Download

The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor (Saturday Spin-off) – Regeneration

The Guyver Bio Booster Armor Saturday Spin-off Regeneration Title

Do you remember the original Guyver series from the eighties? It was awesome, right? Wrong! If you’ve seen it recently, you’ll have to admit it as I did. It shattered my memories, so maybe it’s time for a reboot!

What’s going on?

That may come across as a fairly harsh statement, but I stand by it. Back when it was first released I collected the video cassettes that were released monthly. Each cassette had a single episode and cost five pounds for twenty-four minutes of entertainment. Back then, I loved it and until recently had very fond memories of the series. Then, when I rewatched it as a part of the Otaku on Writing podcast, I had to admit that I had been wrong. Very, very wrong. It’s full of lengthy monologues, both internal and external and is frankly a bit of a mess all around. But, there is a lot that could be salvaged, so I’m going to do my best to pitch a reboot and hope that someone notices.

What’s the pitch?

Shou Fukamachi is your average high school student. He doesn’t really excel at anything, but one day while camping with his close-knit group of friends, he finally mustered up the courage to confess his love to his childhood sweetheart, Mizuki and something terrible happened. There was an explosion. When they returned to their camp it had been overrun with monsters and all of their friends had been killed. Shou tried to protect Mizuki, but was hit back by one of the monsters, tumbling into a thicket. The monsters closed in around Mizuki. She let out a shrill scream.

As if answering the call, another monster burst out of the woods and attacked the other monsters. They quickly lost interest in Mizuki and turned on the real threat. A battle erupted and the new monster soon stood victorious. It stepped towards Mizuki, tilting its head as if recognizing her. She fainted as the monster picked her up and leapt into the forest. Mizuki woke up in a cave and found Shou lying next to her. He was covered in blood, but she could find no visible injuries. He remained unconscious for several days. During that time, Mizuki spent her time searching for help and trying to survive.

Eventually, they were found by a hiker who helped Mizuki get Shou back to his cabin. He offered Mizuki the use of his phone, but when she called her home, a girl answered… a girl with her voice, claiming to be her. Mizuki hung up without saying a word. Shou sat up with a start and turned toward the window. He stared into the distance. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Shou spoke and all he would say was “They’re coming!”

Where did the inspiration come from?

As I said earlier, there are a lot of interesting concepts in this series, but it never really worked. The stuff that Shou goes through as a teenager was horrific, but I felt it didn’t really explore the horror of it, choosing instead to focus on having an ever-increasing scale of monsters. I like the idea that this version would have more of an invasion of the body snatchers feel to it, making it impossible for Shou and Mizuki to know who to trust. It would also be good to get Mizuki more involved and give her something to do other than getting captured and used to bring the Guyver in. Just make it darker and maybe even leave out Chronos for a little bit.

Other posts in the series

Lynn Sheridan The Otaku Author Header
Tags

What did you think?

You might also like…