Project Zeorymer

A young man named Akitsu Masato is captured by a secret govt. project known as "Last Guardian". He is told that his life as a normal student was all a lie, and that his real destiny is to be the pilot of a great robot called "Zeorymer of the Heavens". The truth of this is hammered in when Masato sees his parents accept payment for raising him. The Last Guardian is preparing for the resurrection of "Hau Dragon", an organization bent on world conquest. 15 years ago, Hau Dragon built 8 great robots. Each of the mecha represents a force of nature. However, before any of the robots could be used, their creater Kihara Masaki destroyed the robots except for the leader: Zeorymer. He took Zeorymer and an embryo to the government. The embryo became the boy Masato. Now, Hau Dragon has rebuilt the other 7 mecha and wants the 8th. It will be up to Masato and Himuro to pilot Zeorymer and fight against the Hau Dragon, but neither Masato or Himuro are all that they seem.

(Source: AniDB)

Akitsu, Masato Main

Seki, Toshihiko Japanese

Yuratei Main

Shou, Mayumi Japanese

Himuro, Miku Main

Honda, Chieko Japanese

Saiga Supporting

Shiozawa, Kaneto Japanese

Ritsu Supporting

Hayami, Show Japanese

Rokfel Supporting

Katsuki, Masako Japanese

Gisou Supporting

Genda, Tesshou Japanese

Lurahn Supporting

Tsujimura, Mahito Japanese

Si, Tau Supporting

Sasaki, Yuuko Japanese

Masato's Father Supporting

Masamune, Issei Japanese

Hirano, Toshiki Director

Fujiyama, Fusanobu Sound Director

Nishimori, Akira Episode Director, Storyboard

Asamiya, Kia Storyboard, Character Design, Animation Director, Chief Animation Director, Key Animation

Reviews

Dec 16, 2024

FAKEANIMEGIRL

Recommended

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When researching Zeorymer I read comments about how dark it was and that it was a "proto-Evangelion". After watching the OVA I feel that these praises are glib, but they're not baseless. This 1988 OVA came out in the span of about a year and a half, and it stars a kid named Masato who's kidnapped by men in black and told that his family life was a lie and he is an artificial human groomed to pilot the mecha Zeorymer. He doesn't take it too well at first, ... but soon accepts his fate to fight against Hau Dragon, an organization bent on world domination using their mecha known as "Hakkeshu", and seeking revenge on Zeorymer for being the mech stolen from them by a traitor.

This show has weird progression in the sort you'd expect from an OVA that sounds too short for its britches. Masato works with this girl named Miku who sub-pilots Zeorymer with him, and he's naturally resistant and standoffish to her since she's in league with the people who took him away from his normal life. Makes sense, but despite their very few personal, non-business interactions in the show, Miku develops obvious affection for Masato out of nowhere and Masato's perfectly receptive to it. The only other main character on the protagonist side is Oki, the main man in black who's constantly wearing sunglasses. I thought his initial role was pretty interesting, as he's given such a featureless and mute design that gives him mystery when combined with the cruel ways with which he treats Masato like a tool. Early scenes with him are interesting because he shows so little of himself despite frequently being on-screen as the only representative of the Last Guardian organization. He goes from having this interesting dynamic with Masato as he seems practically amused by his shock and suffering, but when Masato just accepts his role as Zeorymer's pilot Oki falls into being a standard support man for Masato despite them never having any personal bonding scenes. When the finale comes and Oki is giving Masato the "go get 'em, tiger" look and saluting his liftoff while Masato is addressing him as "Oki-san" suddenly it's just weird. Where's all this character transitioning coming from? It's disappointing when the move to more standard characterization isn't even properly justified in the narrative.

That's really enough said to move on to the villains now, who are actually much more interesting. One of Zeorymer's distinctive traits in its writing (and probably the thing that gets it compared to Evangelion) is that Masato and all of the OVA's villains have blatant, specific psychological complexes. The members of Hau Dragon have some implied personal conflicts and intriguing dynamics between them that do have some kind of payoff. The problem is largely the same as before though in that the set-up isn't enough to comb the depths of its psychological ideas. The two twin sisters where one loves the other and the other hates and feels overshadowed by the more experienced one, and the uncertain relationship between Taiha and Hau Dragon's leader Yuratei are two such examples. My favorite character in the show is Saiga, largely due in part to Kaneto Shiozawa's voice performance. He uses a deep, soft, cold voice similar to his performance of Oberstein in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and it grants Saiga a more immediate mystique than the rest of Hau Dragon. He's also instantly shown to be disapproving of the rest of his teammates, which gives him particular unpredictability and a further threatening poise. Unfortunately, Saiga is the one character who doesn't have payoff. His climactic scene undermines the idea that he was being painted as some kind of exception to the failures of Hau Dragon, and simply put his final scheme is simple and pulled off very lamely, devoid of the intelligence and stature he had as a character. This is only worse when you realize that Saiga is involved in the show's final battle. There's also a lot of talk in this OVA about the "Hades Project" mentioned in the title, and from what I gathered it has something to do with the Hakkeshu battles determining who will be the "leader of the underworld". But I don't think it's ever explained what the hell the underworld specifically is in this context, and since the OVA immediately ends after the final battle we never find out what this whole motivation for so many characters even was. Very awkward.

Let's talk about the mechs, because I actually quite like Yoshiki Takaya's designs. The Hakkeshu look very alien in appearance due to their lack of an obvious human base in design. They don't have two eyes or visors reflecting helmets, and instead their "eyes" are expressed by glowing orbs that are simply stuck in square compartments. They're very blocky and not aerodynamic with sharp or inconsistent shapes jutting out. They kind of look like relics or statues of mythical gods with how they defy any facial characterization. Omzack doesn't even have limbs, just being some sort of floating aquatic-like machine with several tails flowing behind it. Zeorymer itself is a massively overpowered machine which can still be cool if pulled off well, but what makes its strength kind of dull is the fact it doesn't really escalate. It feels as though it's about demonstrating the same level of power in every fight all the way to the end, and it's simply always enough to destroy the enemy machines in one blow while never being an any serious danger. The fights aren't very dynamic nor do they have complex choreography due to their slow pace, but they're entertaining enough due to the plot and character development that continues to unfold as they play out. Zeorymer also doesn't have particularly great animation, but when it does decide to show off some action it looks fluid. What's most commendable is just the excellent illustration. I love the shading here, and there are several great stills that are incredibly detailed with scene compositions that are focused and easy to follow, so this does feel like a production worthy of an OVA and it has solid direction. The imagery is great, but there isn't a lot of complex motion to marvel at. The soundtrack is decent, with the brassy "Awake! Zeorymer" and the angsty, cathartic ending theme "Crimson Loneliness" being the highlights.

Zeorymer in general just sort of ends unsatisfyingly. This OVA is full of a lot of great concepts that it doesn't have the breadth to pull off, so it ends up being emotionally limp due to weak set-ups that don't provide enough relationship detail or nuance to do its ideas justice, even though it has respectable ambition. The ideas that are still there such as the dark tone and psychological themes make it a decent enough watch for its run time even though they're minor, but it never ends up outdoing itself. I can safely recommend this to hardcore mecha fans or 80s/90s OVA junkies because it does enough to distinguish itself, but most people will probably think there just isn't enough here to leave a lasting impression. Zeorymer isn't a heavily flawed series, it just needed to actually be big rather than just think big.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 23, 2023

DISKOWN

Mixed Feelings

Project Zeorymer is an anime series that showcases excellent animation and character designs. The visuals remain consistent throughout the show, despite the aging animation, which is still visually appealing. Each character has a unique appearance that accurately reflects their personality, which is commendable. However, the narrative is rather simplistic and fails to explore various interesting points that could have enriched the story. Moreover, the main characters lack depth, and the side antagonists receive more attention, leaving the audience wanting more. The conclusion is underwhelming and fails to inspire the audience. Although Mecha enthusiasts and classic sci-fi anime fans may enjoy Project Zeorymer, it may not ... be everyone's cup of tea. Exploring other options may be more suitable for some viewers.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Dec 21, 2024

Gsarthotegga

Not Recommended

Despite the mixed reception, this OVA looked like it might have some potential: Attractive art similar to the Dangaioh OVA but darker, with decent animation and storyboarding, oftentimes elaborate mech designs, and an initially atmospheric and cinematic presentation. There are obvious proto-Evangelion vibes, featuring a brooding, depressive, whiny MC, and quite a few psychological elements, though it's already been done with the batshit psychotic characters chewing scenery in the darker moments of Tomino's Gundam series or the grimdark militancy and paranoia of Takahashi's Votoms.

The problem is the clunky expository dialogue from the robotic Chinese vampire villains or whatever these face-tatted fellows are supposed to ... be and how cheesy they are in general. It's obvious even from the first episode that the story is going to stutter throughout the entire duration, the plot armor is going to be off the charts, and the MC, who was a specially crafted breeding stud to be placed in the cockpit with a pretty female, will putter around with the next villain for foreplay, then blow them away effortlessly. While the effects animation is passable, the fights aren't well choreographed. They're usually hastily concluded with no effort due to a half-assed epiphany after the MC is done whining and flailing around, then he finishes them off with the Hyper-Giga-Super-Duper Star Beam or Chad Fist of Doom or whatever inane nonsense the staff come up with on the spot.

It's one of those shows that suffers from the immersion-breaking Sailor Moon effect, where the villains take him on 1-on-1, like they're gallant duelists, and you throw your hands in the air in exasperation and ask why they don't combine their forces and win, because we all know they could if they wanted to, just as they finally attempt in the final episode once the MC is unstoppable. This is why a war scenario is superior and should be used in place of a Sailor Moon-esque setup. Usually, Villain A is hyucking at the poor heroes. Villain B conspires against him. Villain A is killed by the heroes as a result, followed by Villain B getting killed, then Villain C... Just attack at once, you nincompoops! What are the antagonists even doing!? Painting their nails and doing their makeup? It sure looks like it, what with their gaudy character designs. Yet their base is floating above Japan in plain sight, for fuck's sake!

The MC doesn't even realize someone is piloting the first mech, and for his second battle, he freezes up, not wanting to kill the person inside. What a pansy! Then he, of course, flips out with a psychopathic personality, further fueling the dark psychological style, which still wasn't too common in mech anime. The sibling rivalry conflict between the twins is contrived and laughable, and the MC's shift in personality is equally unintentionally hilarious, along with his MWHAHAHAHA cackling edgelordism. All the character relationships rely on these silly tropes and threadbare interactions, such as passionless romances, half-baked existentialism, ambitious and scheming upstarts, etc., rather than any depth.

By the end, the psychological elements are pushed further by the fractured psyche of the MC, and the twist deepens the connection between the MC's different identities and his enemies, but it comes much too late and nothing is explored with any rigor. By episode 3, you know the ending is going to be terrible and rushed, given there are still so many enemies and loose ends. The final episode feels like it should be at the halfway point, but all the enemies are dispatched quickly and with ease, and we're given a lame cop-out ending. Even with such a weak story and characters, they still try to milk tears with the trashy soundtrack, especially at the end. There seems to be a quasi-attempt at making the end tragic, but the execution is more akin to a three-ring circus. It's kind of sad this is such a poor OVA because the reveals in episode 4 had a great deal of potential if this were at all well written. The OVA is somewhat notable for its influence, but it's not worth watching except for the most die-hard mech completionist.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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	Poll: Project Zeorymer Episode 4 Discussion Cello - Mar 21, 2009	12 replies	by Junichi_Hashiba »» Feb 12, 2024 4:20 AM
	Poll: Project Zeorymer Episode 3 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - Aug 31, 2015	3 replies	by GarouWolf »» Nov 28, 2023 7:00 PM
	Poll: Project Zeorymer Episode 2 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - Aug 31, 2015	2 replies	by GarouWolf »» Nov 14, 2023 8:16 PM
	Poll: Project Zeorymer Episode 1 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - Aug 31, 2015	3 replies	by GarouWolf »» Nov 14, 2023 5:55 PM
	Opening theme? The_Sum_of_Zero - May 28, 2014	1 replies	by Largo93 »» Jan 6, 2015 11:41 PM