Ranked #1586

Kyoushoku Soukou Guyver (2005)

There was a time, in anime, when men were men, and they had huge swords and guns with which to leave bloody trails of corpses in their wake. Indeed, the Guyver series is one such anime, and in ages past it flew far in the firmament of ultraviolence into territories known by such classics as Ninja Scroll and Akira.

The remake brings Guyver up to modern standards as far as animation and sound are concerned, but otherwise it is deliciously old school in many respects. You'll find no moe lolis or tsunderes here, just a good old fashioned story about a boy and his biomechanical robot armor and the mutated freaks trying to kill him.

Guyver was always pretty dark and the remake lives up to this standard. You'll see young Sho tormented by the Chronos corporation in devious and spectacular ways, and he must constantly fight to protect his loved ones, who are kidnapped to use as bait in the early part of the series. To be sure this is a pretty old plot device and you could say that Sho is not much different than Peter Parker but with an alien symbiote (oh wait...) but as our old pal William Shakespeare would remind us its not the plot that counts but how you use it. The series takes us through quite a few ups and downs and makes a strong emotional impact. You will be impatient to see what happens in the next episode and there is never a drag in the action.

Surprisingly, one of the main appeals of the series is the growing relationship between Sho and his girlfriend. The development of her character is excellent and adds a lot of emotional flavor to the story, increasing the suspense and NEVER getting in the way of the action killing.

A few people have complained about the ending, but without posting any spoilers I can say that it is satisfactory from a dramatic and emotional perspective, even if there's a shit load of story material left unsettled. It would be great to have a second season, but since Guyver still hasn't found its audience I guess we'll have to make do with manga scanlations for now. In the meantime do yourself a favor and check out the Bioboosted Armor Guyver, if you have any taste for old school anime action you will not be disappointed. read more

What is the reason of our existence? Do there exist beings that reside in a higher plane of existence? Is our fate beyond our control? Ah, the famous questions that are usually asks not only in anime; but in stories and philosophical works as well. Bio Booster Armor Guyver takes these questions and steers them towards a " road less traveled", id est, from the more conventional methods of using divinity as a foreground to answer such questions.

Indeed, the existence of other sentient beings does play a major factor in this. The story was quite unique, because when I watched it, Guyver invoked such questions as to why humans are such violent creatures, and it would answer back with disturbing rationale that would make you think there is some plausibility with their answers they impose. Of course, this is a work of fiction; however it does leave an impressionable message that gets you thinking. This is how I interpreted the whole story so far anyways, others may differ in opinion, but it is alright because Guyver does supply the action if that's what you're really looking for.

The story does take off slow, where you find your typical adolescent boy thats thrown into a world of conflict with an arcane power to combat a massive force working in the shadows. The idea of the power that Sho posseses takes a unique spin on things as well. Not your typical mecha, magic, or type of supernatural power, rather a weapon that is essentially "living" , id est a bio-mechanical organism that forms a symbiotic relationship with its host, which in this case is Sho Fukamachi the leading character. I thought it was an pretty original idea, especially around the early 80's when the manga for this was made. So, its not your typical weapon you find bearing resembelance to other anime.

Its not until you get halfway into the season, where things get interesting, and the plot starts to solidify gradually. If you're a fan of sci-fi or just acion in general with gory violence to complement it, then you'll appreciate it more. Although, this series is a little more milder in terms of gore to its predecessor, which was a 12 part OVA back in the late 80's. Most of the battles puts Sho up against the "alien" creatures known as the Zoanoids, while he's trying to protect his friends, and later against more competent opponents that rival the power of the bio-booster armor. So you can expect some good fight scenes while sho grows stronger learning more about the armor, whilst dealing with his own inner conflicts.

The artwork and animation is decent, showing no indications of a low budget. The fight scenes are fluid in motion, but some fight animations tend to be repeated occasionally. The backround music is nothing to complain about or praise either; it matches the mood just fine. Though, I did like the opening theme " waiting for..." by reiri and the closing theme "cotton candy" by bonnie pink, so the OST isn't too bad.


The protagonist and antagonists are your typical anime archetypical characters. You got Sho, an apprenhesive boy with a strong sense of justice, his typical sidekick and bestfriend, Tetsurou, that sometimes makes insightful observations of the enemy, Mizuki, the damsel in distress which the main character falls for, the typical enigmatic villians which are cold and calculating, who are scheming some major plot, et cetera. Nothing fresh, but enough character development to keep the story together.

Guyver had a great foundation to work off of, and was a great story of: love, frienship, loss, regret, and sorrow. All aspects in which you find in a good anime are present, whether it be for the action fan or sci-fi fan. My only complaint is that it ended on a cliffhanger; in which case, I'm not sure if a second season will ever be in the works. However, you shouldn't let this discourage you from watching it because it is well worth the time. read more