Garo (TV series)

Production

The series was created and directed by Keita Amemiya (Kamen Rider ZO, Zeiram) with supporting direction from Makoto Yokoyama (Power Rangers) and Kengo Kaji (Uzumaki). The creature designer was Yasushi Nirasawa, known for his later work as the designer of the Imagin for Kamen Rider Den-O, as well as for his work designing the monsters of Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Kabuto.

Plot

Garo focuses on the life of Kouga Saezima, who has assumed the title of Makai Knight to protect humanity against dark demonic manifestations called "Horrors". In his quest to destroy them, he encounters a young girl named Kaoru, whom he saves from a Horror, though he learns that she is stained with its demonic blood. As a rule, those that have been stained by the blood of a Horror must be killed, or else they will die painfully in approximately 100 days. Kouga spares Kaoru and tries to find a way to purify her before her remaining time expires. Thus, the series focuses on Kouga's developing relationship with Kaoru, and his responsibilities protecting humanity in accordance with the wishes of his father, the previous Garo. In the process, he encounters another Makai Knight named Rei Suzumura, who eventually becomes his ally. Later Kouga confronts his father's former disciple who is revealed to be the cause of a recent series of Horror attacks in preparation of a more sinister advent of the Horrors' originator, Messiah.

Horrors

The main antagonistic form in the series, Horrors are demons that reside in a realm known as the netherworld, and thrive on the darkness of humanity. The Horrors enter the human world through everyday objects known as Inga Gates, which are created through a mass of darkness. When the Horrors first come through, they also known as Inga Horrors, and must possess the body of the first human with inner darkness they come across. Because the Horrors feed on humans it is a Makai Knight's duty to hunt and slay the demons. Later entries in the series reveal more types of Horrors.

Cast

Songs

Sequels and spin-offs

In all the sequels and spinoffs in the Garo series, Hironobu Kageyama continues to reprise his role as the voice of Zaruba in each entry.

Video games

A video game based on the series was produced by Bandai for the PlayStation 2, under the name Golden Knight Garo. Two versions were released: a 'normal' version with the game disk, instructions, and standard pamphlets, and a more expensive 'Limited Edition' version which came with a green 'Fire' recolor of the metal Zaruba ring from the "Equip and Prop Vol. 1" Garo toy.

A mobile game titled Garo: Makai no Meikyu (牙狼<GARO> -魔戒の迷宮-, Garo Makai no Meikyū, lit. "Garo: Makai Labyrinth") was released on May 27, 2016, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Garo franchise. The game includes all characters from the live action series and the anime series.

Byakuya no Maju

Garo Special: Byakuya no Maju (牙狼〈GARO〉スペシャル 白夜の魔獣, Garo Supesharu Byakuya no Majū, lit. "Garo Special: Demon Beast of the Midnight Sun") is a two-part mini-series that premiered at the end of 2006.

Red Requiem

In July 2009, Tohokushinsha Film announced that a GARO feature film will be released in the fall of 2010. Garo: Red Requiem (牙狼〈GARO〉～RED REQUIEM～) was theatrically released on October 30, 2010. The story is a sequel to the original TV series, with Keita Amemiya reprising his role as head director. Ryosei Konishi and Hironobu Kageyama reprise their roles as Kouga/Garo and voice of Zaruba, with Makoto Yokoyama returning to choreograph the action sequences as well. Red Requiem uses 3D image technology developed by the Tohokushinsha group company Omnibus Japan for its visual effects.

Kiba

Kiba Gaiden (呀〈KIBA〉～暗黒騎士鎧伝～, Kiba Ankoku Kishi Gaiden, lit. "Kiba: Dark Knight Side Story"), released on September 7, 2011, is a spin-off V-Cinema featuring the story of Barago and Kiba the Dark Knight.

Makai Senki

Garo: Makai Senki (牙狼〈GARO〉～MAKAISENKI～) is a second season of the Garo television series that premiered in select theaters on September 24, 2011, before beginning broadcast in syndication on October 6, 2011.

Soukoku no Maryu

Garo: Soukoku no Maryu (牙狼〈GARO〉～蒼哭ノ魔竜～, Garo Sōkoku no Maryū, lit. "Garo: Demon Dragon of the Blue Cries") was released in theaters on February 23, 2013, serving as an epilogue to Makai Senki, depicting Kouga Saezima's journey to the Promised Ground to retrieve Gajari's body. Ryosei Konishi was initially the only confirmed member of the cast, but Ray Fujita, Shouma Yamamoto, Ozuno Nakamura, Yukijirō Hotaru, Hironobu Kageyama, and Hiroyuki Watanabe were later confirmed to appear in the film. Guest stars include Yuki Kubota as Kakashi, Anna Aoi as Meru, Tetsuya Yanagihara as Esaruto, and Keiko Matsuzaka as Judam.

Yami o Terasu Mono

A third TV series titled Garo: Yami o Terasu Mono (牙狼〈GARO〉～闇を照らす者～, lit. "Garo: The One Who Shines in the Darkness") was broadcast on April 5, 2013. The series is set in the near future, and features an entirely new story with a new Garo named Ryuga Dougai venturing into Horror-plagued Vol City. The series also presents a brand new main cast that includes Wataru Kuriyama, Tsunenori Aoki, Junya Ikeda and fashion model Miki Nanri.

Tougen no Fue

In March 2013, the Garo team announced a new film titled Garo Gaiden: Tougen no Fue (牙狼外伝 桃幻の笛, Garo Gaiden Tōgen no Fue, lit. "Garo Side Story: The Tougen Flute"), which was released on July 20 of that year. Set during the time of Soukoku no Maryu, Tougen no Fue follows Makai Priestesses Jabi and Rekka as they travel to the northern forests to protect the mystical and titular flute. Yasue Sato, Mary Matsuyama, Masahiro Kuranuki, and Kanji Tsuda reprise their roles from the franchise as Makai Priestess Jabi, Makai Priestess Rekka, Makai Priest Shiguto, and Makai Knight Kengi, respectively, also appearing in the film are Kumi Takiuchi and Miku Oono.

Zero: Black Blood

Zero: Black Blood (絶狼〈ZERO〉-BLACK BLOOD-) is a spin-off six-episode miniseries starring Ray Fujita as his character Rei Suzumura from the original TV series. Rounding out the cast are Riria as Yuna, Naoki Takeshi as Kain, and Thane Camus as Ring. Keita Amemiya serves as executive director, with Ryu Kaneda directing and Yasuko Kobayashi writing. It was broadcast in March 2014 and shown in theaters in a limited release. JAM Project performed the opening theme "ZERO-BLACK BLOOD-" and Fujita's band Dustz performs the ending "S#0 (Scene Number Zero)" (S#0(シーンナンバーゼロ), Shīn Nanbā Zero).

Makai no Hana

A fourth Garo television series titled Garo: Makai no Hana (牙狼〈GARO〉-魔戒ノ花-, lit. "Garo: The Makai Flower"), which was broadcast in April 2014, takes place between Makai Senki and Yami o Terasu Mono. With the exception of Yukijiro Hotaru reprising his portrayal of Gonza, it features a new cast consisting of Masei Nakayama as Raiga Saezima, the son of Kouga and Kaoru who inherited his father's title as the Golden Knight Garo, Atomu Mizuishi as Crow the Phantom Knight, and Natsumi Ishibashi as Mayuri, a mysterious tool with mystical powers that takes the form of a young woman.

Anime television series

An anime adaptation of Garo was released in October 2014, titled in Japan as Garo: Honō no Kokuin (牙狼〈GARO〉-炎の刻印-, lit. "Garo: The Carved Seal of Flames"). It is produced by Studio MAPPA and directed by Yūichirō Hayashi. Taking place in the fictional country of Valiante in the Middle Ages, head writer Yasuko Kobayashi explained that, with the exception of Zaruba, it is unrelated to any characters or stories in the rest of the Garo continuity. The series has been licensed by Funimation as Garo: The Animation, making it the first Garo installment to see a North American release.

A second series called Garo: Guren no Tsuki (牙狼〈GARO〉-紅蓮ノ月-, lit. "Garo: The Crimson Moon"), takeing place in Japan's Heian period, was announced for a 2015 release alongside a film to coincide with the Garo tenth anniversary.

A film sequel of the first series, titled Garo: Divine Flame (牙狼〈GARO〉-DIVINE FLAME-), was released in theaters on May 21, 2016.

A third series is in production.

Gold Storm Sho

Garo: Gold Storm Sho (牙狼〈GARO〉－GOLDSTORM－翔, Garo -GOLDSTORM- Shō, lit. "Garo: Gold Storm Flight") is both a film and a television series that serve as sequels to Yami o Terasu Mono. Wataru Kuriyama and Miki Nanri reprise their roles and are joined by new cast members, among them Masahiro Inoue as the series antagonist Zinga. The film adaptation was released in theatres on March 28, 2015, while the television series was broadcast from April 3, 2015.

Bikuu

Bikuu (媚空－ビクウ－, Bikū) is a film starring Sayaka Akimoto reprising her role as Bikuu from Makai no Hana. It was released in theaters on November 14, 2015. Akimoto performs the ending theme "Sengetsu ~Hikari to Yami no Soba de~" (繊月～光と闇の傍で～, lit. "Crescent Moon ~Beside the Light and Darkness~").

Makai Retsuden

Garo: Makai Retsuden (牙狼〈GARO〉魔戒烈伝) is an omnibus television series which features the cast of the previous live action series. It celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Garo franchise and began broadcast on April 8, 2016.

Ashura

Garo: Ashura (牙狼〈GARO〉-阿修羅-) is a special episode, with the Garo production team collaborating with New Japan Pro Wrestling to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Garo franchise. It features Hiroshi Tanahashi as Gouki and Togi Makabe and was broadcast in Japan on July 1, 2016. Taking place between Makai Senki and Makai Hana, Kaoru tells a young Raiga the story of one of the first Makai Knights to bear the Garo title: Gouki.

Zero: Dragon Blood

A brand new television series about Ray Fujita's character Rei Suzumura was originally announced as one of many new projects the Garo Project team were working on in 2015 and it was originally just known as Zero. In June 2016, it was announced that the series would be titled Zero: Dragon Blood (絶狼〈ZERO〉-DRAGON BLOOD-) to be broadcast in Japan on January 6, 2017.

Kami no Kiba

Garo: Kami no Kiba (牙狼〈GARO〉-神ノ牙-, lit. "Garo: Divine Fang") is a film of the series featuring Wataru Kuriyama's character Ryuga Dougai in production. As of November 2016, there is no planned release date.

Gekkou no Tabibito

Garo: Gekkou no Tabibito (牙狼〈GARO〉-月虹ノ旅人-, Garo Gekkō no Tabibito, lit. "Garo: Moonbow Traveler") is a film in production to star Masei Nakayama as Raiga Saezima serving as a sequel to the Makai no Hana television series. As of November 2016, there is no planned release date.