or simply Guyver is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoshiki Takaya. The Guyver itself is a symbiotic techno-organic (or biomechanical) device that enhances the capabilities of its host.
The manga was originally serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Captain from February 1985 until its discontiuation in January 1997. The manga was picked up by Kadokawa Shoten, and was serialized in Monthly Ace Next magazine from 1999 until its discontinuation in April 2002. The manga is irregularly serialized in Kadokawa's Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine since February 2007, with its latest chapter released in June 2016 before going on indefinite hiatus. It has been licensed by Viz Media, Star Comics and Chuang Yi Publishing.
Guyver has been adapted into a single OVA titled Guyver: Out of Control (1986, based loosely on the first volume), a 12-episode anime OVA series (1989 to 1992, based on the first four volumes), two American tokusatsu live action movies (1991's The Guyver and 1994's Guyver: Dark Hero) as well as a 26-episode anime series (2005 to 2006, based on the first ten volumes). There was also a novel released in 1989 and two light novels in 1995.
Plot A test type Zoanoid escapes from the Cronos Corporation with three Guyver Units. Cronos soldiers pursue the test type into some woods to recover the units from him, but when they corner the test type, he detonates a bomb he had with him. The Guyver Units are scattered in the blast. One of the lost Guyver Units, known as "Unit I", lands near two young high school students, Shō Fukamachi and Tetsurō Segawa. The second one is retrieved by Cronos and merges with Oswald A. Lisker to become the second Guyver later on. The final unit falls into the hands of Agito Makishima, who merges with it at an unspecified time. Shō accidentally activates the unit which then painfully merges with him.
Over time, Shō learns more about the Guyver and its abilities. The Guyver is virtually invulnerable, with its only weak point being the Control Metal. With this part intact, it can rebuild the host from their data it stores within, but if this part is critically damaged, the host will be eaten alive by the unit and perish. This is disconcerting and Shō starts to question whether he will ever be free from the Guyver. The situation gets worse with the fact that Cronos is continuously sending more and more powerful Zoanoids to retrieve the Guyver. This makes it increasingly difficult for Shō to protect his vulnerable friends.
As the story progresses it also takes a startling turn, in which Cronos succeeds in taking over the world and reshaping it according to its ideals. The Guyvers are then labeled to the public as a "vanguard of alien invaders".
Characters / Guyver I The main protagonist of the series, Shō is seventeen years old and a second-year student at Narisawa high school. He has black hair and a slim build. He fights Cronos to protect his friends and family than from any need to see the enemy brought to justice. Had he not become host for a Guyver Unit, he would have happily continued in ignorance of Cronos. He cares deeply for Mizuki Segawa with the intensity of first love and Tetsuro Segawa, Mizuki's older brother, is his closest friend. As he is the host for the first Unit activated, he is known as "Guyver I". Shō later obtains a larger, more powerful Guyver Unit known as "Guyver Gigantic" after interfacing with a Creator ship. The Guyver Gigantic can be further enhanced into "Guyver Gigantic Exceed," enlarging to roughly 52 meters in height and changing the armor color to red.
A large-framed, chubby third-year student, Tetsuro is Shō's closest friend and Mizuki's older brother. He is highly intelligent and can think rapidly when he has to. He is a rabid science fiction fan and the leader of the sci-fi society in the school, which gives him the background knowledge to make numerous accurate guesses about the Guyver armor, Zoanoids and Cronos. He wears his hair short and has glasses.
Mizuki is a typical schoolgirl who is the younger sister of Tetsurō. At the beginning of the story, she has a crush on Agito Makishima, but later begins to appreciate Shō more. She is short, very slender and wears her hair in a page-boy cut that emphasizes her large eyes. / Guyver III Agito is of medium build and muscular; he is a third-year student at the same high school the others attend, but looks older. Portrayed as an anti-hero, he almost never allows sentiment to stand in his way. He appears shrewd and calculating. At one point a candidate-member of the Cronos Elite, he is now viewed by them as a traitor. Even though he may have activated his Unit before Oswald A. Lisker, the second Guyver, he did not openly appear in his Guyver armor until after Lisker was eliminated and thus he was dubbed "Guyver III". Agito shows a frightening knowledge of what the Guyver can do throughout the series. After the Cronos conquest, Agito leads a resistance organization known as "Zeus No Ikazuchi" or "Zeus' Thunderbolts", as he plans to overthrow Cronos and steal their power (as the god Zeus did to his father, Cronos). By exerting his willpower, Agito has the ability to summon the Guyver Gigantic armor even if Shō is already using it. When Agito uses the Guyver Gigantic, it changes form to resemble Guyver III, becoming "Guyver Gigantic Dark." After Shō permanently claims ownership of the original Guyver Gigantic, Agito obtains his own personal Unit. / Griselda Shizu Onuma and her family have been serving the Makishima family for many years, tending to their properties and caring for Agito in his youth. Although she is by nature kind and gentle, she can be extremely dangerous when she is acting in his interests since her devotion to him is total and overriding any other consideration. She gave her body to the ambition of Agito and leads the processed "Liberatus" of the Zeus' Thunderbolts organization, having been transformed into the proto-zoalord Griselda. She capable of protecting the Liberatus from the psychic control of Cronos' overlords, although her lifespan has been greatly diminished by the transformation.
Fumio is a widower and Shō's father, but almost nothing else is known about him. He is captured and used by Cronos as a guinea pig and turned into a Guyver-killer Zoanoid to entrap Shō. He ends up being killed by Guyver I in battle.
He is a battle creature that hunts down other Zoanoids created by Cronos (except Lost Numbers). By absorbing small amounts of DNA from other Zoanoids, he can replicate their forms and powers, as well as mix the attributes of several Zoanoids in one body. He can regenerate himself even if only small pieces of him are left. Since discovering this ability, he begins killing Zoanoids to take their powers and bio-matter in order to become the most powerful battle creature and becomes a renegade from Cronos. In time, he comes to ally himself with the Guyvers in various battles. Aptom was one of the lost number commandos along with his two compatriots, Somlum and Dyme, who were killed in battle with Guyver I. This leads Aptom to carry a vendetta against Shō. Over time, Aptom questions his own motives and considers Cronos' part in his suffering. He was originally developed as a Zoanoid with the ability to morph into different types of Zoanoids and possess the power of the types he morphs into, but the project failed and he became a Lost Number. Dr. Barcus was interested in Aptom's abilities and carried out further experiments on him. This freed Aptom from the mental control of the Zoalords and gave him the ability to rapidly evolve. Aptom also has other unexpected abilities, including the ability to regenerate himself even from the smallest remaining piece of his tissue and the ability to clone himself, each clone having its own consciousness. Throughout the story, he has gone through several different chosen forms after absorbing multiple Zoanoids. His human shape is of a muscular man with a distinctive scar that runs down the left side of his face from hairline to jaw. He often dresses in a leather jacket, jeans and sunglasses. / One of Dr. Odagiri's assistants, and the one who manipulated security footage at the Relic's Point base to cover Agito Makishima sneeking Shō Fukamachi and Mizuki Segawa in. He is later the sole survivor of that group of scientists that escaped in the relic, along with the Segawa siblings and Agito Makishima's aids, after the destruction of the Relic's point base. The scientists were infected by a deadly virus as Cronos' means of keeping them under control. The only way to escape death is to be supplied with regular shots or to become Zoanoids. The only way to become a Zoanoid and yet not be slaves to the Zoalords is to become a Lost Number. Since supplies of the medicine were running out, they resorted to attempt to becoming Lost Numbers. Hayami was the only scientist that survived the process, becoming "Bio-Freezer". He possesses the unique power to affect the temperature of the environment around him to a certain extent. Aptom finds him and, once he realizes what Hayami is, brings him to meet the Guyvers and their friends. Unfortunately, later on his mission with Sho to save Aptom from the three rogue Zoalords, he sacrifices himself to save the latter, knowing that he was going to die anyway, due to flaws in the make-shift optimization process, passing his powers on-to Aptom. / Guyver II Female Valkyria is a former member of Cronos and the step-sister of the late Oswald A. Lisker. Her mother was Astrid Forsberg and her stepfather was US Senator Robert P. Lisker. Their marriage was arranged by Cronos to unite the powerful American and Swedish Cronos families together. Robert was quite cold to Valkyria, but initially Oswald acted like a big brother to her. After her mother's death she came to resent the submissive role she had been dealt and proceeded to work her way up the ranks of Cronos to avoid being used as a pawn the way her mother was. Her goal to show up her brother was destroyed upon his death, shattering her. She steals a prototype artificial Guyver unit and becomes "Guyver II Female" or Guyver II-F, ultimately joining forces with former Zoalord Richard Guyot. She is plagued by bouts of fatigue and dizziness, even in human form, as a result of becoming a pseudo-Guyver. Additionally, because it is a flawed prototype, Valkyria's Guyver has a limited activation time and destroys her clothing when activated. Valkyria is based on a character that appears in the 1986 OVA named Valcuria, who serves the same role as Oswald A. Lisker in other adaptations. Like Lisker, Valcuria bonds with a damaged Guyver unit, which becomes increasingly unstable the longer she fights. This flaw is exploited by Shō to defeat her and destroy her Control Medal, causing her armor to consume her until Shō ultimately kills her with the Mega-Smasher.
A mysterious figure that has begun collecting Zoacrystals from the deceased Zoalords. He appears to wear a dark armor made from the same material as Guyver's control metal. He has demonstrated mind control, an ability only seen used by Uranus or Zoalord. He also mimicked Caerleon's self-division by manipulation of 'unfolded space'. Dr Barcus has speculated that Apollon could be a vanguard of the Uranus. He also appears to be on a tight schedule. He is likely based upon apollyon. Even though the katakana is closer to Apollon, the kanji that is often used beside it is abyss.
Cronos