GARO

***GARO*** (牙狼〈GARO〉, ****GARO****?) is a tokusatsu television drama (late-night tokusatsu) that aired from October 7, 2005, to March 31, 2006, on the TV Tokyo network. In recent years, it has also branched out into television anime and stage adaptations.

This series depicts the adventures of Kouga Saejima, the Makai Knight bearing the title "Garo" destined to hunt down the creatures of darkness known as "Horrors" that lurk in this world's shadows.

## Overview

This work, which marks a return to original program by Keita Amemiya five years after *Tekkouki Mikazuki*, is titled a "**Hyper Midnight Action Horror Drama**" (ハイパーミッドナイトアクションホラードラマ, , *Haipā Middonaito Akushon Horā Dorama*?). It is produced as a rare late-night slot for a tokusatsu program, targeting an adult audience.

In the staff, along with the regulars from Amemiya's works like BUDDY ZOO and Takayuki Takeya, a diverse group of talents gathered, including Makoto Yokoyama, Ryu Kaneda, Kengo Kaji, Yuji Kobayashi, and Yasushi Nirasawa. In the cast, there were unique faces such as Ryosei Konishi, who took on his first role in a tokusatsu program, and actors like Yukijiro Hotaru and Masaki Kyomoto, who had appeared in many tokusatsu programs. Many tokusatsu veterans also made appearances.

In the theme songs, the first opening theme was made instrumental (without lyrics), the second opening theme was performed by JAM Project, who were making their first attempt at a tokusatsu theme song, and the ending theme was handled by Masaki Kyomoto.

The in-series music for this show did not follow the common TV program practice of preparing a certain number of songs in advance and selecting them to fit the scenes. Instead, they employed a method of composing music on the fly to match each episode or scene. As a result, the total number of produced songs, including unused ones, reached approximately 420. Consequently, only a very small portion of these songs were used throughout the series (mostly limited to the background music in previews), and many tracks were used only once. After the broadcast ended, a soundtrack album was released, but it couldn't accommodate even all the songs actually used in the series, leaving several tracks unreleased.

During the production of this work, thanks to the planning and efforts of Yoshinori Watanabe, a production committee system was adopted where companies like Bandai and Tohokushinsha pooled their funds. As a result, they were able to secure a budget nearly double that of traditional tokusatsu programs. Additionally, one of Japan's leading VFX production companies, Omnibus Japan, was responsible for the visual effects.

In this work, action scenes and CGI capabilities far exceeded the standard for television programs. Numerous action sequences, including wire action, were incorporated even before transformation, with both the main cast and guest stars participating in action scenes. Particularly, the leads, Konishi and Ray Fujita, underwent training to eventually perform action sequences without stunt doubles.

Targeting an adult audience, this series features challenging depictions such as grotesque scenes involving extreme bodily transformations or damage, as well as scenes with female nudity (director Ryu Kaneda has approached the possession scenes in a manner that metaphorically resembles rape, emphasizing the horror aspect.). These are representations that would typically be difficult to realize within regular broadcast constraints. This contributes significantly to the series' strong horror elements.

The official title of the work is "**GARO**", but it is sometimes referred to as "**Dark Makai Knight Arc**" (暗黒魔戒騎士篇, , *Ankoku Makai Kishi-hen*?) due to the notation in the final cut of the last episode, to distinguish it from later-produced series. Amemiya states that it was decided from the beginning that the story of this work would be positioned as the "Dark Makai Knight Arc".

After the TV special, the series went silent for a while. However, in 2008, a pachinko based on this series, titled *CR GARO*, became explosively popular and recorded a huge hit. Following this success, Sansei R&D, the company responsible for the pachinko , became the lead sponsor, providing financial support. This led to the production of new installments in the series, starting with the 2010 theatrical film *GARO: Red Requiem*, which continued through various forms such as tokusatsu, TV anime, and theatrical films.

As a commemoration of the series' 10th anniversary, a high-definition remastered version began airing from July 8, 2016. During this broadcast, audio commentary featuring cast members and staff, including Amemiya, was aired as supplementary audio.

### Planning process

The planning of this work began when Keita Amemiya was approached to create a work utilizing the CG production team of Omnibus Japan, a subsidiary of Tohokushinsha. The anime *Tweeny Witches*, which was produced in collaboration with Amemiya and Tohokushinsha in 2004, had also been considered for a live-action adaptation. Due to this, Amemiya expressed a desire for the production of a live-action work, and it was conceived as a dark hero-themed project that Amemiya had previously envisioned.

Initially, it was being considered as a children's program, but due to budget issues and Keita Amamiya's doubts about producing a children's show, a proposal for a new content challenge was made. As a result, it was reconfigured as an adult-oriented program in a late-night time slot. At the time when it was being considered as a children's program, the content was significantly different from the finished product. It was set in a near-future and featured around 8 Makai Knights who would operate mechs on land, sea, and in the air. However, the design of Garo had already been determined at this stage. In previous works by Amemiya, there was a strong Japanese-style influence. Therefore, in this work, the motif is based on medieval European knights.

Because the suit after transformation was not suitable for action, it was positioned as a finishing move itself based on a proposal from action director Makoto Yokoyama.

As mentioned earlier, when it was initially planned as a children's tokusatsu hero show, the idea of creating a work that used a card game with metal rings and small swords for differentiation from the *Super Sentai* and *Kamen Rider* series came to mind. However, later on, the project shifted towards being aimed at adults, and the idea of using rings as items for the protagonist emerged. It was proposed that the main character would wear and interchange six different rings, such as a skull and female rings, based on commands and situations. However, when it was decided that the show would be "*GARO*", only the main character wore the skull ring, while the other Makai Knights wore bracelets or pendants. The designs of the other five rings served as the basis for this decision.

## References

1. ↑ Takeshobo <Takeshobo Bunko>. (2014). Eiji Oshita "From *Kamen Rider* to ***GARO***: Yoshinori Watanabe - The Man Who Built Japan's Character Business". pp. 322-339, "Chapter 10: A New Departure". ISBN 978-4-8124-8997-0.
2. ↑ Hobby Japan. (2016). "Uchusen" vol.154 (AUTUMN 2016). pp. 96-98, "[Interview] Keita Amemiya". ISBN 978-4-7986-1312-3.
3. ↑ Asahi Sonorama (Sonorama MOOK). (2006). "Uchusen YEAR BOOK 2006". p. 67. ISBN 4-257-13086-5.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Hobby Japan <Hobby Japan MOOK177>. (2006). "**GARO** Official Visual Book". pp. 64-65, "MAKING INTERVIEW 002 Action Director Makoto Yokoyama". ISBN 4-89425-425-5.
5. ↑ Hobby Japan <Hobby Japan MOOK177>. (2006). "**GARO** Official Visual Book". pp. 66-67, "MAKING INTERVIEW 003 Director Ryu Kaneda". ISBN 4-89425-425-5.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Hobby Japan <Hobby Japan MOOK177>. (2006). "**GARO** Official Visual Book". pp. 60-61, "MAKING INTERVIEW 001 Original Story/General Director Keita Amemiya". ISBN 4-89425-425-5.
7. ↑ Hobby Japan. (2017). "Hobby JAPAN" Vol.577. pp. 194-195, "Makai Shinpo". JAN 4910081270772.