Garo Honoo no Kokuin ep19

Garo Honoo no Kokuin

I’ve always preferred the Makai Priests to the Makai Knights. While the Knights are cool, with their armors and swords and the fact they are literally killing themselves to fight an impossible war just to save as many people as possible, Makai Priests are cooler. They wear cool stuff, they use ancient magics that are always badass, and they tools they use to fight the Horrors are so diverse and cool. They can use anything to fight evil, from paint brushes of literally any size to robots with the souls of Horrors that they tame. It is super cool. Also it is a place for the women of the series to really shine. For some stupid reason women can’t be Knights, so the bulk of Makai Priests are female, though it is never seen as women’s work, just another way people can fight against the darkness. Some of my favorite characters have been Priests and they are just really awesome. So an episode all about Ema, and by extension the Makai Priests of this series is very welcome. 

The episode focused on Ema completing her personal mission that was alluded to before, answering why she hates Knights and mostly acts alone. As it turns out, her husband/lover was also a Makai Priest, but felt that just defeating Horrors wasn’t enough. He didn’t want to just save the living, he wanted to save those who had been turned into Horrors. Interestingly, in the first season of Garo they mentioned that those who are first consumed and turned into Horrors, they mention that even if they could save the person, there soul is in too much of a horrible state. By killing the Horror, they save the person who fell to darkness also, but they are already dead once they fall. I like this because it implies that in the setting of the anime, which is the past, others had similar ideas as Ema’s boyfriend, but after enough research they find that there is no way to save those consumed by Horrors. Ema’s lover eventually falls to the darkness, tempted by the power to save people. Once he goes full Horror, he almost kills her, and she is locked away by some Makai Knights who see her as a liability. But they are all easily killed by her husband, and she vows to be the one to destroy the Horror. Cut to the episode proper and she is fighting the Horror, who looks like a jet in an amazing sky battle, and does finally kill him, getting one last moment with what could be considered the real man she loved. 

Leon’s involvement in the episode is to follow Ema and in a way offer help. He basically says that he won’t interfere unless the Horror attacks the city, but it is obvious that he is really going to save Ema. Don’t get me wrong, Leon will prioritize the city above the life of one Makai Priest, but this new Leon, Leon the protector, Leon the real Garo, will do what he can to save everyone. Ema and Leon has always had the best interactions. She was always the first to call him out on his bullshit and fluster his revenger demeanor. But now he is grown, and while there banter is still surprisingly casual, it has also matured. He is no longer the child lashing out at the world, he is a proper Makai Knight. There is respect, and familiarity. Also they end the episode by implying that Ema and Leon are now having sex. So I guess I can’t call him a virgin any more. I actually don’t mind this development, but they need to actually do it properly, and not just mush to characters together and hope for the best. Over all, this is a great episode that really fully develops Ema, shows how awesome Makai Priests are, and will hopefully have some decent ramifications for the rest of the series. So until next week, keep on watching.