Garo [END]
I disliked what led to the ending and how Mendoza was brought back. It was like a recipe for disaster, and I'm surprised things ended quite better than I expected. Generally, I found the writing of the series a bit weak but, to be fair, it still had a lot of good moments. On another note, I'm not sure how to describe it, but I felt that the world of Garo was quite disheartening. If someone turned to a Horror, even if they didn't ask for it, there was no way back and they had to be eliminated. It happened a lot of times, more prominently with Ema's husband. It was weird that the Makai were so eager to slay Horrors that were normal people just a few moments ago. For example, in episode 14, Gaspard transforms into a horror without really desiring anything and while he was a (somewhat) good person. Or earlier, on the episode with the blacksmith. The whole thing is just kind of messed up...
So, the good bits... Garo's strongest point were the fight scenes for me. A nice blend of CG and traditional animation, while the fight choreography was more than simply good. The fight between Alfonso and Leon is the stand out, despite not using the armors. Also, I should mention how much I loved a lot of the Horror designs. Creepy, terrifying and they could very well be out of Dark Souls. Moreover, I think the episodic stuff was good. A few episodes felt really out of place and kind of boring, like the one that the villagers built a robot, but I think I liked the more tragic ones. Garo's world was very grim, so tragedies felt very fitting.
All in all, it was, at the very least, enjoyable. I can't say I was completely impressed, but for a dark fantasy anime, it was pretty good. However, the OPs might really be the best part of it, they were exceptional.
