Movie
Description
Raikō serves as the Golden Knight Garo in the Heian period. His hair flows like a lion's mane, and his eyes hold a sharp, penetrating intensity. Behind that formidable exterior lies a personality marked by mischief and innocence. He sometimes tries to slip unseen from his residence, plays tricks on his companion Kintoki, and shows pure delight when sampling sweets introduced by the onmyōji Seimei.
A magical seal from Seimei initially prevented him from summoning his Makai Knight armor. She wished to keep him as her personal knight, wary of the dangers in his guardian duties. This seal meant he depended on her to activate the Madou Ring Zaruba, essential for battling Horrors. After each fight, removing his armor left him deeply exhausted. During the fourteenth episode of his series, he learned to break the seal himself, gaining free use of his armor and shifting Seimei’s view of his independence.
He fully accepts his duty as a guardian, though he faces ideological clashes, especially with Seimei, who seeks to protect him beyond his knightly role. These tensions also bring him into conflict with figures like Fujiwara no Yasusuke, a righteous thief who became a Makai Knight.
Raikō is the son of Tada no Shinbochi, also called Minamoto no Mitsunaka, and Tamagushi. In his youth, his father was forced into a political marriage with the sister of Fujiwara no Yasumasa, a plot by Fujiwara no Michinaga to obtain the "golden armor." This led to his parents' exile from the capital. While vulnerable in exile, the family was assaulted by Horrors and saved by Seimei and Kintoki.
For a long time, Raikō endured inner turmoil, though his spirit remained unharmed within the armor. It was later revealed he had pretended to forget his past; he always knew his role as guardian and bore no grudges. He even pledged to protect his half-brother, Minamoto no Yorinobu.
Repeated jokes and deceit from Seimei fostered in him a distrust of women. Kintoki confirms his inexperience with women, a trait that continues into the timeline of *Usuzumizakura -GARO-*, where his innocent questions are occasionally mistaken by Seimei as flirtation.
The character appears in a flashback in episode 23 of *Vanishing Line*. He also features in crossover drama CDs bundled with *Usuzumizakura -GARO-*, where the deity Inari tasks him with purifying the "Tower of Heroic Spirits." On his way, a time-manipulating Horror ambushes him and casts him into a temporal rift. There, he meets Sword from *Vanishing Line* and speaks with him. In the drama CD’s finale, he joins Sword and Leon Luis from *Honoo no Kokuin* to confront a Demon Beast born of evil thoughts, cooperating to end the threat.
A magical seal from Seimei initially prevented him from summoning his Makai Knight armor. She wished to keep him as her personal knight, wary of the dangers in his guardian duties. This seal meant he depended on her to activate the Madou Ring Zaruba, essential for battling Horrors. After each fight, removing his armor left him deeply exhausted. During the fourteenth episode of his series, he learned to break the seal himself, gaining free use of his armor and shifting Seimei’s view of his independence.
He fully accepts his duty as a guardian, though he faces ideological clashes, especially with Seimei, who seeks to protect him beyond his knightly role. These tensions also bring him into conflict with figures like Fujiwara no Yasusuke, a righteous thief who became a Makai Knight.
Raikō is the son of Tada no Shinbochi, also called Minamoto no Mitsunaka, and Tamagushi. In his youth, his father was forced into a political marriage with the sister of Fujiwara no Yasumasa, a plot by Fujiwara no Michinaga to obtain the "golden armor." This led to his parents' exile from the capital. While vulnerable in exile, the family was assaulted by Horrors and saved by Seimei and Kintoki.
For a long time, Raikō endured inner turmoil, though his spirit remained unharmed within the armor. It was later revealed he had pretended to forget his past; he always knew his role as guardian and bore no grudges. He even pledged to protect his half-brother, Minamoto no Yorinobu.
Repeated jokes and deceit from Seimei fostered in him a distrust of women. Kintoki confirms his inexperience with women, a trait that continues into the timeline of *Usuzumizakura -GARO-*, where his innocent questions are occasionally mistaken by Seimei as flirtation.
The character appears in a flashback in episode 23 of *Vanishing Line*. He also features in crossover drama CDs bundled with *Usuzumizakura -GARO-*, where the deity Inari tasks him with purifying the "Tower of Heroic Spirits." On his way, a time-manipulating Horror ambushes him and casts him into a temporal rift. There, he meets Sword from *Vanishing Line* and speaks with him. In the drama CD’s finale, he joins Sword and Leon Luis from *Honoo no Kokuin* to confront a Demon Beast born of evil thoughts, cooperating to end the threat.