These days giving the bad guys the lead focus is all the rage in films, but the Kikaider franchise got there all the way back in 1995 with the movie  Mechanical Violator Hakaider . Directed by Keita Amemiya of Garo fame, this film doesn't have the classic two-toned hero in sight and instead focuses on a brand new interpretation of Hakaider in a futuristic dystopian setting. Of course, no matter which version of Hakaider you're dealing with you're guaranteed death and destruction. It's not just his nature, it's in his name as well.

As those who have been regularly reading this blog probably already know, I love Garo . Granted that all of the other tokusatsu series I tend to watch are made for children and this one isn't, but there's just something that really stands out here compared to the rest. So it's great that over the last couple of years Garo has made the jump from a standalone series to a full on franchise, with a recent spin off last year and another two coming in 2014, along with an anime series too! But before we welcome more new characters to the world of Garo we must first say goodbye to the chapter that started it all - the story of Kouga Saejima . Starting in the original 2005-06 series before carrying on through the Red Requiem movie and Makai Senki  sequel series, Kouga's story ends here with the movie Soukoku no Maryu (which roughly translates as Lament of the Dark Dragon ), released in Japanese cinemas back in February 2013.

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 wh...