Saturday, January 14, 2012

GARO: Makai Senki


A sequel series to the original cult favourite, GARO Makai Senki finally made its return to TV this year, after the original ended its run 6 years ago in 2006. Fans have been asking for more GARO since, and after such a long hiatus, the Golden Knight is finally back.

What's different from other Tokusatsu shows in Japan is that GARO isn't aimed at kids. Not even teenagers. It's shown at the 1am slot in Japan originally, and is for mature audiences. There's gore, and nudity, but nothing ever in extreme and always done in class. What appeals to the fans are that the story and plot, as well as the characters are very well developed.


I'm not going to go through what I think about the series, but I just want to share one particular episode in episode 2 which I found memorable. Most of the early episodes are one shot short stories, and this one is about an elderly couple who lost their only son in the war. He was a front line photographer, but lost his life after deciding to pursue his dreams of showing the world how the war was fought and the sorrows it brought. When the elderly couple collected his body, they found a seed on him and decided to plant it. A tree blossomed from the seed, and through the casted shadow from the tree, they could see projections of their son every night. Although, it seems to be set on repeat and he does the same thing over and over.

But they were happy that their beloved son returned. There was just one catch. The tree was a "horror" that lived on human lives, and needed to be fed. As a result, the elderly couple decided to kill all visitors that were attracted by the shape of the tree, in order to see their son every night. It's a sad story, but also one that tells how deep the love that parents give can be. You can see the entire episode via the youtube link below. For friends who want to see more, feel free to contact me for episodes :)

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