Garo Makai Senki 15 released

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Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by takenoko »

Eh, this wasn't a very good episode. We already had this episode, but better in the first TV series.

There just weren't very good moments. I mean we see Rekka and a bit of Shijima in his armor, but Shijima wasn't super cool like he was in the last episode. He was just yelling at boys for most of the episode.

And the boys weren't all that interesting to begin with. The fact that you had to guess which one was Kouga meant you couldn't even really identify with any of them since they were all pretty interchangeable. The reason the same episode worked in the first series was because it sort of really wasn't about the boy. It was about Taiga and his interactions with his son and how his death affects young Kouga and his butler Gonza. The boys here are just blank slates and the episode was all about them.

Then they get eaten by the plot development monster which only kills Kouga's teammates. Wa wa wa, it'd be sad and tragic if it were done competently. But we know from the beginning that this is pretty much what happened. And when it finally does happen, the monster drops in, kills the boys, and leaves in like 20 seconds. Maybe that's how it would happen if it were in real life, but in a story it just falls flat.

In the end I was just really bored watching the whole thing. They didn't really show us anything interesting like they did when Leo and Kaoru go on their trip to Wonderland. And at least in that episode, there were characters that we knew on screen.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by PHurricane »

Rekka? Was that who the girl was who crashed into the clearing when the Knights-in-training were spying on the Priests-in-training? I didn't pick up on that at all.

I didn't think the episode was bad. Not a standout episode, but an entertaining half-hour. I thought the boys were very believable actors given the material. Child actors can be hit or miss, and bad acting would have sunk this episode very quickly.

I wasn't absolutely sure until the final round of the tournament, but I thought the chances were high that White was Kouga. White seemed more familiar with the training exercises than the rest of his team (handling the Soul Metal, having more patience with meditating, etc.), and the strongest member of the so-called strongest team recognized that White was really the strongest fighter on their team. Plus, it's hard to think about Kouga without picturing his white coat.

I never expected the three kids to be killed before the episode was over. Honestly, I thought Purple was either our mysterious masked man or Leo (or both) given the rationale for not revealing the real names of the Knight trainees and how much Purple relied on his Makai Brush (and got in trouble for it). When the Horror popped up and swallowed the first kid in one bite...I was shocked. For that reason alone, I'd say this episode had a powerful payoff.

However, I wholeheartedly agree about the unbelievability of how a Horror managed to appear in the middle of a Makai village without anyone realizing it, eat three kids, and escape without anyone landing a scratch on it.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Lunagel »

Believable or not, they got a pretty good jump scare in there. And you must admit, it's pretty unnerving to see the kids get eaten practically onscreen.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by takenoko »

Eh, it's not surprising when they ladle it with such heavy foreshadowing. "Yeah kids, I'm sure you'll get another chance. All of you. All together."

I assume it was Rekka since she wanted to be a knight. I think there was some discussion about Black maybe being someone too. Maybe Red Mask?

I remember reading people note the scar on Kouga's back. Is that referenced in a different Garo episode?
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by DrowningFishy »

\I remember someone a pretty good jump but holy jesus. This episode seemed kinda boring; brigning me to the point I was almost a sleep. You know I was really begining to doubt who ever said that. Then with now warning that happened, and thank god I have chair next to the bed other wise I'd be on the floor.

Does anyone feel like this story line is feeling scattered and with no point?

Edit-

This scar? http://s69.photobucket.com/albums/i59/A ... t=scar.jpg

I was looking for the part with his mother and ran across that instead.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Catastrophe »

Only in GARO would we have child deaths. That took me by surprise.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Alessar »

I thought it was really good. It did at first seem to diminish some of the solitary tragic air that was presented in the first series with Kouga having to self-train to pick up his father's sword. Going to Makai Knight Summer camp was pretty cool, but of course they brought the tragedy back around. I expected one of the four to get taken by a horror, I was not expecting a Jabberwocky to eat one and a kid from the other team in one bite, and then get the other two as well. Like someone above me I was expecting it to be all "I really went to camp with Leo or his evil twin Skippy!Leo" and not a slaughter. Well, they kept the whole tragic solo training element pretty well there.

LOVED the part where they told the kids their instructor would be a real "Oni," yuk yuk, Zanki reference. But that actor is great as a gruff teacher so, I'm fine.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by KR_FIA »

Now I know that it is pretty much a foreboding that something tragic will happen to the team starting from the first minute, but gosh, kids getting eaten onscreen? That's something not everyone can stomach, even if it's hardly graphic.

Sure, it got me all teary with them wishing Kouga lucks, but I don't know that seems rushed to have them all killed within a minute.

Side note: Yeah, I think that little girl is Rekka. Too bad we don't see Jabi schooling others around (She seems to be a rather peppy girl from what was shown on White Beast)
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Guardian07 »

Again, I'm probably one of the only people who like this kind of episode in GARO. XP

I confess; I love this episode. It gave me more of what I liked about Kouga; his true nature as a quiet, earnest and kind person. I also was amused by the fact that apparently he hates spiders, of all things. The acting, overall, was satisfactory considering toku child actors, and I thought the kids did the fight scenes really well. Speaking of acting, another episode that proves that Konishi is a good actor. I also liked how this episode connected to the last one.

lol at Itou Makoto being a referee in the first match.

I don't think they can make it any clearer that White is Kouga other than pointing at him and say,"oh, by the way, that's Kouga." The scene change form old self to young self in the beginning and vice versa at the end, his expression when they're talking about the son of the Saejima family, and most importantly his demeanor. I also recall Jabi calling him little boy in the special, and he snapped at her. Anyway, I love how Kouga is always associated with the color white, hinting at an underlying theme that Kouga is not actually a 'Gold Knight', but a 'White Knight'. Oh, and I think the kid also portrayed Kouga in Red Requiem but I'm probably wrong.

I agree that the WHAM scene is marred slightly by how the hell did that thing got there without being spotted. Though what the scene was trying to do was obvious enough, 'Kouga saw his best friends get eaten by a Horror'. And really, even Skyrim don't have kids getting killed onscreen. Or at all.

lol, I don't know if that's Rekka. I don't think Rekka is the only one who wanted to be a knight but can't. Also, I guess I kind of assumed in my head that Rekka is at least 5 years young than Kouga. Also, I think by this point, Jabi is already studying under Priest Amon.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Animetigerlily »

Personally, I really liked this episode.

I love flashbacks. I had fun theorising that purple was leo (until, you know, he was eaten).

The monster attacking at the end really made me jump and took me by surprise, because the length of the flashback made me forget the thing existed^^

Also, Zanki will never age. NEVER.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Silentwolfdog »

Wow, what an awesome ep.

Glad that even piece of clothes got history to it. That is one aspect of Garo that I love, that everything may got history to it, whether it's design or power one obtained.

I sort of figured that White was probably Kouga, it seems hinted at in the ep. And yeah I thought Purple was probably mask or leo until he got eaten.

And Black's dead too btw. He got eaten along with rest of Kouga's teammates. Kinda sucks because it looked like he might be cool rival to Garo. Purple kid would have turned into an interesting character as well. Hybrid of Knight and Priest. And still shame that girl can't become knight, lol. Poor Rekka.

And I had to chuckle when kids said they feared getting oni-like teacher, and in fact that it was Oni Kamen Rider that they got. Ha.

I love this ep, kinda neat that they had school for knights and priests. I thought it was mostly trained in family, didn't know they had academy for it.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Jyazen »

Have to give props to the writers... I went back and check the very first episode of the first season and saw that Kouga has indeed been wearing those memento thingy on his jacket ever since then and it's not something the writers conjure up out of nowhere... talk about taking a (very) long time to reveal the meaning and significance of something. I'm impressed.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by JustiFan »

Yeah I thought this was an interesting episode. While I do agree with takenoko that the way the story unfolded was kind of lacking, I really enjoyed seeing the formal training future Knights have to go through.
Guardian07 wrote: I don't think they can make it any clearer that White is Kouga other than pointing at him and say,"oh, by the way, that's Kouga." The scene change form old self to young self in the beginning...
Agreed. The camera zooms into adult Kouga then jumps straight to White at a similar angle; I thought that made it pretty clear, to be honest. No guessing necessary.

I also liked seeing boy Kouga like this, forming a friendship with his three team-mates. It makes me think that Kouga was once a lot more open to making close bonds with others. However, after seeing them eaten alive and taken away from him, it helps to explain why he usually remains cool and distant now. I think I've mentioned it before in a previous episode thread: the moments when he does start to show little hints of warming to people are rare and subtle, but they are there and I love watching him when they do happen. I guess people like Kaoru and Gonza just bring out the best in him, no matter how much he might try to hide it. :wink:
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Doguso »

I enjoyed the episode. It may have had no real character development, but it had culture development, which I always enjoy seeing more of the world of Makai. It may not have been as emotionally strong as a usual episode but it wasn't as bad as it could've been...

I still, for some reason, don't think everyone died. I can't accept that... it's too strange. Like others said, a massive horror appearing in a makai village? It didn't even seem special or strong, there shouldn't have been enough inga for it to so easily appear, nor should the future of makai knights be so easily attacked. I think it was some kind of trick to separate the kids who are makai knights and who aren't, to protect the makai world. If you think about it.. Kuuga is the only kid visibly left after the horror attacked, and he was in front of Raion. Plus Shijima stood there for several seconds as kids were eaten BEFORE armoring and attacking. I'm thinking it's some kind of rite of passage at the end of training to either show the kids horrors are real and dangerous so they don't underestimate them and/or by making them think their team is dead, they won't go searching for their friends in the real world.

The Garo writers are better than "the kids are dead" or so I want to believe.
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Re: Garo Makai Senki 15 released

Post by Yuusha »

I think one of the purposes in the episode was to dupe the viewer into thinking white or Yellow were Kouga with the pther boys being either red mask and possibly Tsubasa. Then WAM! Everyone but white dies.

I like episodes that expand the mythos and all but it was missing something. I just pray that when this starts widnng down every Makai Knight that has appreared to date shows up for one unholy battle royale against Red Mask/Jyaaku

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