List of GARO characters
Encyclopedia
This is a list of the various characters throughout the Japan
ese tokusatsu
series Garo. These characters play a major role within the series and often influence many key events. The characters within the series are split into six groups; Makai Knights, Makai Priests, Madougu, protagonist side, antagonist side, and Makai entities.
/ is the main character of the series and the Golden Makai Knight of the East, armed with the blade. Kouga is a young man who apparently thinks little else other than slaying Horrors. His father was the one who started his training at an early age and he still trains on a daily basis to sharpen his skills. Since childhood Kouga was raised by his father Taiga whom he respected him above everything else. Because of Taiga's constant hunts, he didn't allow Kouga to associate with anyone besides Jabi, Amon, and Gonza. Unlike his stoic and focused personality as an adult, Kouga behaved very much like any other children, having a naive worldview as well as liking toys.
On one night, the young Kouga got out of bed after hearing Gonza's concern for Taiga and followed his father into the forest where he witnessed a fierce battle between the previous Garo and what appeared to be a Horror, dropping his sword in the midst of the fight. Kouga came out of hiding intending to deliver his father's sword, but was unable to lift it and was attacked by the figure. Taiga took the fatal blow in his son's place, leaving the Kouga devastated. Zaruba later helped Taiga convey his final thoughts to Kouga: Take the title of Garo and to be brave, and Zaruba took up the mantle of Kouga's teacher shortly afterwards. Kouga and Gonza at first tried every means to lift the sword out of the ground from brute strength to using a crane, but it would remain stuck in the forest until Kouga mastered the ability to wield Soul Metal. Though he trained under the Makai Knight Kengi, it take over a decade for Kouga to not only be strong enough to lift the Garoken from its resting place to assume his place as the current Golden Knight, but also to reach a conclusion of what he should fight for.
Kouga is not a very sociable person, more so after his father's death and he always keeps his feelings to himself and puts up a deadpan face all the time, but he nonetheless possesses a noble and kind heart behind his emotionless façade. He believes is that every person, good or bad, has the not only the right to live, but also the potential to save many lives on their own in the process. Eventually, Garo meets Kaoru when he was slaying Anglay where she happened to be stained with Horror blood, a condition that will kill her in 100 days excruciatingly. Though the norm when dealing with any "tainted" human is to cut them down along with the Horror to spare them from dying a painful death, he spared Kaoru's life because she reminded him of his mother, but never told her about her situation and claimed to Zaruba and the Eastern Watchdogs of his intention of using Kaoru as a Horror bait. Eventually, saving Kaoru's life while falling in love with her, Kouga learns the truth of his father's death to be at the hands of the rogue Makai Knight Barago, who later kidnaps Karou to enact his plan to bring Messiah to the living world.
In a desperate bid of fighting a losing fight against Kodama and the time limit of his armor is nearing, Kouga refuses to eject his armor when the time limit was up, with his negative emotions cause him to turn into the mindless while killing Kodama in the process. While in darkness, his armor surpassed the time limit and Zaruba asked for Zero's help in deactivating the Garo armor. After Zero managed to get through Kouga's mind, he struck Kouga's armor in the belly and it hit the triangle armor piece (weak spot) and Kouga's armor was lifted, saving Kouga's body and soul. Eventually, Kouga battles Messiah and not only defeats her but Kiba as well, with the later at the cost of Zaruba. Some time later, Kouga is bidding an emotional farewell to Kaoru, as she would be heading to Italy to further her studies in art. She gave him the final product of her father's book with the last page painted, and Rei handed Kouga a restored Zaruba as a token of their friendship. Zaruba was reforged by new Eastern Watchdog. Though he still has his same old personality, he bears no past memories of his time with Taiga and Kouga, even stating that he didn't like the name Kouga gave him.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Kouga was approached by Rin Yamagatana who delivered a message from Priest Amon. Kouga didn't believe her at first, but her mentioning their unfinished bar chess game persuaded him to take her seriously. Amon would return as a spirit to ask for his help to save Jabi's still-living body. Accepting the mission, despite interference from the resident Makai Knight Dan, Kouga enters the Makai Forest and battles the Makai Tree to regain Jabi. Soon after, Kouga receives new orders to contain the threat of the Horror Legules, managing to use the Phosphorus Arrow to destroy the fiend and his extensions. Soon after, Kouga returned home to find Kaoru painting in the backyard. They welcomed each other, clasped hands and walked back home, implying that they had finally confessed their feelings for each other.
In Garo: Red Requiem
, on orders to destroy the Apostle Horror Karma, Kouga meets Kengi's daughter Rekka and helps her reach the same conclusion her father pointed him to years ago as they work together to destroy the Horror. Parting, Rekka gives Kouga one of her young Makai Dragons, which Zaruba names "Kaoru" to Kouga's chagrin, that Kouga uses to search for Horrors while doubling as a messenger. In Garo: Makai Senki
, Kouga gets promoted to be a Makai Knight serving the Senate for his defeating the Apostle Horrors. But just after fighting the Horror Cigarein, Kouga is attacked by a mysterious masked man who engraves a onto him. As a result, Kouga does not have much time to live and his life shortens every time he dons his armor.
As Garo, his armor helps protect him from damaging blows, but his armor isn't unbreakable. If a Horror is strong enough, they can damage and injure Kouga. Should the armor be exposed to a very powerful blow the armor will retract before the 99.9-second time limit. With the Garoken, transformed from Kouga's , Garo can cut down almost anything and only a rare few Horrors are strong enough to resist its force. Kouga is able to use a technique called . This is when he uses the Madou Fire from his Madou Lighter to encompass his sword and his armor to increase his damage potential. In some episodes, he's able to use Blazing Armament without the use of the Madou Lighter. When riding Gouten, his combat strength is increased with his Garoken transformed into the larger . Because his armor is composed of Soul Metal, the armor reacts to his will along with Madou Fire.
Garo also received powered-up forms in many of his epic battles. During the fight with Messiah, the power within Kaoru's positive energy-based painting enabled Garo to become the angelic . Then, while fighting Legules, Garo uses the Phosphorus Arrow to negate the Horror's influence while turning into . And then, while fighting Karma, Garo assumes a new form created from the souls of the many Makai Knights she devoured over the years.
Kouga is portrayed by . As a child, he is portrayed by . As a 2 years old child, he is portrayed by .
/, once known as , is the sub-antagonist
turned co-protagonist
of the series and the Silver Makai Knight of the West. He was an orphan before he was found by Douji, who took pity on him and raised Rei as his son to inherit his position as a knight of the West and start his own lineage. Though trained as a Makai Knight, Rei didn't have the tenacity or murderous intent to be a true warrior. One fateful night, however, Shizuka and Douji were both killed by a warrior who suspiciously resembled the Golden Knight. After giving his dead loved ones proper burials, He renamed himself Rei, putting his old name before his Knight title, and naming his armor 'Zero', with both names being a pun on "Zero," with intention to reinvent himself as well as to get back at the Makai Knight that took his loved ones away, becoming a person full of angst, wild and murderous.
During Zero's quest for revenge he violated a host of protocols expected of a Makai Knight, from leaving his western territory post to directly attack Kouga. Though his investigations lead him to Kouga, Zero wasn't sure if Kouga was actually the knight that had murdered his family, thus he remained constantly uncooperative with the Golden Knight and even started fights with him to vent out his anger. Later in the series, the Watchdogs of the East try to frame Kouga for his family's death; Zero would later discover the true killer was Barago and ally himself with Garo. As the truths of matters unfold, his personality drastically changed, becoming more like his old self. He became more relaxed and open, turning into a caring friend for Kouga as they now share the same enemy. Rei and Kouga later visited the Western Watchdog where they reported and were ordered to assassinate Barago and Gulm. Because of Zero's tall list of violations he wasn't allowed to participate in Kouga's mission, but Kouga argued on his behalf, saying that he need his power. Rei's suspension was relinquished and he joined Kouga in dealing with Barago and Gulm.
During Kouga's dark transformation, it was Zero who helped Kouga snap out of his darkness. Gulm tried to stop the duo from reaching Kiba and Kaoru, but Rei decided to stay behind to deal with her, allowing Kouga to press forward. She assumed Shizuka's form and tried to trick him. He soon saw through her illusion because the real Shizuka addressed Rei as Ginga, while the imposter constantly called him Zero. After a very difficult fight Zero almost died, but survived a mortal blow because Silva took the hit. After a losing fight against Gulm, he took the opportunity of her overconfident victory and killed her. After Kiba's defeat, Rei presented Kouga with a reforged Zaruba as proof of their friendship and remained in the Eastern district to protect it while Kouga went northward.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Rei was assigned to help guard the upcoming Kantai ceremony from Horrors' attack. He saved Hyuga and Akatsuki (Tsubasa's disciples) from Karakuri Horrors. After aiding Kouga and Tsubasa in their fight against Legules, he returns to his district.
Rei resurfaces during the events of Garo: Makai Senki
, having been afflicted with the Seal of Destruction. It is known later that he is immune to poisons. But whether this is a common trait of all Makai Knights, or practitioners of the Makai ways instead of just an unique physical trait of his remains to be seen. Laid-back as he had always been ever since he had been friends with Kouga, he doesn't seem to be very concerned with the seal on his chest and continues with his duties, much like Kouga himself. Although a friendly person who always wears a smile on his face, he stated to Silva once that he is no good with big groups of people, leading him to turn down an invite to stay back for dinner at Kouga's place.
Zero wields a pair of short swords called the . In their Makaiken form, these are shorter versions of Kouga's Makaiken. When Zero dons his armor, the swords become curved like scimitars. These can be locked together to form a huge crescent-shaped double-bladed boomerang
called the . Zero's Madou Horse Ginga is similar to Garo's Gouten, but with a blade attached to his head.
Rei is portrayed by .
/spear called as his weapon and wears a Madou Bracelet named Goruba. The spearhead tip can extend in and out from its rod by twisting a section of his rod which acts as a switch. When he transforms into Dan, the Makai Spear is also transformed into a double-head spear weapon called the . He appears only in Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun.
Tsubasa watches over the spiritual district of Kantai and has two disciples, Hyuga and Akatsuki. Upon his arrival to Kantai, Kouga defended himself against these two disciples because his appearance in Kantai was not expected. Tsubasa came to defend his disciples and became frustrated with no answers from Kouga. They fought and Tsubasa was able to display his fighting abilities on par with Kouga and even able to use magic by using his special earring. Priestess Garai intervened in the fight and asked Tsubasa to allow Kouga to pass to save Jabi. Tsubasa objected as he sees what appear to be Jabi's resurrection to be against natural law, and furthermore insisting that it is his mission to deal with Legules as he is the Makai Knight of Kantai. Garai refuted his objections as its Priest Amon's will that Kouga carry out the job. Tsubasa was furious but he couldn't do anything about it. He warned Kouga that he never sanctioned this and then walked away with his disciples. He was initially hostile to Jabi, calling her an abomination as she was resurrected.
Tsubasa finally realized that discarding his feelings to become a better warrior is wrong, after Rin was poisoned by Legules' shrapnel while protecting him. Fortunately, Jabi managed to save Rin in time. Tsubasa apologized to Jabi for his rudeness towards her. He learned the error of his ways, joining Kouga and Rei to defeat Legules in the Abyss Forest. After Legules' defeat, Tsubasa told Rin that she's his pride and finally showed his smile when Rin performed magic to create butterflies.
As a Makai Knight, Tsubasa possesses a great fighting skills and amazing speed, as seen when he fought Karakuri Horrors trying to pass the entrance of Kantai. The energy coming from his armor during his transformation into Dan the Knight of the Midnight Sun could disintegrate the Horror. His Madou Fire burns purple.
Tsubasa is portrayed by .
Taiga is portrayed by .
Douji is portrayed by .
Hyuga is portrayed by .
Akatsuki is portrayed by .
Kengi is portrayed by .
Bado is voiced by .
The full extent of Zaruba's abilities and knowledge is unknown; throughout the series he's able to help dispel confusion, detect various spiritual energies, summon the Fanged Wolf Sword, speak for the dead, temporary flight, breathe Madou Fire (in the Crimson Forest), detect Horrors, create parts of himself into a ring to acts as an transceiver, see through illusions, converse with Kouga telepathically and act as a temporary storage for miniature items. He helped trained Kouga when Kouga was still a young child since Taiga's death, advised him on a variety of matters and even taught Kouga how to play Poker. His aid is not limited to Makai Knights—Kaoru once used Zaruba to guide her through the Crimson Forest back to the human world.
During Garo's final fight against Kiba, Kouga could not summon his armor due to a magic seal placed by Kiba. Zaruba told Kouga to throw him into the dimensional rift in an attempt to bring him his armor. After a long exaggerated battle with Kiba, Kouga tried to summon Garo again and this time Kouga's armor was brought out by cherubs to help him gear up, signfying that this was a different, more powerful summon of the armor. The armor was slightly different this time, and included a cape unlike previous transformations. Zaruba apparently used all of his energy to merge the power of all the past Garo knights into the armor temporarly and bring it to Kouga, and after his victory, he was too weak to hold onto his form and disintegrated.
Before parting ways, Rei gave Kouga a re-forged Zaruba as a token of appreciation from the new East Watchdog, though he retained his old personality, he did not have any of his previous memories before being reforged and he didn't like his name.
Zaruba is voiced by .
Not much is known about her personality since she does not have much screen time, but she seems to be more composed and behaves in a lady-like manner, compared to the talkative and cheeky Zaruba.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Silva is no longer a necklace and remains as such through Garo: Makai Senki
. Her head has been pinned to Rei's glove on his left hand. Towards the end of Beast of the White Knight she suggested Rei take Akatsuki as his student, but Rei said Silva's company alone is enough.
Silva is voiced by .
Goruba is voice by .
Amon is portrayed by .
By the time the two crossed paths, Jabi was framed with the murder of her mentor and had stolen the purified Horror blades due to be forced repatriated. Though Kouga believed she wasn't responsible for the murder, Jabi was unable to trust him because Amon's murderer was a Makai Knight. But once able to trust him again, yet knowing she can not have him, Jabi reveals the Eastern Watchdogs' true nature before agreeing to Kouga enter the Crimson Forest once they deal with the Horror Blades. When she and Kouga attempted to perform the Force Repatriation on their own, Jabi was seemingly killed by a surprise attack from Kodama, vaporized with only her Makai brush remaining.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, it's revealed Jabi's body wasn't destroyed as presumed, but was recovered and incubating inside the Makai Tree, still alive yet stuck between life and death. Amon discovered the complication and dispatched Rin to help him inform Kouga that only a person with a strong bond with her can awaken her and bring her back to the living. With the help of Rin, he was able to enter the Makai Forest and fought his way to free Jabi. Jabi has since taken a liking to Rin and assisted Rin in her Makai training. Tsubasa didn't acknowledge Jabi as a real person at first and being the un-shy girl that she is she made Tsubasa feel her breast for a heartbeat and the breath from her lips. Garai took Jabi to examine the Phosphorus Arrow and realized it's weakened. While the Makai Knights guarded the outside premises, Jabi would restore the powers of the arrow with her powers. During Legules' night attack on Kantai, the Makai Knights were able to stall Legules enough for Jabi to restore the arrow and use it against Legules in combat. Legules' dark magic was too strong and Kouga jumped in to save Jabi.
Rin was poisoned by a shrapnel from Legules. Jabi decided to perform a Makai version of blood transfusion to dilute the poison within her because there wasn't enough time to use the Barankas fruit. The process was painful, but both survived the procedure. Tsubasa thanked Jabi for saving his little sister's life while still holding the Phosphorus Arrow. Legules took advantage of the moment and came out of Goruba to steal the arrow and kidnap Rin for his dark ceremony. Jabi and the knights entered the Abyss Forest and fought their way to save Rin. Jabi provided a great deal of support for Kouga, but eventually pinned down by the Karakuri. When Kouga defeated Legules and destroyed the barrier, the Karakuri disappeared and Jabi lives another day. After the ordeal, Kouga wondered what Jabi’s plans are and she intends to stay at Kantai. She finally found someone she feels strongly to protect, Rin.
Jabi is portrayed by . As a child, she is portrayed by .
It's revealed that she became a priestess to help bring back her brother's smile again. After Jabi was saved, Rin was poisoned by a piece of shrapnel from Legules during a night attack. Jabi performs a risky move in which she dilutes her blood with Rin using Madou Flames as a medium (Makai version of blood transfusion). The process made her experience great pain, but she survived the process and went to see Tsubasa. While having a moment with Tsubasa, Legules appeared out of Goruba and kidnapped Rin to the Abyss Forest. Legules had the Karakuri tie her down for a sacrificial ceremony. Kouga saved Rin and since have the love of Jabi as her protector.
Rin is portrayed by .
Garai is portrayed by .
Rin is portrayed by .
. She is a tomboy
in personality, resenting her feminine nature as it kept her from her childhood dream of becoming a Makai Knight and forced her to be trained as a Makai Priestess instead. Rather than becoming one who support Makai Knights as usually expected of Makai Priest or Priestess, she actively goes out to hunt Horrors on her own, resulting in her above-average martial capabilities. Among her abilities is the summoning of the fish-like to seal Horrors,
Rekka is stoic and strong like Kouga, yet can be hot-headed and dedicated herself to hunting Horrors to the point where she would harm innocents in the process. She even resents having Kouga around at first as he might rob her of her chance of avenging her father. But during her time with Kouga, he gave Rekka the same lessons her father taught him and becomes a better person, especially when Kouga suffers serious injuries due to her over-eager approach of getting her hands on Karma. She played a key role in helping Kouga take down Karma by summoning the spirits of the fallen within the Mirror Realm, allowing Kouga to assume a more powerful form and turn the tables on Karma. Taking over the late Akaza's territory after defeating Karma, Rekka gives Kouga one of Makai Dragons if he should need to contact her and vice versa.
Rekka is portrayed by .
Shiguto is portrayed by .
Akaza is portrayed by .
Reo is portrayed by .
Ratess is portrayed by . Kinoshita previously appeared in Kamen Rider Kiva
as Akira Kido.
and the female protagonist
of the series. She is a 22-year-old aspiring artist who's always having trouble making money. Kouga spared her life after she was splashed with Angry's blood, claiming he did so to use her as bait. He secretly tries to find a way to cure her, rather than killing her. Because of the Horror blood that stained her, she attracts Horrors constantly; she doesn't know she's being pursued half the time because Kouga does his best to withhold the truth and quietly deal with the Horrors that approach her. Kaoru eventually was evicted from her house and temporarily freeloaded at Asami's place. After Kaoru's bad cooking gave Asami food poisoning, she moved into Kouga's home. She literally took Kouga's words of staying close as an excuse to move in. Kouga wanted her to at least earn her keep, but her cooking was so horrible that Gonza became ill. Her mother is .
Kaoru has feelings for Kouga as well, but was devastated when she found out Kouga used her as Horror bait, even though Kouga actually never did it until the occasion where she found it out. Kaoru always seem to manage to involve herself with a Horror all on her own, and that's why Kouga always says she's an unlucky woman. For her protection, Kouga placed a special ring created by Zaruba in one of her fingers, allowing him to always locate Kaoru's position when necessary and be alerted if a Horror is close to her, though she forced Zaruba to take it back when the truth came out. Eventually, Kouga managed to save Kaoru's life with the Barankas fruit.
Later it is revealed Kaoru and her father have been involved with Horrors and Garo since her childhood. Her father, , was a famous artist who created a children's picture book, in which the hero is a golden knight that reflects his experience when he was saved by Taiga, but the last page was left blank. Kaoru herself was chosen out of six girls by Barago as the medium to summon Messiah and serve as her host in the human world.
Kaoru is portrayed by . As a child, she is portrayed by . Yuji and Karin are portrayed by and .
He considers his relationship with Kouga and Kaoru closer than blood-related family. He was featured in Garo Side Story as "God of Pictures", but the sequence was part of Kaoru's dream. Gonza was featured in Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun as his usual self looking after the household.
Gonza is portrayed by .
Asami is portrayed by .
Shizuka is portrayed by , who previously played Mio Kuroki in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
.
Grace is portrayed by .
of the series. Barago is the only Makai Knight who transforms without a Soul Metal weapon, but instead a Madou necklace, blowing on it to activate it, then swinging it to become the Dark Knight. Unlike other Makai Knights, Barago's Soul Armor is organic-looking due to the Horrors he has absorbed.
Barago was the son of a Makai Knight and a Makai Priestess and had a happy childhood. When his mother fell ill, Barago became intend to protect his mother and thus decided to become a Maki Knight himself through harsh training. However, forced to watch his mother turn into a Horror before his father kills her, Barago left home to find a easier way to become stronger and use powers of the Makai for revenge. To that end, he became a talented Makai disciple of Taiga Saezima, hoping to become the next Garo. But refused the right, Barago's desperation for power grew and Messiah heard his need, appearing before him when he enter forgotten lair filled with forbidden techniques. Messiah proceeded to offer Barago her power in return of enacting the legend of , giving him both the name and armor of Kiba.
After enduring the Soul Armor's time limit, managing to will himself out of his form, Barago proceeds to assimilate the attributes of Horrors he defeats through absorption; however, this came at the cost of his own humanity. Subsequent usage of the forbidden magics tainted the Soul Armor and reconfigured its form with more Horror-like features and twisted Barago's soul. It was then that Taiga was forced to take action against Barago, pursuing his corrupt disciple and engaged him in combat. Though he fatally wounded his former memtor, Barago was scarred with the "Mark of Death" as Taiga's final move in hope that the scar's effect would kill him in a few days. But the Horrors dwelling inside Barago's body enabled him to elude death, though his face became horribly deformed. It was by that time that Barago came to the realization that he despised Makai Knights more than Horrors as he devoured them as well.
Barago soon began to devise a plan to plant dark Yīn essence into objects to attract Horrors so he could personally absorb them and amplify his own power. Because of his amplified strength over years of reaching his quota of a thousand absorbed Horrors, he's grown stronger than any Makai Knight and eventually defeated his nemesis Bado. With his ultimate goal nearly achieved, Barago proceeds to find an ideal girl to serve as a living gateway for Messiah to possess: a girl of age six born on the sixth day of the sixth month
, Kaoru. Murdering the previous Silver Fang Knight, Barago used a potion he stole from Rei's foster father to change his face, disguising himself as to oversee Kaoru's wellbeing as her personal psychiatrist and counselor. It was by this time that Barago learned that Bado left a means of redemption in his being and was ordered by Messiah to remove all traces of it from his body.
The Eastern Watchdogs also allied themselves with Barago to help bring forth Messiah, giving him the Ankokuzan halberd to single-handedly absorb a giant Horror that overwhelmed Garo and Zero. When Barago's arrangements are nearly complete, he kidnaps Kaoru to begin the summoning ritual to call forth Messiah. He proceeds to reveal his life story to Kaoru before Messiah takes her over and has Barago severe his ties with his mother in order to destroy the very last trace of light. However, now beyond redemption, Barago learns too late that he was just being used by the Horror as Messiah "ate" Barago with little resistance. But his body returned to the living world after Messiah was defeated by Kouga, fully possessed by the armor of Kiba. Now nothing more than a Horror, Kiba battles Garo and Zero, only to be destroyed by the former in a one-on-one swordfight.
As Kiba, he uses the , which can morph into the while he is on foot or on the back of his Madou Horse. Kiba also once used a halberd
called the .
Barago is portrayed by , voiced by in Kiba Gaiden. As Ryuzaki, he is portrayed by . As a child, he is portrayed by .
). Their thoughts are so unified that they sometimes complete each other's sentences in conversations. As revealed by Jabi, the Three Priestesses were only a single human who was chosen to be the link between Makai and the human world. However, though receiving eternal life, the Eastern Watchdog's body decayed overtime and the spirit divided into its three current forms
, bound to confinement within the heart of the Eastern Watchdog castle with only their "son" Kodama to keep them company over the centuries.
At first they performed their expected duties for Kouga, but were actually associated with Barago for the common goal of unleashing Messiah and secretly feeding him the purified Horror blades rather than perform the repatriation ceremony. During the early part of their partnership, the three misused Horror and Madou materials to try to kill those that interfere with their plans. In the process Amon was murdered and Jabi disposed of, using Rei's need to avenge his step family to kill Kouga off as well before Kiba reveals himself.
Later Barago brought a recently dead female human body to serve as a host for the Watchdog Priestesses' spirits, assuming their true forms as three old women while melding into the host body. The host, named , enabled the spirits within her to leave their place in order to help Barago with his plan. Although Gulm was apparently helping Barago to obtain immortality, she was really just using him to bring Messiah into this world. After Kodama's death, Gulm expressing great sorrow over his demise and hatred when she attempts to stop Kouga from interfering with Messiah's plans, assuming her own Cerberus-style Makai armored form, to stop the Makai Knights. As Beast Gulm. she fights using an arc and stronger versions of Kodama's attacks. However, Zero held her at bay before she overpowers him. But in her overconfidence of the situation, Gulm leaves herself open to be impaled by Rei. After the fall of Gulm, a new Watchdog was assigned to the eastern district to direct Garo on Makai missions.
Keiru, Beru, and Rose are portrayed/voiced by /, /, and /. Gulm is portrayed by .
Though apparently unable to talk, Kodama can use his voice to summon magical destructive blue orbs, and throw them at his enemies. The longer and louder he can shout, the bigger and stronger the magical orbs will be. In his last fight, Kodama transformed himself in armored monster called to fight Garo, but was easily killed by Kouga once he is possessed by his armor. His name is derived from the Japanese word meaning "echo." In the Garo Side Story, you finally see him speak; unfortunately, he talks extremely loud and fast in English, which Kaoru mistakes for the Kansai dialect.
Kodama is portrayed by .
cards. In the past, she was a partner to a Makai Knight named and was in love with him. However, that changed when the two are sent to find the remains of the Horror Ganon, with Elda having a sense of dread from her cards. The dread would be revealed when Shinji is slaughtered by the two Makai Knights accompanying them. Horrified, Elda is fatally wounded with her final moments filled for everyone while knowing that the Horror's corpse has been moved in secret. But when Barago arrived and killed two Makai Knights in his own search for Ganon, Elda accepted his offer to join his cause and was infused with new life from the energies of Horrors that he absorbed. After Kaoru was kidnapped, a jealous Elda was entrusted to look after the girl until Barago finished the preparations.
Elda is portrayed by .
Tamu is portrayed by .
His only purpose is to destroy Horrors, but when he encountered Kouga he was curious about Kouga's nature to protect people. He challenged Kouga to a fight to examine his need to protect (save Kaoru) and offered him the Barankas Fruit as a victory prize if Kouga could defeat him with all his strength. The Grou Dragon helped Kouga summon his armor and Gouten to fight at his full potential while engaging in a clash of ideals if saving lives is more important than destroying Horrors. Kouga almost lost to him, but Zero stepped in to assist him. Kouga thought he lost the fight because he had help, but the Grou Dragon said that if Rei lend his power to Kouga, that's also part of his power. The Grou Dragon then vanished and Silva remarked that the Grou Dragon was never alive and that the power of the Makai will eventually recreate it.
The Grou Dragon is voiced by .
Kouga at first had to fight off the Makai Tree's illusionary attacks. The Makai Tree has the ability to take on the forms of people within the memories of Kouga. For Kouga it as easy when Barago, Kodama, and Rei appeared, but the most difficult was when Kaoru and Taiga's form was taken. Eventually Kouga learned to suppress his feelings just long enough to defeat the Makai Tree on the first round. During the second round Kouga had Gouten increase the Fanged Wolf Horse-Slashing Sword twice its size and surfed the sword into the Makai Tree's stomach. The Makai Tree's stomach exploded and Jabi was saved. Jabi was spirited back to the living. The Makai Tree was only defeated, not destroyed.
The Makai Tree is voiced by .
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
series Garo. These characters play a major role within the series and often influence many key events. The characters within the series are split into six groups; Makai Knights, Makai Priests, Madougu, protagonist side, antagonist side, and Makai entities.
Kouga Saezima/Garo the Golden Knight
On one night, the young Kouga got out of bed after hearing Gonza's concern for Taiga and followed his father into the forest where he witnessed a fierce battle between the previous Garo and what appeared to be a Horror, dropping his sword in the midst of the fight. Kouga came out of hiding intending to deliver his father's sword, but was unable to lift it and was attacked by the figure. Taiga took the fatal blow in his son's place, leaving the Kouga devastated. Zaruba later helped Taiga convey his final thoughts to Kouga: Take the title of Garo and to be brave, and Zaruba took up the mantle of Kouga's teacher shortly afterwards. Kouga and Gonza at first tried every means to lift the sword out of the ground from brute strength to using a crane, but it would remain stuck in the forest until Kouga mastered the ability to wield Soul Metal. Though he trained under the Makai Knight Kengi, it take over a decade for Kouga to not only be strong enough to lift the Garoken from its resting place to assume his place as the current Golden Knight, but also to reach a conclusion of what he should fight for.
Kouga is not a very sociable person, more so after his father's death and he always keeps his feelings to himself and puts up a deadpan face all the time, but he nonetheless possesses a noble and kind heart behind his emotionless façade. He believes is that every person, good or bad, has the not only the right to live, but also the potential to save many lives on their own in the process. Eventually, Garo meets Kaoru when he was slaying Anglay where she happened to be stained with Horror blood, a condition that will kill her in 100 days excruciatingly. Though the norm when dealing with any "tainted" human is to cut them down along with the Horror to spare them from dying a painful death, he spared Kaoru's life because she reminded him of his mother, but never told her about her situation and claimed to Zaruba and the Eastern Watchdogs of his intention of using Kaoru as a Horror bait. Eventually, saving Kaoru's life while falling in love with her, Kouga learns the truth of his father's death to be at the hands of the rogue Makai Knight Barago, who later kidnaps Karou to enact his plan to bring Messiah to the living world.
In a desperate bid of fighting a losing fight against Kodama and the time limit of his armor is nearing, Kouga refuses to eject his armor when the time limit was up, with his negative emotions cause him to turn into the mindless while killing Kodama in the process. While in darkness, his armor surpassed the time limit and Zaruba asked for Zero's help in deactivating the Garo armor. After Zero managed to get through Kouga's mind, he struck Kouga's armor in the belly and it hit the triangle armor piece (weak spot) and Kouga's armor was lifted, saving Kouga's body and soul. Eventually, Kouga battles Messiah and not only defeats her but Kiba as well, with the later at the cost of Zaruba. Some time later, Kouga is bidding an emotional farewell to Kaoru, as she would be heading to Italy to further her studies in art. She gave him the final product of her father's book with the last page painted, and Rei handed Kouga a restored Zaruba as a token of their friendship. Zaruba was reforged by new Eastern Watchdog. Though he still has his same old personality, he bears no past memories of his time with Taiga and Kouga, even stating that he didn't like the name Kouga gave him.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Kouga was approached by Rin Yamagatana who delivered a message from Priest Amon. Kouga didn't believe her at first, but her mentioning their unfinished bar chess game persuaded him to take her seriously. Amon would return as a spirit to ask for his help to save Jabi's still-living body. Accepting the mission, despite interference from the resident Makai Knight Dan, Kouga enters the Makai Forest and battles the Makai Tree to regain Jabi. Soon after, Kouga receives new orders to contain the threat of the Horror Legules, managing to use the Phosphorus Arrow to destroy the fiend and his extensions. Soon after, Kouga returned home to find Kaoru painting in the backyard. They welcomed each other, clasped hands and walked back home, implying that they had finally confessed their feelings for each other.
In Garo: Red Requiem
GARO: Red Requiem
is a 2010 Japanese 3-D film directed by Keita Amemiya, produced by Tohokushinsha Film, and based their tokusatsu series Garo. It was released in theaters on October 30, 2010. Ryosei Konishi reprises his role from the television series, while introducing new characters such as the one portrayed by...
, on orders to destroy the Apostle Horror Karma, Kouga meets Kengi's daughter Rekka and helps her reach the same conclusion her father pointed him to years ago as they work together to destroy the Horror. Parting, Rekka gives Kouga one of her young Makai Dragons, which Zaruba names "Kaoru" to Kouga's chagrin, that Kouga uses to search for Horrors while doubling as a messenger. In Garo: Makai Senki
Garo: Makai Senki
-External links:*...
, Kouga gets promoted to be a Makai Knight serving the Senate for his defeating the Apostle Horrors. But just after fighting the Horror Cigarein, Kouga is attacked by a mysterious masked man who engraves a onto him. As a result, Kouga does not have much time to live and his life shortens every time he dons his armor.
As Garo, his armor helps protect him from damaging blows, but his armor isn't unbreakable. If a Horror is strong enough, they can damage and injure Kouga. Should the armor be exposed to a very powerful blow the armor will retract before the 99.9-second time limit. With the Garoken, transformed from Kouga's , Garo can cut down almost anything and only a rare few Horrors are strong enough to resist its force. Kouga is able to use a technique called . This is when he uses the Madou Fire from his Madou Lighter to encompass his sword and his armor to increase his damage potential. In some episodes, he's able to use Blazing Armament without the use of the Madou Lighter. When riding Gouten, his combat strength is increased with his Garoken transformed into the larger . Because his armor is composed of Soul Metal, the armor reacts to his will along with Madou Fire.
Garo also received powered-up forms in many of his epic battles. During the fight with Messiah, the power within Kaoru's positive energy-based painting enabled Garo to become the angelic . Then, while fighting Legules, Garo uses the Phosphorus Arrow to negate the Horror's influence while turning into . And then, while fighting Karma, Garo assumes a new form created from the souls of the many Makai Knights she devoured over the years.
Kouga is portrayed by . As a child, he is portrayed by . As a 2 years old child, he is portrayed by .
Rei Suzumura/Zero the Silver Fanged Knight
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
turned co-protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series and the Silver Makai Knight of the West. He was an orphan before he was found by Douji, who took pity on him and raised Rei as his son to inherit his position as a knight of the West and start his own lineage. Though trained as a Makai Knight, Rei didn't have the tenacity or murderous intent to be a true warrior. One fateful night, however, Shizuka and Douji were both killed by a warrior who suspiciously resembled the Golden Knight. After giving his dead loved ones proper burials, He renamed himself Rei, putting his old name before his Knight title, and naming his armor 'Zero', with both names being a pun on "Zero," with intention to reinvent himself as well as to get back at the Makai Knight that took his loved ones away, becoming a person full of angst, wild and murderous.
During Zero's quest for revenge he violated a host of protocols expected of a Makai Knight, from leaving his western territory post to directly attack Kouga. Though his investigations lead him to Kouga, Zero wasn't sure if Kouga was actually the knight that had murdered his family, thus he remained constantly uncooperative with the Golden Knight and even started fights with him to vent out his anger. Later in the series, the Watchdogs of the East try to frame Kouga for his family's death; Zero would later discover the true killer was Barago and ally himself with Garo. As the truths of matters unfold, his personality drastically changed, becoming more like his old self. He became more relaxed and open, turning into a caring friend for Kouga as they now share the same enemy. Rei and Kouga later visited the Western Watchdog where they reported and were ordered to assassinate Barago and Gulm. Because of Zero's tall list of violations he wasn't allowed to participate in Kouga's mission, but Kouga argued on his behalf, saying that he need his power. Rei's suspension was relinquished and he joined Kouga in dealing with Barago and Gulm.
During Kouga's dark transformation, it was Zero who helped Kouga snap out of his darkness. Gulm tried to stop the duo from reaching Kiba and Kaoru, but Rei decided to stay behind to deal with her, allowing Kouga to press forward. She assumed Shizuka's form and tried to trick him. He soon saw through her illusion because the real Shizuka addressed Rei as Ginga, while the imposter constantly called him Zero. After a very difficult fight Zero almost died, but survived a mortal blow because Silva took the hit. After a losing fight against Gulm, he took the opportunity of her overconfident victory and killed her. After Kiba's defeat, Rei presented Kouga with a reforged Zaruba as proof of their friendship and remained in the Eastern district to protect it while Kouga went northward.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Rei was assigned to help guard the upcoming Kantai ceremony from Horrors' attack. He saved Hyuga and Akatsuki (Tsubasa's disciples) from Karakuri Horrors. After aiding Kouga and Tsubasa in their fight against Legules, he returns to his district.
Rei resurfaces during the events of Garo: Makai Senki
Garo: Makai Senki
-External links:*...
, having been afflicted with the Seal of Destruction. It is known later that he is immune to poisons. But whether this is a common trait of all Makai Knights, or practitioners of the Makai ways instead of just an unique physical trait of his remains to be seen. Laid-back as he had always been ever since he had been friends with Kouga, he doesn't seem to be very concerned with the seal on his chest and continues with his duties, much like Kouga himself. Although a friendly person who always wears a smile on his face, he stated to Silva once that he is no good with big groups of people, leading him to turn down an invite to stay back for dinner at Kouga's place.
Zero wields a pair of short swords called the . In their Makaiken form, these are shorter versions of Kouga's Makaiken. When Zero dons his armor, the swords become curved like scimitars. These can be locked together to form a huge crescent-shaped double-bladed boomerang
Boomerang
A boomerang is a flying tool with a curved shape used as a weapon or for sport.-Description:A boomerang is usually thought of as a wooden device, although historically boomerang-like devices have also been made from bones. Modern boomerangs used for sport are often made from carbon fibre-reinforced...
called the . Zero's Madou Horse Ginga is similar to Garo's Gouten, but with a blade attached to his head.
Rei is portrayed by .
Tsubasa Yamagatana/Dan the Knight of the Midnight Sun
/ is the White Makai Knight of Kantai. Tsubasa is the older brother to young Priestess Rin and the very descendant of the Makai Knight that defeated Legules 1000 years ago. He is a strict and "by the book" type of guy, believing that emotions will only get in the way of his duties. As such he was never seen smiling for most of the movie. He wields a bōBo
-People:*Bo , name origin, plus people with the name*Bo , name origin, plus people with the surname**Bo , Chinese family names*Bo people , extinct minority population in Southern China famous for hanging coffins...
/spear called as his weapon and wears a Madou Bracelet named Goruba. The spearhead tip can extend in and out from its rod by twisting a section of his rod which acts as a switch. When he transforms into Dan, the Makai Spear is also transformed into a double-head spear weapon called the . He appears only in Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun.
Tsubasa watches over the spiritual district of Kantai and has two disciples, Hyuga and Akatsuki. Upon his arrival to Kantai, Kouga defended himself against these two disciples because his appearance in Kantai was not expected. Tsubasa came to defend his disciples and became frustrated with no answers from Kouga. They fought and Tsubasa was able to display his fighting abilities on par with Kouga and even able to use magic by using his special earring. Priestess Garai intervened in the fight and asked Tsubasa to allow Kouga to pass to save Jabi. Tsubasa objected as he sees what appear to be Jabi's resurrection to be against natural law, and furthermore insisting that it is his mission to deal with Legules as he is the Makai Knight of Kantai. Garai refuted his objections as its Priest Amon's will that Kouga carry out the job. Tsubasa was furious but he couldn't do anything about it. He warned Kouga that he never sanctioned this and then walked away with his disciples. He was initially hostile to Jabi, calling her an abomination as she was resurrected.
Tsubasa finally realized that discarding his feelings to become a better warrior is wrong, after Rin was poisoned by Legules' shrapnel while protecting him. Fortunately, Jabi managed to save Rin in time. Tsubasa apologized to Jabi for his rudeness towards her. He learned the error of his ways, joining Kouga and Rei to defeat Legules in the Abyss Forest. After Legules' defeat, Tsubasa told Rin that she's his pride and finally showed his smile when Rin performed magic to create butterflies.
As a Makai Knight, Tsubasa possesses a great fighting skills and amazing speed, as seen when he fought Karakuri Horrors trying to pass the entrance of Kantai. The energy coming from his armor during his transformation into Dan the Knight of the Midnight Sun could disintegrate the Horror. His Madou Fire burns purple.
Tsubasa is portrayed by .
Taiga Saezima/Garo the Golden Knight
is Kouga's father and the previous Garo. Died in combat when Kouga was a boy. Seen only in flashbacks.Taiga is portrayed by .
Douji
is Rei and Shizuka's adoptive father and the previous Knight who was in charged of keeping order in the western side. He was shown to be bed-ridden by the time he was killed by Barago.Douji is portrayed by .
Hyuga
is one of the disciples of Tsubasa of Kantai. He wears a blue uniform and wields a Soul Metal Sword. He's the calmer one compared to Akatsuki. His skills are weak compared to real Makai Knights, but brave in battle.Hyuga is portrayed by .
Akatsuki
is the second disciple to Tsubasa. Just like Hyuga, he wears a blue uniform and has a sword. He comes off nervous amongst the two and often feels shamed when unable to fight well in battle; he and Hyuga will always face danger even if they are afraid. He's taken a liking towards Rei and wanted to be his apprentice, but Rei felt he was better off alone with Silva.Akatsuki is portrayed by .
Kengi
is the father of Rekka who was murdered by Karma. He also trained Kouga in the past.Kengi is portrayed by .
Bado the Knight of the Storm
is a Makai Knight of the West who battled Barago for several times in the past, believing that there is some good left in Barago's heart. Though eventually killed in battle, Bado attempted to give Barago a final chance of redemption by infusing some of his light into an attack which disbursted and entered the villain's body. Based on the design of the armor which resembles that of Zero's, the fact that the knight wields two blades as well as the area under his watch, it is implied that he might be Rei's Godfather.Bado is voiced by .
Zaruba
is the Madou Ring for Kouga's duties as a Makai Knight. Zaruba originally belonged to Taiga Saejima. After Taiga was killed, Kouga has since worn his father's ring. Zaruba himself was created by the Makai Priest Amon, one of the greatest Makai Priests to have ever lived. In contrast to both Taiga's and Kouga's more deadpan and silent personalities, Zaruba is very talkative and does not hesitate to make fun of his master as well as those nearby.The full extent of Zaruba's abilities and knowledge is unknown; throughout the series he's able to help dispel confusion, detect various spiritual energies, summon the Fanged Wolf Sword, speak for the dead, temporary flight, breathe Madou Fire (in the Crimson Forest), detect Horrors, create parts of himself into a ring to acts as an transceiver, see through illusions, converse with Kouga telepathically and act as a temporary storage for miniature items. He helped trained Kouga when Kouga was still a young child since Taiga's death, advised him on a variety of matters and even taught Kouga how to play Poker. His aid is not limited to Makai Knights—Kaoru once used Zaruba to guide her through the Crimson Forest back to the human world.
During Garo's final fight against Kiba, Kouga could not summon his armor due to a magic seal placed by Kiba. Zaruba told Kouga to throw him into the dimensional rift in an attempt to bring him his armor. After a long exaggerated battle with Kiba, Kouga tried to summon Garo again and this time Kouga's armor was brought out by cherubs to help him gear up, signfying that this was a different, more powerful summon of the armor. The armor was slightly different this time, and included a cape unlike previous transformations. Zaruba apparently used all of his energy to merge the power of all the past Garo knights into the armor temporarly and bring it to Kouga, and after his victory, he was too weak to hold onto his form and disintegrated.
Before parting ways, Rei gave Kouga a re-forged Zaruba as a token of appreciation from the new East Watchdog, though he retained his old personality, he did not have any of his previous memories before being reforged and he didn't like his name.
Zaruba is voiced by .
Silva
is the Madou Necklace of Zero. She belonged to the former Silver Fang (Rei's father) and serves the current one. She takes the form of a Madou necklace of a woman wearing a mask. It was Silva that identified the killer of Zero's family was related to another Makai Knight. It's unclear of Silva's true potential since Zero never once used his blades or techniques with Silva as Kouga does with Zaruba. For now she serves merely an advisor and Horror detector, as well as a companion to the lonesome Knight.Not much is known about her personality since she does not have much screen time, but she seems to be more composed and behaves in a lady-like manner, compared to the talkative and cheeky Zaruba.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, Silva is no longer a necklace and remains as such through Garo: Makai Senki
Garo: Makai Senki
-External links:*...
. Her head has been pinned to Rei's glove on his left hand. Towards the end of Beast of the White Knight she suggested Rei take Akatsuki as his student, but Rei said Silva's company alone is enough.
Silva is voiced by .
Goruba
is the Madou Bracelet of Tsubasa. Similar to Zaruba and Silva, Goruba also serves as Horror detector. From Zaruba's comment, it's suggested Goruba to be very old. In Legules night attack, he tried to covert or possess anyone of Makai to join his family and Goruba was possessed. After Legules kidnapped Rin and taken the Phosphorus Spear, Goruba was awakened (without side effects) and revealed Legules intentions to sacrifice Rin upon the prayer stones to summon his dark forces.Goruba is voice by .
Amon
is a Buddhist priest who helped Taiga in creating anti-Horror weapons, spells and devices. Amon was the one who created Zaruba. He's similar to Chinese Tao masters who learned Makai techniques along with martial arts to slay demons. He loves drinking red sake and playing bar chess, wagering 10 years of life to the winner of the game. Amon never completed his game with Taiga and waited 20 years for Kouga to replace his father. As Kouga nearly lost, Amon told him to return again to play another time. It wasn't long that he was murdered under mysterious circumstances and the Watchdogs fingered the murder to his proud student Jabi. He died holding a chess piece Koma, cluing that his killer was a Makai Knight, likely Barago. He contacted Rin to help him deliver a message to Kouga relating to Jabi.Amon is portrayed by .
Jabi
was student under Makai Priest Amon and was a former childhood playmate with Kouga. She and Kouga trained together, but went their separate ways during their teenage years. Jabi is a sensually aggressive woman and wants to be a good woman rather than being a talented Makai Priest. She carries two Makai brushes to summon electrical attacks and has two red Makai flags used to ward off certain magical attacks.By the time the two crossed paths, Jabi was framed with the murder of her mentor and had stolen the purified Horror blades due to be forced repatriated. Though Kouga believed she wasn't responsible for the murder, Jabi was unable to trust him because Amon's murderer was a Makai Knight. But once able to trust him again, yet knowing she can not have him, Jabi reveals the Eastern Watchdogs' true nature before agreeing to Kouga enter the Crimson Forest once they deal with the Horror Blades. When she and Kouga attempted to perform the Force Repatriation on their own, Jabi was seemingly killed by a surprise attack from Kodama, vaporized with only her Makai brush remaining.
In Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun, it's revealed Jabi's body wasn't destroyed as presumed, but was recovered and incubating inside the Makai Tree, still alive yet stuck between life and death. Amon discovered the complication and dispatched Rin to help him inform Kouga that only a person with a strong bond with her can awaken her and bring her back to the living. With the help of Rin, he was able to enter the Makai Forest and fought his way to free Jabi. Jabi has since taken a liking to Rin and assisted Rin in her Makai training. Tsubasa didn't acknowledge Jabi as a real person at first and being the un-shy girl that she is she made Tsubasa feel her breast for a heartbeat and the breath from her lips. Garai took Jabi to examine the Phosphorus Arrow and realized it's weakened. While the Makai Knights guarded the outside premises, Jabi would restore the powers of the arrow with her powers. During Legules' night attack on Kantai, the Makai Knights were able to stall Legules enough for Jabi to restore the arrow and use it against Legules in combat. Legules' dark magic was too strong and Kouga jumped in to save Jabi.
Rin was poisoned by a shrapnel from Legules. Jabi decided to perform a Makai version of blood transfusion to dilute the poison within her because there wasn't enough time to use the Barankas fruit. The process was painful, but both survived the procedure. Tsubasa thanked Jabi for saving his little sister's life while still holding the Phosphorus Arrow. Legules took advantage of the moment and came out of Goruba to steal the arrow and kidnap Rin for his dark ceremony. Jabi and the knights entered the Abyss Forest and fought their way to save Rin. Jabi provided a great deal of support for Kouga, but eventually pinned down by the Karakuri. When Kouga defeated Legules and destroyed the barrier, the Karakuri disappeared and Jabi lives another day. After the ordeal, Kouga wondered what Jabi’s plans are and she intends to stay at Kantai. She finally found someone she feels strongly to protect, Rin.
Jabi is portrayed by . As a child, she is portrayed by .
Rin Yamagatana
appears in Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun as a messenger of Makai Priest Amon. Rin is a young 11 year old Makai Priestess in training and little sister to Tsubasa (Dan the Knight of the Midnight Sun) from Kantai. She somehow managed to communicate with Amon and was given the mission to find Kouga. Amon instructed Rin to use horror blood to bait herself towards Horrors in hopes to find Kouga in his district. Rin's "fishing" found herself to Kouga and was taken into the Saezima household. Rin would use a special spirit summoning technique to communicate with Amon. Even though Kantai is Rin's home, it's a place filled with danger and spooks as various parts of Kantai are literal death traps. Rin knew enough to perform a special ceremony to open a gateway to help Kouga enter the Makai forest to help save Jabi. She was named after Kouga's mother Rin and Priestess Garai believe there's something remarkable that Rin was chosen for Kouga to help him.It's revealed that she became a priestess to help bring back her brother's smile again. After Jabi was saved, Rin was poisoned by a piece of shrapnel from Legules during a night attack. Jabi performs a risky move in which she dilutes her blood with Rin using Madou Flames as a medium (Makai version of blood transfusion). The process made her experience great pain, but she survived the process and went to see Tsubasa. While having a moment with Tsubasa, Legules appeared out of Goruba and kidnapped Rin to the Abyss Forest. Legules had the Karakuri tie her down for a sacrificial ceremony. Kouga saved Rin and since have the love of Jabi as her protector.
Rin is portrayed by .
Garai
is the Makai Priestess of Kantai and the very master that trained Rin Saezima. She's more of a teacher than a Makai Priest in her advance age. However her knowledge, experience and wisdom are great and her students reflect that level of respect for her.Garai is portrayed by .
Rin Saezima
is the wife of Taiga and mother to Kouga. She was trained as a Makai Priestess under Priestess Garai. She would eventually meet and marry Taiga and give birth to Kouga. Her life with Kouga was short when she died of illness. Kouga barely remembers her, but is reminded by Taiga of their time together as a family. In a flashback it's revealed her martial arts skills are on par with Taiga and always had baby Kouga close to her.Rin is portrayed by .
Rekka
is a Makai Priestess and one of the disciples of Akaza whose father Kengi was murdered by the Horror Karma, allying herself to Garo during the events of Garo: Red RequiemGARO: Red Requiem
is a 2010 Japanese 3-D film directed by Keita Amemiya, produced by Tohokushinsha Film, and based their tokusatsu series Garo. It was released in theaters on October 30, 2010. Ryosei Konishi reprises his role from the television series, while introducing new characters such as the one portrayed by...
. She is a tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
in personality, resenting her feminine nature as it kept her from her childhood dream of becoming a Makai Knight and forced her to be trained as a Makai Priestess instead. Rather than becoming one who support Makai Knights as usually expected of Makai Priest or Priestess, she actively goes out to hunt Horrors on her own, resulting in her above-average martial capabilities. Among her abilities is the summoning of the fish-like to seal Horrors,
Rekka is stoic and strong like Kouga, yet can be hot-headed and dedicated herself to hunting Horrors to the point where she would harm innocents in the process. She even resents having Kouga around at first as he might rob her of her chance of avenging her father. But during her time with Kouga, he gave Rekka the same lessons her father taught him and becomes a better person, especially when Kouga suffers serious injuries due to her over-eager approach of getting her hands on Karma. She played a key role in helping Kouga take down Karma by summoning the spirits of the fallen within the Mirror Realm, allowing Kouga to assume a more powerful form and turn the tables on Karma. Taking over the late Akaza's territory after defeating Karma, Rekka gives Kouga one of Makai Dragons if he should need to contact her and vice versa.
Rekka is portrayed by .
Shiguto
is one of the disciples of Akaza.Shiguto is portrayed by .
Akaza
is a Makai Priest.Akaza is portrayed by .
Reo Fudou
is a young Makai Priest serving the Senate whose youth belittles the extent of his genius. He is the one who invented the mechanical creatures known as Gouryu that his fellow Makai Priests begin using to fight Horrors. He is surprisingly humble and friendly for a young genius, without even the slightest hint of cockiness or sense of superiority. He has great pride in his inventions, especially Colt which he sees as his masterpiece, and shows rare instances of irritation when Kouga warns him about using dangerous methods in his creations, as he quite literally reprogrammed a Horror to be used as Colt's artificial intelligence. When Colt went rogue, he is shown to be capable of taking full responsibilities for his own mistakes and learn from them, so much so he is willing to put his life on the line to stop Colt from being a menace. He is also a caring friend to Kouga, constantly worried about the seal on Kouga's chest.Reo is portrayed by .
Ratess
is a Makai Priest serving the Senate who is extremely prideful due to his lack of inner darkness and strict adherence to the rules. Meeting Kouga while given the task to deliver a sacred beast pelt to other Makai Priests, Ratess voices his apparent dislike for Kouga, calling him a child in a condescending manner, implying that he should not feel proud of being given this task as an escort by stating that this is one job that even monkeys can accomplish, and reprimanding him for choosing company in an unworthy, rule-breaking Makai Priestess like Rekka. He places the collective above the individual as he thinks that in the business of eliminating Horrors, individual strength matters little.Ratess is portrayed by . Kinoshita previously appeared in Kamen Rider Kiva
Kamen Rider Kiva
is the title of the 2008 Kamen Rider Japanese tokusatsu television series produced by Toei Company and Ishimori Productions. It premiered on January 27, 2008, following the finale of Kamen Rider Den-O. It aired as a part of TV Asahi's 2008 Super Hero Time block with Engine Sentai Go-onger...
as Akira Kido.
Kaoru Mitsuki
is the narratorNarrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
and the female protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the series. She is a 22-year-old aspiring artist who's always having trouble making money. Kouga spared her life after she was splashed with Angry's blood, claiming he did so to use her as bait. He secretly tries to find a way to cure her, rather than killing her. Because of the Horror blood that stained her, she attracts Horrors constantly; she doesn't know she's being pursued half the time because Kouga does his best to withhold the truth and quietly deal with the Horrors that approach her. Kaoru eventually was evicted from her house and temporarily freeloaded at Asami's place. After Kaoru's bad cooking gave Asami food poisoning, she moved into Kouga's home. She literally took Kouga's words of staying close as an excuse to move in. Kouga wanted her to at least earn her keep, but her cooking was so horrible that Gonza became ill. Her mother is .
Kaoru has feelings for Kouga as well, but was devastated when she found out Kouga used her as Horror bait, even though Kouga actually never did it until the occasion where she found it out. Kaoru always seem to manage to involve herself with a Horror all on her own, and that's why Kouga always says she's an unlucky woman. For her protection, Kouga placed a special ring created by Zaruba in one of her fingers, allowing him to always locate Kaoru's position when necessary and be alerted if a Horror is close to her, though she forced Zaruba to take it back when the truth came out. Eventually, Kouga managed to save Kaoru's life with the Barankas fruit.
Later it is revealed Kaoru and her father have been involved with Horrors and Garo since her childhood. Her father, , was a famous artist who created a children's picture book, in which the hero is a golden knight that reflects his experience when he was saved by Taiga, but the last page was left blank. Kaoru herself was chosen out of six girls by Barago as the medium to summon Messiah and serve as her host in the human world.
Kaoru is portrayed by . As a child, she is portrayed by . Yuji and Karin are portrayed by and .
Gonza Kurahashi
the butler of the Saezima household and the only family Kouga had after his parents died. Gonza attends to all butler related duties like cleaning the house and cooking, while also advises Kouga on certain matters. He helped raise and assist Kouga with his training since childhood. Though he as been exposed to the Makai world for over twenty years (between Taiga and Kouga), Gonza is a regular person without any form of Makai training other than the ability to read the old Makai script.He considers his relationship with Kouga and Kaoru closer than blood-related family. He was featured in Garo Side Story as "God of Pictures", but the sequence was part of Kaoru's dream. Gonza was featured in Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun as his usual self looking after the household.
Gonza is portrayed by .
Asami Shinohara
is Kaoru's best friend. She always helped Kaoru's financial problems by giving her financial tips, loans, and job references. When Kaoru lost her apartment Asami reluctantly allowed Kaoru to move in for a few days. Kaoru made a dish for Asami as a way to appease her, but made her sick instead. Asami was sent to the hospital, which at the time was filled with Horrors, but she was not devoured. Asami eventually was phased out of the story line and only appeared once in a while to show she's still in contact with Kaoru. She returned as the "God of Painting" in Garo Side Story.Asami is portrayed by .
Shizuka
is the deceased lover of Rei. She too was an orphan and was taken into a lavish estate alongside Rei. Shizuka's origins aren't known, but for some unexplained reason she was killed by Barago. It was Shizuka's death that drove Rei to a path of vengeance.Shizuka is portrayed by , who previously played Mio Kuroki in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
is a Japanese tokusatsu television series in the Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon metaseries originally created by Naoko Takeuchi. It is produced by Toei, the same company that produces the Super Sentai Series and the Kamen Rider Series and of which their animation firm Toei Animation, produced the...
.
Grace
is a High Priestess of the Senate, and the direct superior of Kouga and Reo.Grace is portrayed by .
Barago the Black Fang/Kiba the Dark Knight
is the main antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
of the series. Barago is the only Makai Knight who transforms without a Soul Metal weapon, but instead a Madou necklace, blowing on it to activate it, then swinging it to become the Dark Knight. Unlike other Makai Knights, Barago's Soul Armor is organic-looking due to the Horrors he has absorbed.
Barago was the son of a Makai Knight and a Makai Priestess and had a happy childhood. When his mother fell ill, Barago became intend to protect his mother and thus decided to become a Maki Knight himself through harsh training. However, forced to watch his mother turn into a Horror before his father kills her, Barago left home to find a easier way to become stronger and use powers of the Makai for revenge. To that end, he became a talented Makai disciple of Taiga Saezima, hoping to become the next Garo. But refused the right, Barago's desperation for power grew and Messiah heard his need, appearing before him when he enter forgotten lair filled with forbidden techniques. Messiah proceeded to offer Barago her power in return of enacting the legend of , giving him both the name and armor of Kiba.
After enduring the Soul Armor's time limit, managing to will himself out of his form, Barago proceeds to assimilate the attributes of Horrors he defeats through absorption; however, this came at the cost of his own humanity. Subsequent usage of the forbidden magics tainted the Soul Armor and reconfigured its form with more Horror-like features and twisted Barago's soul. It was then that Taiga was forced to take action against Barago, pursuing his corrupt disciple and engaged him in combat. Though he fatally wounded his former memtor, Barago was scarred with the "Mark of Death" as Taiga's final move in hope that the scar's effect would kill him in a few days. But the Horrors dwelling inside Barago's body enabled him to elude death, though his face became horribly deformed. It was by that time that Barago came to the realization that he despised Makai Knights more than Horrors as he devoured them as well.
Barago soon began to devise a plan to plant dark Yīn essence into objects to attract Horrors so he could personally absorb them and amplify his own power. Because of his amplified strength over years of reaching his quota of a thousand absorbed Horrors, he's grown stronger than any Makai Knight and eventually defeated his nemesis Bado. With his ultimate goal nearly achieved, Barago proceeds to find an ideal girl to serve as a living gateway for Messiah to possess: a girl of age six born on the sixth day of the sixth month
Number of the Beast
The Number of the Beast is a term in the Book of Revelation, of the New Testament, that is associated with the first Beast of Revelation chapter 13, the Beast of the sea. In most manuscripts of the New Testament and in English translations of the Bible, the number of the Beast is...
, Kaoru. Murdering the previous Silver Fang Knight, Barago used a potion he stole from Rei's foster father to change his face, disguising himself as to oversee Kaoru's wellbeing as her personal psychiatrist and counselor. It was by this time that Barago learned that Bado left a means of redemption in his being and was ordered by Messiah to remove all traces of it from his body.
The Eastern Watchdogs also allied themselves with Barago to help bring forth Messiah, giving him the Ankokuzan halberd to single-handedly absorb a giant Horror that overwhelmed Garo and Zero. When Barago's arrangements are nearly complete, he kidnaps Kaoru to begin the summoning ritual to call forth Messiah. He proceeds to reveal his life story to Kaoru before Messiah takes her over and has Barago severe his ties with his mother in order to destroy the very last trace of light. However, now beyond redemption, Barago learns too late that he was just being used by the Horror as Messiah "ate" Barago with little resistance. But his body returned to the living world after Messiah was defeated by Kouga, fully possessed by the armor of Kiba. Now nothing more than a Horror, Kiba battles Garo and Zero, only to be destroyed by the former in a one-on-one swordfight.
As Kiba, he uses the , which can morph into the while he is on foot or on the back of his Madou Horse. Kiba also once used a halberd
Halberd
A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...
called the .
Barago is portrayed by , voiced by in Kiba Gaiden. As Ryuzaki, he is portrayed by . As a child, he is portrayed by .
The Three Priestesses/Gulm
The are three ancient priestesses of the Eastern Watchdog castle, they assumed the forms of three little girls in white angelic clothing. Their names starting from oldest to youngest (left to right) are , , and (A pun on CerberusCerberus
Cerberus , or Kerberos, in Greek and Roman mythology, is a multi-headed hound which guards the gates of the Underworld, to prevent those who have crossed the river Styx from ever escaping...
). Their thoughts are so unified that they sometimes complete each other's sentences in conversations. As revealed by Jabi, the Three Priestesses were only a single human who was chosen to be the link between Makai and the human world. However, though receiving eternal life, the Eastern Watchdog's body decayed overtime and the spirit divided into its three current forms
Triple deity
A triple deity is a deity associated with the number three. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. C. G...
, bound to confinement within the heart of the Eastern Watchdog castle with only their "son" Kodama to keep them company over the centuries.
At first they performed their expected duties for Kouga, but were actually associated with Barago for the common goal of unleashing Messiah and secretly feeding him the purified Horror blades rather than perform the repatriation ceremony. During the early part of their partnership, the three misused Horror and Madou materials to try to kill those that interfere with their plans. In the process Amon was murdered and Jabi disposed of, using Rei's need to avenge his step family to kill Kouga off as well before Kiba reveals himself.
Later Barago brought a recently dead female human body to serve as a host for the Watchdog Priestesses' spirits, assuming their true forms as three old women while melding into the host body. The host, named , enabled the spirits within her to leave their place in order to help Barago with his plan. Although Gulm was apparently helping Barago to obtain immortality, she was really just using him to bring Messiah into this world. After Kodama's death, Gulm expressing great sorrow over his demise and hatred when she attempts to stop Kouga from interfering with Messiah's plans, assuming her own Cerberus-style Makai armored form, to stop the Makai Knights. As Beast Gulm. she fights using an arc and stronger versions of Kodama's attacks. However, Zero held her at bay before she overpowers him. But in her overconfidence of the situation, Gulm leaves herself open to be impaled by Rei. After the fall of Gulm, a new Watchdog was assigned to the eastern district to direct Garo on Makai missions.
Keiru, Beru, and Rose are portrayed/voiced by /, /, and /. Gulm is portrayed by .
Kodama
is the "butler" of the Three Watchdog Priestesses, Eurasian in appearance, and his relationship with them is that he is their son. Kodama's position has him serve the Watchdogs, carrying out their orders and protecting them from harm. He's highly skilled in martial arts and doesn't fear taking on a Makai Priest or Makai Knight. Though he was outsmarted by Jabi in their first encounter he took advantage of a momentary distraction from Jabi and Kouga to shoot her in the back.Though apparently unable to talk, Kodama can use his voice to summon magical destructive blue orbs, and throw them at his enemies. The longer and louder he can shout, the bigger and stronger the magical orbs will be. In his last fight, Kodama transformed himself in armored monster called to fight Garo, but was easily killed by Kouga once he is possessed by his armor. His name is derived from the Japanese word meaning "echo." In the Garo Side Story, you finally see him speak; unfortunately, he talks extremely loud and fast in English, which Kaoru mistakes for the Kansai dialect.
Kodama is portrayed by .
Elda
is a who supported Barago, able to predict the future with her tarotTarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
cards. In the past, she was a partner to a Makai Knight named and was in love with him. However, that changed when the two are sent to find the remains of the Horror Ganon, with Elda having a sense of dread from her cards. The dread would be revealed when Shinji is slaughtered by the two Makai Knights accompanying them. Horrified, Elda is fatally wounded with her final moments filled for everyone while knowing that the Horror's corpse has been moved in secret. But when Barago arrived and killed two Makai Knights in his own search for Ganon, Elda accepted his offer to join his cause and was infused with new life from the energies of Horrors that he absorbed. After Kaoru was kidnapped, a jealous Elda was entrusted to look after the girl until Barago finished the preparations.
Elda is portrayed by .
Red-masked man
The is a mysterious Makai Priest whose ultimate goal is to restore the old order before Makai Knights were first deployed to battle Horrors, seeing Makai Knights as a redundant existence. His true identity is unknown and is supported by a Horror-like girl. Unlike his fellow priests, the red-masked man uses a sword in place of a brush along with utilizing the power of the Horror Ganon. He is able to disconnect his left red arm or use it to perform magic, shown in his first battle with Kouga to be telekinesis, opening portals through making a pool of water, and shoot projectiles of water. He can also don the armor, a black-colored copy of the Garo armor. Prior to revealing himself, the red-masked man engraved the on both Kouga and Rei which shortens their lifespans whenever they don their respective armors, and causing them pain every now and then.Old Woman Tamu
is a living Makai gateway. Though humanoid, various parts of her body is composed of wood and branches. Between her "thighs" is the entrance to the Crimson Forest. Without permission from Tamu, no one can enter. She had a friendly relationship with Makai Priest Amon and enjoys sharing a cup of red sake with him.Tamu is portrayed by .
The Grou Dragon
The is the guardian of the Barankas fruit which it produces within its body. The Grou Dragon is a sentient mechanical dragon created by the Makai to reside inside the Crimson Forest and hunt the Horrors there. He has a main dragon head on the top and four sides to his body (almost cube-like). His cube-like body has a rustic color and when he speaks he rotates it to a different side of his body. Whenever he reacts to some thought his body makes a turn. Two sides of his body have a white naked woman statue, the front side a white gothic skull of a creature, and the back side with just gears that resemble the yin/yang sign. The Grou Dragon has a blaster-cannon, his statues are actually large mechanical claws, his gothic skull is actually a claw and grinder, and his gear side has multiple mechanical tentacles. He has four mechanical legs and his back is capable of bringing out two large wings for flight.His only purpose is to destroy Horrors, but when he encountered Kouga he was curious about Kouga's nature to protect people. He challenged Kouga to a fight to examine his need to protect (save Kaoru) and offered him the Barankas Fruit as a victory prize if Kouga could defeat him with all his strength. The Grou Dragon helped Kouga summon his armor and Gouten to fight at his full potential while engaging in a clash of ideals if saving lives is more important than destroying Horrors. Kouga almost lost to him, but Zero stepped in to assist him. Kouga thought he lost the fight because he had help, but the Grou Dragon said that if Rei lend his power to Kouga, that's also part of his power. The Grou Dragon then vanished and Silva remarked that the Grou Dragon was never alive and that the power of the Makai will eventually recreate it.
The Grou Dragon is voiced by .
The Makai Tree
The is a tree-like creature that resides in the Makai Forest. She kept Jabi within her stomach. Inside her stomach, the Makai Tree's a round squid-like creature with multiple eyes. She has many tentacles and can shoot spears out of her "body" to defend herself. She's not a malicious creature; she kept Jabi sleeping inside her stomach for a 200 year incubation. She claimed that Jabi wasn't ready to reincarnate (hinting the Makai Tree had plans for Jabi) when Kouga came to save her.Kouga at first had to fight off the Makai Tree's illusionary attacks. The Makai Tree has the ability to take on the forms of people within the memories of Kouga. For Kouga it as easy when Barago, Kodama, and Rei appeared, but the most difficult was when Kaoru and Taiga's form was taken. Eventually Kouga learned to suppress his feelings just long enough to defeat the Makai Tree on the first round. During the second round Kouga had Gouten increase the Fanged Wolf Horse-Slashing Sword twice its size and surfed the sword into the Makai Tree's stomach. The Makai Tree's stomach exploded and Jabi was saved. Jabi was spirited back to the living. The Makai Tree was only defeated, not destroyed.
The Makai Tree is voiced by .