father being a deadbeat. This causes him problems when he ends up getting roped into the events started by said Order 66 conspiracy, and in order to fight it, he must learn how to fully harness his powers with the aid of the Valiante prince named Alfonso, a Makai Alchemist named Ema, and his father/teacher named Hermann. It's pretty much your typical underdog/dark fantasy story with all the "unexpected for anime, but expected for the genre" twists and turns, so there's not much I can really say about it without spoiling plot points.

So why exactly do I like this anime so much if the story is kinda predictable? Is coolness really enough to elevate the material? Well, according to you Rage of Bahamut fans, yes it is. But what is it about Garo's coolness that I personally find appealing? Well, I've mentioned how I like the execution of its serious tone before, and there's not really much else I can say besides how much I like the Horror designs and how I orgasmed over the fact that one of the villains has a gun for a leg. The show just fulfills what I want from anime in general in terms of tone, episodic-storytelling, character interactions, good action, and high drama, and that's not something I can really rationalize on paper. It's obviously not perfect - the villains aren't that great, one or two of the episodic stories are kind of phoned in, and the animation can be really crappy at times. I know Bahamut needed the budget more since its writing is more simplistic and the episodes when said production took a dive were kind of a chore to sit through, but I'm still going to complain about the characters' faces looking like they got pressed with a sledgehammer when I see it. But those are niggling doubts in terms of everything else this show gets right.

It's just really great epic drama about heroes and the sacrifices they must make in terms of their occupation. I like the way it's paced in terms of its usage of the monster-of-the-week format to established plot points. I like the way it's told without ever getting too corny with its cliches. I even like when the atmosphere gets a little metal - and I usually point my shotgun at that genre when it so much as breathe the same air I do. But most of all, I just like how it's so fucking cool in a way Jojo can only dream of being. In a medium burdened with anime-isms ruining what could have been decent stories, Garo came out of nowhere and surprised me more than the news that Jon Stewart was retiring from the Daily Show, and that is no small feat given how shocking said news was to me when I saw that episode.

Garo is obviously not for everyone - I mean people wouldn't have ignored it like they have if it was. However, I had a lot of fun watching this show, I am convinced that it is the best show of its season (shut up *you know what anime I'm referring to* fans) and I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel series and movie...whenever those come out. Hopefully it's soon. I mean I'm in no hurry, but given how sequels that take a long to come out usually turn out (looking at you, Durarara!!x2), I think I'd like more Garo sooner rather than later.

There’s a lot of words to describe Garo. For starters, “impact” is one of them. That’s because the first episode makes a big impact when we see the brutality of the show along with the mature setting and its characters. Taken for granted, Garo is one of those shows where you must be prepared for what’s to come. The first few episodes sets up everything well in the fantasy world of Valiante Kingdom. The catch is how the show develops from there the main character Leon is born. If magic and fantasy isn’t part of your vocabulary, then you won’t last long.

Based off the Garo ... tokusatsu drama series, Garo: Honoo no Kokuin (or in English: The Carved Seal of Flames) is a series of triumph. The main characters Leon Luis and his father Herman Luis both holds titles “Garo the Golden Knight” and “Zoro the Shadow Cutting Knight” respectively. And as dominant as that sounds, their relationship is rocky; the typical son-father relationship as you may call it. Nonetheless, the show establishes a grim premise without the super Sentai generics. It’s structured in a way that is more fitting more a mature audience although there are still plenty of moments for comedy. Also do take note that the show is a standalone besides some mechanics. In other words, you don’t need to dig through the drama or other related series from the franchise to get this baby started.

To take into perspective, the show launches itself with the idea of a hero emerging from the past in order to change the future. Events from the first episode suggests a theme of destiny as we witness the birth of Leon. It’s not a pretty sight considering the birth takes place inside of hellfire and brimstone as his mother is burned alive for being accused of witchcraft. That’s right. The show creates the atmosphere that Leon will one day become a legend to fulfill his role as Garo the Golden Knight. It also develops an idea of Makai Knights and Makai Priests. From the beginning, it shows that they are designated as harbingers of destruction by people of the Church. In the present timeline, there are apparently very few remaining. Yet the ones that are standing wields extraordinary power to fight off Horrors, the abominable antagonists of the series. Crafting all this together requires precision and detailed structure. Luckily, this show does a well job doing that with adequate transition and timing. Every episode brings something new to the table while characterizing the characters, developing the story, and staying true to its ideas. The series writer Yasuko Kobayashi (well known for his previously work on Shingeki no Kyojin) crafts his ideas with great promise.

A part that makes the show shine in its own way is the characters. It’s very interesting to see how Leon grows up to be a man or rather a warrior now that adapts with his life and those around him. However, there’s a sharp contrast between him and his father. While his father is socially outgoing and often finds his way with others (especially women), Leon is stoic and often depicted as the lonewolf type of guy. He isn’t cold or cruel though as we see many times that his actions speaks louder than words. It is through events throughout the series that we can label him as more of a vengeful hero. This is because he still treasures and respects his mother. Some episode shows Leon as being the type of guy who tries to get a job done no matter what the cost. Mercy is sometimes not on his mind and often or not, Leon isn’t afraid to take risks.

Speaking of which, the show isn’t shy to take risk either. This includes the introduction of other main characters such as Alfonso San Valiante, the crown prince of the kingdom of Valiante. We find out more about his purpose in the series through flashbacks and his present self. Here, the show adds this character for a balance between himself, Leon, and Herman. The way each character is depicted attracts interest for their roles in the story. I dare say that the show pulls off its risks quite well with other additions to the series including Emma Guzman, a Makai Priestess who stands firm in contrast with most of the main characters. Collectively, all the main characters are like pieces to a puzzle tied together to craft this show’s visage. Individually, we get to see each of the main characters’ potential, their growth, and how they deal with interpersonal conflicts.

Despite the show designed to fit like an episodic structure, each of them fit with the overall premise and development of its main story. This is primarily focused on Leon as we see his various view on characters he meets throughout the show. It shows how he behaves around others where conflict and past events influences his decisions. Furthermore, his interpersonal conflicts can be seen quite clearly when he associates with women because of his outlook on them. But despite all the serious nature of the show, Garo also play itself for fun. One particular episode includes a nearly full nude Herman who has a ton of fun himself. Furthermore, the show is notorious for both its fan service and disservice. The amount of sex jokes often used shows the more lighthearted nature of the show while the Horrors shows the more malevolent side. Case closed, this series is met to be taken both seriously and for fun at the same time. It’s not just a quite adventure about revenge but a journey of discovery. You, the viewers, will be part of that ride if you stay with the momentum.

One of the weaker technical components of the show is the artwork. If you’re new to CGI, then this show’s character designs may not be suitable for you. With that being said, it will take time to get used to the CGI in particular with the transformation scenes. Once you get past that, the reward to be reaped would be the intense action. The Makai Knights are decorated with extravagant features that makes them stand out above others. And although not on the same level, character designs for our main characters do stand out especially with their expressions. The other prominent characteristic of the show is the Horrors. They are truly designed with traits that will make you feel disgust by their monstrosity. Their lack of personality makes them suitable for being called monsters. And furthermore, we also get to see their various abilities that makes them know why they are called Horrors. On a lesser note, background and landscape are moderate with nothing outstanding in particular. I do give some praise to the world fiction though. Apparently, it takes place in a medieval era and most of the structures and kingdoms is convincing enough.

Soundtrack plays some key roles throughout the series. Starting with the OP and ED song, there’s a uniqueness in the design of its choreography and symbolism. And fitting with the show’s themes, the OST is decorated with an intense atmosphere especially with its action and transformation sequences. Emotional tunes are also not forgotten for crucial moments when characters deals with their interpersonal conflicts. Finally, character voice mannerisms can be considered above average with how they fit with their personalities.

For as much as I can remember, this show is about both fun and development with its story. We get the main characters, the setting, and the premise that ties it all together. Then, there’s the characterization of the main cast that makes it all worthwhile to remember when we see how much influence they can have with others. Comedy is present despite the grim nature of the show’s premise. And story wise, content stays true with its premise without derailing itself. There are times when you may find this show uncomfortable to watch; whether it’s the sexual jokes, gore, awkward dialogues, or the animation quality. Still, I would highly suggest giving Garo a try as this is one of those shows where you have to see it to believe it.

Story/Character
I don't think I have ever watched a 24 episode shounen (seinen?) anime that paced itself as well as Garo. The anime manages to have a clear-cut good versus evil story, while managing to show permanent character growth. Too often, anime series have their protagonist grow as a person for a fight, and then fall back to their old ways once the fight is over. What stuck with me most about Garo is that when a character changes, they change for good. The story was able to use its characters and plot to integrate love on all different levels - paternal, maternal, romantic, and love ... of country in a way that may have been a little cliche (for some forms of love), but was certainly believable.

Art
I should mention that I typically do not like mecha anime. I can't enjoy fights between robots. Although the suits of armor that the knights transform into look a lot like robots in mecha, I enjoyed the art throughout the show. This might be because there were more details in the armor than you would usually see on a robot in a mecha anime, or it might be because you never saw the knights in a "pilot" seat controlling their armor. While I don't think that the fluidity of motion was great (it wasn't bad) the characters all had pretty intricate clothing and accessories. Their hair was (largely) more simply drawn, but that was compensated for by having relatively unique hair styles. Towards the end, some of the monsters decreased in art quality, but overall both the good guys and bad guys were drawn well.

Sound
The sound/music was fitting. I don't really pay too much attention to the music throughout series; it takes a lot to get my attention. I didn't like the music enough to really pay attention to it, but that just makes the sound average/just above average. The theme song was intense and matched the feeling of the series nicely.

Enjoyment
Occasionally the story feels like it's lagging a bit, but it's still captivating to the point where you want to find out how everything is resolved. I should mention that the show manages to include sex and perversion without falling into any of the ecchi cliches (like magical falling - falling and then landing on a girl's breasts/in the 69 position; walking in on girls changing; male characters animatedly describing bust sizes; etc.). That said, although there are occasional jokes, the series falls short of being laugh out loud funny at any point.

Overall
Writing this review, I was a little tempted to lower the overall score because some of the flaws I pointed out. That being said, I found myself unable to because some of the good things I mentioned - particularly the intricate art for the characters and permanent character growth, makes the series stand out in a way that other similar anime I watched failed to.

Garo: Honoo no Kokuin is one of the most perfect medieval fantasy anime I have ever seen.
Even more so that there's going to be another season and a movie.
And now I've placed it in my top 5. I can't recommend it enough.

I'm not going to give you a description of the series because the synopsis should be enough. The story in itself isn't too hard to follow and there isn't too much to it, but the execution of that story is what counts.

Story: 10
It's simple, yet solid. The execution is marvelous; it's exciting, unpredictable, heartbreaking, and engaging. Everything in this ... story is explained and the show doesn't try too hard to seem "edgy" (I'm just saying so because there's a good amount of death in this series), nor does it remain cliche in any way. I might as well include the setting in this section since it's part of the reason I enjoyed it so much.
It's a medieval fantasy, thus it's a world full of villages, castles, farmlands, plains, forests... all that great stuff. Although what makes Garo so great is that... it makes use of those settings, creates something beautiful with them.

Art: 9
The character art is very unique, and although it's fairly simplistic, it's actually very appealing. I find that the art style calls for more fluid action scenes, which it does indeed; the action scenes are exciting and VERY well animated. Even the CGI for the Makai Knights, although I'm not a fan of CG in a 2D series, is great.

Sound: 10
Let me start by saying; Keiichi Okabe NEEEEEEEEEEDS to compose more soundtracks! He's perfect for medieval series like this! (If you want to hear any more of his soundtracks, look up the OST for the video game "Nier" or the soundtrack for Yuki Yuna is a Hero.)
The music is VERY atmospheric and creates a sort of unique vibe that makes the world feel more melancholic yet beautiful. Before the OST came out, whenever I heard particular songs in the show, I'd keep replaying that scene just to hear the music. I've never seen a medieval series with such a perfect OST. After hearing this soundtrack, Keiichi Okabe became one of my new favorite composers.

Character: 9
Wow, the character development in this series is fantastic and it's clear as day. Leon transforms out of his naivety and into something more mature and understanding. Alfonso, as well, and even German! Each character has their own backstory, which are all emotional in some aspect, and you can really tell how the characters grow closer to one another.

Enjoyment: 10
When it comes to medieval fantasy series, you really can't get any more perfect than with Garo. It's a beautiful, well-written emotional journey in an atmospheric medieval world. I can't wait for season 2... and I highly recommend checking this series out. It was overshadowed by Shingeki no Bahamut, which aired the same season and was by the same studio (Studio MAPPA). (I loved Bahamut too, though!!)

Anyway, I'm not the greatest when it comes to writing reviews. (I'm more of a story-writing kind of guy.) So, I hope you'll give the series a shot after reading!

(This is a spoiler-free review adapted for this site)

[Synopsis]: Under the influence of his trusted adviser Mendosa (Hashi, Takaya), the king of Valiante initiates a massive witch hunt in order to exterminate both the Makai Knights and the Makai Alchemists after the king’s health was threatened by the curse of a witch. As she was burned at the stake, the witch in question gave birth to a son, Leon Luis (Namikawa, Daisuke) who was then spirited away by his father and Makai Knight Luis Herman. Many years later Leon returns with his father to exact his revenge on those responsible for his mother’s death and ... a young, escaped prince, Alfonso Variante (Nomura, Katsuhito), seeks to take back his kingdom from Mendosa’s twisted influence.

[Characters]:

I think that Garo had a perfectly sized cast for the story it set out to tell. It concerned itself most with the two protagonists Leon and Alfonso however a good deal of screen time is also given to Herman and a Makai Alchemist named Emma Guzman. The other members of the cast vary a decent amount however a good many are citizens of Valiante and help to reinforce the themes of the show in different ways without needing extensive character investigations themselves.

Leon is a pretty decent character overall and has considerable and overt development over the course of the show. He occupies a fairly static attitude and mindset for the first half of the show however the latter half spends a great deal of time nurturing his development and he ultimately becomes a better character because of it. While he is bent on revenge, he doesn’t quite embody the trait to the degree some other protagonists have and while his revenge may consume him from time to time, it does not define him as it does some characters from other shows.

Alfonso brings with him the usual traits of the crown prince of a kingdom – he is righteous, courageous, and a skilled swordsman and so in this way he is a little typical while being appealing for the same reasons. He isn’t as complex as Leon nor does he have the same level of development because of how his character starts off however he is not unpleasant and his straightforwardness alongside Leon helps contrast the two characters quite well. He improves a decent amount for me once he takes on a mentor and his active pursuit in saving his kingdom makes the character quite endearing.

Herman, Leon’s father, is mostly a comedic character because of his relaxed attitude and his frequent visits to town brothels however he has a few serious moments throughout the show and possesses agency within the plot. I didn’t care for him very much because he had more screen time than I thought his antics deserved, much of it taking place during a slight lull in the show’s pacing where I think it would have been much better for the show to have focused on Leon or perhaps Alfonso.

Lastly, Mendoza, like Alfonso, strikes me as a pretty typical character – this is not the first time we’ve seen a twisted, needlessly evil, adviser to the king and his ambitions and goals are nothing to write home about either. While he is pretty simplistically evil, his backstory is interesting enough and makes the character more acceptable in my eyes however it too is not great work of fiction. Someone I want to make special note of is Mendoza’s attendant Octavia who also serves as a maid to the king. She has nearly no presence in the first half of the show however in the second half she shows surprising innovation and intelligence in her actions. Because of these traits, I found her to be one of the more compelling characters around at that time despite her infrequent appearances and her light presence in the earlier half of the show. Her worship of Mendoza and her reasons for doing so are well-founded and sincere and made her quite an enjoyable character after she starts receiving some attention.

[Art/Animation]:

The first thing to talk about when it comes to the animation in Garo is most definitely the suits of Makai armor donned by the main characters – Garo, Zoro, Gaia (to name a few). While they look fantastic by themselves, their CG depiction by is both hard to initially swallow and contrasts heavily with the show’s environments and sometimes enemies. I wish I could say it gets easier to watch as the show progresses and that you get used to the over-the-top, brilliantly shining, metal suits however I never really felt at home with them and ultimately found them a bit distracting – somewhat damaging the otherwise well executed action sequences. The show also uses CG for the Horrors, the often present enemies of the Makai Knights, and so when both the heroes and enemies are done in CG it makes the whole scene a tad more acceptable as they are no longer clashing however this is not always the case and it still doesn’t fix the stark difference between the armors and their animated environments.

CG aside, the character designs in Garo have an interesting style to them. They are vibrant designs which go together with the over-the-top nature of the show however at times I felt things started to look and feel a bit ridiculous. The characters are extremely simplistic in their design points however also outlandish enough with their hair and body proportions to be called vibrant. The Horrors are not always humanoid and are often more bestial in design; I would even go as far to say they are somewhat abstract at times which makes them feel a bit odd given their large range of depictions and as an antagonistic presence within the show it was hard to pin them down and even take them seriously at times. The character designs would occasionally falter in quality but not too noticeably and not enough to continuously distract the viewer. The action sequences had good animation, somewhat attributed to their use of CG, however there were a few notable fights of importance that I would even call excellent in their execution.

[Story]:

The story was not the area where Garo most excelled as the show primarily felt like a vehicle for glossy, stylistic, CG action sequences with some added backstories, character interests, and plot points to frame them. This is not to dismiss the attempt that Garo made to build a narrative framework for its action scenes and it doesn’t do an abhorrent job of it as the overarching story is not all that bad however it lacks complexity in an extreme way. Where the plot of the show really suffers in my opinion is in the episodes that feel a bit episodic and self-contained.

There is a clear story being told between Leon wanting revenge for the death of his mother, Alfonso wanting to take back his kingdom and restore it to glory, and Mendoza wanting to… commit atrocities – however every few episodes (and sometimes more frequently) we are given a story about a local demon that needs to be dealt with and we watch how the characters cope with it. The horrors don’t have any direct relevance to the greater plot however their extermination falls under the tasks issued to the Makai Knights and so it feels like we are doing necessary work when we watch our heroes confront them despite the fact that they have no explicit ties to a greater enemy. This combined with the lull in pacing around the midsection of the show can make the greater narrative feel a bit distant at times however when it shows up it is not displeasing and the short stories are by no means unwatchable (at least the majority of them). I will submit that the slow pacing in the middle gives birth to some of the better scenes in the show when all is said and done and that once things pick back up that the show gets progressively better and finishes in good form.

One problem I did have was with the way the show laid out its concepts. It does a decent enough job of establishing what the Makai Knights are and even Makai Alchemists however beyond that the Makai Rings, Leon’s markings, and the Watch Dogs are all a bit under-explained and a little hard to make sense of when they are introduced. The rings especially confused me because as Zaruba, Leon’s ring, is introduced, it seems like it is supposed to manage his emotional state however the other Makai Knights also have them and Zaruba’s own purpose within the show seems to alter drastically in the second half where he receives far more dialogue and can actively aid his wearer in combat.

[Music]:

The music was pretty decent all throughout and was probably what one would expect given the nature of the show. The music is often played up during the action scenes (appropriately so) but also did well during the more dramatic and somber scenes. In short I would say that the soundtrack felt at home within the action of the show and avoided falling short or feeling out of place when the show was focused elsewhere. A success coming from MONACA and a strong point for the show.

[Final Thoughts and Rating]:

I think Garo was a fun show despite its often dark tones and tragic circumstances. While it was a little hamfisted in the way it explored it’s themes, they meshed well with the characters and provided at least something of interest that ran throughout the framework of the narrative. At the end of the day I can’t help but feel like the show was more or less an action showcase however I find myself somewhat surprised by how well it did in other areas while still not quite impressing me to the point of the show being ‘good’.

Rating: 6

I gave Garo a 6 because of its fun and over-the-top action scenes, it’s sometimes dark subject matter, and because of a few infrequent triumphs within the plot. What held it back was its sometimes poor pacing, its lackluster characters outside of the main duo and the occasional side character, and because of its rather jarring implementation of CG. It was a fun show and I don’t regret watching it however it lacks both a solid presentation and other areas of interest in order to make it out.

[Recommendations]:

As long as they aren’t turned off by the overt use of CG to accomplish the task, I would recommend Garo to any fans of the action genre because the fights are both frequent and fun. Fans of fantasy and magic would not do wrong to pick up the show however there wasn’t as much magic as I myself was hoping for – the show opting to mainly focus on the armored Makai Knights rather than flame-throwing magicians. The drama is by no means bad and a few of the more memorable moments of the show exist in this area and so I feel confident in recommending it for this reason although it is intermittently present in the show and not the ultimate focus.

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

When you think about what you want most in life -- be it a nice job, a wonderful family, or simply that shiny new smart phone -- it's often not an easy task to acquire whatever it is. Normally, it requires sacrifice, the loss of something to gain something else. This isn't sacrificial in the sense of people; it may be giving up going to a party in order to focus on work to get that job or choosing to reduce food spending to save up for that next piece of technology. Sometimes, what we sacrifice ... is more ethereal: our time, our well-being, and our goals can be what are discarded. And as GARO THE ANIMATION shows, regardless of what it may be, such sacrifice almost always brings with it something greater.

STORY

GARO stars a father and son duo, Herman and Leon Lewis. As the Silver and Golden Makai Knights, respectively, it is their duty to eliminate the Horrors that plague the land.

GARO starts off on a relatively shaky foot. The first half of the anime focuses mostly on giving the audience everything that is needed. The characters, the world, the setting, the rules; it's all laid out in one form or another. To achieve this end, the show adopts a "monster-of-the-week" direction, having Leon and his father travel across the land to deal with the various Horrors -- the demons that manifest due to negative emotions. While these earlier segments work in introducing the multitude of details that pertain to GARO's world -- the ice ring Zaruba, who the Makai Alchemists are, and the political subterfuge occurring in the castle -- such segmented mini-arcs don't serve the narrative anything special. The Horrors themselves never persist across episodes, with Leon and Herman dealing with the atrocities in the same typical manner: enter new place, learn of Horror, and then defeat said beast. Unfortunately, this repetitive nature is a detriment, causing the anime to favor flashy fight scenes instead of telling a coherent plot.

But in a nice turn of events, the second half of GARO does away with this notion and begins to use its time in a meaningful way. The Horrors still exist, and the group still fights them, but instead they're used as catalysts for the situations at hand. Leon experiences unbelievable grief, Alfonso uses such time to (ironically) stave off boredom, and Ema rectifies her past. The characters begin to grow because of the Horrors and the fights they have, and not really using such encounters as mere entertainment. And in order to bolster the development of the characters and the storytelling further, GARO employs heavy use of flashbacks. But not merely referencing previous shots from within the show; rather, the flashbacks are constructed to demonstrate where the characters were and where they are now. These existed during the beginning of the anime, but were drowned out by the aforementioned spotlight on monster killing. The second half instead combines both ideas. Leon's relationship with his father is given context, Ema's previous dealings are finally revealed, and even Octavia's upbringing is shown in all its brutality. This newfound focus on the narrative, both in terms of the story weaved and the characters developed, gives GARO the kind of structure it always had but never utilized from the get-go.

Throughout the entirety of the show, GARO actually holds quite a strong theme. And that is what was talked about in the introduction; sacrifice is the name of the game in this world. It doesn't matter who it is: Leon's close "family" is slaughtered, Alfonso loses his mother, Herman leaves behind Ximena, and Ema lays to rest her former lover. These are the good guys performing such noble feats, but the bad guys do just the same, for sacrifice isn't so morally constrained. For example, Octavia kills a girl and "chops" off her leg, Bernardo gives up himself to save his friends, and Mendoza murders countless people to obtain the revenge he seeks. And the Horrors can even be placed within this same category; the sacrifice of nice thoughts, optimism, and strong will causes the abominations to take shape. In all cases, the sacrifice does exactly as it intends to do, and that is bring about something better. But even that is subject to construed meaning; Leon's suicidal sacrifice lets him see the true meaning behind the flames that consumed him whereas Octavia's sacrifice allowed her to become immeasurably more powerful. At all points and at all times, GARO's motif of sacrifice is never left in the shadows.

ANIMATION

One of GARO's strongest aspects is in the art and animation that it employs.

The art for the show adopts a rather soft look. The world, like the monsters that inhabit it, is dark, desolate, and deplorable. As such, many venues take on such details: foreboding forests, broken villages, and underground caverns are the norm. At the same time, the Spain-like setting provides older buildings, stunning castles, and pastoral landscapes that captivate the audience. Combined with the lighting and the often insane fight choreography, the anime is a sight to behold.

The character designs likewise receive the same treatment. Leon's changed robes from anger to purpose, Alfonso's red cloak, Ema's green hair and purple lipstick, Mendoza's god-like transformation; everyone involved is rife with detail and a kind of uniqueness that only GARO could pull off. Even the Makai Armor is given a large amount of attention, with their snarled teeth and sheen making them that much more intimidating.

As for actual animation, it is normally above-average in all cases. Initially, the use of CG is jarring. But it's actually used quite nicely throughout all of the show. Ema's air battle against Luciano and Alfonso's duel against Leon to prove the latter's resolve were incredibly well-done instances that deserve special recognition.

CHARACTERS

GARO contains a nice cast of characters that at first don't seem to be anything special. But that's only because the first half of the anime, like with the story, weighs them down.

As the father to his son Leon, Herman is a man of duty. As one of the Makai Knights of legend, he upholds their creed to the best of his ability, doing what he can to protect the people of the land from the Horrors that roam it. But like all fathers, that title comes first; he keeps a watchful eye over Leon, making sure that he grows into not only a fine Makai Knight but also into a fine man. And that's in every sense of the word: he guides him along the right path by having him find his own way; he acts irresponsibly to give Leon the vantage point of exactly what not to do; and he always does what he can to make sure his son is kept safe. He's a true father, for above anything else, no matter what happened to him or to Leon, from Leon's birth until his own death, he loved him from the bottom of his heart.

He's been brought up continuously thus far, so it's only right to talk about Leon now. He begins as extremely abrasive, rude, and difficult to handle, loathing the dad he thinks he has to protect while hating the world around him. Having lost his mother the moment he was born, the power he has is something he wants to use for nothing more than revenge; to kill the man that wronged him, his father, and his dearest mother. But his quest to that end ultimately ruins him, consumes him in the very flames that birthed him, forcing him to fall further than feasibly considered fine. Up to this point, Alfonso, his cousin by blood, was the person he should have been. Alfonso was resolute, strong of mind, and used his power in an unselfish manner. This dichotomous pairing helps to accentuate Leon's folly, and therefore making his near suicide seem sensible. Yet, he is saved by the people who he never thought of protecting. His time with Lara calms his mind and gives him renewed vigor; he finally found something more than just petty revenge. After the events that unfold, his new passion isn't fighting for himself nor is it necessarily fighting for everyone. It's simply fighting in the moment, doing whatever he can to protect even a single, solitary person from having to experience the same anguish he had lived with for so long.

The rest of the named cast -- specifically speaking, Ema, Alfonso, and Mendoza -- each represent the same values that the previous two men understood. And that is the notion of protection. All of them are either a Makai Knight or a Makai Alchemist -- Mendoza is just an Alchemist that has taken a wicked path. They are each characterized and developed in their own, respective ways, but it's this theme of protection that ties them all together. Ema's only purpose was to take out her husband that became a Horror. She was protecting not only the people he preyed on, but also him, too. For besides wanting to be the one to kill Luciano, she also wanted to atone for her own self-placed sin of not being able to save him when he needed it most. In similar fashion but on a much larger scale, Alfonso is literally the next king-to-be. To him, and as he was taught, it's the people that need protecting. Not only in terms of their health and status, but also in terms of their personal lives. Thus his transition from prince to warrior is an easy one. Even Mendoza protects, but not in the traditional sense. He doesn't protect Octavia or the populace. No, he protects himself. Murdering, conniving, tricking; he does whatever he can to further his own desires. And technically, it works. But that same never-ending protection (immortality) is his downfall. For through Leon's mother Anna and her protection, Mendoza suffers the same fate he brought upon her: an eternal bathing of flames.

SOUND

Each of the OPs and EDs are some of the most experimental in the medium. Each has their own distinct sound, normally incorporating hard metal, techno, and some English lyrics. The first OP is more hopeful sounding whereas the second is simply "cool." The first ED is quick and hardcore; contrarily, the second ED slows down, utilizing a dual rough and soft vibe. They're each rather fun to listen to, but not particularly strong songs on their own.

The rest of the soundtrack does a good job of fitting the mood when it matters. Acoustic guitars fill the more laid-back moments, heavy flute-playing resound during the touching times, and hard drums and other strange sounds follow the wake of the Horrors. Also of note are the sound effects for the cast while inside the armor; they are given a distinct, metallic sound that is a nicely added detail.

Voice-acting sees about above-average performances across the board. Special shout-outs are in order for Daisuke Namikawa as Leon and Katsuhito Nomura as Alfonso for their constant screaming.

ENJOYMENT

To be honest, the first half of GARO is quite boring, grating even. Leon is always complaining, the weekly Horror fighting isn't enticing, and the three-dimensional "everything" takes some getting used to. It was certainly interesting, but it wasn't doing anything that was really worth talking about.

But the second half did an about-face and stepped up its game. The fights were crazy to watch, the character development was in full swing, and the interactions were at an all-time high. I distinctly remember being quite upset at Lara's passing because it seemed that Leon just couldn't have anything nice. So watching him use that sadness to finally overcome his inner turmoil was great to see.

GARO THE ANIMATION may have had a steady beginning, but it rears its head halfway through and never stops roaring. Its interesting storytelling, nice cast of characters, and well-done animation make it one part cub and one part lion.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, world-building but repetitive first half, strong second half, with sacrificial theme throughout

Animation: Great, very nice art style, good character designs, above-average actual animation

Characters: Great, Leon is great, Herman, Ema, Alfonso, and Mendoza are good, with each connected through protecting

Sound: Fine, okay first OP, okay second OP, okay first ED, okay second ED, okay soundtrack, above-average VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, rather boring at first but quite fun to watch unfold by the end

Final Score: 7/10

Garo is a tokusatsu franchise that has a unique place in the genre as the odd one out. While most toku are kid-focused and merchandise-driven, Garo is aimed towards adults and as such tends to have much “edgier” content, namely its horror themes, nudity, and violence.
The original Garo was a live-action toku that premiered in 2005. Garo THE ANIMATION is largely unconnected to the show, to the point that it takes place in a completely different time and setting, and i’m not even sure if it’s in continuity with the rest of the series. The basic premise that you can read on the page ... is pretty standard, not terribly unique but not bad at all either.

The opening is actually pretty good, with a very memorable scene of a woman sent to burn at the stake giving birth, while a silver knight in ghastly armor rides in to save the child, with both disappearing for 17 years. As it turns out the child in question was actually the knight’s son, and they are two of the main characters of the series.


We’ll get to the characters in a bit, but before that I just have to mention that the setting is arguably one of the biggest strengths of Honoo no Kokuin. The kingdom is actually called “Valiante”, but it’s pretty much just Inquisition era Spain. What makes it great is how authentic it feels. All of the characters in the story have actual Hispanic names (much to my surprise), the small bits of day-to-day life we see are easy to believe as the routine of Spanish people in the 15th to 16th century (minus the creation of a steampunk-esque robot suit in one episode, but hey it’s anime), and the lore and mythology of the Garo franchise does not feel out of place at all. I mean think about it: when you think of settings for tokusatsu, would you think of the European middle ages? Something like Kamen Rider or Super Sentai would probably feel pretty out of place. However, because of the horror theme of Garo, and the designs of the Makai Knight suits looking like actual armor from a fantasy game, they fit the setting perfectly.

Hell, the aforementioned opening sounds like a scene from a religious myth or something. The only real problem here is that the people in Honoo no Kokuin still act in Japanese ways and probably don’t really resemble actual Spaniards in terms of behavior and cultural outlook, but I can cut the writers some slack because that would require a LOT of research to properly depict (given how different Japanese culture is from the west in general, it would take years to properly “understand” it, much less be able to write it convincingly) and this isn’t *technically* Spain in the first place.


Speaking of characters, let’s talk about them for a bit. The main character is León Luís, the Garo of the show (who inherited the armor through his mother), and his attempts to stop the spread of evil in the land spurned on by Mendosa, an expelled Makai Alchemist who wishes to purge the land of all Makai Knights (who he hates) and rule the land with an army of Horrors. He is aided by his mentor and father, German Luís, who wears the silver ZORO armor. The two have very different personalities: León is very aloof, serious, and flustered, with his mother’s death leaving him bitter and developing not only a very Oedipus-like fixation with her and a noticeable Maddona-whore complex. Germán on the other hand is very jovial, laid-back, and hedonistic; while he loves his son and takes his duties as a Makai Knight seriously, he also loves to booze it up and the tavern and is frequently seen sleeping around with prostitutes (to the point that at multiple points in the show he asks Leon for money to pay for his “adventures”). This dynamic means that the two frequently argue, with León respecting his father on some level but berating him for being a sub-par parent and partaking in hedonistic pursuits, while Germán thinks his son and is too uptight and is very concerned that his rage and fixation on revenge are blinding him to the true meaning of being a Makai Knight.

Rounding off the main cast are Alfonso, the chivalric, selfless and heroic prince of the country who is forced to go on the run after he and his mother are betrayed by the prime minister Mendosa, and Ema, a sultry Makai Priestess who claims to dislike Makai Knights on the whole but nevertheless grows an amiable relationship with León and his father, frequently aiding them.

While the characters are not particularly profound or layered, they ARE generally competently written, act consistently according to their established personalities, and are not completely one-note either. León in particular starts the series off as a grating, aloof, and unlikable teenager uncomfortably fixated on his mother, but gradually grows much more sympathetic and genuinely knightly as the series goes by, being the character who has the most growth over the course of the show. Perhaps more importantly, the characters and their interactions are just FUN to watch on the whole, with the deep, seductive voice Romi Park provides Ema making her particularly charismatic.

There are a number of side characters like Mendosa’s henchwoman Octavia, Alfonso’s mentor and old friend of the last Garo, Raphael Banderas, the adopted child of a blacksmith Julio, the happy-go-lucky farm girl Lara, among others, who each play a unique role in the overall series and form a decent supporting cast.

The animation is a high point for the series; studio MAPPA has made quite a name for themselves recently with a number of high-quality adaptations, and this is no exception. The animation and art style is generally just ok (being much better in certain fights or emotional moments), but the fight scenes deserve particular mention for the very impressive CGI employed to depict the Makai armors. It’s probably the best I’ve seen in a recent anime. MAPPA actually went above and beyond and made the armor’s helmets move in an organic fashion to form facial expressions, something that wasn’t really feasible in the original live-action incarnation of the show.

Finally, the music deserves some special mention because it’s composed by MONACA, the same studio responsible for the masterful NieR soundtrack. This is probably their second best work after their particular title, with the themes for the Makai knight transformations being especially good (Leon’s is my personal favorite). Not all the tracks are that memorable, but the good ones are very good.

Overall, Garo the Animation is not an excellent show, but is above-average in pretty much every department. It was very fun to watch and I am looking forward to the second season and movie.

Garo is pretty great anime if you are into action, demons and fantasy in general.

I discovered it by accident and even though I was kinda bored when I started watching, I quickly became enthralled by the series.

Story: 7

The story started off pretty good giving us a good background of our main characters and allowing us the necessary time to identify with their plight and suffering but it was all too soon that ups and downs became apparent. Thank god the ups outnumbered the downs by a lot but still some of the randomness introduced to this series left a bitter taste. Furthermore the relationships forged ... and discovered in some cases seemed too convenient. I get it that they were required for the story to progress but some of them seemed half-arsed. Despite all this the story maintained a solid rhythm.

Art : 9

The art was exquisite. Everything was very well drawn and the background was very well set up. Both the character art and the background managed to capture my focus and travel me to the world depicted in the series. My one regret is that certain places that were not very well lit lacked detail. Other than that the art is up to par with the contemporary style we are used to.

Sound : 8

The soundtrack was pretty good. It accompanied each scene very well and it managed to highlight the situation depicted on screen whether this was a sad moment or a fight scene the soundtrack complemented the art to a very good degree. The opening and ending was not very good to be honest although the art utilized in the opening was exceptional.

Character: 10

All major characters were outstanding. All characters where very well writ with pretty good backstories. In very few moments did the question arise as to why a certain character made that decision. In most cases Gram made no sense but other than her all other characters were of the highest caliber.

Enjoyment & Overall: 8

I find the whole series quite enjoyable and I am glad I discovered it. I would recommend it to all who wish to see a series of this type (Fantasy, Action).

*WARNING : spoilers*

First thing first : I didn't like it, mainly because the story is poor, thus I'll have trouble not spoiling.

All right, so the plot is that demons exist, and that they do... thing demons do, thus some people, the makai kishi, are trained to kill them. However since the existence of demons is not known by common people, when someone who don't like those saviors has influence over the king, he organises a genocide and burns the "witches". Among those witches, the mother of our hero, Leon, who uses her last breath to give birth to him on her pyre. He is saved ... by his father, both flee and he is trained to become the bearer of the gold armor "garo".

However, the flames of vengeance burns deep inside him.

This could have been a very interesting plot, but it is very poorly exploited.

So the first episodes are mainly exposition and sides story, nothing to say beside the fact that you don't really get the feeling that Leon is obsessed by revenge, and his father playing comic relief does not help.

On the other side, in the kingdom, Mendoza, the king's counselor betrays him, and thus send the prince on the run. this last one, mets a makai kishi and is trained by him. Nothing else to say for the time being.

Meanwhile, Leon and his father came back to the kingdom, Leon is in hurry to go to the castle but his father tells him that they have to investigate first and that he hopes he didn't came back only for revenge.
STOP: if you did not came back for that reason, and you don't know what's going on in the kingdom... why did you came back in the first place ? Leon's father, aren't you just asking for trouble. I mean, your son has already waited for 15 years, couldn't you wait 5 more, to give him time to finish his adolescence crisis ?

After that, Leon mets a bad guy, gets his ass kicked and fly to the moon.

Two useless episodes after that, Leon is sent away by his father to seek answers, get stronger, and finds what he misses (it is the will to protect).

Leon seeks strong youmas to kick their asses in order to train and is sent to defeat the same one the prince needs to defeat in order to become a makai kishi.
STOP : Okay teacher, you need a proof that he is ready to bear an armor (the prince), but this youma has killed a lot of makai kishi. Does your pupil really need to be stronger than any previous knight right from the start ? Without an armor with that ? Also how is it possible that no human ever noticed a huge youma that can change the landscape in one attack ?

Anyway, they fight, Leon get his ass kicked, they are rescued by the teacher, who dies, The prince take his armor and the monster kicks the bucket, and they both go bak to the kingdom to kick Mendoza's ass with Leon's father.
STOP : Leon's father, you're the one who sent him on a journey, couldn't you just verify that he found what you expected him to find ? 'cause to me he only got his ass kicked. Twice.
Did you really expected him to cure his will of vengeance in two days when he has lived with it for 15 years ? And wouldn't that be your job ?

They go, encouter the bad guy who kicked Leon's ass, who is in fact an old friend of Leon's father and mother who has joined the dark side because he couldn't bear to defend the human who were killing their protectors. Leon's father send the prince and Leon away to defeat Mendoza, and kills his old friend.
STOP : Did you really sent a teenage boy, who you know, has always been obsessed by revenge and is emotionally unstable, to battle an expert of dark arts and manipulation and his mother's killer, while knowing the danger of the golden armor going berserk ? You've got balls man ! And no brain.
Also, we are given flashback of the bad guy, wondering why he has to protect the humans, and Anna (Leon's mother) answering that humans have strength in their hearts to change the world. Also we have the scene were this guy was chased by humans. I know you can't kill humans, but can't you at last put your armor on ? To protect you from their weapons ? duh !
In the end the bad guy repents, but we don't know why since the humans still look like worthless creatures in this anime.

Leon and the prince arrives in font of Mendoza. Leon can't hold back and go berserk.
STOP : DUH !
Also I hate the use of the cliche : the hero loses himself in anger and attacks everyone... except the guy he was angry at.
Leon goes on a rampage, gets his ass kicked (Leon, you suck) by the prince who steal the armor and kicks Mendoza's ass.
Leon is devastated that he lost his armor and vengeance, and the prince and his father's blames don't help. Leon's father let him leave alone.

ALL RIGHT : let's see everything wrong with this scene.
FIRST : Leon's father, I've already said it, but you knew that your son was emotionally unstable, so this is your fault in the first place.
SECOND : Iit was your role as a father to relieve Leon from the weight of his past. And you had 15 years to do that. AND WHY DID YOU TELL HIM THAT HER MOTHER WAS MURDERED BY MENDOSA IN THE FIRST PLACE ?
THIRD : The prince is quick to put the blame on Leon when he is the son of the king who sentenced Anna, and all the witches, to death.
FOURTH : I know that you kicked Mendoza's ass prince, but why did you need the golden armor to do that. It doesn't look much stronger to me since you kicked Leon's ass. And what about your teacher's armor ?
FIFTH : Prince and Leon's father, you're saying that Leon can't put the armor back because it has chosen the prince, but if the armor really chooses the more righteous, why is there a FUCKING BERSERK MOD ON IT ? Also, how did Leon got the armor in the first place ? Were the armor senses dull at this moment ?
SIXTH : Leon's father why do you let him leave alone. Okay sure, he may need some time alone, but he also need his family to help him. And to watch over him. Just in case he would immediatly throw himself off a cliff. BECAUSE HE DOES ! DUH!
You really fail as a father man !

And the story goes on, with many useless episodes and illogical decisions.

Finally the morality : Vengeance is bad. Okay sure but why is it ? Humans are still worthless creatures and Leon going berserk seems like a screenplay ease to me, especially when the other guy kills Mendoza in the end. All right not the same intention, but without screenplay ease, same result.

I will keep this short and simple. This show doesn't really kick it off until after 12 episodes thats the reason why I gave it a 9. The main character is kind of annoying in the beginning but gets better after he "settles down". The first 12 episodes are just leon screwing up and some character development but could of been shortened down some. The battle scenes are a little bit typical but some of them are pretty cool looking. Others just suck.

This was a rare find. I really enjoyed this anime. I guess the thing that I disliked the most was the art style. I don't enjoy this type of art and I would usually not watch it, but the story was compelling and after giving a few episodes a try I was hooked. There is nothing revolutionary about it, but it is very enjoyable. If you like action/adventure you should give it a try. I feel that Garo has a lot of soul and they tried to make their characters more realistic (non black or white and more grey).

(no spoilers)

Overall this is a great anime and I would love to give it a 10/10, but I had to give it 9/10 for one reason. The fights we're all very short and didn't feel as epic as they should've been. I feel like what happened was they had too much story to fit only into 24 episodes so they wound up not being able to spend too much time on certain things such as fighting scenes. None the less, I recommend this anime if you're like myself and love dark medieval-fantasy themed anime.

-also I do have to point out I did very much ... notice in certain scenes how gorgeous some of this animes art is.

I don't know how familiar you are with the history of medieval Europe, but the happenings in this anime probably don't reflect the whole truth about witch hunt, curses, demons etc. Still you can't deny that this anime has one of the best stories I've ever seen. May I represent a rather new anime that finished airing in 2015, Garo: Honoo no Kokuin.
Plot and Storyline:
This is an anime where you really have to say "Nice Job"! The storyline is smooth, no plot holes, no complications and the end is not a mix of unfinished background stories and unrelated events. It is a story about ... a self-contained character development that gets trough some immense setbacks and obstacles. Furthermore the main character's imperfection results in a dramatic story that truly deserves a rating of 9/10.
Everything begins with the birth of Leon Lewis, son of a Makai Knight and Makai Priest. His mother, the priest ho was told to be a witch, gave birth to Leon during her execution at the stake. His father German the knight saves his son and raises him also as the Golden Makai Knight whose power he had inherited from his mother. Also very important is the side story of Prince Alfonso. While Leon tries to bear the power of a knight the king's adviser has taken over the country as the king has become ill and Prince Alfonso has been driven out with his mother. He comes seeking the legendary Gold Knight in hopes of retaking his kingdom. Huge plot twists occur in the middle of the story, and I have to say they certainly took me over.
I gave the show a story rating of 9/10. The 1 that lacks for a 10/10 is taken because of the unfinished background story of how Leon's mother got captured. And not knowing that made me very sad.
Characters:
The characters in this anime are better than expected. We have a mix of some imperfect personalities with some perfect ones, and the contrast between those is enormous. As always, let's begin with the main:
The imperfect personality I talked about in the beginning is definitely the one of Leon Lewis. He is a self-contained, strong acting but weak, young man whose main goal always was revenge. By the time he finds out that that shouldn't be his drive, he gets into a crisis of self-lose and confusion. As a main character he actually did a great job and made the story so unique. I like him.
In contrast to his son, German Lewis
is an open, determine, optimistic and funny person. He is a bit of a pervert and womanizer but I still can't get mad at him. He really made me laugh in a couple of scenes and that's what a good anime should have. The relationship between son and dad in this case is surely a different one, but I loved it.
I don't know why, but I didn't like Alfonso at all. One of the reasons is his perfection. He is kinda the son everybody would like to have. Nice, talented, handsome...His character was boring and seemed to me just as a wannabe that came out of nowhere. Sorry Alfonso.
Animation:
The animation of this anime is different from the others. The character looks were alright but the visual effects and the demons were somehow crummy. For the year 2014 this surely could have been done better. The thing I personally liked was the opening. Very interesting (to make sure I am just talking about the visuals, not the music).
Conclusion:
This certainly is Hell of a good anime. The storyline is perfect, awesome and interesting plot, amusing characters and some scenes were so emotional that I nearly started to cry. The anime took me away to the medieval time where I could feel the atmosphere of history being told partially right. Besides I always loved the stories about witches and how they have been hunted. That's why I am sad about not knowing more about Leon's mother Anna.
To sum up everything, definitely not a waste of time. I strongly recommend you to watch this anime. It is one of my favorites, I hope it will become yours too!
Your AnimeGirl

Garo: Honoo no Kokuin is an anime from the mid 2000s. It was created by Amemiya Keita (who's done a lot of work on Kamen Rider). Although the anime was written by Kobayashi Yasuko (who also worked on the anime for Claymore & Shakugan no Shana) and was brought to us by MAPPA. A studio I only know because they worked on Sakamichi no Apollon, which was pretty crap.

Story:

We open with a very pregnant witch being burned at the stake for “causing disease.” Although she was probably just a woman who owned some land, given the history of actual “witch” burnings. She gives birth while ... in the fire and an armoured knight moves past the soldiers, in spite of their best efforts, and snatches the baby, swiftly disappearing on a mechanical looking stead. We watch a brief compilation of more witches getting hunted down and slaughtered. Cut to years later, horrific monsters are feasting on humans. It turns out the so-called witches were protectors who hunted down these horrors and the hunts have been orchestrated by the king's evil advisor, Mendoza. Why is it you get so many fantasy-based works where the king's advisor or chancellor is just blatantly doing something malevolent but no one notices except for a small band of heroes? In any case, it's up to the armoured knight from before, Germán & his now grown son, León. Can they stop Mendoza and bring peace back to the land?

Here's the fundamental problem with this series. It tries to be a super dark, edgy and adult version of a sentai show. But sentai shows have a lot of elements that don't work well in media for older audiences. The monster of the week format, the one-dimensionally evil antagonists, the really obvious and formulaic plots. And all of those are in this series. But it also has brief depictions of sexual assault that never even come close to being handled in an adult, mature manner. So, there's that.

Let's go into the issue of the plot being really obvious in a little more detail. This is something that's fine in a work for children because they haven't seen a whole lot of media and probably won't see the obvious plot flags as easily as an adult would. But this series is definitely not for children, so let's be as harsh as it deserves. So, we have a young, optimistic prince who finds himself betrayed by the big bad in this world of knights with magic armour. You see that happen, you know he's becoming a major character. Or how about this one. The big bad seems to be killed in battle, but you don't see him actually cut down. Obviously, he's not dead and is going to return. How about this? You have a series that's really trying to be dark and adult but one of the main characters seems to find peace with a nice, accepting family that oh so kindly takes him in. That ends in the exact way you would expect. Seriously, it's not just so trite it's obvious, it's so trite it's painfully obvious. I've actually spoiled that part just by describing the very basic set up. The ending is a bit shit too. It's an obvious ending but one where it briefly seems like they might show some ovarian fortitude and take a bit of a risk but then comes the ass pull. Well, that was close. They almost did something interesting.

That being said, most of this series isn't bad. Yeah, it's really predictable and about as interesting as waving tissue paper around but, with a few exceptions, it's not actively annoying or infuriating to watch. Even the obvious “we found a book on writing formulae and decided to follow it to the letter” bits aren't bad. They're just uninspired, unoriginal and uninteresting. Think of it as unseasoned white bread with no schmear or anything else on it. It's edible but not exactly appetising.

Characters:

Speaking of unoriginal, let's look at our cast of characters. We have the protagonist who carries a deep, burning anger over the past. The more hopeful, paragon character. The irresponsible father who deserves a hard kick to the bollocks but we're supposed to forgive because “he actually really cares about his on even if he doesn't always show it very well.” We have the action girl who's motivated by something that happened to a man in her life. Can't forget the enigmatic supernatural being who offers guidance. We also can't forget the villain who just considers himself above everyone else. To extrapolate the issue here, all of these characters are clichés. And this isn't one of those series that starts with clichéd characters and then develops them into something more. Goodness no. They either get developed in the most bog standard ways or they don't get developed at all. Friendship is Magic has more character complexity than this and it's a show for young girls about multi-coloured cartoon horses.

Art:

Here's one element that I can give a good amount of credit. The action sequences have a strong sense of spectacle to them. The art style is rather nice in general. Particularly when it comes to the armour and monsters. There are some exceptions. Anima looks really bleeding stupid. And the CG may look good on its own but it doesn't always mesh with the regular art style particularly well.

Sound:

MAPPA got some strong actors for this. We have Paku Romi, Namikawa Daisuke & Horiuchi Kenyuu are all good, seasoned actors. Nomura Katsuhito may not have as many roles, but he's pretty good in this. The group MONACA handles the music and they do a pretty good job.

Ho-yay:

There isn't any to be found.

Final Thoughts:

Garo is a series that suffers a lot from a complete reliance on clichés. Which just makes the issues with the writing all the more apparent, since it isn't offering you anything unique to distract your attention or compensate for them. The best element, by far, is the sound but having good sound and decent art can't make up for a narrative that's, at best, sub-par or characters that have nothing to them. Ultimately, I give it a 4/10. If you really want to see the style and the lack of substance isn't going to bother you then you might enjoy it. You may also enjoy it if it's quite literally your first dark fantasy story and you haven't seen everything it does before but, as a whole, I can't recommend it. The writing is simply too mundane on the whole. Next week we'll have our film festival week, starting on Sunday.

Spoilers Sorry.

Score: 4/10

The Mecha screams gave my ears cancer. And the lighting in fight scenes is worse than old DC movies. Such a good base for a story destroyed by weak characters and anime post-production.

1. The villain gets stripped of his ranks for breaking the Makai codes and becomes even more powerful #facepalm.

2. Queen gets framed by the court advisor. for real?

... It takes ages for protagonists to learn the ways of the Makai knights whereas the crippled assistance of the villain dawns the armour and is suddenly full-on Beyoneta.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. In short terrible aftertaste. The story had so much potential, it's sad how it was routed.

Ok, so my question for all those people who are not sure yet, if to watch it or not, WHY ARE YOU NOT WATCHING IT ALREADY?

The first thing that caught my attention was art - one could say it's very simple, but that's not really it. It's different from what I mostly watch and it's still hard for me to say if it's ugly or pretty. I surely enjoyed looking at it, though. It have something in in that catches attention, it's unique (but in the beginning I was also very skeptical when it came to armor - later I got used to it).

The second ... thing - MUSIC. Omfg, that music is awesome, and I'm not only writing about Divine Flame (all my neighbors are already hating me for listening to it too loud but who cares) but all soundtrack is very good and fits the animation well. Check it out on yt, if you want. Listen to the part like "Alfonso Garo Shoukan", "Yukiyo" or "Kaisou" and then switch to "German". It's like... Is it really from the same piece? And best part - it is and it all fits perfectly. 8D OST is various and have unique pieces for all memorable characters. End even so - it still matches the climate, you can still feel that they are all bits of one composition.
Also if you don't already know what JAM Project is - check it out! Hours of good music are coming from there (and I'm still sitting here, humming 'bloody brother, bloody brother').

Story is good and I really can't wait to see the second season, but I have to say that it lacked something, right in the middle. It had good start, nice development and... there was some black hole, I don't really recall what was in there, and after that point - pure awesomeness was baaack! What kept me close with this anime was the music and I'm really grateful for it and for the variety of it.

PS. EMMA IS AWESOME. 8)

Anyone who watches mask rider/kamen rider and loves them till now, I think this anime will definitely be good for you. I jump into this anime blind. I wasn't expecting it to blew me away (though not completely).

Plot: 7.5
Of course it's about revenge and all, add in sprinkles of awesome power, there you have it. What I like about the plot is it also focuses on the characters' past which is nice because you'll get to know more about the characters. Though there are some unnecessary scenes in the anime that in my opinion should be taken out.

Characters: 7
The prince's character is ... full of sense of justice which at some point, a bit too cringy for me.
The protagonist is well, not perfect but still likable. You can see how he grows from being a kid fill with hatred to someone who is now calm and composed.
The uncle though, damn can we just not make him being such a womanizer?
I like the protagonist the best out of all characters.

Definitely you should give this anime a try!

Animation: 9
If I leave out the characters, everything else is nicely drawn. The Makai suits look awesome!