On the last edition, you discovered what GARO is and why you should watch it. In this Hero Historia, we take you through an exhaustive lesson on how to watch it, and in what order!
Welcome back to the second half of the Historia guide to the 18+ fantasy toku, GARO! If you don’t know what that means, click here to read part one and get an introduction to the series. Today, I’ll be going through (nearly) EVERY ENTRY IN THE FRANCHISE to give you a rough idea of what goes on that part and giving it a rating for how good it is as an entry point. With the exception of the original series, entries will be listed in in-universe chronological order. To make searching for a single entry online easier, I will also provide the most popular or official translation of the title (assuming one exists, also remember that “GARO” is in front of all of these after the first one). This guide only covers shows, specials, and movies. My big board does include all the novels and games and whatnot, but they’re not really part of the conversation here. Very mild spoilers below.
The Original Continuity
As the name implies, the first setting established and responsible for most of the ground rules. In this branch, the role of GARO is held by the men of the Saejima family. Kouga, the first hero of the series, is seemingly invincible and superhumanly stoic, so most of his stories are about him being challenged emotionally, especially by Kaoru, an artist with no knowledge of the supernatural. The other big character introduced is the Saejima family butler Gonza, who is absolutely Hotaru Yukijiro (character actor and frequent Amemiya collaborator) playing Alfred Pennyworth. Also, Zaruba is there.
Kouga’s entries are:
- GARO 2005 – A bit of an oddity in the franchise, the first half actually follows Kaoru as much as Kouga as she gets pulled into the world of the supernatural, though she’s revealed to have multiple links to Makai Knights and their business. This is the single best starting point, since this is the only series where someone needs to have things like Horrors explained to them. There are also extra bits of exposition delivered to Kaoru through Kouga’s eventual best friend/rival/sidekick/Vegeta Rei, aka ZERO. It’s nothing you can’t get from context, but this is the only place that does it. Rating: 6/5
- KIBA: Ankoku Kishi Gaiden (Dark Knight Side Story) 2011 – This special doesn’t crack an hour and is really just for those who wished the main villain got more screen time, as it’s a prologue expanding on his backstory. Rating: 2/5
- Supesharu Byakuya no Majuu (Beast of the Midnight Sun) 2006 – A movie about Kouga going out to the country to defend a Makai Order village and butt heads with the local knight. It expects you to generally know the premise but it’s not buried in lore. It’s a fantasy action movie. Rating: 4/5
- Red Requiem (GARO the Movie 3D) 2009 – Supposedly viewable in 3D, this movie has Kouga in a new city and teaming up with a Makai Priest, Rekka, who’s seeking revenge on a specific Horror. This is where the sexism of the Makai Order comes up for the first time, which will feel out of place if you don’t have context, but still mostly an action movie. Rating: 3/5
- Makai Senki (Demon World Flash Story) 2011 – An inversion of the first show’s dynamic, Kouga is now the one whose life is threatened by a mysterious Makai Order apostate, which he investigates with the help of Rei, Rekka, Kaoru, and new priest Leo. At this point, the world is well established but there’s a real increase in polish. Rating: 5/5
- Soukoku no Maryu (Wail of the Dark Dragon) 2013 – Kouga gets flung into a dreamlike wonderland (as in Carroll, not meaning it’s all sunshine and rainbows) which he has to save from its own apocalypse before he can go home. Very odd if you don’t have a “regular” entry as a frame of reference, but Kouga’s obvious frustration is very funny if you do. Rating: 3/5
- Tougen no Fue (Secret Flute) 2013 – A starring vehicle for Rekka and Jabi, another minor priest character from earlier entries, against several fallen priests. In fact, this is during the events of the last movie and is one of the two full length entries that doesn’t even feature a knight. A strange little side story about the magical side of things over monster hunting. Rating: 4/5
- Ashura 2016 – There’s a bit of a framing story justifying this as a bedtime story from Kaoru to her son Raiga, but that’s not why we’re here. The meat of this special is that it is a promotional crossover with New Japan Pro Wrestling, with top star Tanahashi Hiroshi as an ancient (possibly Jomon Period) GARO and wildman Makabe Togi as the villain. Technically, there’s all kinds of lore and setup, but the main attraction is Tanahashi’s natural superhero charm and physicality, the target audience was likely NJPW fans who hadn’t watched GARO before. Rating: 5/5
- P Garo Saejima Kouga 2019 – Web shorts that act as a prologue to the last entry in this continuity and a return for Kouga’s actor. Imagine a Super Smash Bros trailer, that’s about how much plot there is. Rating: 1/5
There are also several entries starring Rei, set apart in the listing because other than “after the original series,” there’s no indication of timeline placement:
- ZERO: Black Blood 2014 – Watchable as either a movie or two specials, this story sees Rei investigating a compound where humans and Horrors live together, under the direction of a Horror who seeks to end all conflict between the two species. Next to no references to other entries, this feels like the pilot for more ZERO spinoffs. Rating: 5/5
- ZERO: Dragon Blood 2017- Sadly we only got one more. This show has some parallels to the original series, Alice in Wonderland allusions and truly unexpected bits of lore, including the precursor to Makai Knights. Definitely at its best if you’re more familiar with the franchise. Rating: 3/5
Then this continuity wraps up an ambiguous amount of time later with Raiga as GARO and his friends:
- Makai no Hana (Flower of the Demon World) 2014 – Years after Kouga and Kaoru disappeared into a dimensional fault, Raiga teams up with two Makai Order black ops agents, Mayuri and Crow, to deal with a multi part Horror awakening. While it’s a fresh cast (except for the unchanged by time Gonza), this is maybe the most direct sequel and much of the fun is the inversion: Raiga is a GARO who acts like Kaoru and Mayuri is a non-combatant who acts like Kouga. Rating: 3/5
- Bikuu 2015 – Priest Bikuu (who appears a few times in Makai no Hana) stars in a movie about shady characters in the Makai Order. This is an excellent standalone feature but, more than anything else in this series, I have to drop a content warning here for sexual assault, incest, forced pregnancy and I might still be forgetting something. It’s good… but it’s dark. Rating: 4/5
- Gekkou no Tabibito (Moonbow Traveler) 2019 – It all comes together here, in a movie that is a direct sequel to Makai no Hana and a general sequel to everything, starring a Saejima in a story about multiple worlds, resurrection of old enemies, lost Makai treasures, and above all else family. Rating: 1/5
The Ryuuga Continuity
In a lightly futuristic setting, we have a proper clean slate for the first time. GARO is no longer the heirloom of the Saejima family, who aren’t even named. Instead, when we start, the armour and title have been sitting fallow for years and without the great hero, things have gotten slightly worse on the whole. Young Dougai Ryuuga unexpectedly proves worthy and sets out to put things right for a combination of personal and altruistic reasons. Zaruba is still there, though.
- Yami o Terasu Mono (One Who Shines in the Darkness, though many also just call it YamiTera) 2013 – With a weakened armour, the rookie GARO goes to a city under assault by Horrors who break the first rule: possessing people without Inga. His new partner, a priest named Rian, quickly finds herself managing his temper as they investigate and reveal some harsh secrets. Rating: 5/5
- Gold Storm Shou (Flight) 2015 – Theoretically an introduction to the TV show later that year, this movie has Ryuuga and Rian coming to the setting of Line City and introducing the new Makai Order supporting characters. The “A” plot is about a Horror slaying mechanical man gone astray that Ryuuga debates as they fight and fly across the whole city. Rating: 5/5
- Gold Storm Shou (later in 2015) – Ryuuga and Rian investigate an uptick in Horror activity and search for the pieces of a mythical sword. More importantly, their opponents in this quest are Horror power couple Jinga and Amelie, easily the most popular villains in the franchise. They’re former humans, a Makai Knight and Priest duo like our heroes even, and it’s fun seeing how evil they have to act once we know their backstory, lest we sympathise too much. Also the climax has a mystical clockpunk giant robot fight! Rating: 5/5
- Kami no Kiba (Fang of God) 2018 – Ryuuga and pals fight up a tower videogame style to stop a ritual involving a resurrection and a boat that flies to the moon. Jinga blatantly hijacks the movie in the back half, which isn’t a spoiler because A) he was too popular to stay dead, B) “Jinga” is written with the kanji “Kami” and “Kiba,” and C) he’s on the DVD cover. The plot works, but most of the cast is returning characters without much introduction. Rating: 2/5
- Hagane o Tsugu Mono (One Who Inherits Steel) 2024 – This series has an older, wiser, more confident Ryuuga as a sort of supporting protagonist in a show that shines a light on Steel Knights, the rank and file soldiers of the Makai Order whose swords and armour don’t have names and pedigrees. In particular, Ryuuga becomes a surrogate big brother to a young knight caught between those two categories. Notable also for being the first piece of GARO media in four years. Rating: 4/5
There’s also an entry that’s… probably in that continuity:
- Kami no Kiba: Jinga (Fang of God: Jinga) 2018 – So this is for sure set after Jinga’s last appearance… from his perspective, at least. This show stars Mikage Jinga, the human reincarnation of the Horror knight, but there are no links to the events of other shows, no indications of time passed (if anything, it seems less futuristic than entries starring Ryuuga), and so we’re left a bit out. This is the only entry where GARO isn’t even referenced! As for the star himself, “Jinga II: The Return” is a knight from an esteemed family much like the Saejimas and he goes from somewhat arrogant to a full on messiah complex when he manifests a power that breaks the rules of knights and Horrors. Be forewarned, this one has an ending that’s far grimmer than the usual bittersweet and is arguably a cliffhanger that’s still unresolved. Rating: 2/5
There are also a few that are hard to categorise:
- Makai Retsuden (Demon World Tales) 2016 – This is an anthology series hosted by Gonza addressing the audience directly, Cryptkeeper style, and is the only place where the above continuities intermingle. The stories are from all over past and present of both timelines, mostly starring side characters. The stories stand up, but there’s no assistance for any audience members who don’t remember a name. Rating: 1/5
- Versus Road (called VR in a lot of places, including official media) 2020 – GARO Battle Royale! In an explicitly futuristic setting, 100 people from all walks of life are given virtual reality glasses which transport them to a death game where they compete for the chance to wear the armour of GARO. Of course, the ones organising the game have their own agenda in play. It is definitively its own continuity and works very well on its own, but it’s incredibly different from all other entries, so it won’t prepare you for other shows. Rating: 5*/5
The Anime Continuity
Lastly, there are the non-tokusatsu instalments. Much like the Ryuuga Continuity, there are too many changes to the lore to be the same as any other branches. The entries here are across three distant time periods and a mix of real-ish and totally fictional locations, but there are textual links between two of them and the settings’ separations make proving or disproving a connection to the third a losing game, so I’ll assume a link for simplicity’s sake. Also, Zaruba is still there.
- Guren no Tsuki (Crimson Moon) 2015 – In Japan’s Heian Period, the intense class stratification of the seemingly serene society is being exacerbated by Horror attacks. The current GARO is Raikou, an amnesiac hothead who needs assistance from a Makai Priest to transform as he learns to control the armour’s power. Unique in the franchise, as most characters are based (albeit lightly) on historical and folklore figures from this period. Rating: 5/5
- Usuzumizakura (Fleeting Cherry Blossom) 2018 – A movie sequel starring Raikou that continues the themes of alienation and despair, being generally a bit more tragic and giving more closure. Rating: 3/5
- Honou no Kokuin (Carved Seal of Flames) 2014 – In a vaguely Spanish fantasy kingdom, bitter teen León is a rookie GARO under the mentorship of his fellow knight and father (a womanising drunkard). This series actively examines the role of GARO as an inherited title, comparing and contrasting it with the royal titles under contention. Rating: 5/5
- Divine Flame 2016 – Four years later, León protects his toddler brother from a ritual sacrifice. Considering the duology’s fire motif, this could be seen as a story about what happens when not all the embers are extinguished. Rating: 3/5
- Vanishing Line 2017 – In yet another futuristic setting (with clear ties to the León entries), GARO is held by a gigantic, gregarious man known simply as Sword. The plot he’s investigating involves a digital link to the Makai Realm, making this series a bit like a bridge between YamiTera and VR. Also, there’s no elegant way to work this in, but one character’s name is Luke, short for Lukather, which I just adore. Rating: 4/5
Now We’re Done
And that’s skipping stuff! There are three games, one is a PS2 action game in the style of early Devil May Cry that recaps the original series (more or less), one is an arcade game that’s similar to that as far as I’ve found in my research, the last is a mobile gacha situation. There are some novellas and short prose pieces (a majority of which are also framed as bedtime stories for toddler Raiga or a contextless source of extra lore). There are two stage plays, both of which star Jinga yet again and exist adjacent to his series without advancing the story. And there are pachinko machines. You wanna know what happens in the pachinko machines? Pay me $50,000 American and I’ll go to Japan and play them.
What’s next? Who knows, this isn’t like Kamen Rider, where we can expect a new piece every year, or Ultraman, which has gone off the air before, but has the cultural pull to always come back. Amemiya Keita-san is GARO and we’ll get more when he has money, time, and an idea. That said, 2025 will be the 20th anniversary of the original series and while many Japanese franchises tend to celebrate on the 5s rather than the 10s, I’d be shocked if there wasn’t anything. It could be more Ryuuga, more Raiga, picking up from the end of VR, or something totally new. Let me know what you’d like most in the comments! Statistically speaking, it’ll probably have Jinga in it…
Are you a GARO viewer? Are you about to become one? Let us know what you’ve been watching in the comment section below.
