Garo: A Ranking

Chronology Placement: Third TV Season (Released after Soukoku no Maryuu)
Story? I don't care. (Although, there is a mom in a toku who is story relevant and has a name!)
Characters? I hate everyone on this show. It's like they took Rei's personality and split it into chunks to form each of the characters, without realizing that Rei only became a good character because of those around him.
Enjoyment Level? When the brunt of the focus is on the guest characters, it's fine.
Theme Song? That instrumental is not good. The second theme is a bit better, but still very weak.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 1 (1/3 movies)
Story? It brought back Jabi!
Characters? Great female characters, Kouga is still great, Rei is a bit better, new male character is meh.
Enjoyment Level? I'll be honest, I was falling asleep when I watched this. (The first half is good, but then the second half drags everything down.)
Theme Song? Not that memorable.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 1 (3/3 movies)
Story? A side story, taking place simultaneous to the end of season one, focusing on Barago's backstory.
Characters? Meh. Although, I love that the one girl just speaks strictly English for like, an entire stretch of story.
Enjoyment Level? Meh.
Theme Song? It's beautiful, but I don't know if that works for a villain POV movie.

Chronology Placement: Fifth live action season; Sixth season total, second in Ryuuga's era
Story? Kamen Rider Decade wants some legendary swords.
Characters? Ryuuga and Rian are much more likable in this season, and I like Gald and Haruna, but Daigo frustrates me and I wish Jinga was played by literally anyone else.
Enjoyment Level? The first half felt like a return to the original style of Garo storytelling, but then it all falls apart in the second half.
Theme Song? Better than Yami's theme, but not as good as either of Kouga's or Leon's themes.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 4 (Released after season 5, concurrent to the second anime)
Story? It's the dark and gritty origin story of Dr. Pac-Man.
Characters? I didn't really care for Bikuu in Makai no Hana, and this movie didn't really do anything to change that.
Enjoyment Level? I was kinda bored for the first half. Then a ridiculous thing happened and I was on board.
Theme Song? Not the best theme, but still good.

Chronology Placement: Sixth Live-Action Season (Post-Bikuu movie)
Story? It's a bunch of one-off stories for supporting cast members.
Characters? 9 of the 12 episodes have female protagonists!
Enjoyment Level? I may or may not have squeed multiple times when I saw characters pop up in the episodes. (This season does not have "next time on" previews to tell you ahead of time.)
Theme Song? It doesn't really have a theme song, just a real quick instrumental.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 2
Story? It's pretty much just Wizard of Oz. Kouga is Dorothy, Meru is Toto, Kakashi is literally the Scarecrow, Zaruba is the Tin Man, Kiria is the Cowardly Lion, Judam is the Wicked Witch of the West, and Gajari is the Wizard.
Characters? Long live Takatora, the umbrella sword man! (Headcanon: Kakashi actually is Takatora and this movie takes place during the time in which he's MIA in Gaim and everyone's forgotten him.)
Enjoyment Level? It's super trippy and the Wizard of Oz connections are fun, but not amazing or anything.
Theme Song? I like the call backs to Savior in the Dark, but other than that it's just kinda average.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 1 (2/3 movies)
Story? A fun romp that introduces a new female character with a story arc that would typically go to a male character. (ie. the impulsive hothead.)
Characters? Kouga is still great. Zaruba starts becoming really obnoxious. New characters are fine.
Enjoyment Level? Not amazing, but it's fun enough - and standalone enough - that I would totally use this film as a gateway into the Garo series.
Theme Song? It's an acoustic version of Savior in the Dark, which I love. But, because it's an acoustic version, I can't rank it quite as high.

Chronology Placement: First Anime Season (Released after Season 4 of the live action series)
Story? Kind of meh in the first half, but I really like the second half. And knowing Garm from the first live action season made watching her actions here interesting.
Characters? I like Leon, but I hate his shitty dad. I also like Alfonso and most of the other characters, but I'm torn on Ema.
Enjoyment Level? Took me a while to get into it, and once I was all in, it was over.
Theme Song? I like the first theme more than the second, and it might be the first Garo thus far where I like the endings more than the openings.

Chronology Placement: Post-Season 1 of the Anime
Story? The story's probably the weakest part. Particularly when it comes to the brand new characters.
Characters? Shitty dad's still shitty. Leon reminds me a lot of Kouga now, which was nice character development. New characters are the worst of the bunch.
Enjoyment Level? The movie kicks off with a bang and only really dips when explaining more about the new characters.
Theme Song? The movie opening is the first Garo song that I've properly fallen in love with since Savior in the Dark from the original live action season.

Chronology Placement: Second Zero Spin-off (Released after Season 6)
Story? It feels almost like a reimagining of the very first Garo season. (But don't think that you already know the story, because a reimagining is not a remake.)
Characters? Rei's character development is strong, and he's come a long way since season one of Garo, but you'll never be able to completely erase that jerk from him. Rekka is fine. The bartender is a poor man's Gonza. And the new characters are fine in the role that they play.
Enjoyment Level? Not as good as the first Zero spin-off, but still better than anything that the Ryuuga-era has put out thus far.
Theme Song? It's JAM Project, so it's never gonna be bad. The ending though, just gives me strong vibes of the b-side to the Black Blood ending - which it doesn't live up to.

Chronology Placement: Fourth TV Season (Released after Zero: Black Blood)
Story? A return to form, going back to what made season one of Garo great, without being a rehash of the same story.
Characters? Not as great as the Kouga cast, but miles better than the Ryuuga cast.
Enjoyment Level? It brought back fighting with the actual Garo suit, rather than CGI, and got rid of the bleakness that took control over the prior season.
Theme Song? Not as great as the Kouga themes, but it grew on me.

Chronology Placement: Post Season 2 (Released alongside S3E16)
Story? An all-female cast with a token dude (the special appearance notwithstanding) with both a strong female friendship and a normalized lesbian romance.
Characters? I am always up for some Jabi, and Rekka's good too. It was also great to see Rin and Shiguto again, while the three new characters fit right in.
Enjoyment Level? I am here for more female-centric toku in the world. And when they start referencing their Knight friends, I may have started to tear up because they are such a family and I love it.
Theme Song?

Chronology Placement: First Season (First Anything)
Story? Pretty slow in the first half, but really picks up in the second half while still keeping it's episodic nature.
Characters? Love Kouga. Kaoru and Gonza are fine. Rei is a dick.
Enjoyment Level? With the exception of a few things, it's actually a really fun ride. It's "adult" with stakes, but not a "grimdark" show and still has a charm to it.
Theme Song? Amazing. The theme from the first half grew on me, but Savior in the Dark is just the best.

Chronology Placement: Spin-off Mini-Series (Released between seasons 3 & 4)
Story? It's TOQ Sangou VS Steve Bills from Kamen Rider Ghost.
Characters? Maybe it's just because it came after season three and its unlikable characters, but I love everyone in this.
Enjoyment Level? Although I watched the movie version and not the miniseries version, what I assume would be episodes 2-4 had me absolutely hooked. 1 and 5-6 weren't bad either though.
Theme Song? A little "ow, my ears!" at the start, but otherwise really good.

Chronology Placement: Second TV Season (After Beast of the Demon Night & Red Requiem)
Story? A bit disjointed to start, with many characters being entirely absent when they are not the focus, but it just makes their coming together that much more powerful to watch.
Characters? Kouga is still great. Rei is still a dick, but a likable dick now. Jabi is the best. Rekka has improved since Red Requiem. Tsubasa is still uninteresting. Wataru, I don't care enough to even mention. Kaoru and Leo are precious.
Enjoyment Level? It lost a bit of the toku charm, due to keeping up with its contemporaries and the over-reliance of CG, but it makes up for it with the love that these friends have for each other.
Theme Song? Not as good as season one's Savior in the Dark, but still good. Although, I probably prefer the first half's instrumental this time around, rather than the second half's proper rock song.