Project Zeorymer

hen researching Zeorymer I read comments about how dark it was and that it was a "proto-Evangelion". After watching the OVA I feel that these praises are glib, but they're not baseless. This 1988 OVA came out in the span of about a year and a half, and it stars a kid named Masato who's kidnapped by men in black and told that his family life was a lie and he is an artificial human groomed to pilot the mecha Zeorymer. He doesn't take it too well at first, but soon accepts his fate to fight against Hau Dragon, an organization bent on world domination ... using their mecha known as "Hakkeshu", and seeking revenge on Zeorymer for being the mech stolen from them by a traitor.

This show has weird progression in the sort you'd expect from an OVA that sounds too short for its britches. Masato works with this girl named Miku who sub-pilots Zeorymer with him, and he's naturally resistant and standoffish to her since she's in league with the people who took him away from his normal life. Makes sense, but despite their very few personal, non-business interactions in the show, Miku develops obvious affection for Masato out of nowhere and Masato's perfectly receptive to it. The only other main character on the protagonist side is Oki, the main man in black who's constantly wearing sunglasses. I thought his initial role was pretty interesting, as he's given such a featureless and mute design that gives him mystery when combined with the cruel ways with which he treats Masato like a tool. Early scenes with him are interesting because he shows so little of himself despite frequently being on-screen as the only representative of the Last Guardian organization. He goes from having this interesting dynamic with Masato as he seems practically amused by his shock and suffering, but when Masato just accepts his role as Zeorymer's pilot Oki falls into being a standard support man for Masato despite them never having any personal bonding scenes. When the finale comes and Oki is giving Masato the "go get 'em, tiger" look and saluting his liftoff while Masato is addressing him as "Oki-san" suddenly it's just weird. Where's all this character transitioning coming from? It's disappointing when the move to more standard characterization isn't even properly justified in the narrative.

That's really enough said to move on to the villains now, who are actually much more interesting. One of Zeorymer's distinctive traits in its writing (and probably the thing that gets it compared to Evangelion) is that Masato and all of the OVA's villains have blatant, specific psychological complexes. The members of Hau Dragon have some implied personal conflicts and intriguing dynamics between them that do have some kind of payoff. The problem is largely the same as before though in that the set-up isn't enough to comb the depths of its psychological ideas. The two twin sisters where one loves the other and the other hates and feels overshadowed by the more experienced one, and the uncertain relationship between Taiha and Hau Dragon's leader Yuratei are two such examples. My favorite character in the show is Saiga, largely due in part to Kaneto Shiozawa's voice performance. He uses a deep, soft, cold voice similar to his performance of Oberstein in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and it grants Saiga a more immediate mystique than the rest of Hau Dragon. He's also instantly shown to be disapproving of the rest of his teammates, which gives him particular unpredictability and a further threatening poise. Unfortunately, Saiga is the one character who doesn't have payoff. His climactic scene undermines the idea that he was being painted as some kind of exception to the failures of Hau Dragon, and simply put his final scheme is simple and pulled off very lamely, devoid of the intelligence and stature he had as a character. This is only worse when you realize that Saiga is involved in the show's final battle. There's also a lot of talk in this OVA about the "Hades Project" mentioned in the title, and from what I gathered it has something to do with the Hakkeshu battles determining who will be the "leader of the underworld". But I don't think it's ever explained what the hell the underworld specifically is in this context, and since the OVA immediately ends after the final battle we never find out what this whole motivation for so many characters even was. Very awkward.

Let's talk about the mechs, because I actually quite like Yoshiki Takaya's designs. The Hakkeshu look very alien in appearance due to their lack of an obvious human base in design. They don't have two eyes or visors reflecting helmets, and instead their "eyes" are expressed by glowing orbs that are simply stuck in square compartments. They're very blocky and not aerodynamic with sharp or inconsistent shapes jutting out. They kind of look like relics or statues of mythical gods with how they defy any facial characterization. Omzack doesn't even have limbs, just being some sort of floating aquatic-like machine with several tails flowing behind it. Zeorymer itself is a massively overpowered machine which can still be cool if pulled off well, but what makes its strength kind of dull is the fact it doesn't really escalate. It feels as though it's about demonstrating the same level of power in every fight all the way to the end, and it's simply always enough to destroy the enemy machines in one blow while never being an any serious danger. The fights aren't very dynamic nor do they have complex choreography due to their slow pace, but they're entertaining enough due to the plot and character development that continues to unfold as they play out. Zeorymer also doesn't have particularly great animation, but when it does decide to show off some action it looks fluid. What's most commendable is just the excellent illustration. I love the shading here, and there are several great stills that are incredibly detailed with scene compositions that are focused and easy to follow, so this does feel like a production worthy of an OVA and it has solid direction. The imagery is great, but there isn't a lot of complex motion to marvel at. The soundtrack is decent, with the brassy "Awake! Zeorymer" and the angsty, cathartic ending theme "Crimson Loneliness" being the highlights.

Zeorymer in general just sort of ends unsatisfyingly. This OVA is full of a lot of great concepts that it doesn't have the breadth to pull off, so it ends up being emotionally limp due to weak set-ups that don't provide enough relationship detail or nuance to do its ideas justice, even though it has respectable ambition. The ideas that are still there such as the dark tone and psychological themes make it a decent enough watch for its run time even though they're minor, but it never ends up outdoing itself. I can safely recommend this to hardcore mecha fans or 80s/90s OVA junkies because it does enough to distinguish itself, but most people will probably think there just isn't enough here to leave a lasting impression. Zeorymer isn't a heavily flawed series, it just needed to actually be big rather than just think big.

Unfortunately I bought this from Manga Entertainment’s supposed “classic DVD collection” well this series is just straight up wack….with a few laughable exceptions.

Animation

Poorish 80’s animation that seems to add to the series kornyness. Character designs are very similar nothing that really stands out. During the battle scenes you can see some transformer/evangelion-ish attacks which are just LAME but can also be amusing.

Sound

The only mentionable part of this was the strange dialogue, which in turn comes from a strange and dumb storyline nevertheless the voice actors did a good job playing these characters (english dub I mean).

... Story

Hmm lets see boy has to pilot a giant mecha because its his destiny and he’s the only one who can do it..lol sound familiar..It’s just a very shallow storyline which can seem familiar to anyone who has seen the many evangelion incarnates. Its not a very long series anyway so it’s quite rushed and the ending was just…..DUMB!

Character

The characters are very one dimensional and predictable, you don’t really get to know any of them for long so what more can I say. The main character is the only one with a smudge of depth and to be quite honest it’s just not interesting enough.

Enjoyment

I enjoyed the part where the credits came up and I took out the DVD.

Value

This series is just another Apocalyptic knock-off done very cheaply and badly.
Probably the best thing about this series was the title itself

Project Hades…sounds cool..then again I want those 2 hours back

2/10

This was... pretty bad.

I mean, it wasn't unwatchable. The art and animation were adequate, and the soundtrack was tolerable if dated. The plot comes close enough to making sense for an action/mecha series.

But the characterizations were weird. The "bad guys" were frequently more sympathetic than our protagonists, and not in any way that really encouraged deeper consideration. The core plot also just wasn't really developed. The ultimate mastermind behind the whole thing seems to have launched the most complex world takeover plot ever... for no particular reason. And they never really clear up what the goal was.

Also, the titular Zeorymer is a boringly invincible ... mech. It wins every fight with the same move.

I don't know. As an example of 80s mecha-action, it isn't terrible. And it is short, so it might make a little sense to sample it. But I can't come up with much else to recommend it. Watch some of Armored Trooper Votoms instead.

Project Zeorymer is an anime series that showcases excellent animation and character designs. The visuals remain consistent throughout the show, despite the aging animation, which is still visually appealing. Each character has a unique appearance that accurately reflects their personality, which is commendable. However, the narrative is rather simplistic and fails to explore various interesting points that could have enriched the story. Moreover, the main characters lack depth, and the side antagonists receive more attention, leaving the audience wanting more. The conclusion is underwhelming and fails to inspire the audience. Although Mecha enthusiasts and classic sci-fi anime fans may enjoy Project Zeorymer, it may not ... be everyone's cup of tea. Exploring other options may be more suitable for some viewers.

“Meiou Project Zeorymer” feels a lot like Dangaioh, another ‘80s OVA, in terms of characters, plot and mecha elements. And lo and behold, the director and producer of Zeorymer also directed and produced Dangaioh, so that makes a lot of sense. It's basically a darker, edgier version of Dangaioh. Two of the main characters even look similar, and the ending theme of Zeorymer sounds like it’s trying way too hard to be like "Cross Fight" (the main Dangaioh theme).

There are some good ideas in Zeorymer, but they aren’t executed well at all. This OVA suffers from its simple execution of a complicated plot, which of course ... doesn’t do the complicated plot any justice. The fact that this is only 4 episodes doesn’t allow for time to develop characters or let the plot unfold naturally. They have to have a narrator help explain things and push the plot along, but the narrator can only do so much.

As a result, things happen way too fast and without much explanation. Also, none of the characters are likable. Their backstories are flimsy, and their motivations even flimsier. It’s difficult to tell which side we’re supposed to be rooting for, as both seem to be “bad.” We aren’t made aware of each side’s motivations. Why are they doing this? Why is all of this happening? “To rule the world" is what we are told, but it’s such a cop-out answer.

The plot is a mess. That being said, there are some intriguing elements (particularly the twists) that could have been interesting if explored further; but as it is, the whole thing just seems spliced together without much cohesion.

As for the technical aspects, the animation is OK, but lip movements are awkward at times, and faces are rather static. Music is OK and fits the tone of the series, but the first ending is hard to take seriously with the strange English lyrics in it. Voices aren’t that great, with the exception of maybe the main male character and one of the “bad guys.” However, most of the “bad guys’” voices in particular sound stereotypical.

This series doesn’t have too much explicit content in it, but there is a brief sex scene, and a few scenes of female nudity. There’s some violence, but it’s mostly robots blasting beams at each other.

All in all, this isn’t particularly good, but there are worse shows out there. This OVA is decidedly mediocre.