Garouden The Way Of The Lone Wolf Review: A new Netflix anime based on the martial arts novel by Baku Yumemakura is here, and I am delighted to review it. Let us see how this anime fared and whether you should watch it.
Garouden The Way Of The Lone Wolf Overview
Garoden (餓狼伝) is the iconic novel from Baku Yumemakura nicknamed “The Artisan of Violence” for his contribution to novels based on martial arts, specifically, Shishi no Mon. His other critically acclaimed work includes short stories and novels Onmyōji (陰陽師).
The initial series spans 13 novels and was published between July 1985 and March 2003. The sequel, Shin Garōden, began in December 2006, with five volumes available by October 2020.
A manga adaptation illustrated by Jirō Taniguchi ran from 1989 to 1990, while another adaptation by Keisuke Itagaki was released in 1996 until it went on an indefinite hiatus in 2010.
This ONA series is handled by director Atsushi Ikariya, with Daisuke Mataga assisting in the directorial role, with the script written by Sadayuki Murai. Atsushi Ikariya also collaborates with Momoko Kawai on character design. Other than that, the musical score is the work of Takeshi Ueda, who, under his project name AA=, performs both the opening theme “Fight & Pride” and the ending theme “Cry Boy.”
– Garouden The Way Of The Lone Wolf Review Contains Minor Spoilers –
Garouden The Way Of The Lone Wolf Review and Recap – Complex Characters and Action-Packed Scenes
Martial arts fans rejoice as there is a new series in town that captures the essence of fighting pretty well. However, where the anime serves as a good tribute to combat styles, it lacks in the overall storytelling. The story, on the surface, is about a mysterious man, Juzo Fujimaki, who is constantly running from the authorities for a crime he committed in the past. He did the most heinous deed a martial arts practitioner can do, which is to take the life of another with the knowledge he has gained. But what if the situation was so dire that he had to resort to that?
Juzo, as a person, is as complex as humans can get. He is shown to have a caring and protective side, as he never hesitates to help anyone who needs assistance. This attitude even lands him in trouble many times, but every time, he slips away from the officers as the people who come in contact with Juzo, refuse to betray him because of his genuine heart. However, this does not mean, he is not dangerous. Throughout the series, Juzo tries to control the animal within him that urges him to go crazy and fight till the end. This also prompted Juzo to swear to not fight with humans anymore, but this resolution breaks time and time again.
Things were still understandable when the show was just about a man running away from his past, but suddenly, we get thrust into a tournament segment that also felt like it came out of nowhere. Not only that, you are fed so much unimportant info that you lose track of the essential bits and feel like the story is all over the place. I believe had we witnessed the tournament part a bit earlier rather than from the 4th episode, it would have been much better. The conclusion does give us a decent closure with a somewhat unique ending, but things could have definitely been better in this series.
The animation is nice, but it is most reminiscent of Western-style animations rather than what we are accustomed to with anime. The fight sequences are one of the highlights of the show, as the choreography is clean and precise, with some great moves. The music was a mixed bag for me, as it was good yet offputting at times.
Verdict
If you enjoy anime like Baki and Kengan Asura, you will like this one as well. It has all the things a martial arts enthusiast would enjoy, but if you are just a normal anime enjoyer like me, it might not be the best thing ever for you. All in all, this is a decent show that you can definitely watch and see for yourself whether you like it or not.
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Yeah riiiight its okies,
The animation is sluggish and hard too look at,
The battle is not NEAR AS BAKI,
The fights are too far away from each other,
Between fights its mostly only talking,
Now the first episode that guy vs bear,
Why did the cut TOO MUCH, it was barely a fight, and talking in their head while fighting a little less later on i hope,
My score 1.5 if 5, after watching two episodes I’m going back to BAKI where the fight are serious and more intense,
This becomes a bit for me too realistic and often boring, like watching two guys in full protection gear like take kwando stuff.
Yeah not my kinda thing, just read the other guys rewies above me, he’s saying it all..im too lazy….Zzzz…zzz…
Episode 2, that guy in tellow shirt, god grief i hate him, hate his face, its like watching a pixeled screen,
Going around hiting all included cops, i dont like cops but some insude me is raging with hate and anger, iner beast is awake,
Dont want to that guy again, fucked up crasy guys is a no no nooooo
Fucking end him please…..
Have you seen the movies: THE HUNGER GAMES,
its just like that, the old hag talking shit, and they are running around fighting each other,
Freedom and some cash,
But atleast in the movies there was also some women fighting,
Couldn’t the do that here to?? If not its like racist, and we hate women stuff,
Only men where they are the size of a car, how about som smaller normal guy that have bruce lee like strengt, its a bit oversized guys as it is,
A little guy could be stronger/ faster than he looks, that had been cool,
Low life serie that had weak punches and kicking, and forget it right after you finish it.
Could been alot better and cooler, how about making a figher anime show that is almost like street figher??
With a little bit of magical powers, where the not only crushes other fighers but also parts of the surroundings,
In this they dont even destroy a can of garbage, or bends steel to get us wiwers amazing, lazy weak stuff, too realistic, boring…
Episode 6 is weird, the main guy take a beating from that wrestling guy for a whole episode,
Then suddenly uses 5 seconds to beat him down,
And that kid who’s cheating, THROW HIM A FIST TOO, LITTLE SHIT.
And after thats its over and we never see them again,
A good man would lose on purpose and go home or run away even if he may die,
Or made a deal with the old hag to save the help the kid,
The makers who made it are beyond stupid or what???,
Well im not watching this b or c shit show…