Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames Ep. 22: The no joke zone

The story is wrapping itself up, so I think we should just get right to it.

— I hear this will get a sequel and a movie. Where will the story go? Develop Leon’s character as he becomes an adult and potentially a father? Hypothetically speaking, after the way they did Lara in, I wonder if people will be receptive of another love interest. Personally, I think I should be mostly fine with whatever happens. Just don’t, y’know, rush the ending.

— Case in point, it turns out German was scheming against Mendooza after all! Wow! C’mon, who didn’t see this coming a mile away? This was exactly what I was talking about in last week’s post, too. Garo isn’t above cliches, and for the most part, it has used execution to make cliches seem almost appealing, but this time, it hasn’t worked. And at such a pivotal juncture in the storyline, that’s a bit of a shame.

— “Dreadly Focus?”

— So you gotta play 3-D Tetris in order to revive Anima?

— Again, the execution here leaves me scratching my head. It’s the classic old trope. German had Mendooza where he wanted him! He can cut Mendooza down right now! Unfortunately, the villain is not above using Octavia as a human shield, and big ol’ softy German just can’t cut Octavia down. As a result, Mendooza only loses an arm, German has to retreat, blah blah blah. And of course, Octavia was conveniently unconscious for the five seconds that Mendooza intended to use her as a human shield, so not only does she not realize she has been betrayed, she can also distract German! Cool! Man, c’mon.

It’d be one thing if Mendooza used some random child as a shield. Or some random baby. I don’t know where the fuck he’d get a random child, but you get my point. Ensure the success of the mission or save some child’s life? You know a noble hero like German would never choose the mission over a child. But Octavia? Octavia? Sure, our heroes don’t realize that she is super evil… but c’mon, it’s fairly obvious that she is evil. She’s literally by Mendooza’s side all the time. She’s literally getting in German’s way even though she knows some big bad Horror will be revived as a result of this. A hero’s gotta be all idealistic and shit, but you also gotta make some tough decisions. And I’m sorry, but trying to spare Octavia’s life is a bad decision. You’ve failed, German. You’re cool, but you’ve failed hard here.

— Elsewhere, Leon and gang stumble into a trap, and it sends them to…

…wut?

— But it’s all shock and awe, ’cause the story doesn’t even do anything with it. They don’t even run into anyone. Or even cars. Anything iconic about the modern age, y’know? Besides skyscrapers, that is. They split up to destroy some shit, and then the three of them return to their reality. When it first happened, my mind was in overdrive as I wondered what would happen next. Would Leon perhaps run into Lara’s reincarnation? Would he try to take her back to his time?! Naw, I’m not hung up on Lara or anything. I just don’t get why she’s in the goddamn ED if she’s only to die after three episodes! But seriously, I can’t believe the writers sent the heroes into the modern age and did nothing with it. Again, it seems rushed or poorly thought out.

— The only good bit is when Leon strives at all costs to break through Mendooza’s multiple barriers in order to reach his father. And just as he does so, German looks over his shoulder to his son and says, “You’re late. I was getting tired of waiting.” More specifically, they haven’t been the perfect father-son duo. German hasn’t been the perfect father, too. Hell, he certainly could have done more for Leon when Leon was at his lowest during the midpoint of the season. But in the end, he always knew his kid would pull through. Yeah, yeah, he was getting tired of waiting for Leon to grow up, but the point is, he was always going to keep waiting.

— Anyway, German’s dropping hints that he might stick around for long. Would I be especially bothered if he does bite it in the end? Honestly, nah. It doesn’t mean I don’t like German’s character, but I’ve never been bothered when older characters finish their journey, so to speak. Their story should fittingly come to an end, and a narrative death is just a dramatic way to send them off. People, however, come to see these favorite characters as like friends that they’ve gotten to know in real life, and as such, they almost reactive to these narrative deaths as if a friend is dying in real life. I just don’t put that much attachment to these characters.

— Hm, yeah, I think Octavia did more than ruin her freckles and mole…

— Anyway, the story’s conclusion isn’t far away. Let’s hope things start picking up.