GARO THE ANIMATION

Episode 13

Mendoza might've been defeated, but León's spiritual journey has just begun. Having failed during a crucial moment and lost the Golden Armor to Prince Alfonso, León tried to end it all, casting himself off of a cliff. It was a literal cliffhanger – with three weeks until the next episode, GARO THE ANIMATION's first season ended with a shot of the protagonist tipping over towards uncertain doom. It was infuriating at the time, but it pays back here. –BURNING ASHES- is a great episode, enthralling despite the low-key material.

A peasant family finds León unconscious on a riverbed and nurses him back to health. Living with them, his body and spirit begin to heal. He's entranced by their quiet, sedentary way of life, and forms a special relationship with their daughter Lara, who takes charge of integrating him into the family unit. This all plays off like a revision of episode seven, which marked the first time León went off to live with normal folks. That time, however, he was kidnapped and hypnotized into the family, and the village was hiding bloody secrets. They treated him more like a child than a young man, and the plot concerned deadly illusions fed to children. The entire episode was foreshadowing the destructive potential of León's stunted development, but it ended without him learning anything. Now he has learned from past experiences, and the replay goes smoother – he forms a real connection with a young woman, who'll likely become his first love, and contributes by helping to build an irrigation canal. For the first time in a while, León is an asset, not a burden. Unchained from his role as a savior, he can take a while to discover himself. This seems like it'll serve as the seed for León to realize what it really means to serve the people, allowing him to retake his Golden Knighthood.

León isn't a unique character, but he works as a mature, nuanced execution of a familiar archetype. I've most recently seen this archetype in Kill la Kill's main character, Ryuko Matoi. Like León, Ryuko's a hotheaded teen who inherited a heroic destiny, but must learn to tame youthful passions in order to reach her full potential. They have the same bottoming out point and recovery: both go berserk when given the opportunity to confront the object of their revenge, lose everything, and cope by re-familiarizing themselves with everyday people. These events even occur at about the same place in both narratives. It's classic hero's journey material, but GARO THE ANIMATION continues to stand out as an excellent version of a familiar story, and León's growth is coming along well. The most interesting element is still his issues with sexuality, which most episodes manage to subtly explore. This time, it's present when Lara pulls off his shirt to do laundry, flustering him. Judging by her presence in the opening, ending, and promotional materials, she'll be our late-game heroine, León's love interest, and an important person to help him shed his shyness.

Meanwhile, Alfonso is celebrated throughout the capitol. He's buried his mother and taken over the kingdom's administration himself, but Octavia's continued presence signals that Mendoza still has a grip on the royal family's affairs. Germán's doing his thing and hanging out with some lady, the one with the bandanna who keeps showing up around him. (I don't think they've ever given her a name.) They're not sleeping together (yet), so it seems as though Germán has found himself a real love interest. Does this mean his horndogging days are coming to a close? Oh well, Sex Dad, at least we'll always have –FULL MONTY-.

In terms of direction, this might be the most impressive episode yet. I've loved how deftly GARO integrates its storytelling into its visuals, and this one stands strong alongside series highlights in that department like episodes four and six. León's personal questioning and acceptance into the family is conveyed through natural dialogue, cinematic language, and expressive character animation rather than exposition. For example, the noted absence of a father in the family indicates that they're open to the possibility of León joining as a replacement. The window by León's bed often casts a cross-shaped shadow over his face to convey that he's at a personal crossroads. The predominance of off-center close-ups on León's face mean that this episode is focusing on his interiority at a point when he's off-kilter. The sexual dimension of his relationship with Lara is conveyed through his posture and expression when she tries to peel off his shirt. Other shows might have mishandled all this by forcing it through exposition. GARO has faith in the audience's ability to discern implicit meaning.

The backgrounds are especially striking this episode. The farm and forest landscapes are much more expressive than anime fantasy has taught me to expect. The setting is its own character here, containing the beauty of a normalcy that León has never experienced before. The new opening is rad too. It'll be held to an unfair standard since the first season's Divine Flame deserves a place among the all-time best anime OPs, but they churned out a formidable followup. The visuals by renowned animator Eunyoung Choi are starker and more abstract, but they suit the series as it puts the Horror story in the backseat to deal with the characters and their conflicts first. The song – again by JAM Project – is great, funkier and less of a tonal fit than their first, but also more listenable standalone. I tried to rewatch the episode a couple of times but just kept playing the first two minutes over and over.

GARO's back and better than ever! I'm almost glad that León doesn't have his armor anymore, since the show flounders whenever the CG is onscreen. I hope he gets that sweet white longcoat from the promotional materials soon, but it probably won't happen until he emerges from his current cocoon as a killer butterfly of the night.

Grade: A

GARO THE ANIMATION is currently streaming on Funimation.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.