Tokusatsu

Tokusatsu (特撮), sometimes shortened to Toku, 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 (tokusatsu literally translates as "special filming" in Japanese).

Tokusatsu is the genre that the Garo series belongs to. Other popular tokusatsu franchises are the ' (1975-present), ' (1971-present) and the  (1982-1999) series.

The Garo Series is considered to be one of the first modern attempts to create a tokusatsu series geared towards adults. Most Toku series such as Kamen Rider are generally catered towards a child demographic. Thus, much like western animation, most tokusatsu is stereotyped as a children's medium despite many artistic attempts to expand it beyond that (most notably the Godzilla franchise). Garo is the first show to break this trend and has been praised for it by fans and critics alike.