Review - Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor

When I was younger, I, like alot of the kids my age found myself almost infatuated with the Power Rangers series shown on networks like Fox Kids and YTV in Canada. If anyone cared to look up their roots you would find the Super Sentai series, which is what the Power Rangers stemmed from, had a long and winding history. Now when we talk about or watch Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor, I almost immediately harken back to those days filled with men in suits running around and fighting evil with cool tech at their disposal. The reason this is the case is because Guyver is essentially the exact same thing, although with a few key differences.



Title: Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor
Original Run: Aug 6th, 2005 - Fub 18, 2006
Number of Episodes: 26
Studio: OLM

When I first saw Guyver,  the second live action movie Guyver: Dark Hero starring David Hayter (of Metal gear Solid fame) was on television. And like the power rangers, the suits the hero's used were completely japanese in nature; thin yet firm builds and almost organic looking. The choreography for the fight scenes were also similar; over exaggerated actions and slow mo bullet time galore. It had the same cheesiness that a kid would go nuts for. But that being said, this is where one of the differences come in, Guyver isn't a kids show, not by any means. It has blood, gore and harsh language. When you get to see the Guyver break a Zoanoids arms and see the blood gushing out and his bones jutting from the inner elbow, you know that this is not your daddies Power Rangers film. So, when you have this adult factor added on top of the cheesy childlike glee, it gives you this bittersweet taste that is easy enough to swallow.

That bittersweet taste is gone though in the 2006 anime adaption of the manga series. It isn't live action, and it isn't americanized like the movies. This is the japanese take on the story, and the closest adaption of the manga you can find. With animation, and modern technology at the studios disposal, they could have created a great adaption of the manga.. for the most part. When the show starts, we see the main character Sho, leading his normal everyday life at a japanese high school. He has the same problems as the rest of us, including girl troubles. (Luckily, the love subplot isn't tacked on during the series, and plays out really nicely as the story goes.) But what seems like a normal day, turns into something extraordinary in the most classical of senses. Sho and his good bud Tetsuro are wandering out in the nearby forest, and an explosion is seen not far off. In comes flying a strange organic disc and the two decide to investigate, which inevitably ends up with Sho being 'attacked' by the disc, and falling into the nearby lake. Now, if Tetsuro wasn't freaked out enough already, a giant horned creature comes from behind the bushes and threatens him with bodily pain (go figure). But just before they tear him limb from limb, we see a figure rise from the lake. A figure clad in grey-blue armor, the Guyver emerges from the lake, and continues to open a can of whoop ass on the Zoanoids.

Now, unlike the fight scenes in the live action film, the property now had the benefit of animated fight scenes, which should have given it a top notch production. But from what I saw, the animation turned out to be clunky and creepy looking, from the Guyvers movements to the Zoanoids as well. Although I say that, it really only applies to the beginning of the series. Almost as if the animators were warming up, the animation during the fights improve quite a bit as the series goes on, and turns it into a palpable action series. It retains it's adult nature, albeit this time around it cuts out the cheesiness found in the live action films, and gives us an action series that would surely satisfy die hard action fans.

It's a 26 episode anime, so it has plenty of substance as far as story and action goes. Another one of the differences then, is instead of the Power Rangers weekly villain format, we are given something more substantial to sink out teeth into which is definitely welcoming. Plot progression and episodes not ending in a round about can make you look forward to the next episode in a different way. If we compare it to other story driven action anime, such as Ghost in the Shell, it like the others is able to stand up with it's strong plot not necessarily from the ongoing manga's roots, but in this instance that is the case. It's faithfulness to it's roots is a big plus, having the feeling of the original works brought ahead intact is a good feeling for any fan. I never got bored watching each episode, even when already knowing the plot behind it.

I watched the english dub, having recently warmed up to Funimation's efforts to keep the dialog close to the source material, and was impressed with this anime as well. Like their dubbing of Mushi-shi it had memorable voices, especially Mizuki's, which gives the characters  more depth instead of having bland, half assed voice work.. but that only applies for the main characters. The Zoianoids, the Hyper Zoanoids and the Lost Numbers.. actually pretty much any evil character in this anime had the voice work comparable to a chimpanzee. Very predictable and forgettable, and almost fingernails-on-chalkboard worthy. But then again, in some respect it may be better that way, seeing their respective character being annihilated gives a nice sense of satisfaction to the watcher.

All in all, I was satisfied with this new attempt at reviving an old story. It's adult nature, action and solid story make it a something worth watching all in it's own. It is helped by the backing of a strong main voice cast and some pretty solid fight scenes later in the series. If you are a fan of story based or action anime, then I would highly suggest giving this one a watch. This was certainly a step in the right direction for the property, and newcomers will be surprised at how good an old property can age and appeal.

All images courtesy of Funimation