MovieChat Forums > Kyôshoku sôkô Guyver (2005) Discussion > The first Guyver show was better. That's...

The first Guyver show was better. That's right, I said it!

posted 16 years ago by Jmwhitetiger2
5 replies | jump to latest

I just rewatched some of the old episodes for the original show, and having seen both shows in their entirety I have to say...the original is alot better. The new one has some advantages, don't get me wrong.

I think Sho is alot better in the new show and is more fleshed out. I also like his design better. The new show is kind of less detailed but not in a bad way, just simplified and I think it works well. Also, of course, it's more modern day which helps. The music is better, as are the titles and everything like that. The problem, however, with this show is that it's heavy on drama and light on action. They more or less set up things for later episodes and when they finally come to fruition they aren't that great at all. It's not even like the episodes needs to have alot of action, it should just be well put together and exciting. I don't think it's exciting in the new Guyver. Most of the time it looks like the characters are floating, as in its a still frame of them and they move it through-out the shot but the characters arms or legs or head don't move at all. During a battle a character might smack another character once and there will be inner monologue "Oh no, this guy is tough!" and it'll cut back to the villian, "Haha, that's right Guyver, I am some new type of monster and I'm a bad ass!", but after that nothing happens! Also was there any bigger of a hype for the Guyver Gigantic? They talked it up for 3 episodes and then when it finally showed up all it did was a mega smasher and that was the end. It didn't even show up till the last 5 minutes of the episode. This show has great things about it, mainly character development, but it drags on for so long and in 30 minute installements that is NOT a good thing. You buy one of the dvds with 4 episodes per disk and yet you barely get any story. It's like one story is dragged on for 4-5 episodes and only one major event will happen. "In this episode of Guyver: Tetsuo and the gang hang out in a cabin and someone cries and there will be a teaser at the end for a fight that will ultimately suck in the later episode." Also, is it just me, or is Sho kind of a big pussy in the new show? It works for awhile, but at the wrong moments he's STILL acting like a baby. In the original show, Sho shows some balls after, maybe, the first 5 episodes. Some people might find it better to last longer, but it's really just dragging it on for way too long and there is better stories to tell. Epic story telling vs. whineyness.

The original show, I think, is MUCH MORE intense. Not just a little bit, I think its extremely better with the tension. It has better timing and doesn't drag on. The action is alot more violent and more shocking than the new show by a mile. I remember watching this show when I was younger and being blown away by the seriousness of it, with the cursing and all, and even watching it now it still feels like it isn't pulling any punches! For example, when Chronos attacked Sho's school. Compare that in the original to the new show. The new show the Zoanoids sort of show up, and kill a security guard (who melts), and Guyver chases them away. Now in the old show its played out practically like a school shooting. The Zoanoids are shooting at the school and kids are screaming, there is explosions, and the stakes are so much higher. It really makes Chronos seem to be evil in a real world kind of way and it was a really intense moment in the show. The new show kind of pussied out and could of taken the chance to do this again, since it is so much more relevant now than ever, but they kiddied it down and it didn't work. I think the voice work for some of the characters in the old show is alot better as well. Something about the acting just makes it feel more real and less silly. When Tetsuo is begging Sho to save his sister it seemed like how someone would really act in that situation. Also in the first episode with the renegade Zoinoid trying to get rid of the Guyver Unit, I felt alot more during that scene than in the new show, because the voice acting was so much more indepth, especially when he realizes he's going to die and there's nothing he can do to stop it. The original show is just better showing extreme emotion. Also, watch Sho's death in the original compared to the remake. The original is so much more gut-wrenching and bloody. It's like the most extreme R rated movie. But in the new show it doesn't "feel" painful at all, and it tries to explain too much right away. The new show in general has too much "thought bubble moments" where someone says "IT CAN'T BE!" Seriously, folks, making a drinking game about how often someone says "IT CAN'T BE!" Alot of character suspect things that eventually happen I guess.

Over all, like I said, I just think the original show is better. They are both good, I almost wish I could combine them, but the original show just works better at being serious and fun at the same time. It's honestly like EVENTS vs. TALKING, and actually seeing things happen is better than just talking for 22 minutes about feelings brought on by one of the rare episodes based on action. What does everybody else think?

[–] ShibanuWolf-2 16 years ago

Your not alone, the original had a classic feel to it

An Action fanatic-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCTah08ErXI

[–] ga_swamprat 15 years ago

The original series cut out three quarters of the plot up to that point. The most recent series attempted to remain as close to the source material as possible, and still cut a lot out as it squeezed nine years' worth of manga into twenty-six episodes. In other words, the new series didn't 'pussy out'. It remained faithful to the manga.

So if all you're interested in in random killing, then fine. The original was better.

Me? I prefer a faithful adaptation of the plot. And they couldn't get the newest series much closer to the original plot without spending five or six seasons just to go through the first ten volumes of the manga.

[–] vny109-1 13 years ago

I was thinking the exact same thing. The new show relies heavily on blah, blah, blah. This would be fine if it wasn't advertised as THE NEW FACE OF ULTRA VIOLENCE!!! It's not bad, it's just that the original was better.

[–] zeioIIDX 13 years ago

Man, I feel the same way. Guyver was one of the first anime I ever saw along with Fist of the Northstar, Ninja Scroll, and M.D. Geist. So yeah, I definitely enjoyed the violence in it as a kid. But being 10 and seeing Guyver, it kinda scared me too. The Zoanoids seemed so much more menacing and powerful than in the new series. The Guyver was also more serious and creative in the way he killed them which I always enjoyed with the original series.

I never realized how BIG the story was or that the manga was still being created. I thought the series ended at episode 12 of the orignal animated series but then I started looking into Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor and found out how much more storyline there was and I fell in love with Guyver all over again. I recently watched The Bioboosted Armor, all 26 episodes, and I loved it.

I was disappointed with the amount of blood/violence/gore. There basically is none. Even his first encounter with Gregole was toned down. I also HATE the way everyone transforms in .00005 seconds. The original, to me, was so great because it always showed the human actually turning into his Zoanoid form in a grotesque manner. The new series merely shows them as a silhouette with bright eyes, their clothes rip away, then they're transformed. I guess the original was more horror oriented, at least it seemed that way as a kid.

I like the character designs of everyone in the original a lot better, save for Mizuki. Agito actually looked like a sneaky, weasel in the original and Sho's design fit a lot better as well. One thing I really can't stand, which may be part of the manga itself as well as the animated series, is when the characters say nothing but someone's name. Like when Sho says something brave before he goes to fight a Zoanoid, Mizuki will simply mutter, "Sho....". I'm so tired of hearing "Tetsuro-san!" and "Makisihima..." as everyone's response for something happening. It must be a Japanese cultural thing to just say someones's name as opposed to anything significant about something that just occurred, lol.

Anyway, I seriously hope they create a 2nd season of The Bioboosted Armor because I'm reading the manga now and it's getting pretty good, I really want to see Guyver Gigantic fight as well as the Libertus.

[–] mega_coco_bean 13 years ago

I love both, the original has a certain nostalgia to it. I was waaaaay too young to be watching it but I wore my parents down into buying it for me (when I was about 10 years old)

The point that the OP made about the attack on the school was spot on. It was horrific in the original show.

I'd also add that it covered Enzyme and the death of the Guyver a lot better than the new show. You really felt Genzo Makishima's rage at losing his company and being turned into this thing.

That being said I like the new series because it does stay truer to the books and goes a little further into the story than the original show. The original show, it has to be said, ended really badly.

- Quietly beautiful, like a turd in a lake.