Pimp post!
Garo:
Can't wholeheartedly rec this show, which is something of a pity. GARO is creepier than Kamen Rider Den-O, creepier and darker and also far more problematic.
The main female character of GARO is Mitsuki Kaoru, the requisite Damsel In Distress. She's a bright, sweet girl driven mostly by Daddy Issues who eventually becomes the love interest. She's also the biggest reason I can't rec this show wholly, because it *never* obeys Bechdel's Law. Kaoru's whole point is to be the damsel in distress and make Our Hero feel human emotions again. (I have fic theories, yes I do.) There is a cool female character, but she appears in only two eps and the movie.
(Also the Horror victims tend to be female, and they tend to die helplessly. Grargh. Seriously, cannot wholeheartedly rec this show. Fans of Supernatural will probably enjoy it, and it's problematic for about the same reasons SPN was, with a few differences.)
The redeeming factors of GARO are its two main male characters, and also the *pretty*. GARO was gorgeously done. It's got gorgeous costuming and the swordwork is lovely and also everyone involved looks stunning. Especially Rei. I saw one episode involving Rei and promptly became obsessed with his incredibly gorgeous actor, Rei Fujita. Mmm, Rei. That man needs more porn.
(Also, after comics, it's kinda stunning to see fight scenes which are actually humanly possible. Kouga uses a European sword with an unusually long hilt, wielding it with either one hand or two, though I'm not so fond of the wirework. And human bodies actually bend that way! And no one claims body armor when the costume obviously can't look like that!
[Slade and Batman, I am looking at you. Body armor doesn't *work* that way. There's no possible way for either of them to honestly be wearing any body armor, I'm just saying.])
Sockich, Fickle, I think y'all would really like GARO. It's about Makai Knights who kill Horrors, and by Makai Knights I really mean Japanese Batman and his angry, slashy quasi-Robin. Marcelo, I would possibly explode from glee if you wrote GARO fic. Especially if it involved Kaoru and Jabi.
Kamen Rider Den-O:
This series I absolutely can rec wholeheartedly. It is ADORABLE. Also crack.
The main female character of Den-O is Hana, who is canonically stated to be stronger, tougher, and a better fighter than the main male character. She's awesome. She's also focused and kind of scary and has massive, massive issues, which get discovered later in the series.
The main male character of Den-O is Ryoutaro, a clumsy *sweetheart* with, secretly, a spine made of titanium. Seriously. He hates being inconvenient and is always trying to make people's lives easier and when it comes to what he thinks is right he flat refuses to be moved. Someday that boy will learn to stand up for himself. Hopefully, Hana can help with that. Ryoutaro also has Issues, which we shall discover later.
Kamen Rider Den-O is about, obviously, Den-O, who rides magical trains of time -- no, seriously, magical trains of time -- in order to go back into the past to prevent Imajins from destroying said past.
It was at this point in the explanation that Betty said "So it's Dr. Who plus Japan. Riders = Doctor, other Riders = Companions, Trains = TARDIS?"
... Yeah, pretty much, actually, except for Den-O being a more colorful variety of crack. It's a kid's show, after all, except for how they sneak in a few things that make me go AUGH. And also the Imajin are given personalities, which is more than, like, Daleks ever get.
Imajin are masked monsters who come in and grant wishes, with the caveat being that they then go back into your past time and start wrecking things, which of course carries over to the future. The five main Imajin of the series are Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, Ryuutaros, and Deneb, all of whom possess either Ryoutauro or the secondary main male character, Yuuto, who is this bratty, angry, resigned-to-his-fate Issues-laden child to whom I desperately want to give hugs.
Momotaros tends to be presented as a shallow character who just wants to fight things. Actually, he's got more depth than that -- Momotaros is my favorite. He has a code of ethics and a sense of loyalty, and he's genuinely affectionate without actually being any good at saying so. I heart him ever so.
Urataros is a smooth little liar who enjoys playing with people. I think, I can't tell for sure, that he's fond of and respects Ryoutauro. But he makes really *sure* that nobody ever knows for sure what he's thinking. Everyone in the group trusts him. This will not end up being a problem later on. No, I'm not lying.
Kintaros is a samurai. This really is the best way of summing him up -- he fights so he can be stronger. He's very traditional, says little Buddhist prayers and everything, and he was the first Imajin to be canonically described as being really a *good* being.
Ryuutaros is the single most powerful Imajin. He can control people, he can force the other Imajin out of Ryoutauro and refuse to let them back in, he's the only one with a long-range attack. He also tends to act like a homicidal five-year-old on crack. His trademark phrase is "Can I kill you now? I can't hear you! *BANG*"
Ryuutaros wants to be human. This will end up being a problem later on.
Deneb is head-over-heels in love with Yuuto. Hence the icon. His driving purpose is to aid and protect Yuuto, through helping him in battle, cooking for him, trying to make sure he has friends, etc. etc. etc. There are no *words* for how much I wish I could actually write the porn Deneb is so clearly yearning for.
There end up being some creepy creepy things happening in the show, but mostly Kamen Rider Den-O is about adorable crack. It is my comfort show. This is not to say Marcelo could not do a few things with Ryuutaros that would make me shriek in horror, of course.