English Dub Review: GARO: VANISHING LINE “Luke”

It’s the best buddy show on GARO: Vanishing Line with Sword and Luke, that wacky monster killing duo.
Last time I had no idea what was going on by the end of the pilot as the show was cramming so much visual information at me all at once that it became incomprehensible. But now we’re in episode 2, hopefully, now we can get some time to really take the time to understand at least a basic structure of what Sword looks for and what is Garo? Ha ha ha… sorry everyone not in the know on the Garo series, we actually don’t get that today as by my logic it has become clear that this was written as a sequel series for fans. As someone who knows nothing about Garo I am still very much in the dark.

OVERVIEW (Spoilers Below)

That feeling isn’t helped with the introduction of Luke, another member of the organization out to kill horrors like Sword. So today is Luke’s turn to show off his skills and abilities as they face off with a horror who we actually see more of before they transform. I admire the show for going this route with the narrative as the emotional connection to the horror adds much to the tragedy of the situation and to the disconnect in humanity that Sword and Luke have with normal humans. I really have no idea what direction this will build towards but it highlights Luke’s introduction as entirely bland and lifeless.
That is because Luke’s character is bland and lifeless. A monotone duty-bound warrior is a fine character to have. It has been used in countless shows and movies so that is undebatable. But sadly, Luke’s first outing while attempting to show that disconnect from humanity I just discussed and in tandem show how “different” Sword is because he tries and work with humanity is flimsy at best. This leaves me feeling like I know less about this duo then I did at the start of the episode especially when Sword throws on the gold armor and his talking ring at random turns. It knows where it wants to go but nevertheless fails to deliver anything more than just intriguing action set pieces.

OUR TAKE

At the end of the day, I do appreciate the episode for expanding on the monster of the week format that we’ll be seeing from now on. I do find it disappointing that with such a strong emotional buildup the final moments come across so rushed and half-assed. This just compounds my issue with the series so far it isn’t able to take a breath and contextualize itself. From exposition to action you are on a nonstop ride throughout and personally, I want the ride to stop for two seconds just to answer the simplest of questions. My main one being what exactly is going on?

Score
6/10