Characters / GARO: Versus Road

For the characters from previous seasons, see here.

Players

In General

In General

• Anyone Can Die: The point of the game.
• Battle Royale Game: Ditto.
• Blood Knight: Some players take special glee in murdering others.
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The Players are referred to as “Knights” by the game’s announcer.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Knights are physically stronger while playing the game and only while playing the game, returning to normal between rounds. This is due to Versus Road being a gateway to the Makai Realm as opposed to being VR.
• Human Resources: The players of the Game are being farmed of their darker emotional energy, which is going toward completing an evil Makai Armor meant to Take Over the World.
• Run or Die: Played straight with the Horrors. Knights are entirely incapable of dealing with these monsters even without Azami controlling their Power Scaling and have to flee distract them using others as bait lest they be consumed.
• The Everyman: None of the players have any connection to the Makai Order or its secrets; all being random strangers pulled into the game.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Reflecting the spontaneity of real-world multiplayer, some players’ reactions to being forced into a murder-game is to embrace it completely; banding into savage raiding parties that sadistically single others out. This happens quite a bit during the second round’s dungeon-scramble.
• The Power of Hate: The point of the game is to harvest it from the players; their dark emotions fueling the creation of an evil Makai Armor.
• Unwitting Pawn: All of the players of the game are having their darker emotions farmed from them as they fight; the true point of the game.

Sena Kuon

Sena Kuon/Garo

The main protagonist of the show. A university student that finds himself thrust into the game thanks to his friend's curiosity.

• Action Survivor: Very literal due to the context of the show, though it’s played completely straight from the fifth round onwards.
• Byronic Hero: A well-meaning man that takes up for his friends and hates violence. He’s also not the quickest to take action and somewhat easy to stress out. While this hesitant side makes him resistant to Azami’s Mind Control attempt, it also renders him too far compromised to honor Hoshiai’s Last Request for a Mercy Kill when he ends up possessed, putting him into an emotionally-catatonic state he has to be roused from by Amou. It's also how Azami wins in the end: Kuon is too mentally-spent to deal with her and walks away after beating Shousetsu; giving her carte-blanche to do whatever she pleases with the Dark Metal.
• Character Development: Starts off as a kind (if aloof and indecisive) man, the death of his best friend and the sinister nature of Versus Road sparks in him a resolve to fight and disrupt the game and its promised title as much as he can. In contrast to the game’s overseer, Kuon’s resolve gives him the drive and hope to move on beyond the tragedy he’s faced. This trait is what gets him sired as the next Garo.
• Foil:
  • To the show’s Big Bad Shousetsu. Both were forced into an unavoidable tragedy by uncaring authority figures that required them to kill others to preserve themselves for a worthless prize. Kuon had the support of mostly-understanding people and had a memory to fight for that allowed him to ultimately dust himself off and move on whereas Shousetsu was too traumatized to let go and decided to retaliate against others with Versus Road instead.
  • Also one to Amou: Both are brawlers that're distant from people and have one friend that knows them better. The difference between the two is that Amou prefers to let things happen and deal with the fallout as it comes whereas Kuon is emotionally sensitive and has difficulty processing strife.
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Kuon usually fights bare-handed since his actor's been trained to.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Unlike many of the players, Kuon doesn’t care about the Garo armor or the power it holds. He just wants to go home. This declaration nearly gives Shuka sentience and is what gets the actual armor’s attention at the end.
• Pyrrhic Victory: He clears the game and defeats Shousetsu, preventing him from using The Power of Hate to retaliate against the world, but all of his friends are dead, he’s stranded in the Makai Realm and the show’s true mastermind has gotten everything they wanted.
• The Hero: Kuon is the main character and events of the show are filtered mostly through him.
• Tragic Hero: Kuon is bad at processing strife - It doesn't take very much to set him into a Heroic BSoD and causes unintended tragedy both times.
  • The first time forces Hoshiai to detonate his own explosive collar to avoid becoming a Horror since Kuon's too shocked at what's happening to honor his Last Request.
  • The second time occurs at the end: Kuon is so weary of all the fighting that he plants the Garo-ken in the ground after beating Shoutsetsu and walks away, leaving Azami free to wield the Dark Metal with seemingly-nobody to oppose her.
• Tragic Keepsake: Kuon and Hoshiai both won good luck charms in a crane game as kids. Kuon keeps Hoshiai’s blue-gemmed charm after his death.

Ryousuke Amou

Ryousuke Amou

A bartender in debt to the Yakuza.

• Back-to-Back Badasses: With Kanata near the end of the first round against the Yakuza clan.
• Defector from Decadence: Amou is a former delinquent that used to work with Kanata against the Yakuza, only to retire and become a bartender.
• Defiant to the End: Once he accepts a challenge, he fully commits to it; win or lose, consequences or otherwise.
  • Played straight during Kuon’s confrontation with Shousetsu. Despite being an absolute wreck, Amou bites and punches at Shousetsu before he’s slashed in the throat.
• Don't Think, Feel: His modus operandi. Unlike Kuon, Amou tries not to overanalyze the hopeless situation he’s in and simply fights for survival. This mindset causes him to berate Kuon for being too indecisive to Mercy Kill Hoshiai in the third round. While initially seen as unfeeling disregard, he soon reveals it’s because he prefers to be the one to have to bury Kanata rather than the other way around, since “they can’t attend each other’s funerals.”
  Amou: (To Kuon) "Nothing comes from sadness and passitivity!"
• Good Old Fisticuffs: Like Kuon, he’s prone to brawling with his fists.
• Hidden Depths: For all of his emphasis on independence, he's rather good with people. He's perfectly willing to save Kuon and comfort him through a traumatic state (in his own blunt way) while also allowing Takane the courtesy of a Final Speech before having to eliminate them later.
• I Work Alone: Amou denies Kuon’s attempts to work together early on in the show and rejects the proposition of an alliance by Nagusuke later on, citing both times that it’s easier to either fight or die.
• Out of Focus: Subverted. Amou is stressed quite heavily in the show’s promotional material, but his story is minor and told in brief cut-aways. He has a rather tame role in the story until the final three rounds, which eventually culminates in his battle with Kuon.
• Pragmatic Hero: For certain definition of hero, given the circumstances. Amou fully accepts the nature of Versus Road and is well-aware he only has one way out; not bothering with plotting or scheming.
• The Bartender: It's his job.
• The Confidant: Serves as a roundabout one to Kuon during the fourth round.
• The Rival: Becomes one to Kuon from the fourth round onward. They’re the last two Knights to clash.
• Those Two Guys: Wherever he goes, Kanata’s not far behind.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kanata.
• You Can't Fight Fate: The main reason he doesn’t participate in Nagusuke’s attempts to forge alliances between the players.

Shouri Hoshiai

Shouri Hoshiai

Kuon's best friend and an avid gamer.

• Face–Monster Turn: When Azami’s attempt to sow in-fighting among Kuon and Hoshiai fails, she has the latter possessed.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Hoshiai’s kind heart prevents him from generating any of the dark energies the Big Bad is farming from the players. This gets him tied up as a loose end.
• Last Request: Hoshiai asks Kuon to kill him before he can transform into a Horror. Kuon is too shell-shocked to perform the deed, forcing him to activate his bomb-collar and do it himself.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Inverted. Kuon is too shell-shocked to Mercy Kill him, forcing him to detonate his Explosive Leash before he turns into a Horror.
• Those Two Guys: Hoshiai is almost never seen without Kuon by his side.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Hoshiai is the kindest member of the cast. Perhaps fittingly, he’s the first named character to die.
• Unknown Rival: Hoshiai’s repeated arcade victories earn him the ire of the gangster he wins against, who takes it out on him physically. Kuon puts a stop to that.
• The Unreveal: Hoshiai’s charm emits a glow during the fourth round that’s noticed by Shousetsu, implying it (or the person that once owned it) was special. The show never elaborates and it simply remains Kuon's Tragic Keepsake.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Hoshiai’s insistence he and Kuon check out the new VR game ends up shackling the two to the murder-game.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: The magical glow emanated by Hoshiai’s pendant during the fourth round never comes up again, leaving whatever questions surrounding charm and owner unanswered.

Daisuke Nagumo

Daisuke Nagumo

An online vlogger that makes it his mission to uncover the nature of Versus Road.

• Curb-Stomp Battle: Is brutally crushed by Azami when he tries to defend himself against her in the real world.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Struggles against Azami as long as he can despite their clear gap in power. Dies encouraging Kuon to struggle too.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While Nagusuke's attempts to dig up information on the Makai Order are well-intentioned and somewhat successful, the snooping also alerts Azami to the location of the first game's other survivor and gets him and his son killed.
• Photographic Memory: Is able to remember the faces of everyone he encounters, which allows him to uncover Takane’s true identity and retain the details integral to uncovering the now-defunct Makai Order.
• Rivals Team Up: As they learn more about the game, Nagusuke and Kuon attempt to band the players together in the hopes of disrupting the game. Sadly, the nature of their situation, the reluctance of those playing and the omnipotence of the organizers compared to them prevents it from happening.
• Spiteful Spit: Spits out blood into Azami's face before he succumbs to his wounds and dies.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Nagusuke's investigation into the Makai Order gets the attention of #55, who encourages him to stop. Nagusuke manages to track down and interrogate him, inadvertently tipping Azami off to his location too.
• What You Are in the Dark: Nagusuke’s mostly a kind man, but isn’t afraid to do some shady things to preserve himself, like feeding his abusive manager to a Horror for instance.
• You Know Too Much: His investigation of the game gets the attention of the first game’s survivor...and Azami.

Takane Kozuki

Takane Kozuki

A model with dreams of starting their own fashion brand plagued by a Dark Secret.

• Abusive Parents: Was beaten by their mentally-unstable mother during their childhood, leading them to lash out and murder two classmates and a teacher in cold blood.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Why not necessarily a villain, they are still a murderous sociopath. However, they are given more sympathy in the final battle. While Amou continuously punches them in the face, Takane is reminded of their abusing mother. Takane then clutches Amou, saying that they don't want their mother to be the last thing they think of when they die, and they want to leave a mark on the world.
• Berserk Button: Don’t be a nosy journalist and don’t damage their stuffed bunny.
• Blackmail: Implied to be on the receiving end from Azami in some way.
• Dance Battler: Not physically strong, but very acrobatic.
• Dark Secret: Infamously murdered a pair of bullies and a disregarding teacher, changing their identity to run away from it.
• Final Speech: Once it's clear they're outmatched by Amou in the fourth round, they completely break down and lament dying in obscurity without leaving anything behind.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: Not only do they shoot Kuon’s offer of an alliance down, they make it clear he’s on their hit-list.
• Klingon Promotion: Upon discovering a famous model they were envious off was part of the game, Takane does away with them to inherit their role.
• Final Speech: Amou allows Takane to vent their frustrations before eliminating them.
• Freudian Excuse: Their abuse at the hands of their insane mother warped them into a sociopath.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Takane is somehow able to maintain their modelling job despite journalists finding evidence linking them to the murder they committed. It's never revealed how they're able to maintain this.
• My Greatest Failure: Takane does not look back on the murder they committed with regard, it becoming a Berserk Button when it’s mentioned.
• The Sociopath
• Tragic Dream: Thinks winning the murder-game will redeem them in some way, but they’ve killed so much more, it’s meaningless.
• What You Are in the Dark: Takane puts on the airs of someone hoping to redeem for their old misdeed but secretly harbors nothing but resentment toward it even being brought up and has no interest in how they’re perceived by anybody.

Dai Kanata

Dai Kanata

• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: The two bicker constantly, but Kanata leaves final words of encouragement.
  Kanata: "You better not lose."
• Back-to-Back Badasses: With Amou near the end of the first round against the Yakuza clan.
• Batter Up!: Beats people down with a baseball bat, in and out of game. His modus operandi can be summarized as “bat plus head equals solved problem.”
• Blood Knight: Enjoys fighting to an uncanny degree.
• Fighting Your Friend: Positive example. Targets Amou when he's zombified by the cursed Ma-Ken in the fourth round, but only because he wants the former to surpass him and go on to survive.
• Lovable Rogue: More emphasis on the “Rogue” than the “Lovable,” but he shows the occasional sign of a softer side, especially with Amou.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Inverted. When he re-animates in the fourth round, he wants Amou to be the one to take him down.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Amou.
• Yakuza: Has enough of the thuggish personality, tattoos and weapon-choice to qualify.

Ren Hyuuga

Ren Hyuuga

A Serial Killer that develops an interest in Amou and Kanata during the game.

• Blood Knight: Moreso than Kanata himself, which is also the reason why he's so obsessed with killing him.
• Came Back Wrong: Unlike Kanata, he does not keep his mind when the Ma-Ken from the fourth round re-animates him.
• Death of a Thousand Cuts: His modus operandi. Hyuuga obliterates his opponents with a barrage of unstoppable slashes until they die.
• Expy: An escaped (and stylish) Serial Killer with major Blood Knight issues and no place to live who joins a Battle Royale Game as its most dangerous participant? He'd have a great time with Takeshi Asakura.
• Flat Character: He gets little to no backstory compared to the others, existing only as an opponent.
• Hate Sink: Unlike a number of the other players, Ren lacks any tragic backstory (that we know of) or redeeming qualities.
• Improbable Weapon User: Downplayed. His Item becomes a Karambit, a dagger/brass-knuckle hybrid. Not unrealistic, though fairly uncommon compared to the more typical implements used by the others.
• I Shall Taunt You: Shows up at Amou’s bar during Nagusuke and Kuon’s social calls solely to snark at Amou before leaving.
• Serial Killer: Described as one by Azami, he's wanted for committing murders in his neighborhood and injuring the police officers who came to arrest him.
• Worthy Opponent: He spends the first games searching for the strongest of players, the only ones to catch up with his fighting skills are Amou and Kanata.

Overseers

Shousetsu Hagiri

Shousetsu Hagiri/Veil

The orchestrator and overseer of the Versus Road game.

• All for Nothing: Despite having won the first murder-game for it, Shousetsu was still unworthy of the Garo armor. Finding out he was only contributing to a Vicious Cycle (as well as Azami's prodding) served as the final push he needed to destroy the Order and start working on The Veil through Versus Road.
• Big Bad: The one that orchestrates the murder-game, which he’s using to forge enough dark energies to craft his own Makai Armor and retaliate against the world.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Not being qualified for the Garo Armor he was forced to kill his friends for and goading from Azami causes him to murder his superiors and end up creating a new murder-game in the future to form The Veil.
• Evil Counterpart: The Veil is this to Garo; both being elaborate wolf-themed armors ordained with regalia meant to protect people from Horrors. Garo is a titled armor meant to protect people used by someone who couldn't care less about the power it holds while The Veil is an Evil Knockoff recently made in retaliation to Garo from The Power of Hate and is being used to Take Over the World due to its wielder thinking Humans Are Bastards.
• Evil Knockoff: The Veil literally uses Garo as its molding template.
• Fallen Hero: Went from a trainee seeking to become a protector of other people to having them murder each other for a scheme meant to dominate them.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Shousetsu calls himself a "Makai Knight," yet he's murdered so many people for The Veil any other Knight would consider him fallen.
• Humans Are Bastards: His view of people following the first murder-game.
• Morph Weapon: Veil's sword can shift into various weapons to suit a situation.
• Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred!: After Kuon uses the power of Garo to beat Shousetsu and The Veil, he tells him to strike him down. Kuon let's him live, saying that he is Beyond Redemption and implying he would leave him to die of his wounds.
• Unwitting Pawn: Was one at the end of the day to Azami, who was only there to see The Veil complete. The moment Kuon/Garo overpowers him, she strips him of it and leaves him to die.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Shousetsu implies he wants to use the Veil Armor to make a new world.
• We Can Rule Together: Seeing Kuon's kindness inspires him to approach the boy about assisting in creating The Veil; though this may have simply been an attempt to goad extra Inga out of him.
• Whip Sword: Veil's sword can become one to sweep at an enemy from a distance. Shame how brittle it is.
• Wrecked Weapon: Veil's sword is shattered by a well-timed punch from Garo, leaving him open to a retaliatory beat-down.

Azami Kado

Azami Kado

Shousetsu's number two. Has a dark connection to the game and its origins.

• Antagonistic Offspring: Her parents were heroes that saved the Earth from an Eldritch Abomination. She proves herself as another one very quickly.
• The Bad Guy Wins: She seizes The Veil from the defeated Shousetsu with Kuon too shell-shocked to try and stop her from using it.
• Black Magic: Azami's ability to control the Dark Metal is heavily implied to be this; the result of her tainted birth.
• Dark Action Girl
• Demonic Possession: Jumps into Nagusuke's body to force him to compete in the penultimate round.
• The Dragon: To Shousetsu.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Azami just wanted to see the Veil Armor finished and never cared about Shousetsu’s plan to Take Over the World.
• Dragon Ascendant: Implied to be her state as of the finale.
• Enfant Terrible: Born a wicked child due to the Inga that tainted her in the womb, ensuring she grew up without morals.
• Evil Redhead: Her hair's very red and her soul's very evil.
• Genocide from the Inside: Azami takes full advantage of her shunned status and the Rage Against the Heavens displayed by #13 after the first murder-game to ultimately annihilate the Monastery clan that'd been raising her.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Everything in Versus Road traces back to her.
• Invincible Villain: The few that stand against her the whole show don't last very long and nothing ends up done about her, making her this.
• It Amused Me: Says to Nagusuke that she just wants to have fun
• Karma Houdini: Azami all but outs herself as the one pulling the strings, yet Kuon is so battered by having to put down Shousetsu he makes no effort to retaliate against her.
• The Woman Behind the Man: Was perfectly willing to help Shousetsu complete the Veil Armor so she could use it for potentially genocidal purposes.
• Mind Control: Azami has the ability to hypnotize others using their fears and doubts to nudge them in desired directions. Attempted on Kuon during the third round, though it only just barely takes and he's too resistant to really do what she wants.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Becomes one to Shousetsu, encouraging him to gather more Dark Metal after he uses it to destroy Sugo and his assistants in a rage. This would become the catalyst for Versus Road.
• Walking Spoiler: Her backstory can't be talked about with revealing the Makai Order's downfall and its connection to current events.
• You Know Too Much: Nagusuke's probing into the now-defunct Makai Order gets her attention, allowing her to purge the first game's other survivor as well as tie up Nagusuke himself as a loose end.

Shuka

Shuka

The game's announcer.

• Characters as Device: In-universe example. She's only there to sire the players as "Knights" and explain the rules of each round.
• Flat Character: Has little personality or role to speak of. Justified, as she's a Madou Tool in human guise.
• Grow Beyond Their Programming: Shuka teeters on the verge of this when Kuon publicly denounces the title of Garo, shedding a tear. Shousetsu junks her before she can grow any more.

Monastery/Makai Order

In General

In General

• Adaptational Villainy: The Makai Order of the VR-verse is less so a band of protectors and more so an overzealous cult of wizards that use murderous Trial by Combat to choose their champions. Considering they had the creatures they're supposed to be purging under lock-and-key long before the present day, one has to wonder if they even have to fight Horrors anymore.
• All for Nothing: The Makai Order's zealous dedication to having trainees fight for the Garo Armor was meaningless, as it refused to recognize the winner of the murder-game. It's the reluctant Kuon trying to stop the murders in the far future that it ultimately sires.
• All There in the Manual: None of the members beyond Sugo and Shousetsu are named in-show. The Wikis have them, though.
• Deconstruction: Of The Mentor sect endemic to most GARO works. The Makai Order's relevance varies by The 'Verse, but usually results in a well-meaning-yet-secretive organization whose vast scale, reliance on titles and religious adherence to rules and conduct lends itself to stressful environments and internal bickering. Versus Road takes this to its most extreme by removing Horrors as a threat almost-entirely - the Order of Versus Road has devolved from a crusading organization into a cult where kids are forced to kill each other by dubious cryptic figureheads in a Vicious Cycle for the chance to wear a "holy armor" under pain of death; all parties unaware that Garo will never accept these contestants because it was designed to protect life instead of take it. Even the series' resident Horrors have been tamed and turned into training dummies! Without the omnipresent threat of Horrors to keep the Order on the side of good, it outright loses its human element and consumes itself.
• Greater-Scope Villain: All strife shown in this world can be traced back to the Makai Order and its quasi-religious dedication to the Garo Armor. Their method of recruitment got people killed, tainted the object with Inga and allowed Azami to corrupt Shousetsu - inspiring him to orchestrate the events of Versus Road to make The Veil.
• Harmful to Minors: Would you trust the protection of your kids to a sect that has them fight to the death?
• History Repeats: A show-wide version. The Order's "exam" sees a group of chosen people competing for the Garo Armor in a stressful situation that escalates into a murder-game where only one can survive. One attempts to defy the game and keep the peace but is thwarted at every turn and wins a hollow victory for a prize that wouldn't accept them at the cost of everyone they knew dying. This becomes the basis for the present-day Versus Road, in which people compete in a stressful situation that escalates into a murder-game where only one can survive. Kuon and Nagusuke both try to defy the game and keep the peace but are thwarted at every turn and while the prize accepts Kuon in the end, he wins a hollow victory at the cost of everyone else dying and the true villain victorious.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: Implied. The backstory for The Original Garo gives the impression the Order was way more proactive than the borderline-defunct shell it is in the present day.
• Hypocrite: A clan of supposed protectors choose their Knights by having them all violently murder each other.
• Magical Society: Like the Makai Order in other seasons, the Monastery (and presumably the Order it's part of) is a sect of magical wizards and knights.
• Oddly Small Organization: We don't see anything more of the Makai Order beyond the Monastery, if this world's Order even is any bigger. Shousetsu being in control of the Monastery and #55 keeping his distance from them points toward them being outright extinct by the present day.
• Predecessor Villain: The Order's murder-game system was weaponized by Shousetsu into the latest iteration: Versus Road.
• Vicious Cycle: Zig-zagged. Shousetsu failing to inherit the Garo Armor despite winning the first murder-game convinces his superiors that they just...need to do it all over again. Azami successfully goads Shousetsu into murdering Sugo's entourage with the Dark Metal before they can, though all this does is inspire him to gather evil energy using his own murder-game.

The Original Garo

The Original Garo

An ancient Makai Knight who once wielded the Garo armor.

• Characters as Device: Serves to establish the significance of Garo's title in this world.
• Flat Character: All we know about him and his wife is that they killed a powerful Horror.
• The Hero: Saved the world from an Eldritch Abomination Horror in ancient times.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Twofold. Slaughtering his foe in close proximity to his wife caused the creature's blood to go on to taint her pregnancy and give birth to Azami. His Armor would also go on to inspire multiple generations of localized murder-games under the misguided (and weaponized) assumption by all involved it could be "won."

Sugo

Sugo

The original head of the Monastery and the overseer of the original battle for Garo's title.

• Barrier Warrior: Is shown casting a magical shield against the Dark Metal Wave. It doesn't protect him or his assistants.
• Evil Mentor: Is the overseer of the exams and prods the trainees into defeating each other, allowing the final exam to fatally escalate. It's telling that he's feeding Garo dark energies without knowing, like the players in the future.
• Flat Character: His willingness to have kids kill each other for the Garo Armor and his position as overseer aside, nothing's known about him.
• Harmful to Minors: Considering he's forced nearly a hundred young trainees to kill each other for the Garo armor and makes clear he plans to do it again when Shousetsu fails to inherit it, very much so.
• Killed Off for Real: He and his assistants are obliterated by Shousetsu when Azami feeds the trainee's weapon Dark Metal.

The Four Trainees

The Four Trainees

The Trainees conscripted to fight for the Garo armor in the past whose battle became the basis for Shousetsu's game.

• All for Nothing: #13 comes out the victor of the final round of the exam, but the Garo-Ken doesn't accept him.
• Battle Royale Game: Their final exam ends up being one.
• Blue Blood: #7 is described as having the "best lineage," revealed to be a part of the Original Garo's bloodline.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: #55 is a very skilled and very spoiled swordsman.
• Deadly Game: Their final battle is made into one.
• Defector from Decadence: #55 has disavowed himself from the Order in the future to become a florist. Nagusuke's investigations get him (and possibly his son) purged by Azami.
• Developing Doomed Characters: None of them are pleasant people and seemingly only one of them survives.
• Dysfunction Junction: The Trainees vary too wildly in personality to form a cohesive unit and constantly snipe at each other. The nature of the exam only encourages them to double down on each other and serves to thwart the efforts of the only one trying to keep the peace.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": The trainees are only referred to by their numbers and never named, except one: Shousetsu.
• Foil: #13 is one to Kuon in the future, both being the Token Good Teammate of an otherwise-thuggish group thrust into a deadly situation. This is because he's a young Shousetsu.
• Forced Prize Fight: The Trainees are fighting to earn the Garo Armor. Turns out not even the one that passed the exam was worthy.
• Informed Kindness: #7 is described as "caring for those weaker than him," yet they spend the entire episode belligerently shooting down notions of teamwork and nearly starting fist-fights.
• Honor Before Reason: #84 cites this as the reason #7 was adamant that There Can Be Only One.
• How We Got Here: Their trial establishes how the murder-game system happened.
• Kill Steal: #7 accuses #13 of this after the latter manages to cut the Horror sent to test them down.
• Master of All: #13 is described at being good at everything.
• My Friends... and Zoidberg: #84 doesn't even warrant a description by the head Priestesses and is barely even noticed by the others. #55 brutally slices his throat in the last round to spite #13.
• Seppuku: #7 slices his own throat after being saved by #13, seeing it as proof he was unworthy of Garo.
• Sole Survivor:
  • #13, revealed to be Shousetsu, is the victor.
  • Turns out #55 survived too and ran away from the Order to raise a family. Then Azami pays him and his son a visit in the future...
• Start of Darkness: The outcome of the Trainees' exam and the machinations of Kado Azami are what inspired Shousetsu to establish Versus Road.
• The Apprentice: All four.
• The Bully: #55 actively prods and pokes at the other three. He even slices #84's throat in the final skirmish.
• Token Good Teammate: #13 tries very hard to be this.
• Token Evil Teammate: "Teammate" is quite the stretch, but #55 is the most sadistic out of the four and is excessive when fighting the others. When the final exam escalates from Battle Royale Game to Deadly Game, #55 shows no issues with killing #84 in cold blood.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Heavily implied with #55, who retired (or escaped) from the Order to become a florist and raise a child.
  • He even tries to dissuade Nagusuke from looking into the Order when the former makes a video about it.
• Trial by Combat: The 100 Knights were encouraged to fight each other for dominance, as only one can inherit the Garo Armor. The final exam changes "fight" to "murder."
• We ARE Struggling Together: #13 tries to keep everyone united despite the exam pitting them against each other, but this fails.