GARO -Vanishing Line-

Episode 8

One of the core rules of the Garo franchise is that the iconic Golden Knight armor shouldn't take up more than a couple minutes of screen time in any given episode. (A Makai Knight can only wear it for 99.9 in-universe seconds before fatal or maddening side effects kick in.) This actually makes a lot of sense from a creative standpoint; not only does it conserve production budget costs, it also creates a suitable sense of mystique and anticipation for the franchise's action set pieces. If the armor was simply bandied about with no restrictions every week, the surprise and excitement of its appearances will quickly provide diminishing returns. GARO -VANISHING LINE- has adhered to this rule quite stringently so far, and while I definitely appreciate the show's conservatism on that front, I would be lying if some of the past episodes' all-too-brief action sequences didn't feel unsatisfying on occasion.

This week's episode, titled “KNIGHT”, is the first to break the status quo, with two dozen minutes of almost nothing but spectacle. After picking up right where last week left off, GARO spends only a couple scenes getting Luke, Sword, and Sophie into position before the titular villain unleashes an all-out attack on our heroes, and from there out it's a no-holds-barred barrage of balled fists and bloodied blades. Looking back, it's easy to see why the past handful of episodes had a noticeably reduced visual scale; it seems like GARO was conserving its resources for by far the series' biggest conflict yet, and all of those pinched pennies (or yen) are easily visible on screen. This is as fluidly animated and ambitiously directed material as anything we've seen yet from VANISHING LINE, which is absolutely beautiful to behold.

What's most impressive is how much time the traditional animation gets to shine. It would have been easier to have Sword and Knight don their respective suits of CG armor from the get-go, but both Luke and Sword engage in flesh-and-blood melee with the mysterious Knight, and to the animation team's credit, the character and camera work remain as fluid as ever as the men trade swift and decisive blows. This opening sequence delves more into Luke's history with Knight, and while it remains unclear as to what exactly pushed this celebrated Silver Knight to work for the King of El Dorado, his betrayal is obviously a source of rage and hurt for Luke and Sword both. Even Meifang gets an opportunity to be cool, protecting Sophie and fending off Horrors with her magic charms. I was honestly glad to see all of Sword's allies from the restaurant take action to protect the citizens of Russell City while the big guy went to work on Knight; it lends a sense of scale and context to Sword's position as one of the city's protectors.

Poor Luke takes a lance to the chest fairly early on, and as soon as Sword puts on his Badass Face, it's clear that this showdown isn't going to be through in only 99 seconds. Complementing Sword's Golden armor is Knight's exquisitely cool midnight black counterpart, and the neon glow that both exhibit is equally in keeping with the very '90s, over-the-top sensibilities that GARO -VANISHING LINE- exudes at its best. The lighting also serves a more practical purpose; given the murky color palette of the rainy cityscape, it's one of the only ways we can easily follow the knights as they literally tear the city apart with the power of their punches. Outside of some awkward camera movements, the only real complaint to be had with these visuals would be that the aforementioned darkness of the scenery does get in the way of the fisticuffs now and again.

But there's not much to complain about when so much of the episode absolutely nails the smashing-your-action-figures-together aesthetic, and it feels all the more satisfying after so many episodes of the show's more quick and muted action sequences. Admittedly, it's disappointing when Knight just vanishes into smoke after offering a cliché “I'll get you next time!” cackle, especially since we still know almost nothing about his motivations, but the entertainment value leading up to this point is second to none. The next episode is titled “SETTING OFF”, so it seems like a road trip may be in store for Sophie and Sword, which is just the change of pace the series could use after such a cathartic spectacle. You can only blow up the city so often, after all; out heroes will need some time to put the pieces back together and take stock of what they've lost before they can go back into overdrive. Now that GARO -VANISHING LINE- has finally provided some of the kinetic action promised by that opening episode, maybe it can finally get around to explaining what the hell El Dorado is actually supposed to be.

Rating: A-

Garo -Vanishing Line- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is an English teacher who has loved anime his entire life, and he spends way too much time on Twitter and his blog.