[DreamSword]

I didn't plan on taking such a big break, apologies!

While it was primarily real life getting in the way, there was alot going against this final stop in the Guyver franchise.

Despite my liking certain aspects of them, there just wasn't any version of the story so far that really clicked with me and, at worst, I found half the entries actually pretty annoying to get through. My desire to keep going was very low.

I began wondering if maybe Guyver in general just wasn't for me. It had managed to become a cult hit ever since the 80s OVA, which is arguably the entry I like the least. And my distaste for entries that fans claimed were "true to the source" such as the second live-action movie didn't help anything.

And that's why I'm now happy to talk about...

Hands Down the Best Version of Guyver (2005)

No, I am not joking here. The mid-2000s version of Guyver managed to catch me completely off guard in just how much I liked it compared to literally every other adaptation of the story that came before it. Literally everything about it was a gigantic step up from every other version, but most especially the OVA, of which I found myself being more harsh on as time went on.

The animation, while nothing ground breaking, is a major step up. The music is atmospheric and memorable. The action scenes, while lacking the gore of previous entries, are choreographed well. The dub, courtesy of ADV, is wonderfully done even if the audio balance could still use some fine tuning. And last but more importantly, the pacing, the atmosphere, and the character arcs are all given an appropriate space to breathe, making the cast and story very likable.

Sho is once again firmly the lead character with his own sense of agency, rather than Tetsuro being the main character in all but name. It's to the point that there's a scene early on wherein Tetsuro tries to boss Sho around like he would in the OVA, only for Sho to bite back and tell Tetsuro to back off. Tetsuro not only being given some humility but also getting an arc about the guilt he feels over causing the Guyver Unit to latch onto Sho made for some great character drama, and actually got me to like him!

Mizuki and Sho's' dad are also now actually fully realized characters who actively get involved in things to a degree. Mizuki's' arc being about how much she clings to her normal life while also in turn feeling guilty that she can't take a more direct approach to everything going on like how Sho and Agito do. Sho's' dad gets a good handful of scenes showing him bonding with his son, which in turn actually lends itself to the eventual tragedy that befalls him when he's converted into Enzyme II. Both of these are in majorly stark contrast to the OVA where Mizuki and Sho's' dad are barely even in it.

Stuff like this doesn't just go for major characters either. Murakami, the freelance journalist? In the OVA, his only real character trait was him being mysterious. The 2005 anime grants him not only a gentle side, but also immediately showcase his love of firearms in a kind of adorable scene where he describes his trademark gun to Tetsuro. Little things like that go a long way in terms of character building and growth, and made me attached to the cast as a whole and genuinely interesting in everything that they were going through. Even the villains were made way more interesting via the showcasing of their own interpersonal relationships! Apton and his quest for revenge ending up being a major highlight for me!

Now, this isn't to say everything in the show is perfect. There were a few moments here and there that I'd've preferred be done different, the final arc felt a bit forced in how events played out, and most damningly, the show doesn't actually have a proper ending. Like the OVA before it, the story just sort of... stops, with not a whole lot resolved. It makes me wonder if the anime got cancelled or something.

But, that's all minor compared to just the amount of fun I had when watching this version of Guyver. Would I have liked it nearly as much if I didn't have the other adaptations before it to compare it to? Honestly, I don't know. But regardless, I did rather enjoy my time with it, and if there's any one version of this story I'd recommend to anyone even remotely interested in the Guyver franchise, it would be this one.

I give Guyver (2005) a 4/6.