You know something's wrong with Keita Amemiya when he wrote this episode, after having written ep9 ie "super creepy serial rapist" episode. Also, you know you're not paying enough attention when you have to read a wiki entry to realize that Karina works as a translator.
This, combined with Soukoku no Maryu and several elements in the first two shows, really reveals to the viewers Amemiya's mind, ideals, beliefs and worldview. And how amusingly different his perception of Garo from a lot of Garo fans, who took it as a "midnight hyper action series with grit and cool armor". To Amemiya, Garo is very much a heroic fantasy world and he writes the story as that. It might not be an all-beautiful, all-benevolent fantasy world, but it is a world of heroes, monsters and magic.
He really has this predilection of having characters(usually but not always female) that have close connections(but not necessarily a happy one) to a strong parental figure. And the characters often undergo spiritual journeys to become closer to and understanding that parental figure, thus becoming better and happier people than before. All in all, I think Amemiya is a guy I would like to hang out with because he's a guy who really values kindness, gentleness and emotional bonds.
I like this episode quite a bit. I like the amount of heart that was in it, and was quite amused by its apparent lack of budget. Then again, I guess not every "wondering around in the immaterial world" episode is going to be as beautiful as Makai Senki ep 9 since that must have eaten a lot of money. That, or Amemiya is being weird again and wants to shoot this episode "old style" where what all you have is basically a ball of fluff on a string. Older shows gets away more with lens effects since the resolution wasn't that good, but today's super clear pictures basically kills off all the magic.
I actually kinda get the reason behind not showing the Spirit Beast. Sure, we clearly saw it in Makai Senki, but I like the idea that the Spirit Beasts have different physical forms depending on the eyes of the beholder. Karina saw it having wings, but the form her grandfather saw and depicted in an image was different. And what was really important is the feelings and effort going into creating that image, for the one whose dear to you. It also kinda sorta makes sense that its infant stage is a small ballish creature covered in its own wool.
On another note, I was slightly perturbed by the amount of long still shot of Karina in her "undergarments", particularly when she's asleep. She's not showing that much skin and she's of age, but I get the feeling of "male gazing" more than I necessarily liked. Also, no young lady, you do not take anything from strangers, particularly when he straight out told you it'll make you 'see stuff'. Kaoru gets away with its because Leo was a trusted acquaintance, Raiga is just a stranger at that point(granted he saved your life, but still).
I won't say it's a great Garo episode. It's an Amemiya Garo episode, for sure, and maybe a no-budget one.