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Franchise / GARO

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The original series became a success, and has since spawned an expanding narrative of spinoffs, movies and sequels as seen below.

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List of works

    Kouga Saejima's era 
  • GARO: The original 2005 television series, which spanned twenty-five episodes.
    • GARO Side Story: Smile: A surreal dream sequence of Kaoru's.
    • GARO: Beast of the White Night: A story which served as a finale to the first season. First broadcast in 2006 in two parts, it was later edited into a single movie feature.
    • KIBA: The Dark Knight Story: A 2011 direct-to-video spinoff that depicts the Start of Darkness of the first season's Big Bad.
  • GARO: Red Requiem: A 3D movie released in November 2010. It tells the story of Kouga's involvement with a group of Makai Priests struggling against a powerful Horror named Karma, and serves as a bridging story to the second season.
  • GARO: Makai Senki: The second television series, which aired in 2011 and ran for twenty-five episodes.
    • GARO: Lament of the Dark Dragon: A 2013 film which picks up from the climax of the second season and acts as a finale to Kouga's story.
    • GARO Side Story: The Whistle of the Phantom Peach: A Spinoff which stars Makai Priestess' Jabi and Rekka, and whose events occur concurrently with GARO: Lament of the Dark Dragon.
  • ZERO: Black Blood: A 2014 miniseries staring Makai Knight Rei Suzumura as the lead.
    • ZERO: Dragon Blood: A 2017 TV series that features Rei returning as the lead protagonist.

    Ryuga Dougai's era 

    Raiga Saejima's era 
  • GARO: Makai no Hana: A 2014 series, focusing on Kouga and Kaoru's son, Raiga.
    • GARO: Gekkou no Tabi-bito: A movie sequel of Makai no Hana focusing on Raiga and Mayuri. It also serves as the Grand Finale to Raiga's (and by extension, the Saejimas) story.
    • Bikuu: A film/gaiden focusing on Bikuu, a Makai priestess that appeared in the series.

    Animated Universe 
  • GARO: The Animation: A two-cour anime adaptation, written by Yasuko Kobayashi, set in an alternate universe based off of the dark ages.
    • GARO: Divine Flame, a movie sequel to the above.
  • GARO: Crimson Moon: The second anime series. Set in the Heian period of Japan, following a female Abe no Seimei as she trains the next Garo.
    • GARO: The Fleeting Cherry Blossom, a movie sequel to the above.
  • GARO: Vanishing Line: A 2017 anime series that follows a man named Sword and a young girl named Sophie as they try to solve the mystery of "El Dorado" in a future city.

    Others 
  • GARO: Makai Retsuden: A 2016 TV series that focuses on the other characters (mostly allies and associates of bearers of GARO) within the GARO universe aside from the titular character, with Gonza as the host.
  • GARO: ASHURA: A 2016 professional wrestling event featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe.
  • GARO: Versus Road: A 2020 TV series that commemorates the 15th anniversary of the franchise. It is set in a new continuity where the main character, Sena Kuon, and other 99 individuals, were sent into a VR-esque world and they must compete in this deadly game in order to win the game's prize: The Golden Armor Garo.

Multiple tropes in the series include:

    Tropes Across the Series 
  • Action Girl:
    • Almost all Makai Priestesses are required to be one: the ones that stand out most are Jabi (although a much more aggressive version) and Rekka from Red Requiem. In Makai Senki, the former was able to fight "The Man in the Red Mask" to a standstill.
    • In Makai no Hana, the main Action Girl is Bikuu, as she is shown to be the most powerful and strongest Makai Priestess of the series thus far. Even the director states this, along with the fact that she is "not exactly a Makai Priestess, but at the same time, she's not a Makai Knight either (due to the rule where only men can be Knights)." She's sort of a mix; something completely unique.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: The Horrors. Across all of the series' installments, only Ring has expressly shown anything resembling a moral code. (And even that's dubious, at best) Instances of Host overtaking their eldritch parasitical benefactors aren't impossible so much as rare; But all pure Horrors are, without exception, conniving predators of man that drop their facade when cornered.
  • Animal Motifs: The Makai Knights wear armor patterned after wolves.
  • Anomalous Art: The first episode began with the Horror Anglay coming out of a woman's nude portrait and possessing the gallery owner.
  • Art Course: The design of the Promised Land is heavily inspired by found object art, especially of the trash art subgenre. This is because the place is inhabited by the spirit of lost and abandoned objects. Some of the creatures even resemble the characters from Kaoru's drawings in the first and second seasons.
  • As Long as There Is Evil: The Horrors are deemed to exist as long as human malice is present in peoples' hearts. This arguably forms the crux of the tensions in Makai Senki.
  • BFS: Always a part of GARO's M.O. GARO's sword is, by default, normal-sized, but later upgrades allow it to grow to grotesque proportions, 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.
    • In episode 23 of Makai Senki, he grows his zanbatou large enough for his horse to surf on.
  • Cool Horse: The Madouba. After a Makai Knight seals 100 Horrors, they can take a test to see if they're worthy to ride one. These horses are made of metal and has the power to enhance the rider's weapons.
    • GARO, ZERO and DAN's horses are named Goutennote , Ginganote  and Hayatenote  respectively. It's still unknown how KIBA obtains his horse Raigou though.
  • Cool Sword: Another Makai Knight staple.
  • The Corruption: The Horrors.
  • Deconstruction: This take on Sentai and Henshin heroes does play it straight for Makai Knights and Priests - they have to remain pure of heart and virtuous to retain their powers. But as the series goes along, and you see the tragedy these heroes experience because of their duty, you can understand how some Makai Knights fall, and fall hard.
  • Death of a Child: Makai Senki, episode 15, when all three of Kouga's training companions and at least one other boy are devoured on-screen by a Horror.
  • Demon Slaying: A Makai Knight's job.
    • Before Knights, Priests handled this duty, too. (And oftentimes still do)
  • Demonic Possession: All the Horrors. And eventually, KIBA over Barago.
  • Ethereal White Dress: When Kaoru is possessed by Messiah and while she is fighting Kouga and Rei she wears a short, elaborate white dress in contrast to the black clothing that Kouga and Rei wear.
  • Fanservice Extra: Many one-shot Horrors could technically count, especially when they possess, harass or kill women in various states of undress.
  • Flaming Sword: 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 Start of Darkness.
  • Good is Not Nice: The Makai Knights aren't exactly the nicest people on earth, same goes to the Makai Priests.
    • Good Is Not Soft: However, in Makai no Hana, Raiga is shown to be the most "human" and is able to give a most genuine smile, more so than any other Makai Knight, since his mother Kaoru was just an ordinary human. That said, like his father Kouga, he always gets his job done and dusted. Also, do not by any means try to commit an inhuman act and rub it right in his face, as the Horror in episode 21 learns in an extremely painful way.
  • Hammerspace: Where most characters draw their weapons from.
  • Healing Shiv: Makai Knights can use the fires from their Madou Lighters to rapidly heal wounds.
  • Hellish Horse: Again, the Madouba. Unlike most examples, in spite of their demonic appearances, they assist the Makai Knights.
  • The Heartless: Horrors
  • Henshin Hero: All of the Makai Knights.
  • Holding Back the Phlebotinum: The 99.9 second time limit on the Makai Knight armour. (See also Superpowered Evil Side below.)
  • Hour of Power: A Makai Knight can only wear his armor for 99.9 seconds at a time before it starts eating away at his body.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Kouga towers over Kaoru.
    • Leo too, just watch Makai Senki #10.
    • Ryuga absolutely towers over Rian.
  • Incendiary Exponent: The Madou Flame has many combat and medicinal applications.
  • Katanas Are Just Better: Surprisingly averted. Not a single katana in the original 25 episode run. Most normal Makai Knight swords are jians, and their Makai Armor swords are ornate claymores, scimitars or zweihanders turning into zanbatou's. Some (like Kouga) nonetheless take to the traditional way of sheathing a katana after slicing with their swords (i.e. slide the blade at the mouth of the sheath, then store). A swordsman from feudal Japan awakens in the modern day in Makai Senki, but at no point is it claimed that his katana is a superior weapon.
  • Kill the Host Body: Once someone is possessed by a Horror, it cannot be undone, forcing this trope into play. It's one of the reasons Makai Priests (and some Knights) are taught Mind Wipe magic: To allow witnesses to forget the host in question.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Kouga's responses to the more fauxlisophical Horrors seem to reflect this outlook. Arguably, however, all Makai Knights would need some level of this in order to continue protecting humanity from Horrors long enough to be considered 'experienced'.
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Jabi, though all Makai Priests apply.
  • Legacy Character: The title of every Makai Knight. No matter who uses the armors, they are always given the same title as the previous one.
  • Leitmotif: GARO has a particular chorus line when he is victorious in battle.
  • Lineage Comes from the Father: As stated in the movie, only men can become a Makai Knight.
  • Love Hurts: Kouga and Kaoru's relationship. Whether it's his enemies, his incredibly dangerous occupation getting in the way, her tendency to be a Weirdness Magnet, his tendency to keep rather important secrets from her, or the fact 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, they both ended up having the women they were in love with violently murdered.
  • Magic Countdown: The Makai Knights can only remain in armour for 99.9 seconds. How long "99.9 seconds" lasts depends on the scene.
  • Magic Is Feminine: All the Makai Knights shown in the series are men while most of the Makai Priests seen are women. Rekka resented the fact that she couldn't be a Makai Knight because she was a woman.
  • Magic Knight: 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 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 Metal Gear-looking mini-mecha known as Gouryuu, which even leads to an A.I. Is a Crapshoot plotline in Makai Senki.
      • Later we have Makai Train and Edea.
  • Martial Arts and Crafts: Makai Priestesses (and presumably Makai Priests), who pretty much are magical blacksmiths and use magical brushes and sign flags in battle.
  • Master Swordsman: Kouga, Rei, Taiga, The Man in the Red Mask, Wataru, the one-off character Igari Juzo from episode 8 of Makai Senki and Leo.
    • Kakashi from Soukoku no Maryu is very skilled with a sword. This was eventually revealed to be because he was the "forgotten idea" of a fencing training dummy through which aspiring Makai Knight students, Kouga himself included, once trained.
    • Igari Juuzou is probably the purest example of this trope in the series. The others mentioned here has wither supernatural powers to help them, or are Makai Knights. Juuzou was a normal human being with no supernatural powers or any kind of empowerment whatsoever, just incredible swordsmanship honed through training which enables him to kill a Horror with just a normal katana.
  • Meaningful Name: 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. Kouga's name, as illustrated in the recap, is spelled with the kanji for "Steel Fang," which befits his character.
    • Intentionally invoked with Kouga's title, GARO, in Red Requiem: apparently, GARO was the Old Makai word for "hope."
  • Merchandise-Driven: Averted, though there are cool toys based on the series.
  • Mercy Kill:
    • In a manner of speaking, killing a Horror possessing a human counts as this as once a Horror possesses them, they will not remove themselves from their host (though as evident with Episode 3 in Chapter of the Black Wolf, Horrors can leave their hosts willingly) and undergo some serious excrutiating pain.
    • Should a human be tainted by Horror blood, all Makai Knights are ordered to kill that human as soon as possible in order to save them from a Fate Worse than Death. A human tainted by Horror blood suffers one of two fates after 100 days pass: They will either be in unimaginable excrutiating pain until they take their last breathe or become a Horror themselves. Although there is a way to save anyone stained by Horror blood, there are steps required to do so.
  • Monster of the Week: The Horrors, in which they can vary from normal ones to special types.
  • Our Demons Are Different: The Horrors feed on humanity's inner darkness.
  • Power Gives You Wings: GARO during his final battle against Messiah.
    • He has also gained Buddhist-themed rings around him against Legules in Beast of the White Night, and a more elaborate, chimeric-draconic wingspan (it combines Eastern and Western dragons in the design) against Karma in Red Requiem.
    • Crow in Makai no Hana, however it makes his transformation time shorter.
    • Garo gains a set of cape-like wings as Garo Yami near the end of Gold Storm Sho to counteract the elite winged Horror Jinga.
  • Rage Helm: The helmet of all Makai Knights in their armored form appear to be stylized images of wolves baring their teeth.
  • Ship Tease: Rei and Kaoru's relationship in the first series is a rather twisted version of this with Rei alternating between flirting with, threatening, and protecting Kaoru. Rei's Madou ring even states in GARO: Gaiden that Rei was at some point attracted to Kaoru. Of course, it could be considered well and truly sunk after he nearly forces himself on her. But since the first season, they have become rather good friends and in episode 12 of Makai Senki in the Couch Gag end credits, he leaves a bag of sweets outside her window. As for Kouga and Kaoru, don't ever harm or anything that suggests harm to Kaoru, especially in front of him. Their relationship starts off terrible, but they become closer as they spent more time together. They eventually marry and have a son.
  • Sin Invites Possession: Humans being possessed by Horrors are shown to have committed heinous and/or depraved acts or having dark desires that attracted their possessors. The Madou Horrors are exceptions to this as they are forcibly turned, regardless of their morality as humans, by being implanted with Madou Plants.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Evil: While still being used in the individual seasons, this trope is averted in the overall story as the Big Bad of the first season,Messiah is already stated to be the Mother of all Horrors. None of the following Big Bads has ever topped this in terms of position, as most of them are leftover Dragons from the first Big Bad.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Kaoru and Kouga's relationship. There always seems to be some sort of bad luck preventing the two of them from being completely happy together, mainly due to the dangerous nature of Kouga's job.
    • Hell, even after they get married and have a kid, problems still seem to plague their time together such as her getting sucked into another dimension and him choosing to leave their six year old son behind in order to save her
    • A tragic version in The One Who Shines In Darkness. Takeru falls in love with the daughter of a local florist, but The Masquerade forces him to Mind Wipe her and terminate their blossoming relationship. Twice.
  • Sword Beam: Seemingly a Makai Knight favorite.
  • Sword Sparks: Soul Metal has to be some kind of magical flint, because it sparks when it comes into contact with just about anything.
  • Telepathy: The new Bikuu movie introduces the concept of a power held by (presumably) any Dark Slasher; Heart Invasion Technique, which allows them to enter into one's heart and see the darkness inside them.
  • The Masquerade: Makai Culture operates seperately from common society. As such, extensive measures to Mind Wipe or Leave No Witnesses are undertaken by all operatives to keep it that way to prevent an upheaval of society. Priests and Knights that retire are under strict monitoring and aren't allowed to use any Makai magic or objects once they leave the Order lest they incur what are implied to be harsh penalties.
    • Horrors adhere to this too, though it's more to prevent their hunting from being impeded than any actual good-will.
  • Title Scream: Three of the series' four opening themes end with a cry of "GARO!", as the show's title appears on screen.
  • Tome of Eldritch Lore: The Madou Book.
  • Tortured Monster: The monsters of the week are humans possessed by demonic entities called Horrors. Whenever a human is possessed by a Horror, they will feel excruciating pain. They all get the Mercy Kill.
  • Transformation Trinket: The Makai Knights' weapons.
  • True Companions: The main characters, most evident in the final episodes of Makai Senki when they all band together to save Kouga.
  • World of Badass: 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.

    From GARO: Makai Senki (2011) 
  • Arm Cannon: The Horror in the first episode of Makai Senki uses one modeled after a cigarette lighter.
  • Asshole Victim: Nobody was crying when Ratess, who has been a condescending dick to Kouga in his appearances, is betrayed and killed by the Red-Masked Man, whom he was in cahoots with.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Kouga and Rei in episode 16 of ''Makai Senki''◊.
  • Badass Biker: Kouga has taken to it after his car was unceremoniously decommisioned in Makai Senki Episode 3. Rei carries on from the previous season.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit: Kouga wears a really sharp suit in episode 4 of Makai Senki while infiltrating a gambling den.
  • Bash Brothers: Kouga and Tsubasa in episode 14 of Makai Senki against Shijima Wataru.
  • Berserk Button: With an increase in emotional attachment, Kouga is more terrifying to watch when pushed too far. In episode 24 of Makai Senki, he even goes so far as to kill Sigma Fudou who was not only human but also revealed to be a childhood friend of Kouga during his Makai training days after he threatened to kill Kaoru.
  • Bittersweet Ending: The ending for Makai Senki seems to one-up the 2005 series. 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.
    • The movie Soukoku no Maryuu averts this trope, by revealing Kouga did indeed return to Kaoru.
  • Blatant Lies: The first Monster of the Week of Makai Senki says anything he can think of to try to distract Kouga, from claiming that the only people he killed were Yakuza (after having been shown killing the gangster's girlfriend and a random woman) to offering to team up against other Horrors.
  • Blood Knight: The time-traveling Samurai, Igari Juzo from episode 8 of Makai Senki.
  • Brought Down to Badass: 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.
  • Call-Back: Turns out 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 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.
  • Chekhov's Gun: 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.
  • Cool Bike: Rei rode a Harley Davidson in Makai Senki episode 12.
  • Cool Car: Kouga drove a Mercedes Benz in Makai Senki episode 4.
  • Conservation of Ninjutsu: Very obvious in the episode where Kouga and Rei travel to the demon realm to fight a horde of Horrors.
  • Continuity Nod: See Shrouded in Myth below.
    • For a more direct take, the magic flying guppy from the end of Red Requiem reappears in Makai Senki.
  • Cruel Mercy: At the end of episode 6 of Makai Senki, A Day in the Limelight episode for Rei, he kills the Horror that had been getting fed victims of a murderous old couple in exchange for showing them illusions of their dead son. After the image of their son vanishes, they beg Rei to kill them, to which he bitterly replies:
    Rei: I only slay Horrors.
  • Death World: The Promised Land seems to be this, going by Eruba's worrying about Kouga going there.
  • Demonic Possession: Inverted in episode 8 of Makai Senki. The Fish out of Temporal Water 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.
  • Disney Acid Sequence: Most of Soukoku no Maryuu qualifies as this.
  • Does This Remind You of Anything?: In Makai Senki #10, Kaoru and Leo take a special... potion... that enhances their senses and allows them to see pretty, magical creatures and they spend the day wandering the city in a state of wide-eyed bliss. Hell, the giant evil ki woman could very well be a metaphor for a really bad trip.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In Makai Senki Episode 5. The ghost of the manhole-maker's dead wife sporadically appears in the background before The Reveal at the end of the episode in which she kills her husband. Here, just see for yourself.◊.
  • Evil Former Friend: We find out in episode 24 of Makai Senki that Sigma was one of Kouga's childhood friends whom he trained with in episode 15. Sigma realizes this just as Kouga delivers the killing blow.
  • Evil Twin: Red-Masked Man's true identity is Sigma Fudou, Leo's older twin brother.
  • Evolving Credits/Couch Gag: The ending credits of each episode of Makai Senki show Kaoru working on a different spread for her children's book. Doubles as a Call-Back to the picturebook from the end of the first season, though the panels shown here mirror events from the episode even if she wasn't around for them.
  • Failed a Spot Check: In a good way, as Kouga has to go undercover in the second series and Zaruba has to remain completely still around others... but he can't avoid blinking.
  • Friendship Moment: Episode 10 of Makai Senki appears to have been one big Friendship Moment between Kaoru and Leo, including wandering around the city, looking at all various spirits and the adorable moment where Leo shyly tells her they have to hold hands down one particular street.
  • Grand Finale: Soukoku no Maryu serves as this for Kouga's story.
  • Hidden Depths: Leo, despite being a Makai priest, is good enough with a sword to take down a 20-foot creature in Makai Senki #10. In #18 and 19, it is revealed that he's secretly a Makai Knight by the title of Senko Kishi RŌDO/Flash Knight RŌDOnote .
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: In Makai Senki #22, Sigma Fudou (The Red Mask) wanted to draw power from Ganon (he has a hand from it) when he fought Rei, Leo and Wataru on Edea at the same time, but he end up being absorbed by Ganon.
  • Holding Hands: 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.
  • Homage: Episode 8 of Makai Senki is clearly a love letter to classic Samurai/Jidaigeki films.
  • Hypocrite: Ratess despite his bitching about being Incorruptible Pure Pureness personified, eventually betrayed the Makai and join up with Red-Masked Man. He promptly get his just deserts when the Red-Masked Man killed him and revealing that he's just another pawn for his scheme.
  • I Die Free: 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 Blood Knight in life, but would sooner kill himself than indiscriminately kill civilians.
  • Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Subverted: Ratess boasts that he is immune to corruption, but this does not confer upon him any immunity to being a dick. 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.
  • In Medias Res: Makai Senki #12 starts this way.
  • Karmic Death: Ratess, who despite his bitching to Kouga about his lack of "Yin-side", betrayed Kouga and the Makai, joining forces with the Red-Masked Man. He promptly get betrayed himself by the Red-Masked Man and is killed for his trouble.
  • Lighter and Softer: Soukoku no Maryu, which tones down the sex and gore considerably, and adopts a more fairytale-esque atmosphere, compared to the horror elements of the main series.
  • Lighthearted Rematch: Kouga and Rei in the ending of Soukoku no Maryu. The last time they fight was to kill each other in season 1, this time it was to settle their friendly rivalry.
  • Lip-Lock Sun-Block: Kouga and Kaoru share one in episode 24 of Makai Senki right before he leaves for the Promised Land.
  • Mechanical Lifeforms: Goryuu.
  • Mirror Match: Garo fights against a black version of himself the first time the "Man in the Red Mask" uses the Jyaku.
  • Moment Killer: Exaggerated in Makai Senki #11. Not only is all time stopped during said moment, but a monstrous manifestation of all Horrors killed by all past GARO appears to pre-emptively kill any such moments in the future.
  • Mood Whiplash: Makai Senki episode 15. It's an Whole Episode Flashback of Kouga training to become a knight. He enters a group and all throughout the episode they become True Companions. Five minutes before the end, a Horror drops from the sky and eats the three children. Onscreen.
  • My Beloved Smother: in Makai Senki #12. It says a lot that the Horror that ate and then impersonated her isn't that much different.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: The preview for Makai Senki #6 shows Rei and Kouga locking swords. It turns out it's just a sparring session.
  • Nice Guy: Leo, a contrast to most other Priests and Knights.
  • Our Ghosts Are Different: Makai Senki #5, featured a Horror that was using stylized manhole covers as traps to devour its victims. The creator of the covers is in fact at the end killed by what appears to be his previous love interest's ghost that he killed or let die in the past. But upon examining the body, Zaruba and Kouga can tell it wasn't a Horror but don't know what it was. So they left.
  • Power Copying: The "Man in the Red Mask" is able to mimic Kouga's transformation, giving himself a dark copy of Kouga's Makai Armor called "Jyaku" as long as he's transformed. This works in both ways: If Kouga dismounts his armor, the Jyaku army is dismounted as well.
  • The Power of Love: Hinted. In the final battle, Makai Priests toss their Madou Brushes to the Makai Knights, who use them as arrows. Kaoru drops her brush for Kouga. Despite being an ordinary brush and Kaoru just being a normal artist, the resulting arrow is the most powerful of all the attacks.
  • Red Right Hand: The red-masked man has one of these from Ganon, "Messiah's Fang".
  • Red Shirt: Despite appearing no less in dignity than the named Makai Knights (GARO, ZERO, DAN, RODO and BARON), all other Makai Knights in the climax of the series effectively became this (not helped by them appearing with less-intimidating and less-ornate armor than the aforementioned "main character" knights).
  • Samurai: Episode 8 of Makai Senki features a samurai who is sent into our time and is determined to defeat Rei after seeing him fight.
  • Scenery Porn: The trailer for Soukoku no Maryu show us The Promised Land in all it's glory. It's clear Keita Amemiya has been taking cues from Tim Burton, especially from Alice in Wonderland (2010).
  • Shrouded in Myth: From the early episodes of Makai Senki, it seems Kouga has now become very famous and feared for his achievements in the past series/films, such as defeating Messiah, KIBA, Legules and Karma.
  • Sunglasses at Night: The Horror in Makai Senki episode five wears these.
  • Trash the Set: Kouga's house gets completely totaled in the final battle in Makai Senki.
  • We Named the Monkey "Jack": In Makai Senki, Kouga gains a scouting creature shaped like a huge guppy, which Zaruba named Kaoru.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Sigma Fudou turns out to have been one of Kouga's childhood friends whom he trained with as a Makai Knight.
  • Wham Episode: Makai Senki #13 could count, as the Red-Mask man is revealed to be a Makai Priest and Well-Intentioned Extremist.
    • Even more so in episode #16, where we find out that he has the same face as Leo.
    • #18, Leo and the Red-Masked Man are different persons. Leo arrive just in time to save Kouga from being massacred by the Red Mask and revealed that he can transform into a Makai Knight, namely Senko Kishi RŌDO (Flash Knight RŌDO).
    • #19. Leo and Sigma (aka The Red Mask) are twin brothers. Sigma's Start of Darkness is also revealed.
    • #22 has Sigma being absorbed into Ganon, and Ganon possesses Edea.
    • #24, big time. Sigma was one of the students learning under Wataru, which means, he was Kouga's classmate.
  • You Are Worth Hell: In episode 21 of Makai Senki, Kaoru agrees to accompany the Makai Knights and Priests on a dangerous mission to save Kouga after he has been absorbed by Ganon. When Gonza objects on the grounds that she could be killed, she responds with this:
    Kaoru: I don't think I have the power to save Kouga either. I... just want to see Kouga. I want to see him. After all... if I were Kouga, that'd be what I were thinking.
  • Your Days Are Numbered: In episode 1 of Makai Senki, Kouga is cursed by the mysterious "Man in the Red Mask" with the Hametsu no Kokuin which would kill him in a short while, according to Zaruba. In episode 3, as it turns out, Rei has also been cursed with one.
    • Let's just say basically every Makai Knights in the show are cursed with one. Especially Tsubasa, whose body deterioates much quicker than others.

    From GARO: Makai no Hana (2014) 
  • Combat Clairvoyance: In Episode 18, Raiga and Bikuu engage in a silent duel with each other. Zaruba explains to Mayuri that the two did fight, even though they never made a single move, and Raiga was the victor as pointed out by Bikuu.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Played with through Mayuri. Raiga and Gonza go to some effort to make the cold Mayuri smile and they succeed on occasion, but too bad emotions loosen her grip on the horror cage contained in her body.
  • "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: It was announced in October 15th that Akimoto Sayaka, the actress who plays Biku, would sing the theme song for the Biku movie. This marks Sayaka's first solo song in 6.5 years since her iconic solo "Mushi no Ballad" from her time in AKB48.
  • Eye Scream: The Horror from #9 has insect limbs sprouts from his eyes as a part of his tranformation.
  • Fantastic Flora: Makai no Hana, aka The Flower of Makai.
  • The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: In episode 4 with the Monster of the Week's Chainsaw ripping through the film depicting the fight between him and Raiga.
  • Homage: to various classics horror movies, mainly George A. Romero movies.
  • Lighter and Softer: Compared to previous series.
  • Opening Narration
  • Sealed Evil in a Can: The titular Makai no Hana. It was a large flower that caused widespread chaos, so a group of Makai Priests separated it into nine Horrors and sealed in a stone slab. Predictably, they escape as the seal in undone by a mysterious person with a knife. Now, Raiga and friends must defeat and re-seal all the escaped Horrors. In other words, the plot is an example of…
  • Self-Parody: The opening scene from episode 4.
  • Ninja Pirate Robot Zombie: CROW is a Ninja Makai Knight with Wings
  • Spin-Offspring: This season stars Raiga, the son of Kouga and Kaoru. Funny enough, while they're not around, Gonza is still watching over him.
  • The Stoic: Mayuri, however, she progressively starts to show emotion as she interacts with Raiga.
    • Bikuu is incredibly stoic, so much, that she is Unable to Cry after she and Raiga defeats Ratel, who possessed her brother, Izumo, when he fell to darkness. Even after his death, she did not shed a single tear, and accepted that this event was his fate, as well as her own, as her job is to cut down all Makai Knights and Priests who fall to darkness and become possessed by Horrors.
  • Tranquil Fury: Raiga was angered after been lied by one horror and claimed proud of his downfall that shown precisely on Episode 20. Raiga fight really serious and more focused, giving no chance to the horror to attack.

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