History Series / GARO

* BottleEpisode: "GARO Gaiden".

* DeathByOriginStory: Every main character's family and loved ones. Just to count off, Both of Kouga's Parents, both of Kaoru's parents, and Rei's adopted father and girlfriend.

* DemotedToExtra: Kaoru in the special. [[spoiler: but played for a [[TropesAreNotBad wonderful]] reason]]

* ExpandedUniverse: There are two possibly canonical novels written by the main writer of season 1, Yuji Kobayashi and with participation by series creator, Keita Amemiya. The first one ''Ankoku Makai Kishi Hen'', is an anthology on 10 stories which fleshed out the character and settings of the first series. The second one, ''Yoseki no Wana'', is a story set between ''Beast of the White Night'' and ''Red Requiem'' and features a new knight, Shakunetsu Kishi YAIBA (Scorch Knight YAIBA) who's real name is Godo Akira and is supposedly [[spoiler: Barago's student.]] There's also a short story set in the future, featuring Kouga and Kaoru's son, Raiga.

* LethalChef: When Kaoru cooked for her roommate, she had to be HOSPITALIZED.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Kodama.

** In episode 21 it's revealed that the human possessed suffer an indescribable pain and killing them is, in fact, MercyKill.

* NobleDemon: The [[spoiler:Madou]] Horror from Episode 2, a subversion of the Horrors' AlwaysChaoticEvil status. He may have attacked people but it was when he felt that a greedy man was taking advantage of him and when a Makai priest provoked him. He was also reluctant in fighting Ryuga and before that, he was wondering why he was being targeted.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:#7, juts when the main characters thought they manage to save the family, Sonshi appears as caused them to go back to the city where they are eaten by Horrors. The girl, Rui, is the only survivor.]]

* MythologyGag: The Horror in episode seven talked about how he allowed his victims to die happy, only for Ryuga to call him out on it by asking how that was happiness.

** Also, let's not forget that Rei means Zero in Japanese.

** [[spoiler: He has also gained Buddhist-themed rings around him against Legules in ''Beast of the White Night'', and a more elaborate wingspan against Karma in ''Red Requiem''.]]

* LightheartedRematch: [[spoiler: Kouga and Rei in the ending of Soukoku no Maryu. The last time they fight was to kill each other, this time it was to settle their friendly rivalry.]]

* Badass: Apart from everyone else, ''Makai Senki'' gives focus to the [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-off character]], time-traveling {{Samurai}} Juzo Igari. This guy can fight [[BadassAbnormal Rei]] into a standstill & was actually close to winning. [[BadassNormal And that was BEFORE he actually gave into the Horror residing in the sword he was carrying]]. Oh yeah, did forget to mention his will is so strong that he can actually wield Soul Metal??

** You can add the [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-off character]], time-traveling {{Samurai}} Juzo Igari into the list. This guy can fight [[BadassAbnormal Rei]] into a standstill & was actually close to winning. [[BadassNormal And that was BEFORE he actually gave into the Horror residing in the sword he was carrying]]. Oh yeah, did forget to mention his will is so strong that he can actually wield Soul Metal??

* ShoutOut: ** The first Horror of ''The One who Shines in Darkness'' has a [[Film/ResidentEvil Majini mouth.]]

* GoodIsNotNice: The Makai Knights aren't exactly the nicest people one earth, same goes to the Makai Priests.
* LineageComesFromTheFather: As stated in the movie, only men can become a Makai Knight.
* LoveHurts: Kouga and Kaoru's relationship. Whether it's his enemies, his incredibly dangerous occupation getting in the way, her tendency to be a WeirdnessMagnet, his tendency to keep rather important secrets from her, or the fact [[spoiler: that one of them always seems to be cursed to die,]] much of Kouga's emotional conflict and pain seems to have started once he met Kaoru.
** Not to mention that in the cases of Rei and Leo, [[spoiler: they both ended up having the women they were in love with violently murdered.]]
* ManInWhite: Makai Knights' outfits usually involve earth colors (such as black, blue, gray or brown). [[LegacyCharacter Any holder of the]] [[RedBaron title of GARO]] (such as father and son Taiga and Kouga), however, seems to be bound to include a white longcoat in his ensemble. Tsubasa, entitled as [[CaptainObvious White Knight DAN]], also wears a [[BadassLongRobe white long robe]] with elaborate red-and-black highlights (which also extends into his Makai Knight armor).

* ActionGirl: Jabi, although a much more aggressive version. In ''Makai Senki'', she was able to fight "The Man in the Red Mask" to a standstill.
** Rekka from the ''Red Requiem'' movie.

* MartialArtsAndCrafts: Makai Priestesses (and presumably Makai Priests), who pretty much are magical [[TheBlacksmith blacksmiths]] and use magical brushes and sign flags in battle.
* MeaningfulName: The armored form of the "Man in the Red Mask" is called Jyaku, which mean "Evil" in English.
** Also, let's not forget that Rei means Zero in Japanese.
** Intentionally invoked with Kouga's title, GARO, in ''Red Requiem'': apparently, GARO was the Old Makai word for "hope."

* WorldOfBadass: The Makai is clearly this. Be it Priest or Knight or any other entity that hails from or connected to it, you're pretty much going to be powerful and badass.
* XMeetsY: It's like Series/{{Supernatural}} meets {{Toku}} according to some fans.

[[folder:From ''GARO''(2005)]]
* AchievementsInIgnorance: [[spoiler:Gonza]] carries a Soul Metal sword with no trouble--that is until he's reminded that it's Soul Metal, at which point the weight overwhelms him.
* ActionGirl: Jabi, although a much more aggressive version. In ''Makai Senki'', she was able to fight "The Man in the Red Mask" to a standstill.
** Rekka from the ''Red Requiem'' movie.
* AllTherapistsAreMuggles: [[spoiler: Subverted. Kaoru's therapist is actually the BigBad in disguise, and he has been using this job in order to monitor her so that she can eventually be used as a sacrifice to summon Meshia.]]

* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: The Horrors.
* {{Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever}}: [[spoiler:Messiah]].
** A few Horrors and the [[spoiler:giant robot dragon]].
* {{Badass}}: Kouga, Rei, Taiga, Barago, GULM, Kodama, Tsubasa......
** In short, any fighting, named characters who isn't a MonsterOfTheWeek is almost guaranteed to be a badass at some point of the story. [[spoiler:Even Kaoru in the first season.]]
** You can add the [[MonsterOfTheWeek one-off character]], time-traveling {{Samurai}} Juzo Igari into the list. This guy can fight [[BadassAbnormal Rei]] into a standstill & was actually close to winning. [[BadassNormal And that was BEFORE he actually gave into the Horror residing in the sword he was carrying]]. Oh yeah, did forget to mention his will is so strong that he can actually wield Soul Metal??
* BadassBiker: Rei, who is the first Knight ever shown to ride a bike.
* BadassFamily: The Saejimas. Dad was a knight who was very feared among the Horrors, Mom was a powerful priest who can match her husband in term of fighting skill. Son? A Badass OneManArmy who has kick the ass of even the most powerful of Horrors and lived to tell the tale.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Kodama, who's always dressed in a butler suit.
* BadassLongcoat: Part of a Makai Knight's standard uniform.
* BadassLongrobe: Tsubasa wears this instead of a longcoat.
* BadassNormal: Even without their Makai Armour, the Makai Knights kick ''serious'' amounts of ass.
* BashBrothers: Kouga and Rei after solving their differences, before that it was pretty much RivalsTeamUp.
* BattleButler: Kodama. Gonza not so much.
* BerserkButton: For the love of GOD do not make Kaoru bleed.
** Neither try to fool her or do ''anything'' to her. Hell, only touching one of her paintings can make Kouga angry, as young Makai Priestess-in-training [[PluckyGirl Rin]] found out.
* {{BFS}}: GARO's sword is, by default, normal-sized, but later upgrades allow it to grow to grotesque proportions, [[VideoGame/SuperRobotWars Zankantou-style]]. And by "grotesque", we mean the thing becomes twice his size and he ''surfs on it after throwing it in the air'' in the movie.
* BittersweetEnding: The ending to the first TV series. [[spoiler: Barago/Kiva has been defeated and Kaoru is cured. But the original Zaruba who has been with Kouga since he was a boy is destroyed. Kaoru also decides to go Italy to study art and Rei must go back to the his original post as the Makai Knight of the West, leaving Kouga all alone with Gonza again.]]
* BlackMagic
* BladeBrake
* BladeOnAStick: Tsubasa/DAN's main weapon.
* BodyHorror
* BottleEpisode: "GARO Gaiden".
* BoyMeetsGirl: The underlying premise of the first series: Boy (Kouga) meets/rescues girl (Kaoru) from a man eating demon. Boy vows to protect girl from demonic beings while claiming to only use her as bait. Girl finds out and dumps boy, then proceeds to nearly die. Boy manages to save girl at the last minute, and they live happily ever after until boy loses girl again when girl ends up being [[spoiler: host of the BiggerBad]]. Boy goes through a veritable TraumaCongaLine to get girl back. Girl [[spoiler: goes to Italy to study art and then returns.]]
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Under Kaoru's influence, Kouga gradually loses his {{Jerkass}} characteristics and becomes more of a JerkWithAHeartOfGold.
* BroughtDownToBadass: [[spoiler:Happens to Kouga when Karma's mirror ''[[TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty snatches the GARO Armor during mid-transformation]]'']] in ''Red Requiem''. Doesn't stop Kouga from kicking ass, anyway.
* TheBrute: [[spoiler:Kodama]]
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Becoming a Makai Knight requires vast amounts of physical and spiritual training.
** ChekhovsArmoury: In ''Red Requiem''. It's stated early on that dozens of Makai warriors' souls have fallen in the mirror realm of the BigBad Karma, including Rekka's father, and he taught her to play a tune dedicated to fallen warriors on her flute. Guess what happens at the climax when Rekka is brought into Karma's mirror, and her flute is brought to her there...
* {{Conservation of Ninjutsu}}: Very obvious in the episode where Kouga and Rei travel to the demon realm to fight a horde of Horrors.

* CreepyChild: The Eastern Watchdogs.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: A Makai Knight can devour Horrors to absorb their power, but it corrupts him and turns him evil.
* DarkActionGirl: Eery single female Horror, GULM, Erda from ''KIBA Gaiden'', and [[spoiler: Messiah!Kaoru from the first series and ''KIBA Gaiden''.]]
* TheDarkSideWillMakeYouForget: In ''KIBA Gaiden'' this can be seen from this dialogue.
--> '''BADO:''' Remember Barago, the reason why you became a Makai Knight. Remember why!
--> '''Barago:''' I forgot.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Well, the show IS targeted for adults.
* DeathByOriginStory: Every main character's family and loved ones. Just to count off, Both of Kouga's Parents, both of Kaoru's parents, and Rei's adopted father and girlfriend.
** Even the BigBad [[spoiler: Barago/KIBA]] was not exempt: [[spoiler: he witnessed his mother possessed by a Horror, forcing his father to kill her]].
* DeclarationOfProtection: Kouga's vow to save Kaoru before a hundred days passes and then afterward [[spoiler: when it turns out that she is a gate for the Horror Messiah.]] Really, just his attitude toward her in general.
* DefrostingTheIceQueen: Kouga would be a male example.

* DemotedToExtra: Kaoru in the special. [[spoiler: but played for a [[TropesAreNotBad wonderful]] reason]]
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: GARO Project, a band formed by Kouga, Rei, Taiga, Barago and Kaoru's actors do the first season [=EDs=].
* DoppelgangerSpin: From ''KIBA Gaiden'', Knight of Wind and Cloud BADO uses this during his first onscreen battle with KIBA. Probably linked to his FlashStep ability.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Garuma, the combined form of Keru, Beru, and Rosu: the 3 Eastern Watchdogs]].
* EnfantTerrible: ''Red Requiem'' kicks off with one.
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Everyone can tell Kouga is falling for Kaoru from his butler, to his talking ring, the snarky rival that keeps trying to kill him, his three superiors who never hesitate to call him out on or mock his feelings, even his father's old friend who ''has never even met Kaoru'', let alone seen her and Kouga together can see it. Apparently the only person who doesn't seem to notice is [[ObliviousToLove Kaoru herself.]]
* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler:Barago]].
* EvilFeelsGood.
* EvilIsNotAToy: [[spoiler:Messiah]].
* ExpandedUniverse: There are two possibly canonical novels written by the main writer of season 1, Yuji Kobayashi and with participation by series creator, Keita Amemiya. The first one ''Ankoku Makai Kishi Hen'', is an anthology on 10 stories which fleshed out the character and settings of the first series. The second one, ''Yoseki no Wana'', is a story set between ''Beast of the White Night'' and ''Red Requiem'' and features a new knight, Shakunetsu Kishi YAIBA (Scorch Knight YAIBA) who's real name is Godo Akira and is supposedly [[spoiler: Barago's student.]] There's also a short story set in the future, featuring Kouga and Kaoru's son, Raiga.
** There's also the Pachinko games which show new characters and background info. Such as BADO being the senior disciple of ZERO and the intrduction of a new knight, Jushin Kishi GIGA (Beast Knight GIGA) in the newest game.
* FallenHero: [[spoiler: Barago in the ''KIBA Gaiden''.]]
* FalseFriend: [[spoiler: Kaoru's therapist and mentor turns out to be Barago and that he had marked her as a child to be the gateway for the the ultimate Horror, Messiah.]]
* FanserviceExtra: Also applicable to ''Makai Senki'': many one-shot Horrors could technically count, especially when they possess women in various states of undress.
* FireForgedFriends: Kouga, Kaoru and Rei didn't get off at the best start. It doesn't help that their enemies seems bent on making their life suffer and turning them against each other, but in the end, they became close friends and in the case of Kouga and Kaoru, a couple.
* FlashStep: KIBA uses this during his first fight against GARO and ZERO. In ''KIBA Gaiden'', BADO's main ability is this.
* FullFrontalAssault: A couple of the Horrors [[spoiler: and Messiah herself]] take the form of naked women at some point.
* GenderBender: [[spoiler: Akira Godo, who also has a female form called Misaki.]]
* GenerationXerox: Kouga's father once saved Kaoru's father from a Horror, inspiring the latter to draw a picture book about the Golden Knight. In the present day, Kouga saved Kaoru from a Horror which set off a whole new chain of events. And in the second season, Kaoru reveals that she is going to work on a picture book about GARO. Kouga is also fated to fight the same person who [[spoiler: his father died protecting him from.]]
* GoodIsNotNice: The Makai Knights aren't exactly the nicest people one earth, same goes to the Makai Priests.
* HoldingHands: Played with between Kouga and Kaoru. In the beginning of their relationship, whenever Kouga wanted Kaoru to go somewhere with him, he would just grab her hand and drag her along whether she wanted to go or not. He takes to holding her hand properly in ''Beast of the White Night'' and the second episode of ''Makai Senki.''
** Kaoru and Leo hold hands in episode 10 of the second series but only to pass through a ki-filled street, much to Leo's embarassment.

* ICannotSelfTerminate: Kaoru asks Kouga to [[spoiler: MercyKill kill her after they find out that she is the gate for the Horror Messiah.]] Kouga, in his typical stoic, JerkassWithAHeartOfGold fashion tells her to stop being an idiot and that he won't do it because he [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther needs her.]]
* IDieFree: Juzo Igari turns his possessed katana on himself when the Horror within it tries to command him to kill civilians to sustain his existence. He was a BloodKnight in life, but would sooner kill himself than indiscriminately kill civilians.
* IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight: A small example when Kouga is fighting [[spoiler: Kaoru after she has been possessed by Messiah and she has just slashed him with a sword.]] And it works.
-->'''Kouga:''' [[spoiler: Kaoru]]! Your hands... do not exist for gripping a sword!
** There's another one between Kouga and Rei after Kouga surpass the 99.9 time limit and invoke the [[SuperpoweredEvilSide LOST SOUL]] version of his armor so he can defeat KIBA. Rei manage to snap him out in time before Kouga's completely taken over.
* IncendiaryExponent

* {{Jerkass}}: Rei Suzumura. So is Kouga Saejima. [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold They both get better though]], particularly by ''Makai Senki''.
** Tsubasa Yamagatana from the specials, but just like Rei and Kouga, he get better.

* KungFuWizard: Jabi, and the Makai Priests in general

* LethalChef: When Kaoru cooked for her roommate, she had to be HOSPITALIZED.

* LightIsNotGood: [[spoiler: The Three Watchdogs may look cute & innocent in their normal forms, but they are TheDragon of the BigBad manipulating events behind the heroes backs, not to mention turning Rei against Kouga]].

* LoveMakesYouEvil: In one of the episodes of the first series, a grieving woman becomes serial killer who collects the fingers of her victims after witnessing her pianist boyfriend commit suicide before her eyes. And that was before she became a Horror.
** And then a few episodes later, her father falls victim to same trope which leads him to seek revenge against Kouga.
** Barago's StartOfDarkness began when [[spoiler: his mother died and became possessed by a Horror forcing his father to kill her which led to Barago's hatred of Horrors and Makai Knights.]]
** Kouga narrowly avoids this after [[spoiler: Kaoru is captured by Barago and he ends up invoking LOST SOUL GARO to save her and defeat Barago. He manages to kill Kodama but Rei intervenes before he is completely turned.]]
* LuddWasRight: The gun-wielding villain in a late episode claims that the Horrors first appeared when humans began to use tools.
* MadeOfIron: Kouga's body can take crazy amounts of damage including: getting shot at point blank, falling off buildings, getting thrown through walls, ''getting slashed by a sword'', getting impaled through the shoulder ''twice in a row'' in Red Requiem, and landing on a steel beam in a way that would have broken a normal human being's spine. His default response to pain is shrug it off and get on with the ass kicking. Rei also count to a lesser extent, he can take on almost as much damage as Kouga.
* MagicCountdown: The Makai Knights can only remain in armour for 99.9 seconds. How long "99.9 seconds" lasts depends on the scene.
* MagicKnight: The Makai Knights can do the standard trick of lighting their swords on fire; they can also sense the presence of demons, and use various magical tools which require some magical ability to activate. However, White Night DAN can actually cast spells.
* {{Magitek}}: Magical lighters, a magical robot dragon, and [[spoiler:Messiah]] has the power to ''sprout giant celestial gun turrets from her back.''
** ''Red Requiem'' takes this to egregious levels with Makai ''holographic structural diagrams'' when our heroes plan their offence. The movie also introduces the Franchise/MetalGear-looking mini-mecha known as Gouryuu, which even leads to [[spoiler:an AIIsACrapshoot plotline in ''Makai Senki''.]]
*** Later we have Makai Train and [[spoiler:Edea]].
* MakeMeWannaShout: Kodama.
* MalevolentArchitecture: Kouga battles the insides of a demon-possessed clock tower in one episode.

* ManlyTears[=/=]TenderTears: Kouga in the ending of the 1st season, after reading Kaoru's book.
* MartialArtsAndCrafts: Makai Priestesses (and presumably Makai Priests), who pretty much are magical [[TheBlacksmith blacksmiths]] and use magical brushes and sign flags in battle.
* MasterSwordsman: Kouga, Rei, Taiga, The Man in the Red Mask, Wataru, the one-off character [[{{Samurai}} Igari Juzo]] from episode 8 of ''Makai Senki'' and [[spoiler:Leo]].
** According to the character's description, the new character Kakashi from Soukoku no Maryu is said to be very skilled with a sword.
* MeaningfulName: The armored form of the "Man in the Red Mask" is called Jyaku, which mean "Evil" in English.
** Also, let's not forget that Rei means Zero in Japanese.
** Intentionally invoked with Kouga's title, GARO, in ''Red Requiem'': apparently, GARO was the Old Makai word for "hope."
* MediumAwareness: Pay attention to what Kodama's actually saying in GARO Gaiden.
* MeetCute: If by cute, you mean when the hero and heroine meet for the first time, he thinks she's a demon and grabs her in a chokehold, brandishing a magical lighter over her eyes, then proceeds to kill a demon right before her eyes and getting her cursed in the process. Which is probably as cute as MeetCute gets in the GARO universe. Over the course of the series, they end up falling in love with each other and by the next series, she's his girlfriend.
* MonsterClown: Episode 10
* MonsterOfTheWeek: It's usually Kouga or Rei fighting the Horror of The Week, interspersed with StoryArc episodes, sort of like in other shows like TheXFiles or ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', etc.
* {{Mooks}}: In the first season, a certain type of Horror with a skull-like face and long droopy horn-ears will sometimes appear in large numbers to fill this role. ''Red Requiem'' even starts off with one as a BaitAndSwitchBoss.
* {{Murder the Hypotenuse}}: Silva -- [[PlayedForLaughs hilariously]] -- attempts to off Kaoru in "GARO Gaiden".
* MyHeroZero: Rei, whose name means "zero" and who uses ZERO as his Knight title.
* NiceGuy: Leo, a contrast to most other Priests and Knights.
* NiceHat: The new character, [[http://garo-project.jp/SOUKOKU/pc/images/caststaff_photo_2.jpg Kakashi]] from Soukoku no Maryu
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Kouga and Rei vs Messiah [[spoiler: after she has taken control of Kaoru's body.]] She manages to kick the asses of two highly trained Makai Knights up and down the street and it only ends after Kouga pulls out the IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight card which [[spoiler: breaks her hold on Kaoru.]]
** Or their first fight against KIBA.
* OfficialCouple: Kouga and Kaoru.
* OneManArmy: Kouga, HOLY SHIT, Kouga. Tsubasa and Rei also qualified to a lesser extent.
* PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath: In the flashback where [[spoiler:Kouga's father dies saving him from a Horror]], rain pours as Kouga weeps.
* PlayingWithFire: The Madou Lighter.
* PunnyName: Rei Suzumura's name uses the kanji for "zero" and his name as a Makai Knight is ZERO (although the kanji mean something else). As an added bonus, his actor's name is Rei (although he [[SpellMyNameWithAnS spells it "Ray"]]).
** It literally means "CUTTING WOLF" in kanji/katakana. As for GARO, it means "FANGED WOLF".

* ReplacementGoldfish: [[spoiler: Literally happens with Zaruba in the series finale.]]
* RivalsTeamUp: Despite the fact that for much of the first series, Rei and Kouga were often violently trying to kill each other, they would usually be able to put it aside long enough in order to defeat the Horror of the Week. Just barely though.
* SceneryPorn: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAF49EkJ5dc&feature=player_embedded The trailer]] for Soukoku no Maryu show us The Promised Land in all it's glory. It's clear Keita Amemiya have been taking cues from Tim Burton, especially from Film/AliceInWonderland.
* ShesGotLegs: Jabi, with an outfit designed to show them off. Rekka from the ''Red Requiem'' movie, as well. Her actress used to be a dancer after all.
* {{Shoot the Dog}}: There's no saving a human once they have been possessed by a Horror: once the Horror dies, they die along with it.
** In episode 21 it's revealed that the human possessed suffer an indescribable pain and killing them is, in fact, MercyKill.
** ...Unless the Horror decides to leave the body, as shown in episode 3.
* SheFu: [[spoiler:The combined form of the watchdogs]] fights with a ''hula hoop''.
* ShoutOut: Kodama in "GARO Gaiden" [[spoiler:channels JimCarrey in his entire speech.]]
* StartOfDarkness: The ''KIBA Gaiden'' show us how Barago become what he is.
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Kouga. Stroppy, rude, aloof, and ruthlessly devoted to his duties as a Makai Knight to the exclusion of most social interaction- and yet, despite all that, he is mature, responsible, noble, far more emotionally stable and empathetic compared to Rei and Tsubasa during their first appearances, and is plainly affectionate towards Kaoru.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler:LOST SOUL GARO, which happens when Kouga exceeds the 99.9 second time limit of his armour]].
** [[spoiler:Probably goes for any other Makai Knight as well, since we see a variation of this happen to Barago in his backstory.]]
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Kodama, when he actually talks in "GARO Gaiden".[[hottip:*:The actor, Mark Musashi, is half-Japanese, and was born in Japan but raised in America.]]
** The entire second half of ''KIBA Gaiden'' is narrated by a native English-speaking woman, for seemingly no reason.
* SweetTooth: Rei, who can put away a whole table full of cake and still come back for more.

* TallDarkAndSnarky: Both Kouga and Rei.
* ThemeMusicPowerUp: Episode 9
* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Justified: Soul Metal's movement can be controlled through willpower, as Taiga showed by levitating a chunk of it for Kouga.

* TrainingFromHell: Literally. Kouga battles whirling death blades regularly as part of this.
* TrainingMontage: Kouga training from a young boy to a young man so he can wield his father's Soul Metal sword.

* TryingToCatchMeFightingDirty: [[spoiler:Kodama]] ''attacks Kouga during his [[TransformationSequence transformation sequence]].'' [[spoiler:Garuma]] pulls the same stunt on Rei as well.
* UnfazedEveryman: Kaoru
* UpToEleven: Let's just say, the fight scene in this series put a new standard in Tokusatsu fight scene
* VillainousCrush: [[spoiler: Barago's]] relationship with Kaoru appears to have undertones of this, especially in KIBA Gaiden. He has watched her since she was a child, he is by turns tender and possessive towards her, gets angry whenever she mentions her actual love interest's name, and even calls her "his bride" at one point. Even [[spoiler: Erda]] harbors a [[ClingyJealousGirl bitter dislike]] of Kaoru because [[spoiler: Barago]] chose her.
* TheVoiceless: Kodama, though he can summon energy bolts by singing baritone. [[spoiler: Though he does talk in GARO Gaiden, ''in English'', which Kaoru somehow misheard as [[TheIdiotFromOsaka Kansai dialect]]]].
* WeirdnessMagnet: Let's just say the Horror's blood wasn't the start of Kaoru's problems.
* WhyDoYouKeepChangingJobs: Kaoru, who - being an artist - has an extensive collection of hairnets and nametags.
* WireFu: Boy howdy.
* WomanInWhite: When Kaoru [[spoiler: is possessed by Messiah]] and while she is [[spoiler: fighting Kouga and Rei]] she wears a short, elaborate white dress in contrast to the black clothing that Kouga and Rei wear.
** Also, the three Eastern Watchdogs dress all in white, have white hair, and are always illuminated in a white light against the darkness.
* WorldOfBadass: The Makai is clearly this. Be it Priest or Knight or any other entity that hails from or connected to it, you're pretty much going to be powerful and badass.
* XMeetsY: It's like Series/{{Supernatural}} meets {{Toku}} according to some fans.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: Messiah pulls an epic double cross on Barago after he has sacrificed everything to bring her into the world.]]
* YouKilledMyFather: Kouga to [[spoiler:Barago]].
** [[spoiler: Garuma]] has a "You killed my son" when [[spoiler: Kouga kill Kodama]]

[[folder:From ''GARO: Makai Senki''(2011)]]

[[folder: From ''The One Who Shines in Darkness'' (Ryuga Dougai)]]

[[folder:From ''GARO'' and ''GARO: Makai Senki'' (Kouga Saejima)]]

** Kouga as well in ''Makai Senki'' Episode 3.

* BadassInANiceSuit: Kodama, who's always dressed in a butler suit. Kouga in episode 4 of ''Makai Senki'' while infiltrating a gambling den.

* BashBrothers: Kouga and Rei after solving their differences, before that it was pretty much RivalsTeamUp. Kouga and Tsubasa in episode 14 of ''Makai Senki'' against Shijima Wataru.

** Neither try to fool her or do ''anything'' to her. Hell, only touching one of her paintings can make Kouga angry.
** And in episode 24 of Makai Senki, Kouga even goes so far as to [[spoiler: kill Sigma Fudou]] who was not only human but also [[spoiler: revealed to be a childhood friend of Kouga during his Makai training days]] after he [[spoiler: threatened to kill Kaoru]]

** [[spoiler: In episode 23 of ''Makai Senki'', he grows it large enough ''for his horse to surf on.'']]

** [[spoiler: The ending for ''Makai Senki'' is even more bittersweet. Kouga manages to defeat Ganon and later, Sigma. But due to his contract with Gajari, he is obligated to go to the Promised Land, but he promised to Kaoru that he will be back for her after which, they finally kiss. During the end screen, looks like Kouga has come back, but it is ambiguous as we only see Kaoru's happy face expression.]]

** [[spoiler:The Hametsu no Kokuin (Brand of Destruction) on Kouga, Rei, Tsubasa and others]] force them to fight without their armor most of the time until the direst situations. That doesn't prevent them from being badass however.

* CallBack: Turns out [[spoiler:senior Makai Priest Akaza]] in ''Red Requiem'' had the exact same motivation as the old couple in ''Makai Senki'' #6.
** The art book which Kaoru's father drew [[spoiler:becomes a key item in ''Makai Senki'' #22 in order to recall Kouga's own identity after he was captured. We still don't get to see what's actually in the last page though.]]

* ChekhovsGun: Ganon, the powerful Horror who is regarded as "Messiah's Fang" and was mentioned as having been mysteriously killed and its corpse stolen in ''KIBA Gaiden''. In ''Makai Senki'', it turns out the Man in the Red Mask is now in the possession of the corpse and is using it as his source of power.

* ContinuityNod: See ShroudedInMyth below.
** For a more direct take, the magic flying guppy from the end of ''Red Requiem'' reappears in ''Makai Senki''.

* DeathWorld: [[spoiler: The Promised Land seems to be this, going by Eruba's worrying about Kouga going there.]]

** Inverted in episode 8 of ''Makai Senki''. The FishOutOfTemporalWater swordsman joins with the Horror in his sword so that he can duel Rei, but his will is so strong that he remains in complete control the whole time.

* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Garuma, the combined form of Keru, Beru, and Rosu the 3 Eastern Watchdogs]].

* EvilTwin: [[spoiler: Red-Masked Man's true identity is Sigma Fudou, Leo's older twin brother.]]

* FanserviceExtra: That chick from the first ep of ''Makai Senki''. Some of the one-shot Horrors could technically count.

* FiveManBand:
** TheHero: Kouga Saejima
** TheLancer: Leo Fudou, Rei Suzumura
** The SmartGuy: Leo Fudou, Zaruba
** TheBigGuy: Rei Suzumura
** TheChick: Kaoru Mitsuki
** TheSixthRanger: Tsubasa Yamagatana, Jabi, Rekka
** TheMentor: Wataru Shijima
* FlamingSword: Makai Knights can use their Madou Lighters to set their weapons and armour ablaze for some extra "kick".

* {{Foil}}: Kouga has three different foils- Rei, Barago, and Leo. He is aloof, stoic, and single-minded in his duties as a Makai Knight compared to Rei who is hot-headed, brash, and has a sense of humor. During his interactions with Leo, Kouga comes off as the more mature, battle-hardened, and cynical whereas Leo is idealistic, sensitive, and emotional. And like Barago, Kouga was traumatized by the horrific death of a parent but where he came away from the experience with the desire to become a Makai Knight and protect others, Barago's experience became his StartOfDarkness.

** Particularly, Ratess proves that even IncorruptiblePurePureness is not always nice; he boasts that he is immune to corruption, but this does not confer upon him any immunity to being a dick. [[spoiler: In #18, his dickisnesh reach a maximum level when he betrayed the Makai and turns out to be in cahoot with the Red-Masked Man.]]
* {{Hammerspace}}: Where most characters draw their weapons from.
* HealingShiv: Makai Knights can use the fires from their Madou Lighters to rapidly heal wounds.
* TheHeartless: Horrors
* HenshinHero: All of the Makai Knights.
* HoldingBackThePhlebotinum: The 99.9 second time limit on the Makai Knight armour. (See also SuperpoweredEvilSide below.)

* YouLookFamiliar: The new character from the Soukoku no Maryu movie, Kakashi will be played by Yuki Kubota, who previously played the obnoxious idol/actor JURAN in episode 9 of Makai Senki. He was the episode's VictimOfTheWeek.
** And now, Kouhei Otomo, who played Igari Juzo in Makai Senki is playing Burai, the old Makai Priest in the 3rd season.

!! From ''Makai Senki'':

* RageHelm: The helmet of all Makai Knights in their armored form appear to be stylized images of wolves baring their teeth.

* ManInWhite: Makai Knights' outfits usually involve earth colors (such as black, blue, gray or brown). [[LegacyCharacter Any holder of the]] [[RedBaron title of GARO]] (such as father and son Taiga and Kouga), however, seems to be bound to include a white longcoat in his ensemble.

** ''[[[[http://garo-project.jp/special/ KIBA: Ankoku Kishi Gaiden]]'' (''Dark Knight Side Story''), a direct-to-video spin-off released in 2011 featuring Barago/KIBA, the BigBad of the 2005 series, as the main character, serving as an origin story and fitting in as a flashback episode within the 2005 series' climax.

** ''"GARO: Beast of the White Night" (Byakuya no Maju)'', a story in two parts which serves as a finale to the first series, broadcasted in 2006. It was later released as a "movie", which is the two fifty-minute parts spliced together and edited a bit. (Trailer for the KIBA special can be seen [[http://garo-project.jp/special/ here]].)
** ''KIBA: Ankoku Kishi Gaiden'' (''Dark Knight Side Story''), a direct-to-video spin-off released in 2011 featuring Barago/KIBA, the BigBad of the 2005 series, as the main character, serving as an origin story and fitting in as a flashback episode within the 2005 series' climax.

* ''GARO: Makai Senki''[[hottip:*:''Makai Flash Knight'', as shown in the OP of Episode 8]], the second season of the series which began in 2011, continuing the narrative from ''Red Requiem'' and features an expansion of the ''[[TheVerse GAROverse]]''. (Website for ''Makai Senki'' [[http://www.garo-tv2.jp/ here]]).

A third season, ''The One Who Shines In Darkness (Yami wo Terasu Mono)'', is currently running ([[http://garo-project.jp/TV3/ website here]]). The setting is now TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, featuring a new Garo, Ryuga, whose armor has blackened in some parts and has lost its shine. Here's the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC7ensbFDoI&feature=player_embedded trailer.]]

A new spinoff movie featuring Jabi and Rekka, titled Garo: Tougen no Fue has been [[http://garo-project.jp/TOUGEN/ announced]]. The trailer is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8lp9dP0xUE&feature=youtu.be here]]

* ''GARO: Makai Senki''[[hottip:*:''Makai Flash Knight'', as shown in the OP of Episode 8]], the second season of the series which began in 2011, continuing the narrative from ''Red Requiem'' and features an expansion of the ''GAROverse''. (Website for ''Makai Senki'' [[http://www.garo-tv2.jp/ here]]).

!! Main characters include:

''GARO'' has had one twenty-five episode television series and two television specials: ''"GARO [[GaidenGame Gaiden]]: Smile"'', a surreal [[AllJustADream dream sequence]] of Kaoru's, and ''"GARO: Beast of the White Night"'', a story in two parts which serves as a finale to the GARO saga. It was later released as a "movie", which is the two fifty-minute parts spliced together and edited a bit. Four years later a movie titled ''GARO: Red Requiem'' was released as a follow-up in November 2010.

That was followed a year later by a direct-to-video spin-off featuring KIBA as the main character, titled ''KIBA: Ankoku Kishi Gaiden'' (''Dark Knight Side Story'') and soon after that came a sequel series titled ''GARO: Makai Senki''[[hottip:*:''Makai Flash Knight'', as shown in the OP of Episode 8]].

Here's the [[http://garo-project.jp/special/ Trailer]] for the KIBA special and the [[http://www.garo-tv2.jp/ website]] for ''Makai Senki''.

A second movie, ''[[http://garo-project.jp/SOUKOKU/index.html GARO: Soukoku no Maryuu]]'', was announced after the end of ''Makai Senki''.

A third season, ''The One Who Shines In Darkness (Yami wo Terasu Mono)'', has just been [[http://garo-project.jp/TV3/ announced.]] The setting is now TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, featuring a new Garo, Ryuga, whose armor has blackened in some parts and has lost its shine. Here's the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC7ensbFDoI&feature=player_embedded trailer.]]

* ManInWhite: Makai Knights' outfits usually involve earth colors (such as black, blue, gray or brown). [[LegacyCharacter Any holder of the]] [[RedBaron title of GARO]] (such as father and son Taiga and Kouga), however, seems to be bound to include a white longcoat in his ensemble. Which was then [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] by Ryuga in ''The One Who Shines in Darkness'' as a serious contrast to the previous holders of the title.

** The first Horror of ''The One who Shines in Darkness'' has a [[Film/ResidentEvil Majini mouth.]]

[[folder:''GARO'' and ''GARO: Makai Senki'']]

[[folder: From ''The One Who Shines in Darkness'']]

A third season, ''The One Who Shines In Darkness'', has just been [[http://garo-project.jp/TV3/ announced.]] The setting is now TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, featuring a new Garo, Ryuga, whose armor has blackened in some parts and has lost its shine. Here's the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC7ensbFDoI&feature=player_embedded trailer.]]

!! '''This series provides examples of:'''

!! From ''The One who Shines in Darkness'':