Guyver - The Bioboosted Armor
Days of Future Past
by Pedro Rodriguez
In 1985, Yoshiki Takaya created a manga series called "Bio-Boosted Armor Guyver". Shortly thereafter it was adapted as an animated movie, an OVA series, a live American movie - starring Mark Hammil of all people - then the OVA series was concluded, and finally a sequel to the live movie. Looking back, each of the adaptations shared something in common with the original work, but sometimes it had nothing to do with the original story at all. Then on the twentieth anniversary the series was adapted again for television. This case however, the show would pride itself on being more accurate to the manga than its predecessors.
It starts off rather simple: Sho Fukamachi is your average Japanese high school boy. He has a crush on his best friend's sister, who happens to have a crush on the better looking student council president - not that he's without good looks and charm. One day while hanging out with his buddy Tetsuro in a nearby woods, they spot an explosion, from which a strange device lands by their feet. Tetsuro is the first to pick it up, but Sho tries to stop him from playing with it; then in their struggle, Sho activates the device. Tetsuro tosses it without thinking, and the device leeches onto Sho.
In the wake of Sho's transformation, the two of them are constantly being hunted down by people that go through even more bizarre transformations. The audience is given an insight as to what is going on behind the scenes, but it's very hard even for the viewers to spot anyone trustworthy; especially since the average line would consist of either "Give us the suit, or else", or "Join us, or else". With all sides having their own shrouded agenda, Sho has become a lone soldier in what looks to be an impossible fight.
This show definitely has more kick than your average after school sentai. If that's not obvious in the first few minutes, than Sho's first transformation should be plenty to settle the argument. It does take some time for the blood and body count to increase; nevertheless, when our hero calls for his suit, you can bet there's going to be a brawl going on. The character desings have been touched up a bit, but they have a very nostalgic feeling to them - right down to the classic school uniforms. The Guyver unit and monsters have also kept their old school flavor even with the changes, right down to the poses.
The animation is about average for this day and age; it's very clean and with just a touch of 3-D animation. There are times when the quality weans a bit, but it's nothing serious. The background music does the job in setting the mood, but it's nothing really special. Overall sound quality is pretty steady throughout the DVD though. The intro music and ending credits is pretty catchy, and each have their own mood that complement the series.
ADV has also done its share in bringing us a good package. Most of the voices sound pretty close to the original Japanese cast (especially the main characters). ADV has also taken the liberty of adding a comparison section between the anime and the original work; while it's not scene for scene it's still rather unusual for them to provide it. Then there's the commentary in which the American director of Guyver sits with two ADV employees that happen to be Guyver fans, and they give their insight on the series. There's also a 32 page booklet that comes with the DVD filled with all kinds of information on the series.
There is a lot more to this show than just your average monster of the week story line. It's like taking your average sentai, and gradually adding more action, conspiracy, and drama as it goes on. Guyver fans won't be disappointed by this new adaptation, and is a real treat for sci-fi/horror fans.
| >> To Gallery |
