Garo (live action)

[Dengar]

Isn't it normal for people to only transform for like 5 seconds?

I was here for the out of suit action anyway.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Dengar

Isn't it normal for people to only transform for like 5 seconds?

I was here for the out of suit action anyway.

It's 99.9 seconds but we don't know if that actually applies to the Ryugaverse as the timer was never shown in his series.

[Dengar]

No I mean the physical time that the average makai knight stays in-suit during a given episode never lasts very long. Usually they transform, perform the finishing blow, and are done.

Unless it's a big budget episode, such as the final one.

[Frontier]

I kind of love how Souma shows up and the knights who didn't even want him to be there are like "Souma, this is your city, you come up with the plan!" .

Honestly I'm kind of surprised this is the first time they've really done a "zombie outbreak" premise with Horrors. I don't remember them in any of the Kouga/Ryuga/Raiga seasons .

Koyori finally gets to really kick butt. Are those beads representative of how many times she can use that teleportation trick ?

Mutsugi effortlessly dancing around those Horrors was peak Makai Priest .

Honestly I'm kind of surprised the other three Knights got to finally transform (athough I guess it would've been a waste to not have Kamen Rider Ghost transform even if they had frikkin' Agito not even get a Horror form...). I guess the Hagane is convenient for mass-producing suits for budget .

I know they're Horrors at this point so there's no use stringing your hands over them...but man, there were a lot of dead people here .

I honestly thought the redhead woman was going to show up through the phone or talk to Ryuga, but it was Godou saying he was going down to the area where this all started, making him sound even more suspicious .

Originally Posted by justavisitor

Do they really lack funding that much?? Ryuga doesn't even need to transform...

I get the sense that they're saving up for bigger fights for Ryuga, every time he's transformed the Horror's never stood a chance. He's basically at his peak as Garo at this point which is why he's in a mentor role for the other Knights, especially Souma.

[Dengar]

Honestly I think mentor Ryuga is the only way the show can continue after Gold Storm.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Honestly I'm kind of surprised this is the first time they've really done a "zombie outbreak" premise with Horrors. I don't remember them in any of the Kouga/Ryuga/Raiga seasons .

It wasn't really a "zombie outbreak" but there was an episode in S1 where Kouga was in a building choke full of Horrors (who used guns). It's one of the best episode in the series.

[Tactics]

Timer didn't exist in Ryuga timeline, the reason is different Soul Metal used.

In Kouga-verse, Soul Metal is made through ritual by Makai Priest, trying to replicate Horrors body properties on processed metals.
In Ryuga-verse, Soul Metal obtained by harvesting it from trees that grew from scattered Zedom body parts, said tree branch can also be processed to make dagger Tousei used to produce Madou Horror.

About Ryuga current development into mentor, looking back ...

Yami established Ryuga timeline will be dealing with byproduct of Zedom body parts as Zedom can be resurrected as long there's any of it single body parts left, not to mention civilian like Tousei can obtain access to it. Gold Storm effectively ditch Zedom, introduced Ago and Jinga, conflict escalated to prevent them obtained access to world-ending ancient rituals.

We can always go back to Zedom ... but, mentor is the way to save budget, yes.

[justavisitor]

Originally Posted by Dengar

Isn't it normal for people to only transform for like 5 seconds?

I was here for the out of suit action anyway.

In kouga's verse (the first 2 season), the fights were no way that short. It became so short in season 3 (ryuga's first series) because it was all CG, but in Gold storm, the transformed fight was back to a bit longer (from my memory)

It has really become a problem (I started nitpicking) since Jinga (Decade, it's all your fault!!), and now this series has been the same thing, transform, one slash, and can't wait to change back to normal form.

If garo's first series was like that we wouldn't have any continuation right now

@Frontier
I will have to hope that they really save this for the big fight at the end...right now I am buying this Ryuga has become a master so he doesn't have to transform...when in reality we all know it's the damned budget XD

[Frontier]

I can definitely see them partially trying to save on using the Armor as much as possible for budget reasons. Part of the reason they focused so much on CG for the first Ryuga season was (as I recall) to save on costuming budget because of how much the armors cost and to avoid damaging them.

[Tactics]

Yes, reasons Yami used CG are:
- To see if they could reduce suit usage for lower suit maintenance cost (Garo is non-CG on final episode);
- To enable fast-paced battle and background usage that would be difficult to pull with suit (Sonshi vs. Ryuga, Takeru, Aguri and Vol City Catacomb Fight);
- To enable different, more difficult design (Aguri's bow is difficult to portray in live-action, marionette-looking Madou Horror that can twist it joint 360).

Why they didn't continue to do that for Gold Storm and Hagane? Because Japanese audience dislike direction they took with Yami.
Mainly because Ryuga is not "Japanese Bruce Wayne" like Kouga and "CG action is not tokusatsu" thus we got Garo 'split' into three after Yami: Raiga (to satisfy Kouga fans), anime (to enable ideas that won't do well for live-action) and Versus Road (CG is part of setting to begin with).

[justavisitor]

But, now we are going from "transform, one slash, done" to not even transform at all!! (Ryuga)

It's like they push the line further and further and see if the audiences still buy it.

I still wanna see the action of garo dark again

[Dengar]

Just to reiterate, I never mentioned the in-universe timer. Just the fact that in-suit action scenes are short.

[Frontier]

Souma had a more involved fight in his Hagane armor at least.

[Tactics]

Its all about payoff honestly.

S1 limited time suit action balanced by Zero and Garo vs. Zero.

S3 limited time action balanced by their progress of teamwork against Sonshi.

Jinga came out underwhelming IMO because Jinga is neither had veteran aura like Sonshi nor smart guy like Tousei;
Ago OTOH is pretty acceptable since his background and motivation matched with Makai Kishi underwhelming condition implied in S3.

We haven't seen something worth the wait for Hagane.

I kind of expecting Shouichi somehow escape to make things quite threatening for the group ... nope not happened.

[Tactics]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/OJjbQe0ziY0

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Action matters, yes, IYKWIM.



Joke aside, this episode KR guest is Urataros, Suzumura Kenichi.
Action director for this episode is his younger brother, Suzumura Masaki.

We finally met the stake for this series next episode, armor-clad Horror, Gaira.

YouTube

https://youtu.be/7hJLzrNkDHo

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[Frontier]

Ryuga being so confident as a mentor and leader is so hot. If Rian were here, I don't think she could resist .

So what even was up with that forest and that weird, free-styling, old dude? Didn't seem like Horror's per se, but there were definitely some weird stuff going on .

I'm glad Souma really got to show off here and start taking Ryuga's words to heart .

Wow, it was easier to find the Stone of Eternal Darkness than I thought. I hope Souma doesn't take it personally that Ryuga was able to get it easily though .

So Godou definitely went to the gate...though honestly the fact that he's making it so easy to suspect him makes it more clear that he probably didn't actually cause all this. Maybe .

It didn't fully register for me that that was Kenichi Suzumura's voice until the credits. Did not expect to hear him in Garo. I didn't even know his brother was a director either (or that he had a brother...which also means he's Maaya Sakamoto's brother-in-law) .

Anyone missing the classic Garo T&A, here's a club with a bunch of scantily-clad female dancers .

I'm sure a lot of people felt bad for the guy who got beat up and robbed, but here we actually get to know the next prospective Horror host and relate to her struggles. Naomi just wanted to shine on stage but had to struggle with a disability (for who knows how long) and being looked down on by the dancers, even her own friend Mari. Being judged for being a "Tragic Heroine" and for her disability just made her primed to become a Horror. You can't help but feel kind of bad for her though .

Of course that's the second time they've teased the Horror threat before the episode where the Knights actually deal with them, but the redheaded woman hasn't appeared again .

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

So what even was up with that forest and that weird, free-styling, old dude? Didn't seem like Horror's per se, but there were definitely some weird stuff going on .

Ryuga said he was basically the forest's guardian/spirit.

[Tactics]

YouTube

https://youtu.be/ZzGvcRd_NIg

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They really need to put more emphasis to Souma emotion.

[Frontier]

Man, this Horror was pretty twisted. Healing Naomi's leg injury and then dancing like it actually was Naomi...as if to rub it in. And then using her to try to make the Knights feel guilty about slaying her, Horror's don't usually go that far .

Bondage gear? I didn't think it was that kind of club .

They really had the worst luck stumbling into a rare Horror out of nowhere. Though maybe this should be a lesson about how you should Armor up as soon as possible whenever a Horror is in their Horror form .

I thought Obi would bite it first but I guess Igusu had that mentor death flag hanging over his head the whole time. At least he died expressing that he believed in Souma's will to succeed his father .

Them trading swords during that melee was awesome .

"I got angry" - I guess that's...one way of translating "Kisama" .

They definitely seem to be limiting action sequences with the Garo armor as much as they can. That's the 3rd Horror it's basically one-shotted. In an earlier season I feel like they would have crossed blades for at least 1-2 minutes before they finished her .

"Too many lives have been lost" - Didn't Gaera only kill, like, the one woman and Igusu? Though I guess that's also referring to the mass zombie outbreak .

Maybe it's just me but did anyone else think Mutsugi came off kind of suspicious in the labyrinth? Like her rush to get out of there like she knew exactly where they were or how she kind of felt detached in her response .

Godou's armor looks amazing !

I thought it would take a while for the groups to reunite, but good thing Ryuga has Zaruba .

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Maybe it's just me but did anyone else think Mutsugi came off kind of suspicious in the labyrinth? Like her rush to get out of there like she knew exactly where they were or how she kind of felt detached in her response .

I've been suspicious of her ever since the zombie episode where she seemed in too much of a hurry to put up her barrier, but the look on her face when Ryuuga brought the stone said it all. I'll be surprised if she isn't responsible for everything.