GARO
Encyclopedia
, sometimes referred to as , is a Japan
ese tokusatsu
television
series. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo
from October 7, 2005 to March 31, 2006, lasting 25 episodes (with one additional "Overview" special, summarizing the events of episodes 1 through 13, aired before episode 14).
On December 15 and December 22, 2006, a special entitled Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun aired. A 2006 article in Total Licensing Magazine about a Licensing Asia event mentions Garo as having been "sold into the US and Spain," but the buyer is not named in the article. Since 2007, the show has also been aired in other countries like Italy (on MTV
), Malaysia (on 8TV
), and Spain (on Canal Buzz).
On October 30, 2010, an original film titled Garo: Red Requiem
was released in Japanese theaters. In May 2011, two new projects in the Garo franchise were announced: a second television series titled Garo: Makai Senki
, debuting on TV Tokyo
on October 6, and the spin-off V-Cinema
Kiba Gaiden
.
The catchphrase for the series is "Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns... yet by the blade of Knights, mankind was given hope...".
, Zeiram
). It is directed by Makoto Yokoyama (Power Rangers
) and Kengo Kaji (Uzumaki
). The creature designer is Yasushi Nirasawa
, well known later as the designer of the Imagin
for Kamen Rider Den-O
, also designing the monsters of Kamen Rider Blade
and Kamen Rider Kabuto
.
for the PlayStation 2
, under the name Golden Knight Garo. Two versions were released: a 'normal' version with the game disk, instructions, and standard pamphlets, and a more expensive 'Limited Edition' version which came with a green 'Fire' recolor of the metal Zaruba ring from the "Equip and Prop Vol. 1" Garo toy.
announced that a GARO feature film will be released in the fall of 2010. was theatrically released on October 30, 2010. The story is an adaptation of the original TV series, with Keita Amemiya directing once again. Ryosei Konishi and Hironobu Kageyama reprise their roles as Kouga/Garo and voice of Zaruba. Red Requiem will use 3D image technology developed by the Tohokushinsha group company Omnibus Japan. Makoto Yokoyama will also be returning to choreograph the action sequences.
featuring the story of Barago and Kiba the Dark Knight, released on September 7, 2011.
Ending themes
Insert song/B-side
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series. It was broadcast on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
from October 7, 2005 to March 31, 2006, lasting 25 episodes (with one additional "Overview" special, summarizing the events of episodes 1 through 13, aired before episode 14).
On December 15 and December 22, 2006, a special entitled Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun aired. A 2006 article in Total Licensing Magazine about a Licensing Asia event mentions Garo as having been "sold into the US and Spain," but the buyer is not named in the article. Since 2007, the show has also been aired in other countries like Italy (on MTV
MTV Italy
MTV Italy is the Italian speaking version of the popular 24 hour music and youth entertainment channel. Unlike its counterparts elsewhere in Europe, MTV Italia is a national channel available free-to-air on terrestrial television since September 1, 1997 and available on digital terrestrial...
), Malaysia (on 8TV
8TV (Malaysia)
8TV is a private Malaysian Chinese television station, previously known as MetroVision Channel 8. Metrovision closed on 1 November 1999. 8TV was officially launched on Thursday, 8 January 2004 as 8TV after being acquired by Media Prima Berhad....
), and Spain (on Canal Buzz).
On October 30, 2010, an original film titled Garo: Red Requiem
GARO: Red Requiem
is a 2010 Japanese 3-D film directed by Keita Amemiya, produced by Tohokushinsha Film, and based their tokusatsu series Garo. It was released in theaters on October 30, 2010. Ryosei Konishi reprises his role from the television series, while introducing new characters such as the one portrayed by...
was released in Japanese theaters. In May 2011, two new projects in the Garo franchise were announced: a second television series titled Garo: Makai Senki
Garo: Makai Senki
-External links:*...
, debuting on TV Tokyo
TV Tokyo
is a television station headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Also known as , a blend of "terebi" and "Tokyo", it is the key station of TX Network. It is one of the major Tokyo television stations, particularly specializing in anime...
on October 6, and the spin-off V-Cinema
V-Cinema
Japanese is the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s. The term is a trademark of Toei Company but is widely used in the West to describe any Japanese direct-to-video release. In Japan the term used is...
Kiba Gaiden
Kiba Gaiden
is a spin-off V-Cinema of the GARO television series, set for release on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7, 2011. A limited theatrical release will take place on September 3, 2011, in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district and on September 4, 2011, in Osaka's Umeda district at Cine Libre theaters.Actor and...
.
The catchphrase for the series is "Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns... yet by the blade of Knights, mankind was given hope...".
Production
The series was created and chief directed by Keita Amemiya (Kamen Rider ZOKamen Rider ZO
, translated as Masked Rider ZO, is a 1993 Japanese tokusatsu movie produced by Toei Company, part of their Kamen Rider Series. Directed by Keita Amemiya, the film was the first joint production between Toei Company Limited and Bandai....
, Zeiram
Zeiram
also known as Zeram, is a 1991 Japanese live-action movie in which the bounty hunter from another planet named Iria comes to Earth to do battle with Zeiram, an immortal alien creature with a strangely shaped head which resembles a wide-brimmed hat...
). It is directed by Makoto Yokoyama (Power Rangers
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
) and Kengo Kaji (Uzumaki
Uzumaki (film)
is a Japanese horror film directed by Higuchinsky. Uzumaki, released in 2000, is based on Junji Ito's episodic manga of the same name.The plot concerns a town infected with malevolent spirals...
). The creature designer is Yasushi Nirasawa
Yasushi Nirasawa
is a Japanese illustrator, character designer, and model maker born in Tochio, Niigata Prefecture. His first works were as the conceptual artist for the film Space Truckers and the set design of Vampire Hunter D. He is also credited for designing the Phantoms in "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within"...
, well known later as the designer of the Imagin
Imagin
The are a fictional race that serve as the antagonists in the Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Den-O. The name "Imagin" comes from several words in the English, Japanese, and even Arabic languages: , , and ....
for Kamen Rider Den-O
Kamen Rider Den-O
is the seventeenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. It premiered January 28, 2007 on TV Asahi, and concluded airing on January 20, 2008...
, also designing the monsters of Kamen Rider Blade
Kamen Rider Blade
, is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the fourteenth installment in the Kamen Rider Series. It aired on TV Asahi from January 25, 2004 to January 23, 2005. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. Along with the standard insect motif of the Kamen...
and Kamen Rider Kabuto
Kamen Rider Kabuto
is a Japanese tokusatsu superhero television series. It is the sixteenth installment in the popular Kamen Rider Series of tokusatsu programs. It is a joint collaboration between Ishimori Productions and Toei. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi. The first episode aired on January 29, 2006, and...
.
Plot
Garo focuses on the life of Kouga Saezima, who has assumed the title of Makai Knight to protect humanity against dark demonic manifestations called "Horrors." In his quest to purge them, he encounters a young girl named Kaoru whom he saves from a Horror, but who is stained with its demonic blood. As a rule, those that have been stained by the blood of a Horror shall be cut down, or else they will die painfully in approximately 100 days. Kouga spares Kaoru and tries to find a way to purify her before her remaining time expires. Thus, the series focuses on Kouga's developing relationship with Kaoru and his stand in protecting humanity in accordance with the wishes of his father, the previous Garo. In the process, encountering another Makai Knight named Rei Suzumura who eventually becomes his ally, Kouga confronts his father's former disciple who is also the cause of recent string of Horror attacks in preparation of a more sinister advent of the Horrors' originator Messiah.Horrors
The main villains of the series, Horrors are created from the negative feelings of humans and come from a netherworld realm. They hunt humans as their prey.Video game
A video game based on the series was produced by BandaiBandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, under the name Golden Knight Garo. Two versions were released: a 'normal' version with the game disk, instructions, and standard pamphlets, and a more expensive 'Limited Edition' version which came with a green 'Fire' recolor of the metal Zaruba ring from the "Equip and Prop Vol. 1" Garo toy.
Beast of the Midnight Sun
is a two-part mini-series that premiered at the end of 2006.Red Requiem
In July 2009, Tohokushinsha FilmTohokushinsha Film
is a film distributor and production company based in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It was originally founded in 1961 as a dubbing house for foreign films.- Anime :*Adventures of the Little Koala*Amon Saga*Appleseed*Assemble Insert*Genesis of Aquarion*Himawari!...
announced that a GARO feature film will be released in the fall of 2010. was theatrically released on October 30, 2010. The story is an adaptation of the original TV series, with Keita Amemiya directing once again. Ryosei Konishi and Hironobu Kageyama reprise their roles as Kouga/Garo and voice of Zaruba. Red Requiem will use 3D image technology developed by the Tohokushinsha group company Omnibus Japan. Makoto Yokoyama will also be returning to choreograph the action sequences.
Kiba
is a spin-off V-CinemaV-Cinema
Japanese is the direct-to-video industry that appeared in Japan in the 1980s. The term is a trademark of Toei Company but is widely used in the West to describe any Japanese direct-to-video release. In Japan the term used is...
featuring the story of Barago and Kiba the Dark Knight, released on September 7, 2011.
Makai Senki
is a second season of the Garo television series that premiered in select theaters on September 24, 2011, before beginning brodacast in syndication on October 6, 2011.Cast
: : : : : : : : : : :- Keiru (Voice):
- Beru (Voice):
- Rose (Voice):
Suit actors
- Garo:
- Zero: Mark Musashi
- Kiba:
- Demon Beast Armored Kodama:
- Beast Gulm:
- Horrors:
Songs
Opening themes- "Theme of GARO"
- Music by TRYFORCE and JAM ProjectJAM ProjectJAM Project is an anime music genre "supergroup" based in Japan, originally founded on July 19, 2000 by famous 1970s theme song artist Ichirou Mizuki...
- Lyrics & Composition: Hironobu KageyamaHironobu Kageyamais a Japanese musical artist prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game, and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the pop group Lazy. By the early '80s, the band split and Kageyama went solo...
- Arrangement: Kenichi Sudō
- Artist: JAM ProjectJAM ProjectJAM Project is an anime music genre "supergroup" based in Japan, originally founded on July 19, 2000 by famous 1970s theme song artist Ichirou Mizuki...
- Music by TRYFORCE and JAM Project
Ending themes
-
- Lyrics & Composition: Masaki Kyomoto
- Arrangement: Harukichi Yamamoto
- Artist:
- Lyrics & Composition: Masaki Kyomoto
- Arrangement: Harukichi Yamamoto
- Artist:
- "Garo ~Boku ga Ai o Tsutaeteyuku~"
- Lyrics & Composition: Masaki Kyomoto
- Arrangement: Harukichi Yamamoto
- Artist: Garo ProjectGARO ProjectGARO Project is a Japanese musical ensemble made up of the cast of the Garo television series. As a group, they released two singles in 2006 that featured the ending themes of the TV series and the made for TV movie Garo Special: Beast of the Midnight Sun.-Members:*Masaki Kyomoto: Producer,...
- "Boku wa Mada Koi o Shite wa Ikenai"
- Lyrics & Composition: Masaki Kyomoto
- Arrangement: Harukichi Yamamoto
- Artist: Garo Project
Insert song/B-side
- "Fencer of GOLD"
- Lyrics: Hiroshi KitadaniHiroshi Kitadaniis a Japanese vocalist who is prominent as an anison, or a musician who primarily performs theme songs and other songs in anime. He also works behind the scenes of many songs. He currently works with JAM Project, but has also been a part of Lapis Lazuli and Stagger and does solo work...
& Masami OkuiMasami Okuiis a Rock/Pop/Anison singer who was born in Itami, Hyōgo, Japan. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer.From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime TV and movies... - Composition: Hiroshi Kitadani
- Arrangement: Yohgo Kohno
- Artist: JAM Project
- "Fencer of GOLD" is the B-side to "Garo ~Savior in the Dark~".
- Lyrics: Hiroshi Kitadani