Returning to Line City following the events of Heir to Steel Armor, Ryuga is instead shocked to find the East is a sandstorm covered ruin. Within the ruins, Rian and fellow Makai Priest Elmina battle several lesser Horrors before they merge into a giant metal-covered creature. During their battle another figure arrives - a demonic Hagane that attacks both human and horror alike. Ryuga appears to battle both assailants, but while the Horror is successfully slain the mysterious Hagane vanishes.
Ryuga soon learns that Line City's guardian Ryume is in a state of stasis, sleeping within a giant cocoon. The Dragon Tribe Priestess Hiden explains that the guardian dragon of the East is approaching its reincarnation, and when that time comes Ryume's role will end. A replacement must be found, or the gate will be left defenceless.
Although "Sand Sound" technically serves as the first episode of the series, it was preceded by a prologue episode "Sand World", which quickly recaps Ryuga's story and his partnership with Rian before kicking off Sentinel of the East. While not essential viewing, it's a great little summation of these characters thus far and definitely helpful if you haven't watched The One Who Shines in the Darkness or Gold Storm since they originally aired. It really emphasises how much Ryuga in particular has grown as well, who feels like a totally different character to the hot-headed version we first met all the way back in 2013. The new scenes also explain why Rian didn't join Ryuga in Creacity, as she was called away by Ryume's aides for another mission.
Moving onto the episode itself, Sentinel of the East's premiere is certainly an episode of two halves. The first stays light on plot in order to emphasise the action, and it's undoubtedly one of the most impressive debuts a GARO series has had in some time. Whereas most instalments revel in cityscapes and location filming to provide the show's distinct urban fantasy vibe, Sentinel of the East is pure fantasy - it's sandy CGI wasteland giving way to a fantastic combination of digital and practical effects. The studio sets are enhanced by green screens to give them a larger sense of scale, with physical Horror costumes used in tandem with CGI models to enhance the swordplay and fight choreography. None of this is especially new for GARO, but that absence of cities and/or urban areas sets the series up for a very different vibe.
The franchise also usually maintains a healthy balance between CGI and physical suits, but seeing the latter in a Ryuga series is so much more satisfying when you remember how CGI-laden The One Who Shines in the Darkness was back in the day. The production team have absolutely excellent themselves on the show's first Horror, a twisted mash of metal parts complete with piledriver arm - an unholy demon of the scrapyard. While the episode lacks any Golden Knight action (there is however a good reason for that), it still features a healthy dose of armoured fighting with its mysterious Hagane. Together with Ryuga's sword work as well as the varying styles of Rian and Elmina's combat the episode has more than enough to show that GARO still hasn't lost its edge 20 years later.
That isn't to say the episode doesn't have plenty to set up during all the fighting though. Between new characters and new types of Horrors to slay, it's still a fight you need to pay close attention to. Proper introductions will come later, but for now we have two new Makai Priests to say hello to. Elmina is definitely on Ryuga's side, but the other is yet to be determined. But truly the highlight of this episode is seeing Ryuga reunited with Rian once more. His other companions from The One Who Shines in the Darkness may have come and gone, but Rian has stuck alongside him for almost entirety of the journey - making their bond one of the strongest in the whole of the franchise. Heir to Steel Armor wasn't a bad series, but it was certainly a much weaker one for not having her there. With both actors keen to develop their relationship, this could be a really interesting series for both of them.
By comparison the second half of the episode is much more relaxed, setting the scene and giving the viewer an idea of what's to come over the course of the series. That prologue episode may especially come in handy here, given how much of the story revolves around Ryume - a principle character in both Gold Storm and Gold Storm -Sho-. By way of additional new character Hiden we get quite the lore drop about how Ryuga's world is divided and the divine guardians that protect it. It still remains fairly coy about the full extent of the sandstorm that has engulfed the East, but one can't expect it to give all of its secrets away just yet. In amongst Ryuga and Rian's reunion we also learn that the Garo armour has been corrupted by the lingering darkness, and that he needs Rian's help in order to purify it. With Rian stating that this may take some time, it's likely that we'll get a couple of episodes where Ryuga is unable to summon the armour and will have to rely on his own skills to defeat the Horror.
GARO: Sentinel of the East offers up another fantastic series premiere, setting up an interesting story but more significantly highlight all the filmmaking techniques the franchise has set itself apart with. If it can keep this momentum up for its entire run than it'll surely be a series to remember, but at the very least there's the comfort of seeing Ryuga and Rian fighting side by side once more. When these characters first walked onto the scene it felt like they were a brief (albeit pleasant) distraction from the main universe, but now they've become just as much a tentpole of the franchise as the Saejima family.
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