New from Japan: Anime Film Reviews
The Guyver: Bio-Boosted Armor. V.1 & V. 2.
The Guyver was very influential in the late 1980s and early '90s, but is of historic interest today. An adaptation of a popular 1980s sci-fi manga by Yoshiki Takaya, it was one of anime's earliest OAV productions, first as a 1986 55-minute featurette, then as this 12-episode serial. The first six half-hour episodes were released monthly between September 1989 and February 1990, produced by the Anime Film studio, and directed by Ishiguro. The story was continued for another six episodes in The Guyver, Act II,, released between October 1991 and August 1992, produced under the name of Takaya Productions, and shows a dramatic drop in the already poor animation quality, directed by Otani & Hashimoto. The story still ends on a cliffhanger; Takaya's manga carried it much further.
These 12 episodes were among the first anime dubbed videos in the U.S. & Britain, and were the introduction for the English-speaking general public to Japan's stereotyped dramatic sci-fi plot of the tragic hero who is transformed into a superpowered but hideous monster. This made The Guyver very popular with superhero fans despite the poor animation quality; to the extent of leading to two American-Australian live-action Guyver movies in 1991 and 1994.
High school students Sho Fukamachi and Tetsuro Segawa are strolling in a forest when a nearby explosion showers them with debris including a container. When Sho picks up the container, a strange form flows from it transforming him into an inhuman machine-like being. Three men appear looking for the "Guyver bio-booster." They transform into huge animal-like beasts to take it from Sho, and to kill the two students as inconvenient witnesses. The bio-booster turns the frightened Sho into an automatic super-warrior, enabling him to defeat the "Zoanoid" monsters.
The boys soon learn that the villain is the Chronos Corporation, a ruthless international company. Chronos' scientists have discovered ancient laboratories of alien "Creators" who had experimented with turning Earth animals into biological super-weapons. Chronos is now using this technology to create a hidden army of Zoanoid agents who will, when there are enough of them, turn into monsters and conquer the world. The Guyver units are the pinnacle of the Creators' technology; there are only three of them. Sho has acquired one by accident, and Chronos wants it back.
There is some slight plot advance in the 12 episodes, but they are basically very repetitive. Chronos sends new Zoanoid agents to threaten Tetsuro and his sister Mizuki (Sho's girlfriend) or to attack Sho's school to lure him out. Despite everyone warning him, "No! It's a trap!", Sho shouts, "I have to save everybody!" and races out for another long, bloody slugfest with the monsters. The Guyver was hot stuff at the time, but there is much better anime available today. One nice touch: the videos were originally produced for British release (despite the American dubbing), and the final episode was heavily edited to remove mild nudity. This DVD release not only provides both English and Japanese sound tracks for the first 11 episodes, it presents both versions of episode 12 in their entirety; making this the version of The Guyver to have if you do want this dated classic.
OAV series (12 episodes), 1989-1992. Directors: Koichi Ishiguro; Masahiro Otani & Naoto Hashimoto. V.1-2, 6 episodes/180 minutes. Price & format: DVD bilingual $24.95. Distributor: Manga Entertainment.
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