Garo: Gold Storm - Sho (film)

Garo: Gold Storm - Sho (牙狼〈GARO〉－GOLD STORM－翔) is a movie for the Garo series, released on March 28, 2015 and serves as a sequel to Garo: Yami o Terasu Mono.

The film is one of seven projects commissioned in 2015 to commemorate the franchise's 10th anniversary and was immediately followed up by a TV series.

Synopsis
Ryuga Dougai, Garo the Golden Knight, and Makai Priestess Rian travel from Vol City to Line City, and along the way meet the Makai Priestess Ryume who says she can help exorcise the dark energies from the Garo armor.

Their plans are disrupted when the ancient humanoid Madou Tool, Ago, awakens and kidnaps Ryume to use her body as a vessel to awaken the ancient Horror Degol that killed its Makai Priest creator Soutatsu in order to destroy humanity. Ryuga and Rian pair up with Makai pawnbroker D-Ringo and his partner Yukihime to stop Ago before it kills Ryume and before Degol can be revived.

Plot
A little girl carrying a daisy is walking in the woods and comes upon a stone figure that looks like a human. In a flashback, a Makai Priest named Soutatsu is observing a caravan in the desert with a man named Ago, a Madogu he created that can transform into a mechanized battle form. He tells his creation the reason he exists is to create a world without Horrors. Ago decides to share his dream as he would like that as well. They are spotted by the caravan and it is revealed that they are all Horrors. The two engage them until a giant red Horror impales Soutatsu and a distracted Ago is damaged while trying to reach his creator, destroying the red Horror.

The two are about to be overrun by the Horror army when a bright light appears. It sends a shockwave that knocks the Horrors back, revealing itself to be an unnamed bearer of Garo that quickly gets to work on sealing them. Ago asks what that is and Soutatsu says it is a Makai Knight and that the Makai Knights might achieve the dream he failed to achieve. Soutatsu passes on and Ago limps away until his body shuts down from the damage he had taken.

Zaruba explains to the audience what a Makai Knight is and the hope they bring to the helpless. After the opening title sequence, a dirty rundown city can be seen in the distance from a ledge and Ryuga Dougai asks Zaruba if Rian is there, which the ring confirms. In a tower city complex, Rian is in a bar waiting for Ryuga. A sleazy man tries to hit on her but she brushes him off, even checking to see if he is a Horror with some special matches.

The guy won't take no for an answer and is appropriately thrown down on the counter with his arm being twisted by Rian and after being released, runs off. Rian searches the room for a Horror and finds an older mob gentleman who may be the one. The thug from earlier gets threatened by a gangster with a knife and Rian tries to help, but the thug snatches her Makai Gun and hands it to the old man. They are humans who were bribed by the boss and leave with their money.

The complex occupants all flee in fear as the mob boss surrounds Rian with a group of enforcers, empties her gun and then reveals that he and his gang are Horrors. Ryuga appears and reveals the mobster Horror is Murado. Rian says she will take care of Murado and uses her magic match to give her the foresight to predict the movements she and Ryuga should take. During the fight, Ryuga retrieves Rian's Makai Gun and she reloads one bullet into it. Then she fires as the other bullets line up perfectly in the air, creating a line of flaming bullets that connect to each other, slide off of the Garoken which Ryuga redirects into the Horrors he sent skyward.

Murado tries to fight on his own, but Ryuga deflects his attacks and the Horror tries to make a break for it. The two fight on the roof and then Murado sheds his human form. Ryuga transforms into Garo much to Murado's shock as he had heard the armor had lost its shine and that Garo was nothing more than a legend. Ryuga uses his scabbard to pin down Murado's tail throwing him off the roof and fighting across the building, finally ending with Ryuga cleaving Murado's abdomen with a horizontal slash. Ryuga collapses in pain after disengaging the armor though, as dark energy seeps out of his body. Zaruba says that Ryuga hasn't purified the armor of negative Ki in a while, warning the young knight that if he doesn't purify Garo, the armor will eat him. Rian suggests they head for Line City to visit a famed Makai Priest to purify the armor.

Meanwhile, the two thugs from before are celebrating their ill-gotten pay, only to drop the money, one bill stained in blood which acts as a Gate to posses one of them with a Horror. Ago approaches them and says that one of them is no longer human, the Horror revealing itself and trying to eat the other man, only for Ago to defeat it with ease. Confused and shocked by all this the thug asks Ago what is going on, with the Madogu explaining about Horrors. Ago then strangles the thug and asks if he has a dream, then releases him, allowing him to live for now.

Ryuga and Rian walk through a forest and see an old woman leaving a daisy near a tree but then press onward to Line City. The two arrive in Line City and Ryuga wonders if there is even a Priest here, as he is used to Priests being in forest shrines or rundown cites. Rian uses her compass to detect the magical energies of the Priest's location. The two come to a market by the docks and are greeted by a kebab vendor who flirts with Rian. At first, Rian wants to leave but Ryuga senses something about him and asks to stay for a bit to hear him out. But it seems Rian has had enough and drags Ryuga off.

The compass gives a reading but nothing is there, until an old woman's voice guides them and a wall opens revealing the city's Watchdog Castle. The two are stopped by the Castle's guards but the Watchdog tells them to stand down. The Watchdog is a young woman with an old lady's voice named Ryume. Ryuga points this out, much to Rian's anger and embarrassment. Ryume then changes her voice to something "cute", sounding exactly like a young woman. One of the guards says that "Lady" Ryume is full of holy power, thus she never appears to age. Rian immediately feels the need to apologize to her, something Ryuga is oblivious to until Rian makes him bow in apology.

Ryume asks Ryuga to step towards her and she embraces him, reading his thoughts and sadness comes as she shares in his pain, she remarks how much he must have suffered as a Makai Knight, but that he is very brave. Ryume then asks Ryuga to summon his armor, as she knows why he has traveled to Line City. The armor comes out but then flies away from Ryuga and assembles itself in the air so Ryume can examine it, she says the armor will be purified by tomorrow due to the high levels of negative ki. At first, Ryuga is reluctant to leave his armor for that long but Zaruba detects that there are no Horrors in Line City. Ryume asks them to rest from their long journey and not to worry about the Horrors.

After leaving, Ryuga says he is amazed that Line City has no Horrors, to which Rian explains that Ryume sends holy energy out in pulses to the ground from a central location chamber once a month. This keeps negative ki out of the city and Horrors from entering the Human World from Line City. Ryuga is relieved and feels happy he can relax for a bit even after the armor is purified, amazed at Ryume's power. Rian and Ryuga have lunch at the kebab truck, with Rian feeling sad as she feels a bit inferior to Ryume as well as pressure to carry on Hakana's work as a support Priest for Garo.

Rian tells Ryuga she blames herself for letting his armor build up so much negative ki as well as lacking the ability to purify it when that happens. Ryuga tells her that power does not make a great Makai Priest, much to her confusion. The man at the kebab truck hands them their lunch and introduces himself as D Ringo. Rian asks Ryuga what he meant before, but he seems to have forgotten it upon enjoying his meal. At a shrine somewhere in Line City, Makai Priests are guarding a demon beast's hand that has dangerous power, only for Ago to show up and state his intent to take the item as the Priests prepare to fight him.

Back at the kebab truck, Rian is admiring a painting that Yukihime has on the wall of the truck. D-Ringo says it is a painting of a great warrior's statue that saved mankind form Horrors. D Ringo says that the statue was there in the forest but now it is gone. Rian remembers the old woman with the flowers from yesterday, but the three hear a magic wind chime ring, alerting that danger is nearby. At first D Ringo tires to conceal its alarm, but then Zaruba senses a faint reading of negative ki nearby. D Ringo says there are ruins near the city and that is the source of it.

Ryuga and Rian arrive at the shrine, only to find the four Priest guards dead. Upset by this, the two hear a sound and find Ago. Ago recognizes that Ryuga is a Makai Knight. Rian and Ryuga try to get answers but then attack him when he does not reply or return the stolen artifact. Ago proves to be more than a match for them though as he effortlessly counters their assault. Ago says their fighting is pointless as Ryuga knocks the artifact away and Rian goes to retrieve it while the Makai Knight has Agou distracted while battling his armored form. Ago transforms his blades into a giant Zanbato sword to block Rian's path and then tries to slice her and Ryuga in half. Agou then uses the dust from the wreckage as means of escape, taking the artifact with him but leaving behind a decorative button that Ryuga cut off during the fight.

Rian and Ryuga are in sorrow over the death of the Priests and blame themselves for not making it in time. Back at the Castle, Ryume gets a report on the events and reassures them it was not their fault. Rian inquires what the Ago stole and Ryume says it is a body part from the Horror Degol. Angry, Rian asks why they didn't destroy Degol's arm. Ryume says that nothing that the Order used could destroy it, thus guarding it at a shrine within her protective field around the city was the only option. Ryuga asks what would happen if it was taken out of range of her protective power and Ryume simply says it would unleash a destructive power upon the Human World.

Rian then deduces Ago needs that power for something. Ryuga reassures Ryume they will do whatever it takes to get the arm back. Ryume tells them that tomorrow is the monthly purification ceremony and she will be unable to help them during that time, but the Garo armor is almost ready. Rian and Ryuga split up to investigate any possible leads on Ago. Ryuga meets with D-Ringo and finds that the medallion's symbol matches the one on D-Ringo's truck. D-Ringo tells the young knight to follow him. Ago goes to his former resting place and finds the old woman putting flowers there. He goes there to rest and picks up the flowers, thinking of his creator as a flashback to the girl from the opening happens, handing the daisy to the statue.

D-Ringo takes Ryuga to an old antiques shop and asks to examine the medallion. He tells Ryuga that he put the symbol on his van because it looked cool and did not think of its significance or have any idea of its meaning. He produces some Makai tools from a chest which belonged to a retired Makai Priest, mentioning that said priest owed him and that he was addicted to cigarettes. He hands Ryuga an old red book, which is a Makai Tome, Ryuga then realizes that D Ringo is a Makai Priest. Meanwhile, Rian tracks down Agou while he is self-repairing his body. D-Ringo finds the symbol and reveals it is the mark of Soutatsu, a Makai Priest and a master Madou Tool craftsman who created a Humanoid Madou Tool named Ago. Ryuga then realizes that the man he faced was Ago, and wonders why a Madou Tool would kill humans. D-Ringo seems to be more concerned about why an old Madou Tool would revive after so long.

In a dream flashback, a thunderstorm raged in the forest where Ago rested and a bolt of lightning revived him back to life. Ago wakes up and sees Rian approaching him. She attacks him, but gets knocked back. Ago asks her if she has a dream and tells her his dream is a world without Horrors. Rian says she shares that dream, but Ago says she should wonder where Horrors come from. Rian tries to attack him but keeps getting knocked away and her attacks have no effect. Ago states that during his slumber, he kept thinking about how to make his creators dream real. He says that Rian will die at his hands soon enough and to cherish her job as a protector in her time left, taking his leave, but not before inquiring if all humans are worth protecting.

Ryume is nearly finished purifying the Garo armor's Ki, while Rian returns to the kebab stand. She notices the street punk who stole her gun walking past her before sitting on a bench, snatching a woman's purse, and then running off. She chases after him and throws him on the ground. Angry, the thief tries to stab Rian with a knife, only to be beaten up by her in a fit of rage. The thief tries to apologize and begs her to stop, but Rian is angry and loses control of herself, continuing to beat him up until Ryuga stops her. Rian says that he deserves it for helping Horrors and stealing from innocent people. The thief apologizes, but Ryuga angrily tells him to leave.

Rian breaks down crying for a second, as she feels conflicted about what Ago said. Ryuga comforts her and both compare notes on their findings as well as Rian explaining her encounter with the Madou Tool. Ryuga thinks that Ago's words about a world without Horrors were said by the Madou Tool to trick Rian, angrily questioning why a Tool would kill the Priests. Ryuga realizes what he said and apologizes as he did not mean to snap at her. Ryuga says that a world without Horrors is his dream too. Rian then asks Ryuga to promise that he can make that dream come true. Ryuga says he doesn't know if he can create such a world, but he can protect those who share his dream of that world as well as Rian.

Zaruba alerts Ryuga to a disturbance of negative ki energy building up in Line City. Ryuga and Rian realize in terror that Ago's plan is to target Ryume to stop the purification ceremony and use Degol's Arm to send a massive surge of negative ki to slaughter all the denizens of Line City.

Back at the Castle, the guards try to stop Agou from getting to Ryume, but the Madou Tool knocks them out and continues toward Ryume. He demands that she obey him and come quietly but Ryume says Ago must defeat her first. Ryume leaps from her throne, displaying her fighting skills to the stunned Madou Tool, who did not anticipate this. Ryume then changes into a battle outfit to enhance her mobility. She tries to use her skill to fend off her would-be kidnapper to little avail. She then uses the screen she changed in to make into a spinning offensive device with blades deploying from it.

Ago counters with his own blades and breaks it, knocking out Ryume's other guards. Ryume brings out her Madou Brush and creates a magical dimension with the scrolls in her hair, surrounding the Castle so Ago can't escape. Ryume flies at Agou and quickly places Makai markings on his body with her brush, which detonate. However, Agou is undamaged and flies at her, knocking her out and breaking the dimension she created. A storm rages outside as the negative ki builds up in the city and D-Ringo offers Rian and Ryuga a ride to the central shrine.

Agou has chained up Ryume to the ceremonial platform to prepare his version of the ceremony, just as Rian and Ryuga arrive outside. D-Ringo offers Rian and Ryuga some equipment from the black market of the Makai. He says he could not sleep at night if he let two "kids" walk right into their deaths. Rian takes magic chi meditation balls and Ryuga adds a decorative protective charm to his magic coat and new gauntlets.

The two rush in as Ryume tells them to keep away, with Ago prepared to fight them if they interfere. Ago explains the only way to stop Horrors is to kill all humans, that was his revelation as Horrors need Humanity's negative emotions and acts of wickedness to enter the Human world through Gates. Ryuga is angered by this and charges at him while Rian tries to get to Ryume, only to be knocked back by Ago's chains. Ryuga and Ago fight with the young Makai Knight angered as Ago says that humans all suffer or cause misery, rejecting that as killing humans is not what a protector is.

Ago says that human evil is the cause of it all so eliminating it will bring peace. Ryuga says all humans deserve the light of salvation and a chance to start over. Ago uses a powerful slingshot kick to knock Ryuga down and changes into his armor form. Ryuga uses his new magic gauntlets to block Ago's blades and attack him while Rian works to free Ryume. Ago pulls out his Zanbato and tries to cut Ryuga in half, the Makai Knight pinned under the swords weight and trying to block it with his gauntlets. Rian frees Ryume and they try to escape.

Ryuga removes one of the rotating jacks in Ago's feet when he tries to uses a spinning slash, then Agou gets his sword stuck in the ceiling when tries to do a downward slash, the two then fight on top of it. Just as Ryuga is about to be dropped by Agou off the sword, Rian uses the one of the chi balls, which transforms into a flying platform. Ago transforms his chains into a rocketbelt and pursues Rian and Ryume as Ryuga falls. Ryuga uses the charms on his coat to gain the power of flight and chases after Ago. Ago nearly catches Rian but Ryuga gets in his way and has an aerial battle with the rouge Madou Tool, slamming him on the highway road and through a tunnel and across skyscrapers.

Ryuga dismantles Ago's rockets and the two land on a semi-truck, Ago ripping off one of Ryuga flight charms. The two fight on top of the truck with Rian providing backup to Ryuga, until Ago knocks Rian and Ryume off the flying platform. Ago stabs the cab of the truck, which scares the driver to slam on the brakes and send Ryuga flying off. Rian tries to protect Ryuga with her Makai Gun but Ago's armor deflects the bullets and she runs out of ammo. Ago heads towards her, lifting the truck with his chains and repaired rockets to crush her to death.

Ryuga desperately runs to try and reach Rian, then uses his other charm to levitate the truck in mid-air, stopping it from crushing Rian and the truck explodes safely away from her. Ryuga tells Ago to stop this, but the mechanical human continues rambling about his ultimatum and how pointless it is to try and defeat him as Ryuga cannot do so. Ryuga says he has had the same dream of a world without Horrors, but he has no answer on how to make that a reality, just that he will try to make it happen and that Ago is wrong about how to bring this world about.

Ago seems to come to his senses but then Degol uses its evil power to possess Ago, stating that the damage it caused lodged a part of itself into him and is carrying out his will, explaining Ago's erratic behavior. Ago turns into an orb-like egg for Degor to be reborn in that attacks Ryuga. Ryume finds out that Garo has been fully purified and gives back the armor to Ryuga, which he immediately dons. Through the purification and the power of the charms, Garo becomes Garo Sho upon transformation, giving the Golden Knight the ability to fly without wings. Garo slices the egg and Degor emerges, becoming an armored winged dragon-centaur like creature with three tails. The two fight in mid air with Garo using cars and trucks as platforms to propel his movement and duels the beast.

Ryuga tries to reach through to Ago, saying he can make his dream and his creators dream come true. The spirit of Soutatsu appears to Ago and tells his creation to entrust the dream to the young Makai Knight and that it is time for him to rest. Agou then awakens and tears apart Degol from the inside, restraining him with his chains so Garo can deliver the final blow with his Zanbato, sealing Degol for good. A sad Ryuga finds one of Ago's medallions as one of the only things that remains of him.

Rian says that Ago was half right, without humans there would be no Horrors. But, it is a dream that cannot and should not come true. Ryuga says such a world would be too tragic as nobody would be alive to witness the beauty of a world without Horrors or smile or laugh. At the Castle the next day, Ryume asks Ryuga to step forward and gives Zaruba an upgrade, a faceguard, as a thank you. The upgrade allows Ryuga and Rian to teleport back to Ryume if they are ever in danger.

The two say their goodbyes to D Ringo and Yukihime as they head out of the city. Rian asks why they couldn't hitch a ride with D Ringo and Ryuga says that Rian should have told him to offer. She says it is not a lady's place to ask and that she is not his mother when he says her job is to support the Golden Knight no matter what. The two pass by the resting place of Ago, a single daisy and a bouquet of flowers resting near the tree. After the credits, the little girl from the beginning asks Ago if he likes flowers, Ago wakes up and smiles.

Allies

 * Zaruba
 * Rian
 * Ryume
 * Fuji
 * Raiji
 * D-Ringo
 * Yukihime
 * Priest Soutatsu
 * Little girl
 * Old woman
 * Truck driver

Villains & Horrors

 * Degol
 * Ago
 * Murado
 * Fukaya
 * Okabe

Cast

 * Little girl:
 * Old woman:
 * Truck driver:
 * Ryume (Voice):
 * Fuji (Voice):
 * Raiji (Voice):
 * Little girl (Voice):
 * Little girl:
 * Old woman:
 * Truck driver:
 * Ryume (Voice):
 * Fuji (Voice):
 * Raiji (Voice):
 * Little girl (Voice):
 * Old woman:
 * Truck driver:
 * Ryume (Voice):
 * Fuji (Voice):
 * Raiji (Voice):
 * Little girl (Voice):
 * Little girl (Voice):

Songs

 * Opening theme
 * Composition & Arrangement: Shiho Terada, Yoshichika Kuriyama
 * Artist: Masami Okui, Hiroshi Kitadani, Yoshiki Fukuyama
 * Artist: Masami Okui, Hiroshi Kitadani, Yoshiki Fukuyama


 * Ending theme
 * Composition: Hironobu Kageyama, Shiho Terada, Yoshichika Kuriyama
 * Arrangement: Shiho Terada
 * Arrangement: Shiho Terada