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Including the Asura special.

I thought it was awesome all around. With just 12 episodes and a special, I would have liked it better if every episode was a home run, but that's probably not a realistic expectation. I definitely felt like Outsider (Rian's episode with the dude) was pure filler. Remedy (Mayuri) and Touch Stone (Crow) were soft lobs too, but at least they knew what they were going for and were successful at that (slice of life/pure action).

Just looking back at the episode summaries, I'm reminded of how many characters they both brought back and touched on/expanded. In this sense, I think this is a more successful nostalgia series than Gokaiger and Decade (And frankly Toei has been overplaying their nostalgia card for years). Gokaiger was great since they brought back old actors, but their story capacity was always restricted to fitting into the Gokaiger's story. Retsuden side steps this entirely by making each character the star of their own episode, which sometimes added epilogue to character stories, sometimes prequels/back stories that fleshed them out.

Anyway, I thought I was going to give this series a 4, but I gave Amazons a 5, and Amazons wasn't a perfect experience either. So in terms of ambition, delivering a satisfying/thrilling/nostalgic experience, and getting out before it dragged heavily, I think this deserves a 5.

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I am also giving it a 5. Just the idea itself is something that I always dreamed of but I never thought it would be done. It's like an idea that fans would have but would never come to fruition.

Garo has an awesome universe with a lot of different characters that deserve the spot. Just a simple short story with them as the central characters can improve the way you feel about that character a lot (Shiguto episode, for instance). It also makes a great way to extend the lore.

I hope we get another Retsuden season some time in the future.

My only complain is that they focused exclusively on live action series, which seems kind of planned considering the ending, but it would have been great to have at least one animated episode focused on Alfonso, for example.

It was a nice series. They brought back pretty much every important character, except Zero but he had Black Blood to himself. Definitely good for nostalgia.

I really enjoyed most of the episodes, so 5, but really, I would give it 4.5. I was disappointed that Saejima Taiga and Rei did not even make an appearance, even though they're near the top of the most-important characters in the Garo series. Also, none of Yami wo Terasu Mono appeared in it at all. Even if they couldn't get any of those actors back, they at least have Rian and Ryuuga. Just put Rian in her old outfit and there you get a Yami wo Terasu Mono side story.

xiiliea wrote:I really enjoyed most of the episodes, so 5, but really, I would give it 4.5. I was disappointed that Saejima Taiga and Rei did not even make an appearance, even though they're near the top of the most-important characters in the Garo series. Also, none of Yami wo Terasu Mono appeared in it at all. Even if they couldn't get any of those actors back, they at least have Rian and Ryuuga. Just put Rian in her old outfit and there you get a Yami wo Terasu Mono side story.

I think that not having Zero was a wise decision, considering that he had two movies and he will have his own series next year. The point of this show was to give the spotlight to characters who don't normally have it, and Zero has it often.

Taiga's absence, on the other hand, was a pity. But then again, he has its own manga.

I think it makes sense that Rei didn't appear, since he's almost a main character himself, and is getting his own series later on. Taiga they probably can't afford to bring back for a one off.

>Even if they couldn't get any of those actors back, they at least have Rian and Ryuuga. Just put Rian in her old outfit and there you get a Yami wo Terasu Mono side story.

Wasn't her bad story reforming that kid and making out with Rekka good enough???

Honestly I would've given this a 5, but dropped it to a 4.5 because it simply wasn't long enough.

Hopefully they'll consider a sequal/second series down the road so we can revisit even more characters.

A 5 for me. Just for the promise of Kouga and Kaoru returning alone. All the old faces and the nostalgia of it all is a bonus.

This wasn't too bad, but I gave it a 3. It was fun to see old characters but, aside from the Jinga/Amily episode, I didn't feel like it really added anything to the Garo universe other than showing us what the actors look like after a couple of years off-screen. If I were to watch through all the seasons again (or if someone wanted to start watching Garo), I'd skip this season.

I dunno, I think one of the strengths of Gaiden/Retsuden is seeing stories about characters that would never get an episode to themselves. I don't think everything needs to be additive to the "main plot" for it to count for something.

Aside from the Rian episode I mentioned earlier, I thought they all were pretty great. With either fun or interesting asides (yes, even the bad camera episode with Kain and Yuna). I probably mentioned it before, but it's pretty darn hard to write new stories about Makai Knights, because those were pretty well covered in the first season. And as much as I love the Garo series, a lot of stories are just variants of season 1 stories at times or follow similar enough formulas that they don't stand out.

And as much as I love the Garo series, a lot of stories are just variants of season 1 stories at times or follow similar enough formulas that they don't stand out.

My only complain is that they focused exclusively on live action series, which seems kind of planned considering the ending, but it would have been great to have at least one animated episode focused on Alfonso, for example.

@take i do agree with both of you about this. and i think it's only Honoou no Kokuin (1st anime) in terms of story & character development that kinda have much diffrence with the other garo series.

@dragonfan i'm more interested in Alfonso's teacher (raphael?? forgot his name) focus episode actually. coz he's only show in some episodes. while for Alfonso, i think he got his story much enough along the series. although Leon still the main protagonist. but both of them develop in a very good way along the series i think

i do encourage all garo fans to watch the 1st anime series if wanna try something a bit diffrent, probably the story start getting more dramatic after the 13th episodes in my opinion thou.

as for the makai retsuden series. i give it a 5.
i like how they develop all the side character that have minor spotlight in these 10years.
each episodes feel FRESH for me since they try to dig/open a chapter in each of those respective character life that we never seen/imagine before.
Amily&Jingga + Shiguto episodes are GREAT
Bikuu, Daichi & Ryume also give good impression i think.
1more plus, I REALLY LIKE THE ENDING SONG!!

i do like the story/ issues they brought up in each episodes. and somehow i dont really care about the fighting scene actually, coz what i really like in this retusden is the story & what is the true character of each person in Garo universe. Retsuden successfully explain some of them i think.

sadly i really wish Gai & Aguri also got their episodes, but perhaps its kinda hard bcoz the actors are quite popular (Prof. Ryouma in Gaim is awesome chara).

fenrir wrote:@dragonfan i'm more interested in Alfonso's teacher (raphael?? forgot his name) focus episode actually. coz he's only show in some episodes. while for Alfonso, i think he got his story much enough along the series. although Leon still the main protagonist. but both of them develop in a very good way along the series i think

i do encourage all garo fans to watch the 1st anime series if wanna try something a bit diffrent, probably the story start getting more dramatic after the 13th episodes in my opinion thou.

I said Alfonso just as a random example. Actually, when Retsuden was announced, I also thought about Rafael Banderas to have his own episode, he was great but underused.

BTW, another great thing about Retsuden was that nobody knew who would lead the next episode. They only gave you a title which could be interpreted as a hint or not, and let you all the week thinking and wondering who would be the episode focused on. That sensation of playing every episode without knowing who or when was awesome.

BTW, another great thing about Retsuden was that nobody knew who would lead the next episode. They only gave you a title which could be interpreted as a hint or not, and let you all the week thinking and wondering who would be the episode focused on. That sensation of playing every episode without knowing who or when was awesome.

agree with you dragonfan.