Movie REVIEW: Garo: Gold Storm

Earlier this year Garo fans were treated to a brand new live-action series by the name of Garo: Gold Storm -Sho-, which saw Ryuga Dougai return as the titular Golden Knight along with Makai Preist Rian – both of whom previously appeared in Garo: The One Who Shines in the Darkness. While the series was fairly standalone, some non-Japanese viewers may have been confused by the appearance of new supporting characters without any sort of introduction. This is because the series was actually preceded by a feature length movie, simply going by the title of Garo: Gold Storm. As well as acting as a precursor to -Sho- and debuting Ryuga’s new Garo Sho armour, the movie is also one of the several projects announced in 2015 to celebrate the franchise’s 10th anniversary.

First Impressions: Garo the Animation: The Crimson Moon

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?

First Impressions: Garo: The Makai Flower

2014 is undoubtedly the year of Garo. This once small toku production has progressively grown into a full-blown franchise over the past few years, with this year giving us the widest variety of new productions yet. On top of the recently completed Zero spin-off (look forward to a review of that hitting the blog soon), we also still have a The One Who Shines in the Darkness movie to look forward to and even a Garo anime. But before then we have Garo: Makai no Hana ("The Makai Flower"), which sees original creator/writer/director Keita Amemiya return to the fold after a brief absence. And that's not the only exciting thing the show has up its sleeve either.

First Impressions: Garo: The One Who Shines in the Darkness

While English-speaking Garo fans continue the long wait for a subbed version of the "Demon Dragon of the Blue Cries" (Soukoku no Maryu) movie to find out the conclusion to Kouga Seijima's story, the legend of the Makai Knights continues on in a third Garo season, entitled "The One Who Shines in the Darkness" (Yami o Terasu Mono). This season features an all-new cast, with just how it continues on from the original two seasons still unclear.

With the fate of Kouga a mystery, the Garo armour has found a new owner in the form of Ryuga Dougai. Though the armour strangely lost its golden shine with its former master, it still wields the power Ryuga needs to battle the evil spirits known as Horrors. Ryuga has travelled to Vol City, drawn to the high concentration of Horrors plaguing the city. Causing quite a scene killing a Horror masquerading as a bride, the newest Golden Knight catches the attention of the city's special task force SG1, but a group of Makai Knights led by a Makai Priest named Burai.

If you've read my review of the previous Garo series, you'll know that I consider it one of the greatest tokusatsu series out there. Though the thought of a sequel series featuring an entirely new cast might be off-putting to some, the first episode of The One Who Shines in the Darkness, titled "Ryuga" does not disappoint. Everything that makes Garo brilliant, from the extremely impressive action sequences (mostly unarmoured) to the adult themes and detailed mythology, is still present - a long with a whole load of new mysterious revolving around these new characters.

Much like the title suggests, this episode focusses squarely on Ryuga and his arrival in Vol City. While he definitely has the same imposing qualities that made Kouga such a badass, it's clear that Ryuga is a very different Garo to his predecessor. Rather than stoic and quiet, Ryuga is wild and sarcastic, throwing quips at Horrors as he fights them. The episode also sets up plenty of questions to be answered over the course of the show - just why has the Garo armour turned black? If Ryuga is a Makai Knight, why is he not assigned to a location and cannot speak Makai language? Why won't Zaruba talk to his new master?

While facing off against SG1, Ryuga comes face to face their female commander Enhou. There isn't much to say about her so far, other than that it's clear she's going to become somewhat of a recurring character. At the very end we also meet Makai Priest Burai and two Makai Knights - Aguri and Takeru (played by Gokai Silver actor Junya Ikeda).

The One Who Shines in the Darkness may not spend a great deal of time introducing newcomers to the lore of Garo, but it's still pretty easy to come to grips with. Once you've established what a Horror and Makai Knights are, like the already established Garo fans what you have to look forward to is a stunning, engaging tokusatsu series that certainly isn't for children.

Series REVIEW: Garo

Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns.

But by the blade of knights, mankind was given hope.

While there's so much more to the tokusatsu genre than just Super Sentai and Kamen Rider, its arguable that these two franchises are the ones that come to mind first when you think of it (well, those and Godzilla). While in the West most Sentai and Rider fans may be adults, these shows are still meant for kids. But what if there was a similar style programme on offer for adults that wasn't a comedy or parody? Garo might be exactly what you are looking for. After an initial 25 episode series in 2005-2006 (and a feature length TV special), Garo returned for a feature length movie (entitled Red Requiem) in 2010, a spin-off video release in 2011 and finally a 25-episode sequel series: Garo: Makai Senki, between 2011 and 2012. A final film is also confirmed for release.

Kouga: Golden Knight and undisputed badass.

Garo focuses on Kouga Saejima, a Makai Knight who holds the title of Garo (the golden knight and highest ranking of all Makai Knights) who battles demonic creatures known as Horrors. During his battles, he encounters a young girl named Kaoru whom he saves from a Horror, but who is stained with its demonic blood. As a rule, those that have been stained by the blood of a Horror shall be cut down, or else they will die painfully in approximately 100 days. Although initially he plans to use her to attract more Horrors, as his relationship with Kaoru develops he attempts to find a way to purify her before time runs out. Kouga also goes head to head against another Makai Knight named Rei (Zero the Silver Fanged Knight) and a darker plot to revive the Horrors' originator Messiah.

Meanwhile Makai Senki continues these adventures, as Kouga becomes entangled in a near civil-war between Makai Knights and Makai Priests, who believe the responsibility of hunting Horrors should fall to them. As a curse slowly drains his life away, Kouga must also deal with his slowly developing romance with Kaoru. Side-characters from both the original series and Red Requiem return in Makai Senki, with several episodes solely dedicated to Rei.

Kaoru stumbles upon the world of Makai Knights and Horrors

The first and perhaps the most important thing to note about Garo as a whole is the stark difference between the two series. The original series has a noticeably smaller budget than what follows, and instead there is a much bigger focus on darkness and more gothic horror. The episodes are more self-contained to begin with, and plots revolve around the darkness and depravity of human nature mixed with the grotesque Horrors. The CGI is of typical Japanese fair (noticeable, but not horrible to watch by any means) but is short and sweet so that focus is primarily on non-suited fights. Kouga battles against the Horrors disguised in human form and the Garo armour (along with the Horror monsters themselves) are brought out for a "short but sweet" climax.

Following Red Requiem the visual effects take a huge kick up the rear, and carry the action much more than they did originally. The impressive out-of-suit hand to hand/sword combat hasn't left, but there are far more CGI monsters and a greater use of the Makai Knight armour. Makai Senki also delves much more heavily into Makai lore, and features a far more extensive cast. The extensive daytime sequences in comparison to the first season's almost permanent night setting give it a very different feel - and combined all these things make Makai Senki a more effects-laden fantasy series.

Zero the Silver Fanged Knight

So despite two very different tones, how do the series hold up when viewed together? The answer is brilliantly. While the shift in tone might in reality have more to do with budgetary reasons, it also nicely reflects the change our protagonist goes through on his journey. When we're introduced to Kouga we know very little about him, but seems to care very little about individual people and more about his "mission" to protect the world from the Horrors. His only companions are his faithful butler Gonza, and Zaruba - a Madō ring created to aid him in his battles against the Horrors. But as his relationships with both Kaoru and Rei change, we realise how compassionate an individual Kouga is. This also stretches to many other characters in the show - Jabi (a Makai Priest from the first season), Rekka (introduced in Red Requiem), Leo (a Makai Priest partnered with him in Makai Senki) and several others. By the time we reach the end of the second season, there aren't just a group of warriors fighting with Kouga, their fighting for him.

Kouga isn't the only character who receives an ample amount of personal growth in the show either. Back-stories are a plenty in Garo, and most characters will have some sort of trauma or issue they need to work out. It does border on repetitive sometimes when you realise most have some sort of "murdered loved one" story to tell, but it keeps the show interesting, makes the characters more alive and stays fitting with the overall tone of the show. Kiba - the villain from the first season and Makai Knight gone bad, even gets his own 40 minute special to explore his character a bit more. Even Zaruba, a talking ring, becomes a character you'll grow attached to and likely to shed a tear for at some point.

The smart-mouthed Zaruba.

Garo also sports some excellent designs. The Makai Knight armour, which all sport a wolf motif, are present in both suit and CGI forms - with both showing off some very intricate detail. The knights are also able to summon Madō Horses, which are an extensive of each individual knight's colours and styles - plus they look pretty damn amazing to boot. The Horrors, who are equally as memorable, come in different shapes and sizes. The standard horrors each come with a different motif, and the result ranges in some that just look amazing, and others than are pure nightmare fuel. The bigger Horrors lack these themes but still manage to maintain a look of monstrosity and the primary antagonists (such as Messiah in the first season and Ganon in the second) take a more majestic approach in design. There's a hell of a lot of offer design-wise in Garo, whether it be steeped in mythology or a brilliant idea on the design team's part.

Some horrors just look cool...

...while others you might find yourself losing sleep over.

Garo receives much praise from internet crowds for being an adult-orientated tokusatsu series (which comes with warnings of dark horror and nudity) and so I was eager to check it out. I wasn't disappointed - Garo deserves every bit of praise it gets. Your mileage may vary on what style you think suits the show better, but both complement the show nicely and illustrate how the same cast of characters can work in two very different stories and styles. Garo is must-see for tokusatsu fans, and a reminder that there's so much more to the genre than just Super Sentai and Kamen Rider.