The animation is very good, the fights are very brutal and stylish; a good portion of the fight scenes are fluid and aren't downplayed into unseen action. The character designs for both the Guyver and creatures are done well. The creature designs are imaginative but some come off way too goofy looking. The animation and artwork are far from perfect though. Some episodes lack the same quality and the artwork appears to be done very lazily. This is most noticeable during episodes 13-16 especially. I found myself actually despising the artwork at times. Fortunately though, the animation regains its focus way before the end and returns to its former glory.
Character development along with character usage stood out to me quite a bit. The characters are better used and given longer life spans to push the story this time around. This is mainly concerning the villains, in which this added a little more depth to the storyline. There are hidden agendas and one villain in particular evolves into more of an antihero type. The main character Sho is much easier to tolerate now, and is given the time to better adapt to the armor. His actions and personality are very believable, especially in the way that Sho isn't a trained fighter. This fault puts him at a big disadvantage against all of his opponents. Despite the realism that is applied here, this is actually a love/hate approach for me. Sho at times appears to be too weak and many battles are won by pure luck.
There are many questions answered this time around unlike the original series which raised a few and left them hanging. I'll leave that part alone as not to spoil it with details. The battles at times can be violent. They consist of weapon use via high energy attacks, fisticuffs, along with slicing and dicing. The battles have their gory moments at times. However, they're also a mixed bag to me. Some are very well done with the Hyper Zoinoids boasting some nice abilities; but I can understand the hatred from the fans to a certain degree when concerning the violence in the series. The original was definitely more violent. One battle in particular that really stands out as being heavily toned down in comparison with the original, would be the battle with the Guyver's nemesis Enzyme.
The battles with Enzyme can be boring to say the least. They are not on the same level when concerning the sheer brutality and drama found in the original. Those whom never saw the original will benefit the most with these encounters. While fans whom have seen it will more than likely find it very hard to digest; but this not at all means the original is better. The action scenes present here are still entertaining, and the storytelling elements along with the characters are far superior to the original.
The soundtrack and voice acting is also greatly improved. The opening theme song "Waiting For" performed by Reiri is without a doubt one of my favorite songs in anime. This song alone makes me want the soundtrack, and even if this was a bad anime I could actually watch it to listen to this song alone.
The New Guyver is a good series and despite the things it does well; I still have a hard time giving it a full recommendation because of it's unfinished feel. I think this will appeal more to those whom just love anime and can over look weak endings.
Highs: Nice animation & artwork, great action, characters serve a purpose
Lows: Inconsistent animation, open ending, last three episodes are disappointing
