Anime Meta-Review
Guyver Data, The
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Title Info
- seen: 1-4 of 12
- type: OAV
- grade: watchable
- Other elements of this title:
- This title may offend the sensitive.
- made: 1989
- Review created: Recently, but I didn't record the date.
- mod: none
Although I haven't seen too much I think I can safely see where this is going. And while it is clearly meant for the young male, action hungry crowd it is not too bad. The story is relatively straightforward super hero stuff. A huge organisation, the Kronos corporation, have learnt how to manufacture monsters using alien technology. These creatures can transform into humans, so you can never tell who could be a monster and who isn't. The most powerful artifact they own are three `guyver' units, powerful and barely understood bio-weapons that merge with humans. It would be interesting if one of these weapons was lost and fell into the hands of someone outside the corporation wouldn't it? Say, perhaps, a young schoolboy.
The clever part of this story is how well it is designed. Because the monsters, and the guyver itself, are bio-weapons they can change over the course of the story. The monsters are manufactured, and new variants and replacements are always possible. This allows an endless sequence of new opponents. In addition because everyone has a human form there is also action in this form, with the possibility that any one could turn out to be a monster. And then of course there are those humans who must be protected from discovering who the guyver is and the predation of the `monsters'. And because the opponents are monsters, and the Kronos corporation must have `evil' reasons for developing them, there is never any reason not to deliver a good, and graphic, kicking. This element is made fairly clear by playing company `data files' on the new monsters met in each episode. This is aided by the monster design being quite interesting, with various special attacks, characteristics and different appearance. This extends to the guyver suit itself, which is quite interesting in its design.
The animation is older in style, but is alright. Some of the action and effects scenes can't quite be handled as well as might be wanted, and backgrounds tend to be simple, but it is not bad. The monsters and the guyver are interestingly biological, rather than technological, although this doesn't stop them having energy beams. The action is also graphic, which should please the target audience, with arms being ripped off and heads being twisted to the accompaniement of gouts of blood. This anime has a fairly narrow target, the super-power fighting crowd, but does it relatively well.
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:19 WST 2009