I don't understand why Guyver doesn't do so well

[*Jess♥]

http://www.japan-legend.com/wiki/index.php?title=History_of_Guyver

2004 ; 23/04/2004 Max Factory Bio Fighter collection (BFC) Guyver III

2005 ; Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV series (06/08/2005)

 

hmm... I never actually thought this before now but that was the 20th anniversary.

[Kanji]

http://www.japan-legend.com/wiki/index.php?title=History_of_Guyver

2004 ; 23/04/2004 Max Factory Bio Fighter collection (BFC) Guyver III

2005 ; Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor TV series (06/08/2005)

 

hmm... I never actually thought this before now but that was the 20th anniversary.

 

Yeah, I was always under the impression that Guyver started in 1985. Quoted from Wiki "The manga was originally serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Monthly ShÅnen Captain, the first appearance being in the February 18 magazine beginning in 1985."

 

This is quite interesting considering we have the Figma coming out at the end of this year and next year (2015) marks the 30th Anniversary of Guyver!!

 

I've recently been getting into the Godzilla franchise and similarly Toho put it on hiatus for 10 years between the Showa and Heisei series, where it made a big resurgence as part of it's 30th year! I'm just really hopeful that the same will happen for Guyver!! Someone, somewhere must want to mark the occasion with some sort of celebrartery release?!?!?

 

Also, I couldn't get over the similarity between Draglord and Biollante!! That Exceed Vs Kabral battle was a classic Kaiju fight, and probably my favourite part of the manga! Would love to see it animated and even more get some scaled figures of Exceed & Draglord!!

[Aether]

im sure they'll do SOMETHING for the 30th anniversary, its just a question of what scale... could be anything from a postcard with tank no.32 to a new tv series... who knows?!??!

Keep the hope alive!

Edited October 1, 2014 by Aether

[Enzyme-eternal]

I think the problem is that Guyver is a bit of a slow starter with the big parts of the story not coming up until deep into the chapters.  I've noticed the same problem with Claymore, with the early monsters being a touch generic and the characters not having the depth they have in the later parts of the story.  You really need to invest in a series like this and so many just read the first couple of chapters at best before quieting. *shrug*

 

There really isn't a way round that since it actually works to the story's favour since it slowly ramps up the action, stakes and the audience investment in the characters.

[Matt Bellamy]

Quoting for quoting sake, but no need to repost it all ^_^'

 

I apologize in advance if I sound rude or sounds like I am trying to attack you personally, which I am not, but I had to reply after reading your post.

 

There is only one problem with your theory: Guyver is NOT "popular".

 

It has fans yes, but no where near enough to be considered popular in any real way. But "we fans" are not to blame for Guyver's lack of popularity.

 

And while, yes, fans do help a series stay active, it also helps for the creator to put out steady quality work for fans to get behind. Which is not happening. Shounen series like One Piece and Naruto keep their series exciting, which keeps fans coming back for more. You said it yourself, you are having a hard time keeping up with MONTHLY chapter releases, which only take a few minutes (or less -_-') to read. But there are people in your same situation who still keep up to date with WEEKLY anime and manga releases because they usually have something exciting keeping people coming back and making time for the release.

 

If Guyver were as exciting as Naruto can be, you'd be here at LEAST once a month looking for a chapter update and some discussion.

 

In the long run, the 2005 series was a huge disappointment financially, and a disappointment to a lot of fans of the original OAV's, which is where a lot of people remember the Guyver from. And unfortunately, for popularity sake, the 2005 TV series was a "Make it or break it" series. And it "broke it" as it were.

 

As the story goes, ADV funded the 2005 tv series and got it off the ground. Why? Because their execs were probably all 30 something men who remembered how badass the first 6 episodes of the OAV were. The more they asked other 30 year old anime fans, the more people said " Yeah I remember that. It was badass." Didn't hurt that it had an anniversary coming up. But we all know how the 2005 TV series ended up: Decent, but not very memorable. Unlike the first 6 eps of the OAV (not to mention the badass opening theme)

 

I'm trying not to repeat what has already been said, but unfortunately your theory of "We Fans" being the primary problem is completely untrue.

[Ur_Faust]

In the long run, the 2005 series was a huge disappointment financially, and a disappointment to a lot of fans of the original OAV's, which is where a lot of people remember the Guyver from. And unfortunately, for popularity sake, the 2005 TV series was a "Make it or break it" series. And it "broke it" as it were.

Well said. As big a fan that I was from the original OAV, I was a teenager when I watched the 2005 series. As a wide-eyed adolescent, even I wasn't very impressed. The direction was indeed interesting to some extent, but the execution was off-- to the extent where I still actually haven't finished it.

I wasn't too aware about the thought process surrounding it's production or the general reception it had when it aired. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Edited October 5, 2014 by Ur_Faust

[LordSpleach]

I'm surprised the action on the 2005 anime was sub-par. The advertising certainly didn't help either.

 

At least the story followed the manga more closely.

[Jade Tatsu]

Lord Spleach, I actually think the animation style didn't help the 2005 series either. The backgrounds were nice, but they were old style and that just didn't work as well as it should have to me. They looked washed out, which with the more modern animation style made it seem like there was a disconnect. It took me a while to put my finger on that. Guyver anime got released in Australia, partially I believe because one of the executives of Madman is a fan. Or was a fan. Who knows anymore. It takes a lot of loyalty to remain with a series that's as flakey as Guyver has been over time.

 

I genuinely don't think Guyver's lack of success is a fans fault. We buy the manga. We buy the anime. We buy the models. Hell this is the only scanlation I buy the volumes in Japanese. (I do agree with the policy but let's face it, how many other scanlations do you really buy the manga for?)

 

I've been saying for years it's the rate of release that is at fault - that and the fact that I think he's lost the plot and doesn't know how to end. A break could have been worked around. But the continued slowness and stop start nature, those can't be worked around. Fans want regular releases of content. With no breaks. Sickness, okay sure, there's some sympathy but years worth of break without reason - no one cares.

 

I don't read that much manga anymore but what other one comes out at such a slow pace? What we get monthly we should be getting weekly! Things like Attack on Titan and Full Metal Alchemist are/were monthly manga's and you got 50 pages or so. Weekly mangas get away with releasing between 10 to 18 so that is an issue. One Piece, which is insanely popular, the author is sick every few months. Not a problem. Why, because in the months when he's not sick, the manga comes out regularly, like clockwork, with 16-20 pages a month with a plot that actually goes somewhere - though I admit sometimes that plot is slow.... DBZ might be the only slower plot that I can think of off hand.

Guyver could have been absolutely huge, if it had a regular release of a decent amount, YEARS back when it first came out. Then it would be remembered as the first of its genre rather than what it is now, as has been said, looking like a copy cat. The lack of storyline is one of the main reasons I decided to write my long Guyver fanfic. Because I was sick and tired of waiting for a finish and Takaya was taking a long break and I couldn't find out why.

 

When I went to Japan earlier this year, I was looking forward to buying some of the manga but it was darn hard to find in any shop and those that had it carried 1-2 volumes, and only the latest volumes - IF they carried them at all. And I went through at least 50 model shops, both for new models and second hand and honestly, I don't even remember seeing a Guyver Model. I'm sure they were there, but I saw a heap more Devilman models and of course bazillions of Gundam models.

 

After all this time, we should be glad someone is still publishing it rather than just killing it but unless Guyvers plot ends soon, I think there is probably a used by date on how long someone publishes it.

[RazorLaser]

Guyver anime got released in Australia, partially I believe because one of the executives of Madman is a fan. Or was a fan. Who knows anymore.

 

Long time, no see, Jade!

 

I remember hassling Madman and Minotaur to get Guyver in for years. Must have worked! haha

[LordSpleach]

Lord Spleach, I actually think the animation style didn't help the 2005 series either. The backgrounds were nice, but they were old style and that just didn't work as well as it should have to me. They looked washed out, which with the more modern animation style made it seem like there was a disconnect. It took me a while to put my finger on that.

I totally agree on the animation.

 

In general the hand-drawn animation from the 80's and 90's is far superior to the easily produced digital works used nowadays.

[*V Guyver]

Lord Spleach, I actually think the animation style didn't help the 2005 series either. The backgrounds were nice, but they were old style and that just didn't work as well as it should have to me. They looked washed out, which with the more modern animation style made it seem like there was a disconnect. It took me a while to put my finger on that.

I totally agree on the animation.

 

In general the hand-drawn animation from the 80's and 90's is far superior to the easily produced digital works used nowadays.

Agree. In major movies, they usually still use large detailed paintings for many scenery scenes. They are scanned in High Depth and some are photo realistic. 

Unfortunately Guyver didn't have that high a detailed painting, and the style to them was a big contrast to the main animation. So yes, it would end up looking washed out. It's a shame too, so much scenery, and a lot of it was cool, but also very forgetful and so very repetitive that eventually you stop caring where the characters are. 

I should know, I spent a good deal of time taking shots of backgrounds and trying to merge them. 

I also discovered that interior works had some good detail when NOT INSIDE a cronos facility. Namely Makashima's Mansion. 

[¬./Anonymous¬]

Its pretty obvious.Guyver doesn't have a lot to offer other audiences.It is too original and people in today's generation do not want something that original. A person in a suit fighting monsters. You see, take away the details and what all of you know combined of that series from an outsider who is new to this and they will likely turn away from it. Now explain how original that sounds in your mind and you will have found the answer.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Anonymous

[Shion]

Its pretty obvious.Guyver doesn't have a lot to offer other audiences.It is too original and people in today's generation do not want something that original. A person in a suit fighting monsters. You see, take away the details and what all of you know combined of that series from an outsider who is new to this and they will likely turn away from it. Now explain how original that sounds in your mind and you will have found the answer.

 

I agree with what you said.

Also, in this generation the majority of anime/manga fans only care for the fan service, half naked girls, big breasts and young kids with super powers. -_-

A show as serious and intense like Guyver will not attract there attention at all. 

 

I am still happy that Guyver is still ongoing for so long.

[¬./Anonymous¬]

As good as the show and the manga is. I don't see it going beyond where it is now. I think it stood out in the 90's and am glad that it got as far as it did. But with today's youth. I think that the Guyver has gotten as far as it can with today's generation. I think part of the reason is competing anime series. There is too much variety for it to become more than what it already is. I think for any anime to go far and beyond is that it needs to stand out to more individuals in other nations than just being in Japan. That being said. I don't see it making another come back. It had a good run and now it's possibly going to be yet another vintage anime/manga series for fans to sit and pray for it to some how be reborn into a new television series. I would like to add that it's time has come and gone.

[H222G981]

This is where my frustration is at with alot of manga and anime. Nothing good is coming to America, and for a lot of good reasons.

Alot of manga publishing companies are dying.

Manga and anime sales in America has dropped 43% since 2007, an even bigger drop than domestically produced comics and graphic novels, suggesting that more than the bad economy is to blame.

Maybe the reduction in the amount of anime shown on American TV from the heights of 2003-2005 was another factor; licensed shows like Sailor Moon, DBZ and Pokémon planted the seeds of fandom in millions of minds, but as American TV producers saw all the money they were making, they decided it was more profitable in the long run to create their own anime-esque TV series like Voltron Force and Speed Racer: The Next Generation, so they get all the rights and don't have to censor panty shots.

Certainly the collapse of Borders didn't help since Borders made up between 1/3rd and 1/5th of manga market dollar sales; Borders graphic novel buyer and manga fan Kurt Hassler, who later left the bookstore business to co-found Yen Press, was the trend-setter who turned chain bookstores into the #1 manga destination .

 

The past four years have seen company after company go out of business: Central Park Media, Go! Comi, DC's manga imprint CMX, Tokyopop, and recently the manga arm of Bandai Entertainment.

Manga is hurting the way that all print media is hurting ; but in some ways it's worse, because manga is ill-equipped to adapt to New Media. Like American comic books, manga started out as cheap entertainment for kids, but while American comics faced their dwindling readership by turning into an adult collector's item with color, thicker paper and higher production values, manga magazines.

There's not enough profits being generated because alot of manga is directed at younger audiences, like teenagers and kids that are barely 10 years old.

Perhaps the fact that manga has a younger audience than American comics, which has always been considered a strength, is now a weakness: older collectors have money and like to spend it but many teenagers don't have credit cards or paypal accounts to pay for things online, and for really young kids, free-to-play is what they know.

So we won't be seeing Guyver for a very long....long time due to on going issues such as this. It also didn't help that both Films that were produced in the 90's. Guyver and Guyver 2 Dark Hero didn't suceed in ways that met the producer's expectations. It didn't help that people didn't like the first film either. If anything, We may never see another Guyver film or anime series for as long as we live. It may be 10-30 years before anything is considered at all or never.

 

I guess if you get overly frustrated in this area as I have. Finding a new hobby or new interest along the lines helps when the thing you love isn't getting anywhere.

 

 

 

  If we all stay really faithful. Perhaps Michael Bay will come along and make a really horrible remake  that we can all complain and bicker about for many years.

 

This. 

[OverPoweredScrub]

So gutted that we have not recieved a third guyver movie or even another anime series. There is so much left to be told , theyve already got the storyline to follow from the comics. I CRI EVERYTIEM

[H222G981]

So gutted that we have not recieved a third guyver movie or even another anime series. There is so much left to be told , theyve already got the storyline to follow from the comics. I CRI EVERYTIEM

 

Give it time. We never know what the future will hold. I mean, they've made a Guyver series every other decade. I'm sure they will make a new one. Have faith my friend  

[Sully]

The problem with Guyver is like everyone has said... it is slow. I've being away from it pretty much a whole year, and barely a book has being covered.

 

Aside from that I feel 2 things have haunted Guyver when it tried to branch out:

 

1) Bad timing. The first 2 live action movies should have never being made -> Overall their scope was too small due to having to budget their special effects, the zoanoids too basic and they turned the series into karate super suit... so much so Sean's first exposer to us is in a dojo. The effects of the time these movies were made did not suit what ultimately we as Guyver fans would want. Ever since book 8 the Guyver story for the last few decades is based in a world Chronos controls. Ideally for a movie to be a success it has to deal with X Day and not be afraid to do it Empire Strikes back style and have the good guys get the asses kicked.

 

2) Don't be afraid to branch away from the manga. As everyone as pointed out, the story moves at a snails pace. One series = almost 8 books. Don't stick to the story like glue. The Live Action movies and the first OVA done something right, they tried to break away from the cast and story of the manga. If someone wants to do a detailed series they need to do the same, no content = a forgotten story. If there is some of their own originality in the story, as long as it's thought out well it gives them the ability to continue with content without having to wait for Takaya.

[TricoBren]

I loved the Guyver since I was in high-school and have just recently started reading the manga. It's been great because I've just read the first 25 volumes during the past 5 days.

I am also acutely aware that this has been going on since 1985 and that after 30 years, we only have 31 volumes and no ending in sight. It's gonna suck when I put down Volume 31

next week and start twiddling my thumbs whilst waiting for the next chapter but, hey what can you do right?

The reason why the Guyver isn't popular is very simple. The Mangaka himself is lazy and can't be bothered anymore. Simple.

I was a big fan of Vinland Saga, a Norse manga which was winning awards all over the place and had a huge readership but you know what? The moment that 

switched from weekly to monthly, its popularity took a nosedive. People became tired of waiting for the next chapter and before long that mangaka took breaks too.

 

Switching from weekly to monthly is probably a very welcome proposal as far as the mangaka are concerned as it means they can actually sleep and have a life but

unfortunately, it's also the kiss of death when it comes to popularity. 

 

Takaya is obviously burned out and probably wishes he didn't have to do the series anymore but in all likelihood, it's probably his only source of income right now.

God knows how his editor puts up with his snail pace but I can only imagine that it's because the Guyver enjoyed a modicum of popularity in the 90s. This year is the 30th anniversary

so who knows, maybe he'll put his back into it and finish the story once for all. God knows it's taken him long enough!!

[Masamune]

I'm still surprised there hasn't been a Guyver video-game yet. There have been far more obscure anime/manga series given the video-game treatment, and you'd think that The Guyver would be geared for some hack n' slash action. It's not like it doesn't have a cult fandom in the West.

[Matt Bellamy]

I'm still surprised there hasn't been a Guyver video-game yet. There have been far more obscure anime/manga series given the video-game treatment, and you'd think that The Guyver would be geared for some hack n' slash action. It's not like it doesn't have a cult fandom in the West.

 

I am going to guess that there might have been talk about it, or at least putting the characters in a fighting game or something back in 2005... But games take a lot of time, and the 2005 tv series was not the hit that they wanted. But Guyver is an old "classic" by some standards. Surely still has some popularity, right?

 

I mean, for example, take a game called Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom (which was actually brought over here). It has old Tatsunoko anime characters thrown in with Capcom characters... Including an old favorite of mine, Tekkaman Blade... but ALSO including the original Tekkaman as well. You'd think, "Hey, Guyver is just as old, and even had a new series, why not add him? or do something similar?"

 

Probably all due to character rights. Blade was probably thrown in there because of his rights already being owned by the big parent company who was teaming with Capcom.

 

Guyver's videogame rights are probably not part of a big parent company, and would require purchasing of the rights to be used in something. Now this could be as simple as "Too much money" or "Another company is sitting on the rights". Could be any number of reasons.

 

Other than the fact, the Guyver never really was all that popular of a franchise to begin with.

[H222G981]

This is true. I think Guyver is going to need to be more widespread with today's generation. A lot of companies won't touch something unless its doing really good.

 

For example:

 

If I was a game developer or in the movie industry. As much as I like Guyver, I wouldn't touch it with a 20 foot long poll. I'd want money. I want my movie or video game to make millions of dollars. I'd go with something more like the Avengers if I had the option of buying the rights and making it. Its just the best route. I know it would make a lot of money, even if it was made decent.

 

But if I took Guyver, well. I wouldn't make near that much. 

[guyverfanatic]

I wish there would be another Guyver series, but since it has been 10 years since the last one... zero chance on continuing where it left off.

[lost unit]

yeah i agree another spin off, we see loads of comics with different artists doing there own spin off if there was only say when we dont see guyver 3 for a while he is doing his own missions but comes back to the current time line when he needs too with effecting the storyline just gives time between chapters a bit more interesting and the guyver spirit going. I dont think it will happen but it was a thought.

[Sully]

Takaya is obviously burned out and probably wishes he didn't have to do the series anymore but in all likelihood, it's probably his only source of income right now.

God knows how his editor puts up with his snail pace but I can only imagine that it's because the Guyver enjoyed a modicum of popularity in the 90s. This year is the 30th anniversary

so who knows, maybe he'll put his back into it and finish the story once for all. God knows it's taken him long enough!!

 

(you know this as your there) In Japan it's supported by a large number of other comics sold with it's monthly distribution. It's kinda hard for western fans to vision it but in Japan if you buy a monthly comic you have to buy a huge book like thing with countless other stories there. Keeping them any length of time isn't really an option as they are huge so if you want to keep your copy of Guyver you have to buy the yearly book.

 

If not for that I don't think Guyver would have survived as long as it has.