Otakuism

Story:

In the world of GARO evil demons known as Horrors exist, and are hunted down by the noble Makai Knights. One such knight is Saejima Kouga, who in an encounter with a horror accidently splashes its blood on an innocent bystander, Mitsuki Kaoru. Those tainted with Horror blood are cursed to die, Kaoru no exception, and it is Kouga’s quest throughout the series to cure her, while at the same time using her as bait for more Horrors. Along the way he meets another Makai Knight, Suzumura Rei, also known as ZERO the Silver Fang, a vengeful knight who believes Kouga killed his lover and father. There’s also the Makai Priest Amon, friend of Kouga’s late father, and his hot apprentice Jabi, Kouga’s childhood friend. When Amon is mysteriously murdered, the blame is placed on Jabi whom Kouga is ordered to kill by the Eastern Watchdogs, the lords of the area who command Kouga. Jabi is in fact innocent, and was framed by the Watchdogs, who also manipulated Rei to kill Kouga. They have allied themselves with Barago, owner of the Dark Knight KIBA, and who is the true killer of Amon, Rei’s lover, and even Kouga’s father. He has been eating Horrors in order to release the Ultimate Horror Meshia, who will be free after he has consumed 1000 horrors.

Meanwhile, Kouga finally manages to free Kaoru of her curse, only to have her kidnapped by Barago. Turns out Barago marked Kauru when she was a child as a gate for Meshia to enter the human world through. Kouga and Rei begin a desperate final battle against Barago, the Three Watchdogs in their human host of GULM, and their servant Kodoma. Kodomo and GULM are both barely defeated by Kouga and Rei, but their best efforst are to no avail, as Meshia is still released. However, instead of granting Barago the power he desires, she eats him. Kouga journeys to the underworld to destroy Meshia before she can enter Kaoru, and battles a literal army of horrors. Through Kaoru’s help he gains the power to slay Meshia, but this also frees the Dark Knight KIBA, now seperate from Barago, who chases Kouga into the real world. A final battle begins on a piece of metal falling thousands of meters through the air, and using the strength of all the great men who have had the title of GARO, Kouga slays KIBA. While Kouga and Kaoru do not get together, they both head their seperate ways, supportive of the other’s dreams.

Acting, Special Effects, and Music:

GARO being a live-action tokusatsu show, there are several other areas where I must judge it. First is acting. While I’m no good judge of it, the perfomances were satisfactory all around. Kouga at some points came across as a bit too stoic, which made him just seem akward, but did great in his emotional scenes. Kaoru was a bit too much the cheery-genki actress, but fine overall. Kouga’s father, Taiga, was the only real standout performance, but maybe that’s because he was such an awesome character. The effects in GARO just blew me away. I never thought some of this stuff could look so good in live-action. All the Horror suits were incredibly detailed, unique while frightening at the same time. The GARO and ZERO armors were also great, especially the numerous special attacks. The CG could be a bit blatant at times, but mostly mixed very well, leading to some great scenes, like Kouga walking through a world of floating kanji characters. The music is flat out awesome. One of the best OST’s I have ever heard. A mixture of japanese folklore music with modern tastes. The OP, Saviour in the Dark by Jam Project, is one of the best songs Jam Project has done, and its many variations through the series are each perfect, evoking the right kind of heroic mood.

Impressions:

Now it’s time for me to be incredibly biased: GARO is one of the best series I have ever had the pleasure of watching. While the story is somewhat simple, the way it is handled is what makes it perfect. The many elements of the show were all mixed incredibly well. The disturbed individuals the Horros possess. The excellently choreographed fight scenes, transformations, and final attacks. The budding romance between Kouga and Kaoru, and the revenge dynamic of Rei. Taking the familiar elements of tokustatsu series and applying them to the adult world. What GARO lacks in an overall intricate plot, it makes up for in pure raw emotion. I almost want to compare it to a mecha show that lacks mecha, just because of all the hotblooded action that fills the show. GARO has a lot of those “Fuck Yeah!” moments that just get your adrenaline pumping. Hell, the OP alone can do it.

As I said earlier, the fight scenes are great. While ultimately the bad guy will be defeated by some kind of special attack, there’s a hell of a lot of fighting before that, always the martial arts, hand-to-hand kind. Always cool stuff. Then there’s a couple of incredibly epic fights, like Kouga vs. Rei, with both of them falling down twin skyscrapers while still trying to kill each other; or the aformentioned Kouga vs. KIBA fight, where they both literally fight on a metal circle with a hole in the center while falling through the sky. Berserk GARO rampaging was pretty cool also. It’s pretty simple for me to go on ranting about GARO, because I think it’s so great, but I know a lot of people don’t share my views on certain shows, especially the action kind. But if you’ve ever been interested in seeing any kind of tokusatsu show, skip Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Super Sentai; go for the adult taste of GARO. It’s a damn good time that I doubt anyone could truly not enjoy. All of GARO is currently subbed by TV-Nihon.