While many are familiar with the Guyver manga and anime, it also had two live-action movies, with the second being surprisingly decent considering its tiny budget.

The first Guyver live-action movie, also known as Mutronics , famously starred Mark Hamill in a supporting role and was also a bit of a mixed bag in terms of its execution.

The second movie, Dark Hero , took more inspiration and know-how from Japanese tokusatsu shows and starred a young David Hayter as the protagonist, Sean Barker, with coiffed hair and cool mirrored shades.

While Dark Hero does do a pass on wrapping up loose ends from the first film, it has much more of a standalone story that ties more directly into the original manga and anime.

In that, the main focus of Dark Hero’s story is a buried Relic spaceship that the aliens left behind when their human weapon experiment went “ out of control ”.

Sean is drawn there through images he sees in his dreams, which are later confirmed to be actual cave paintings at the dig site.

His presence and the fact that he is a Guyver also inadvertently activate the Relic, revealing a damaged Guyver unit hidden within.

This results in the Zoanoids and Sean facing off in a pretty epic fight, as the damaged Guyver unit has found a new Zoanoid host .

I remember watching this movie back on VHS in the 90s. I was already up to speed with the Guyver anime and manga , and while I didn’t overly enjoy the first Guyver movie, Dark Hero was actually pretty cool.

It really showed that there were tokusatsu people involved in the production, too, as the martial arts fights looked the part and fit the overall setting far better than in the first movie.

It was also great that Dark Hero tied in aspects from the manga, such as the ancient Relic spaceship and a nod to the damaged Guyver unit, which in the anime was used by Lisker as he became Guyver II.

The Zoanoid and Guyver suits also looked a lot better than in the first Guyver movie, and it’s here we get to this new Blu-ray release.

This is the first time I’ve seen the movie at this level of quality, and it holds up surprisingly well. There is also an additional “enhanced version” included, and that looks even better still.

You also have a ton of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, with David Hayter’s being rather funny. There’s also a text interview with the creator of the Guyver manga, Yoshiki Takaya, where he confirms that he will sadly be unable to finish the manga due to his poor health .

Honestly, I never thought we’d ever see Dark Hero released on Blu-ray, but I am very glad it has been. Especially as it still holds up over three decades later.

If you’re new to Guyver and enjoy somewhat cheesy tokusatsu, then this B-movie will definitely hit the spot. For fans of Guyver , there are loads of extras included here to make it worth your while, so it comes recommended.

Guyver: Dark Hero is currently available on Blu-ray from Amazon for $26.99.

Disclosure: Toy Robot sent me a copy of this Blu-ray for the purposes of this review.

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