Leaderboard

Welp, finally got through all 12 eps! It was actually quite a bit of viewing because I watched the dubbed versions first (both US Renditions and Manga) then on a whim I decided to watch the original raws! Was definitely worth it, had a blast reliving some old memories Raws for first six episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXFgiVsnRF0UAEjEHb3iQHA/videos The raws for the second half can be found on Dailymotion by Googling the JP titles on here: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=675&page=25 - The majority of the Japanese titles used the format "Hook! Elaborative second chunk!" The US Renditions release sometimes stuck with this syntax (Terminal Battle! The Fall of Chronos Japan) and sometimes they just rolled it into one (Genesis of the Guyver); the Manga release, in contrast, kept the USR titles for the first six episodes but truncated the second half titles pretty noticeably. I will say, though, there's a stark quality about the Japanese title for episode five (戦慄!! ガイバー死す/Shudder!! Guyver Dies") that just... works. - The font for the JP title cards is glowing red kanji/katakana. It's foreboding and I love it. - The original ending sequences for episodes two and three end on shots of Guyver II and III respectively. I guess the English versions just reused the same sequence for the first six episodes? - There are moments here and there in the English dubs that were unvoiced for some reason and it's really jarring when you see them in Japanese. They're mostly grunts/reaction noises but they really do add a lot; for instance, when Lisker flips over Sho and tosses him into the wall during their fight, you hear quite a bit of verbalization from Takeshi Kusao and Norio Wakamoto. That slow upwards panning shot of Guyver II works a lot better with Wakamoto's mocking laughter over it, same with Kusao's freaked out yell when firing the Megasmasher to finish Lisker off. Also, if you close your eyes when watching it really sounds like Trunks just can't catch a break from Cell. - I'm not sure either of the Chronos mooks with accents (episode 2, episode 9) had Japanese dialects that warranted them. Not that I minded it any, it gave the scenes some color! - Common to all versions but I always got a kick out of Sho's dramatic kick on Elegen being the only bit of meaningful offense he lands on Team Five until Agito bails him out and tells him how to roast Gaster. Dude was a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest until Guyver III showed up. - Also common to all versions; Sho's dumbass friends. They're the best. - The big Agito reveal in episode five has Sho kinda parrot what Makishima said (Makishima-san is... Chronos?); not exactly riveting dialogue, but it makes a touch more sense than having EN Sho act like he should have known all along for some reason. - The original version of episode six has a decently lengthy recap sequence before the opening that I can't recall being in either of the domestic versions...? - The fight with ZX-Tole, Sho, and Agito sounds drastically different depending on which version you watch. The Manga release has silence in the background, the US Renditions release has the first verse of Takeshi's Kusao's version of the OP as a backing track and the original Japanese has the second verse of Shinichi Ishihara's. I like the US Renditions one the best! - The original version of Part II's OP is cut slightly differently. - I don't have a damn clue how a hypothetical part III would have proceeded with Team Five long gone, even if they had been given a half-decent budget for the next run. - Finally - and this is 100% subjective - I ended up preferring EN Sho to JP Sho. Agonized death screams aside, I felt like Tom Fahn managed to channel the terrified teenager part of Sho a lot better; in contrast, Takeshi Kusao comes off like a legit badass a lot of the time which would have worked in any show besides Guyver where the protag's about as far from a badass as they come, even with the super-powered alien armor. Like half the time when Fahn does battle cries it sounds like a kid trying REAL HARD to sound intimidating and it's absolutely perfect for the novice that he was.

First off; hi everyone! Glad to find a bunch of dedicated Guyver fans in 2021 So, I just finished reliving Enzyme II's battle against Guyver I and that started the gears turning... Flash back to episode five. Genzo's got Sho on the ropes with Guyot telling him to go for the kill - but maybe this time he's a little less precise in his order, or maybe the ex-chairman wants to inflict even more pain than he already has. So instead of ripping out the Control Medal, he pulls a Fumio and debrains the hell out of our plucky protagonist. Guyot's satisfied, Enzyme's gloating, Team Five's collective hateboner is off the charts, Mizuki's screaming and Tetsuro's freaking out as only Tetsuro can freak out, all while the tiny part of his head that's still rational is going 'wait a minute, shouldn't he be melting or something...?' All festivities cease*, of course, when Guyver I gets back up in the brutally efficient self defense mode, missing an arm, part of its abdomen, and Sho's brain (and by extension, everything that makes Sho... uh, Sho). Along, of course, with the use of the Megasmasher until the chest plates heal up. So, my question is: 1. Can the self-defense'd out Guyver I successfully beat the super-resilient Zoanoid engineered specifically to kick its ass, and if so: 2. Can it then overcome the odds against the three on one handicap match that'll come when the surviving Team Five members, absolutely fed up with this capital 'B' Bullcrap, decide to put an end to things once and for all? *Except for Mizuki screaming. At this point in the series, it's kinda justified.