I was talking to someone the other day about how good Garo is and that it reminds me a lot of D.Gray-man‘s elements mixed together with the mature story of Mahou Shoujotai. It’s a shame this series isn’t getting more attention. This show is getting more and more solid; one that has built itself up wonderfully! The large cast of characters, setting, music and just about everything comes together to deliver a strong fantasy series with touches of comedy and drama mixed in that stays on track with the exception of a few episodes. Garo’s first half was without a doubt the hidden gem of the Fall 2014 season and its definitely gotten my thumbs up for being consistently strong with its unique characters and amazing setting of 17th century Spain!
This episode takes us back to what this show excels at– horror. This was a frightening story about Mikel’s desires of being the best doctor in all the lands and what he succumbs to achieving his dreams. The very illness that plagues Fabian is the root cause of what makes Mikel so intriguing here– a man bent out of shape with fear from the voice of a Horror that he becomes a master doctor without ever being a student. Ximena is hilarious in this episode– she really likes German and that reaction with the other women German has slept brushed up his character quite nicely and the relationship that’s growing between him and Ximena.
I also like how creator Keita Amemiya has finally placed Ximena from a minor role into a key figure that gets this story rolling– she’s desired by not only German but Mikel’s lust for flavor as a Horror. Great how it’s his his Horror-like nature of consuming humans meshing together with his obsession of curing diseases that leads to his downfall and a conclusion by and large that ultimately helps German out.
The animation was nicely done here considering how there were a couple of scenes with distorted faces. Nonetheless Garo doesn’t need polish to have a great story it’s just icing on the cake for its episodes– the CG is tons better here.
As for the end here– German has always remained calm when it comes to women and I’m glad he didn’t reveal his relationship with Prince Alfonso or the truth about Dr. Fabian. Can’t wait to see what happens considering that huge reveal at the very end– so he is still alive and the Order’s mission keeps this show from losing any interest one bit!
OVERALL IMPRESSION: 10/10
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