5 Point Discussions – Garo: Vanishing Line 13: “God’s Will”

Seeking the location of El Dorado, Gina, Sword, and Sophie head to the city of the Makai Alchemists. Remember, if you like this article and 5 Point Discussions, please share it on Facebook or Twitter! It really helps. And if you’ve got any comments or questions, please hit me up @SageShinigami.

1. This catchphrase has been uttered almost since the very beginning of the series, and while it’s obvious that it’s meant to have a deeper meaning, I wonder if there’s even more to it than we think. A big part of the Garo universe is exactly how the Horrors work: they take advantage of people’s general negative emotions. People who are greedy, regretful, or vengeful tend to be open to taking the power of a Horror–and ultimately all of those emotions come from a single source: a general sense of unhappiness with one’s life. Being told that you can find happiness in El Dorado seems like a giant red flag for a world like this, and I’d think the entire town was full of Horrors if I wasn’t wondering what they would feed on.
….So yeah, put a pin in that for a second.

2. The group only has a general direction for El Dorado, which leads Gina and Sword to decide to visit the Makai Alchemist’s village now that they’ve become close to where it might be. For whatever reason, the village in question looks like the sort of place a young adventurer would come across after his first major dungeon.  Y’know, just once I’d like it if a town like this was actually properly technologically advanced; they have all this super monster-fighting tech and yet it looks like Burg from Lunar: Silver Star Story.

The weapons are absurd too–though it looks like a village you’d run into at the start of the game, the blacksmith’s shop is full of legendary end game loot. Gina plops down a literal duffel bag full of cash in order to gear up for their upcoming mission.

3. When this series started, it was up for debate whether Sophie was important or merely the every woman through whose eyes the viewer saw the show. That question went away a long time ago, and now it almost feels more like Sophie might be even more important than Sword, Gina, Luke, and everyone else.
While at Gina’s home village, the elder notices Sophie and points out how she’s been born under a strange star. She’s not only crucial to the story’s plot now, but the entire world as well.  At the moment, my belief is that Sophie’s brother is the King of El Dorado, and he’s much more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Possessing incalculable power, the only way to stop him will be if Sophie can get through to him.
…Or I could be way off and have a crucial piece to my theory destroyed in an episode. We’ll see, I guess.

4. I didn’t know how badly I needed a Gina-focused episode. Though there’s some background hints as to how crucial Sophie will be in future episodes, “God’s Will” is more about the femme fatale Makai Alchemist. We learn that she and Sophie are kindred spirits, having both grown up in group homes, and it’s hinted that Gina’s obsession with opulence comes from having lived a life of austerity as a child. She loves children as well, as the entire village is full of kids who surround her the moment she arrives back in town.
But the coolest moment for her comes at the Land of Guidance. It isn’t enough to just seek answers from the village, Alchemists have a specific location they seek in order to get the answers they need, so they sail out to a temple that demands a display of resolve. And in an action scene far cooler than any I’ve ever witnessed from a Makai Alchemist, she solos an army of magical wolves and a giant monster through a mix of long-range weapons and spellcraft.
Ultimately, she wins and is rewarded with a gem that will protect her from spells so long as she has the will to use it–but she gives it to Sophie. That’s going to be crucial later, likely in keeping Sophie alive…and more, depending on the direction the show takes.

5. I have to tip my hat to the writing staff on Garo, because I really didn’t see this making a reappearance. In episode five, the first time this group all teamed together, we learned the story of a ring capable of controlling a Horror. The whole thing was dismissed as absurd, only…it turns out it’s been the source of the King of El Dorado’s power. Gina’s victory grants her the information they seek, as a spirit from the Land of Guidance explains (through Gina’s adorable pet Mia) what the King is.
He sounds like Sauron from Lord of the Rings, having placed his own power inside of the ring and using it to control Horrors. He doesn’t use his power himself, instead giving pieces of power to others in order to have them work in his place. Finally, the group is told El Dorado exists not far from a different city known as El Sanvados, which sounds like the perfect place to use as a feeding ground if you for some reason had an entire city full of Horrors.
And it’s at this point that Sophie starts to pass out, having a vision of her brother in a whirlwind and reaching out in an attempt to save him before being snapped back to consciousness.  Y’know, every time I think this show loses me they do something to drag me right back in.  This episode has a lot of cool moments to it and now I’m pretty excited to see what happens next.
Garo: Vanishing Line is available on Crunchyroll.