Madpenguin
"Although an improvement on the original, this remake is still far from stellar."
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Although an improvement on the original, this remake is still far from stellar.
-
Sep 2, 2011
- by Madpenguin
- posted in ASIANatomy
Rating:
Sho Fukamachi is a high school student whose happy life is going to take a tragic turn. Sho and his best friend Tetsuro come across a strange device. After Sho accidentally triggers it. He's transformed into an armored warrior called Guyver. This causes a corporation called Chronos, to pursue him using an army of monsters called Zoinoids. The corporation has links throughout the world, and uses their resources to assault Sho's family and friends. Sho soon realizes he isn't only fighting for his and everyones survival. But also the fate of the world, in which, Chronos aims to take over and reshape it into their own image. -summary
+3
Several fans of the original Guyver hated this series without giving it a chance. However, I welcomed the very much needed change. This version which is considered The New Guyver far surpasses the original in many ways. There were numerous elements that had room for plenty of improvement, and it succeeded on improving in some areas. Most noticeable is definitely the animation, characters, dropped story elements, and better use of plot devices.
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 lazy. This is most noticeable during episodes 13-16 especially. I found myself actually despising the artwork at times. The animation regains its focus way before the end and returns to its former glory.
Among several noticable differences between this and the original. Character development along with character usage stood out to me a little more than some of the others. 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, it 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 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 who never saw the original will benefit the most with these encounters. While fans who 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 if this was a bad anime, I could actually watch it to listen to this song alone.
The New Guyver is a very good series, and many may feel a bit stumped by the ending. I feel stumped by it as well, but there was so much added to the series this time around. In addition, the trip was very fun on the way. I can somewhat forgive it, but I'm not happy about it. I heard there's a continuation coming, but I won't fact it. Still, I think the series is worth checking out. There is quite a bit of gore, a little nudity, and foul language. Overall, I think a majority of anime fans looking for something action packed will be satisfied with this. The New Guyver is 26 episodes with a 650 minute run time.
Pros:
-Nice animation & artwork, great action, characters serve a purpose
Cons:
-Inconsistent animation, open ending, last three episodes are disappointing
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FM_ALEX
September 07, 2011
This was an improvement for sure, great review.
Madpenguin
September 09, 2011
Yeah, and it was still lacking. Thanks.
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woopak_the_thrill
September 02, 2011
I remember your older review had some funny photos too LOL! I feel a "Guyver" craze a-comin'....
Madpenguin
September 03, 2011
Yeah, it crosses my mind to add photos, but they're a bit time consuming and I just want to get the reviews out. I'm a toss out a bunch of things maybe today.
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Madpenguin
Ranked #2
Ranked #2
Serious gamer and hardcore comic reader.
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About this tv show
Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor (強殖装甲ガイバー Kyōshoku Sōkō Gaibā) is a Japanese anime series based on the long-running manga series written by Yoshiki Takaya, adapting chapters 1 - 59 (volume 10) of the manga. The production was in association with ADV Films and Kadokawa Shoten. The series first episode aired in Japan on August 6, 2005 and the last episode aired on February 18, 2006.
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