GARO: Vanishing Line is available (in selected territories) in streaming form on Crunchyroll Even though  Zero: Dragon Blood only finished it's run back in April, it feels like it's been an eternity since the last GARO series was airing. That just goes to show how widespread the franchise has become in the last decade, going from a tokusatsu that aired a new season every couple of years to a full-blown franchise spanning multiple timelines and even branching into animation. And speaking of the latter, it's now back for a third anime season -  GARO: Vanishing Line . Once again animated by MAPPA , the latest instalment of GARO: The Animation is another standalone series featuring a brand new Golden Knight as well as its own unique setting.

While the GARO franchise has grown exponentially in the last few years, the anime side of things seems to have been met to a more mixed reception than the tokusatsu elements. The Carved Seal of Flames (released in the West simply as GARO: The Animation ) got off to a slow start but eventually developed into a very strong series, however the second instalment - The Crimson   Moon , failed to match its the worst of its predecessor even when it was at its best. However following the conclusion of Crimson Moon the cast of the original series returned once more in GARO: Divine Flame - a feature film once again animated by studio MAPPA  and released as part of the franchise's 10th anniversary celebrations.

2016 was the year that GARO made a huge comeback in the world of S.H. Figuarts , with a total of four brand new figures (one of which is a repaint, and five if you include the Seimei FiguartsZERO) released after years of inactivity in favour of the more intricate Makai Kado line. After tackling the Ryuga armour from Yami Wo Terasu Mono/The One Who Shines in the Darkness , Bandai Tamashii Nations then moved on to the GARO anime projects with Leon's initial armour from GARO: The Animation (aka The Carved Seal of Flames ). Rounding off the year was Raikou 's own unique armour from the second anime series GARO: The Crimson Moon , which saw the traditional golden knight reimagined into ornate samurai armour to fit the show's Heian setting. S.H. Figuarts Garo Raikou Ver. was a Tamashii web exclusive , originally released in November 2016.

When it comes to Bandai Tamashii Nations’ toy lines franchises can come and go in strange ways. For example the potentially lucrative world of Super Sentai Figuarts turned out to be a commercial failure, while the seemingly expansive world of Godzilla MonsterArts has recently slowed down to only cover the big G himself – and this is without mentioning at the unreleased figures seen at Tamashii Nations events over the years. Given the popularity of the Makai Kado line it’d have been easy to believe that the GARO sub-line of S.H. Figuarts died in 2011, yet here we are with the second of four brand new GARO figures set for release in 2016. Despite sticking to the Golden Knight himself, the Tamashii web exclusive Garo Leon Kokuin Ver. figure marks Figuarts’ first foray into the world of the GARO anime spin-offs. This unstable version of the suit was the one worn by the revenge-driven Leon Luis in Honō no Kokuin , also known as The Carved Seal of Flames or simply Garo: Th...

In 2013 the GARO franchise made a surprising leap to animation, and perhaps what’s even more surprising is the Western acknowledgement that came with it. GARO’s first anime series, simply entitled Garo: The Animation (or Honō no Kokuin/The Carved Seal of Flames in Japan), clearly struck a chord with the anime fanbase – not only receiving simulcast subtitles from Funimation but also a forthcoming DVD/BD release complete with English dub. Immediately following a return to the live-action format with Gold Storm -Sho- , this expansion of the GARO mythos in a new format continued in 2014 with Garo: The Crimson Moon (or Guren no Tsuki ). Though another animated offering from studio MAPPA , The Crimson Moon is another standalone series that moves the Golden Knight to feudal Japan.

While perhaps not to the taste of many long time GARO fans, last year's Garo: The Animation (or more specifically Honō no Kokuin/The Carved Seal of Flames ) was a pretty big deal in that it at least provided a tangible link legally between the franchise and its fanbase outside of Japan. It also must have proved a success, because following the end of Gold Storm -Sho- is franchise is embarking on yet another animated outing. Taking place in a whole new setting with a brand new cast of characters, this chapter in the chronicles of the Golden Knight goes by the name of The Crimson Moon ( Guren no Tsuki ). Funimation's simulcast simply refers to it as Garo: The Animation 2, but that's nowhere near as catchy now is it?

It still seems strange to say that for the last year and a half there's always been a GARO series on television. What was once a great little adult-orientated tokusatsu series is now a full-blown franchise, with always at least one project seemingly on the go. But between last year's Makai no Hana and the forthcoming The One Who Shines in the Darkness sequel Gold Storm the franchise went off in a different direction, spawning it's very first full-length anime series. Simply named Garo: The Animation but also known as Honō no Kokuin ( The Carved Seal of Flames ), the show takes GARO back into what looks to be the past, making it a nice contrast to the modern day and near-future setting of it's two live-action brothers. It's also notable for being the first GARO series to get proper exposure in the West, having been simulcast via the Funimation website.

Not content with keeping its ever growing onscreen presence to the realm of live-action tokusatsu, the GARO franchise has made it's first foray into the world of animation with Garo -Honō no Kokuin- (which translates as The Carved Seal of Flames ). What's even more surprising is the show has even received licensing in the West, with Funimation picking it for simulcast as part of their subscription service. Simply dubbed Garo: The Animation here, the show will be completely unrelated to previous franchises entries and is written by Yasuko Kobayashi - a tokusatsu regular whose anime works also include the likes of Attack on Titan, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Casshern Sins.