OBSCURE O.V.A.S, *Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor

From 1989-1992, Visual 80 and Studio Kikan did this second anime adaptation of the manga series a few years after the Guyver: Out Of Control one-shot. The 12-episode OVA series got further infamy. than the original anime mostly because U.S. Renditions provided a dub for the series that was later picked up by Manga Entertainment. This was probably the version of the anime that you saw in video rental stores instead of the prior one, as well as being the anime that more inspired the American live-action movie franchise. Being split into two distinct parts between two separate studios, Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor had three different directors and adapted the first five volumes of the manga. Manga Entertainment really knew how to milk this series by releasing only one episode per VHS, making for a dozen rentals if you wanted to see the entire series. It was of course later bundled on DVD, but has been long out of print, even though it is currently available through streaming.

Sho Fukamachi comes across the Guyver unit stolen from the Chronos Organization to become the armored warrior called Guyver I. Chronos sends numerous Zoanoid monsters out to take retrieve the unit, including sending their agent in the Guyver II suit. Sho gets help from his comrade Tetsuro, as well as the occasional team-up from the reclusive Guyver III. The OVA does have various edits and tweaks between the VHS and DVD releases, so your experience watching it may vary.

Being one of the first anime titles to get be made public after the cultural impact that Akira made on American fans, this Guyver anime got much exposure, and recruited many into the tokusatsu genre since it featured superheroes battling monsters. The animation is peculiar but effective, and the designs for the inhuman characters are engrossing, if not just plain gross. The dub has some noteworthy actors getting their premiere in the English dub, including Steve Blum as Guyver III. The majority of this OVA's appeal comes from its violence ante getting upped over other anime titles of the time.