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Main Characters

Kouga Saejima (GARO)

Known as the "Golden Knight", Kouga is a renowned Makai Knight who inherited the title from his father, Taiga Saejima. His weapon of choice is a longsword. While he is coldly dedicated to his mission at the start of the series, even heartlessly using Kaoru as bait for Horrors, he slowly begins to care for her without ever losing his stoic personality.

• Badass: Oh, HELL YES.
• BFS: His powerful sword is already big to begin with. Then when he rides his horse, Gouten he can transform it into a insanely huge version of it, Zankantou-style to take down Horrors the size of houses.
• Jerkass --> Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Married to the Job: At the start of the series.
• No Social Skills: Dear god yes.
• Power Limiter: He gets hit with the Brand of Destruction in Makai Senki, which weakens him every time his armour is summoned.
• Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Kouga could kick the ass of any demon that's thrown at him... but do not ask him to coherently express his feelings, question him on appropriate social interaction, or play poker.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money: Kouga is ridiculously wealthy and won't hesitate to use his money in pursuit of his mission. When confronting a Horror that has possessed an actor taking the lead role in a play, he ensures a one-on-one showdown by buying all the tickets.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Even though he has two incredibly sexy Makai Priests who have shown some sort of interest in him and in a series where there is fanservice abound, Kaoru is the only person Kouga has shown any romantic attraction to. In the short time they were together, he fell for her, and stayed in love with only her even during the times when they were seperated.
• The Stoic
• Trauma Conga Line: Where do we start? As a child, Kouga not only witnesses the traumatic death of his father but also the deaths of his childhood Makai-training camp friends whom he witnessed GET EATEN right before his eyes! As an adult, he is isolated, emotionally repressed, socially awkward, and ruthlessly devoted to a frankly horrific job that will probably end up getting him killed at a young age. Despite all this, he meets the love of his life under horrible circumstances in which she is cursed to die in a hundred days. He literally goes through hell to retrieve her cure, they get a breather, and then they find out that she's actually a gate for the ultimate Horror to pass through. Her trusted mentor is actually the Big Bad who killed his father and who invokes an even Bigger Bad to possess her body. While this is happening, Kouga is getting his ass kicked by Barago, Kodama (during which he nearly became a soulless monster), GULM, Messiah!Kaoru, Messiah, and then Barago's armour KIBA. Oh, and then his magic talking ring dies. And then, the girl he did all of it for leaves for Italy. Yeah, she comes back but still.
  • Come in the second season, he is the one cursed to die this time around, and just as he thinks that's about to be resolved, he gets almost permanently absorbed by the corpse of the demon Ganon to help create Idea, a monstrous robotic weapon designed by a man who wishes him and every other Makai Knight dead simply for being "not good enough" at fighting the Horrors.
• Tsundere: Kouga is a male version of this towards Kaoru. Even though he loves her, he still hasn't quite figured out the mechanics of expressing that affection in way that doesn't make him look like a jerk or incredibly awkward.

Rei Suzumura (ZERO)

Known as the "Silver Fang", Rei is a Makai Knight who shirked his responsibilities to pursue a personal vendetta against Kouga, who he believes murdered his lover. He wields two swords that can combine into a single weapon when in his armour. Though he acts friendly and familiar, his true personality is cold and focused.

• Badass: Definitely
• Bifurcated Weapon: The two blades he uses can combine into one dual bladed weapon. Can be used as a Boomerang too.
• Dual-Wielding: Wields two powerful short swords skillfully in combat.
• Enigmatic Minion: At first, but he mellows out by the end of the series once the misunderstandings are cleared up.
• Heel Face Turn: While not evil persay, he starts as an enemy due to a major misunderstanding and the manipulation of the Eastern Watchdogs. After the truth comes to light, he becomes a staunch ally.
• Ineffectual Loner: May have something to do with his Dark and Troubled Past, he mostly try his best to shun contact from anyone after battle. Even if they are friends. Still, he will never hesitate to lend a helping hand when the time comes.
• Jerkass --> Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Meaningful Rename: Formerly Ginga Suzumura, he changed his name to Rei after the deaths of his lover and adoptive father.
• My Hero Zero
• Perpetual Smiler: And when he stops smiling, it's asskicking time.
• Reverse Grip
• The Rival

Kaoru Mitsuki

When she is introduced, she is a struggling young artist whose life becomes entangled with Kouga's after she is caught in the middle of a fight between Kouga and a Horror. In the ensuing battle, she is splashed with the monster's blood and afterwards cursed to die in a hundred days. Kouga initially decides to use her as Horror bait but as they grow closer, he ends up falling for her and is determined to protect her at all costs.

• Apocalypse Maiden: Kaoru turns out to be one at the end of the first series.
• Break the Cutie
• Dark Action Girl: Whenever she becomes possessed by Messiah.
• Damsel in Distress: In the first series, hardly an episode passes where nothing is trying to eat/kill/rape/abduct Kaoru.
• Girl Next Door
• Morality Pet: For both Kouga and Rei, mostly in the first series.
• The Pollyanna: Kaoru is almost aggressively determined to be this no matter what hardship she goes through since she realizes that she has no control when it comes to Makai matters and the best she can do is put up a facade of unwavering optimism. Even after she finds out that Kouga is dying she refuses to allow anyone see her despair and only breaks down once she is alone.
• Trauma Conga Line: Starts off the series as a struggling artist and then she gets splashed by demon blood and is condemned to die in a hundred days, is attacked on what almost appears to be a daily basis by demons and occasionally Rei, finds out the guy she was falling in love with not only knew that she had very little time to live and was keeping it a secret but actually kept her alive for the sole purpose of using her as monster bait, betrayed by Rei in order to get to Kouga, and then narrowly escaped her death sentence at the last second. But just when things were starting to look up, she finds out her mentor had actually manipulated her into becoming the Big Bad, she gets kidnapped once again, becomes possessed by the Mother of all Horrors and is forced to fight her friends. Of course, everything worked out for her in the end. Of the first series that is. Flash forward to the second series and this time around her boyfriend is the one that's dying. Girl cannot get a break.
• Unwitting Pawn: She wasn't simply being used by Barago, who manipulated her ever since she was a child to become Messiah's host but also by Kouga, who initially only spared her life to use her as Horror bait. Although the latter later came to regret his actions. The former as well but for very different reasons.

Characters Introduced in GARO (TV)

Karune Ryuzaki

A psychologist who acts as Kaoru's confident and emotional support. He is secretly BARAGO, having taken the guise of Karune Ryuzaki to keep a close watch on his Apocalypse Maiden.

• Big Bad In Nice Guy Clothing.
• Badass in a Nice Suit

Jabi

A skilled Makai Priest, and childhood friend to Kouga. She has a sharp tongue and a no-nonsense attitude. She also has a small crush on Kouga.

• Action Girl
• Back from the Dead: She is resurrected during Beast of the Midnight Sun thanks to Kouga.
• Badass: She's no Makai Knight, but she can kick serious amounts of ass with her skills. She even manages to duel the Big Bad of Makai Senki to a standstill, although she is visibly exhausted afterwards.
• Black Magician Girl
• Sacrificial Lion
• Stuffed Into the Fridge
• Tsundere
• Unlucky Childhood Friend

The Eastern Watchdogs

The three young girls who act as Kouga's superiors in the first series of GARO. Named Keira, Beru and Rose, they are ancient Makai Priestesses who almost seem to share a single mind. As Watchdogs, their main role is to give execution orders to Kouga when a powerful Horror is detected, and perform the Makai Purification ritual on Kouga's sword. They are secretly working to revive Messiah.

• Creepy Child
• Dragon with an Agenda: Seems to be The Dragon to BARAGO, but is actually the one manipulating him.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences
• Fusion Dance: In the final act of GARO, all three of them merge their spirits into the host body of a young woman, calling the resulting form "GULM".
• Man Behind the Man
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old

Kodama

The mute butler who serves the Eastern Watchdogs.

• Battle Butler- he can go toe to toe with Kouga and Rei in terms of combat prowess.

BARAGO

The main antagonist of the first series of GARO. BARAGO is known as the Black Fang, a fallen Makai Knight who was granted the forbidden power of the Demon Knight KIBA. This allowed him to surpass the 99.9 second time limit on his armour, and to consume Horrors to increase his own powers. His goal is to achieve ultimate power by absorbing one thousand Horrors, with the final one being the Ultimate Horror, Messiah.

• Badass: Sure, he is evil but that doesn't stop him from being one.
• Big Bad
• Evil Counterpart: Of GARO. Hell, he even uses the same fighting style. Probably because they were both taught by the same person: Kouga's father.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Bet you never thought you were gonna end up being eaten by the mother of all Horrors you just resurrected yourself, eh BARAGO??
• Evil Makes You Monstrous: Played straight. As BARAGO absorbs more Horrors, his armour becomes dark and twisted.
• Fallen Hero
• Unwitting Pawn: To Messiah, who played him like a fiddle to resurrect herself and then devoured him without a second thought.

Messiah

The Ultimate Horror. Despite all her power, she is trapped in the Makai and can only enter the Human Realm if summoned.

• Bigger Bad: She IS the MOTHER OF ALL HORRORS.
• Bishonen Line: She starts at the final stage, taking the form of a beautiful human woman.
• Sealed Evil in a Can

Characters Introduced in Movies/Specials

Tsubasa Yamagatana (DAN)

By the book Makai Knight. Known as the Midnight Sun Knight. Believing emotions would only get in the way on the job, at first at least. Big brother to Rin.

• Badass: Comes with the job.
• Big Brother Instinct: To Rin.
• Blade on a Stick: Wields a makai staff/spear combo weapon in combat.
• By-The-Book Cop: Believing emotions would only get in his way in his job/battles. He gets better after getting called out by both Kouga & Rei when his little sister was in danger.
• Jerkass --> Jerk with a Heart of Gold

Rekka

A hot-headed Makai Priest. She resents the fact that she was denied the opportunity to become a Makai Knight because of her gender, and trained herself to actively hunt Horrors on her own. However, her lack of discipline and furious determination often results in civilian casualties.

• Action Girl
• Black Magician Girl
• Hot-Blooded
• I Did What I Had to Do: How she justifies the collateral damage.
• Tomboy

Characters Introduced in Makai Senki

Leo Fudou

A genius Makai Priest who becomes the support for Kouga in Makai Senki. He is responsible for a number of inventions, such as the mechanical Gouryuu that can allow Makai Priests to seal weaker Horrors without the need for a Makai Knight. Despite his achievements, he conducts himself with great humility and poise. He is secretly a Makai Knight as well, whose title is RŌDO, the Flash Knight.

• Adorkable
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He doesn't act like an idiot but his shyness makes some people around him think of him less. Especially some of his Jerkass Makai Priest superiors. That's why they tend to forget that he's very dangerous in combat.
  • Not to mention that he's secretly a skilled swordsman & a powerful Makai Knight.
• Hidden Depths: Revealed to be a skilled swordsman despite being a Makai Priest. He can also transform into a Makai Knight. His title is RŌDO, the Flash Knight
• Gadgeteer Genius
• The Smart Guy

Wataru Shijima (BARON)

A Drill Sergeant Nasty instructor to Makai Knights in training. His title is the Thunder Knight.

• Badass: Notice a pattern here?
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: Famed in the Makai community as a relentless & demanding instructor of troubled Makai Knights in training. But he does genuinely cares about his charges/students. He was also Kouga's instructor when he was young.
• Enemy Within: The effect of the Mark of Destruction.
• Face Heel Turn: Against his will, due to the effects of the Brand of Destruction.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Katanas Are Just Better: Wields a Katana made of Soul Metal in combat.

The Man in the Red Mask (Sigma Fudou)

The main antagonist of Makai Senki. The Man In The Red Mask is a rogue Makai Priest who is attempting to destroy the Makai Knights, believing that they are unneeded and that Makai Priests should be solely responsible for dealing with Horrors. To this end, he brands as many Makai Knights as possible with the Brand of Destruction, develops anti-Horror technology such as humanoid Gouryuu, and attempts to sway Makai Priests to his side. In addition to his incredible magical prowess and intellect, he is also a skilled swordsman and fighter. His true identity is Sigma Fudou, Leo's identical twin brother.

• Big Bad: Of Makai Senki.
• The Evil Genius
• Evil Is Not a Toy: He gets absorbed by Ganon after drawing from her power one too many times. Y'know, GARO villains really should be forced to watch previous series and take notes.
• Evil Sounds Deep
• Evil Twin: Can summon a dark version of the GARO armour, known as JAAKU. There's a more literal example, in him being the twin brother of Leo.
• Hoist by His Own Petard
• Human Resources: He has no issue with killing and experimenting on humans to achieve his goals. His familiar Gigi was originally a human woman whom he murdered, and he plans to fuel Edea with the lives of "sinful" humans.
• Mask Power
• Mecha-Mooks: His Humanoid-Type Kouryu.
• Red Right Hand
• Revenge Before Reason
• The Unfavorite: The reason for his Start of Darkness, after Leo was chosen to inherit the title of RŌDO despite Sigma's superiority in combat and magic.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: He wishes to sacrifice "sinful" humans to Edea as its fuel. If anything, he sees it as a benefit, ridding the world of "pointless" humans while protecting the rest.
• Weapon of Mass Destruction: Edea.

Ganon

A powerful Horror known as the "Fang of Messiah". Its corpse holds great power and is used by The Man In The Red Mask as the lynchpin of his plan.

• Crossdresser: The actor playing Ganon is a real life crossdresser.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Ganon's existence was hinted at in some of the OAV/Specials.
• Eldritch Abomination
• Humanoid Abomination: Like Messiah, Ganon's "true" form is that of a human woman.
• Man Behind the Man: Subverted. Unlike Messiah, Ganon had no grand scheme to resurrect herself and did nothing to manipulate Sigma; she was dead after all. It just so happened that Sigma's malice was enough to trigger a resurrection, and once awakened Ganon did what any Horror would do.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: Not so much "sealed" as "dead". Until Sigma's malice powers her resurrection.