Shin Hurricane Polymar

I will try to be brief. As with a lot of revivals in OVA format, this is not a complete story, nor is it an exact "remake" of the original. It reimagines a lot of stuff and some story bites are clearly rushed to get us to the hero in a suit fighting villains.

Like many other OVAs from 80 and 90s here, we have nudity and blood, and sometimes it can feel a little bit unwanted but these days I usually interpret it as part of its time and style (but yeah sometimes too much violence and nudity).

The fights are well-animated, with good choreography and ... fluid animation. The tone shifts from dark noir to more lighthearted conversations as the daily life of detective Joe with Takeshi and Teru with him. It blends well in my opinion but as this feels more like a Pilot rushing to the interesting part of the fights nothing is closed out on the plot or very much developed.

There is also an attention to detail in visuals and fashion, the characters have creative and different character designs focusing on the main cast on their daily life they sport some cool 90's style. The protagonist (Takeshi) has an elaborate haircut and a baggy jacket with chains. and even use earrings. Teru uses more than one outfit and her main clothes are a mix of light and daily with a bit of fashiony and cool.
(Im not very well-developed as a Clothes and Fashion critic)

The music adds a nice layer to the OVA, combining the fun parts with good voice actors, and the noir and tense parts with that detective and mystery vibes, the action is hype 90's action music! Not only is the opening epic but when it plays at the end fight it is equally epic.

Conclusion: It's pretty, not that dumb, charming, dated, epic, noir?, heroic, mysterious, but it is just a 2 episodes OVAs with barely anything explained or developed. Good action, charming visuals, nice pacing, awesome music, and charismatic characters. If you like 90s stuff, I recommend it cuz it's so brief. If you're looking for a deep story, conclusions, and themes, and even something that does not scream 90s dumb action and corny fashion, do not watch this.

Hurricane Polymar: Holy Blood is one hell of a reboot. It takes an old Tokusatsu kids show from the 70s, and refashions it into a thoroughly badass slugfest, complete with an overhauled aesthetic and some of the best fight choreography that I've seen in anime at the time of this writing. Beginning with the story, we follow the tale of the hero Polymar, who fights the evil aquatic Plutos who want to sink the continents below the waves, all while he maintains a double-life as an assistant at a second-rate detective agency in a crumbling building. My favorite part is ... how it takes the original core of the story while making it something more. It preserves the setup for the most part, even maintaining the general look and feel of the suits and uniforms, but brings it all to life with tension, suspense, and actual stakes. In short, the story is much like the original, only revamped as though it has been matured by time into something explicitly adult, with all the detail, violence, and rich character that entails. There are a couple of moments where the transitions feel somewhat jarring, and character motivations sometimes fall by the wayside for the sake of maintaining the show's narrative pacing, but given they only had two episodes to work with I still feel like things were handled as well as they could have been.

The art is what really shines, however, and it is easily the strongest aspect of this anime, hands-down. Everything about the art really stands out from the crowd, especially for the time, but there are two aspects in particular that I believe really set it apart. First, the art direction- the art direction is defined by this utterly unique aesthetic, almost reminiscent of pop art, with flashy blocks of color, creative framing, and incredibly dramatic use of lighting. It deftly creates this high-energy comic book kind of feel which elevates everything this anime has to offer visually. This brings me to point number two- the fights. The fight choreography for Hurricane Polymar: Holy Blood is simply inspired, and once again, some of the best I've ever seen. The pace of combat is quick and hard-hitting, but at the same time none of it is lost in the blur of battle. Every broken bone, every landed punch, and every drop of blood is animated in painstaking, positively brutal detail. It's clear they took a great deal of inspiration from actual martial arts, because the way Polymar fights feels groundedly realistic, while also awe-inspiring, managing to clearly delineate what is this man's natural ability and what enhancements the suit provides. Furthermore, the way every character moves through their vibrant, detailed world strikes a balance between style and realism which reveals the fact that the people behind this anime have a deep and intricate understanding of the human body, how it moves, and how to capture that in animation. Simply incredible. The art for this anime truly is a masterpiece.

The sound is also quite strong, with excellent, powerful voice work, and a soundtrack that fits the mood no matter what, be it for a high-octane fight sequence or a casual, funny moment with friends. The sounds of life are also especially notable in this regard, giving the world of this anime some real sensory depth.

The characters are well-written and fit well in the story they find themselves in, emulating the original characters they're based on while still managing to bring some maverick flare to the table in a way which is neither gratuitous nor jarring. Of them, while it's hard to choose, my favorites are our protagonist, the Polymar himself, Takeshi, and his overbearing firecracker of a landlady, Teru. Takeshi feels like the perfect candidate for this kind of show, exhibiting heroism and bravery while having character depth that makes him more than just a cardboard cutout with superpowers. Meanwhile, Teru, despite being more of a supporting character, manages to be quite funny and well-written despite that, exhibiting a real personality beyond just being a potential love interest and a driver of secondary conflict. Overall, Hurricane Polymar: Holy Blood is cool as hell, and a technical masterpiece. While it doesn't set any records for storytelling, it is still one of the best action OVAs out there, and as far as I'm concerned, this OVA should be the definitive legacy of Polymar for just how damn good it is.

So anyway, New Hurricane Polymar OVA: Holy Blood has actually been released in the US - more than once, even - interesting given that the original hasn't been released here in any capacity (though, it sure is popular in Italy - go figure - which is where I'd first seen the original).

To any extent, Hurricane Polymar OVA is VERY indiciative of it's era in Anime - nearly fossilized even. At a quick glance one can tell exactly when it's from - both to it's credit and detriment.

First of all, if you're not familiar with it, the original is ridiculous - it's action-jammed and ... fluid and surprisingly viseral, especially for not being too graphic. In this way the original reflect IT'S era of Anime. I suppose, then, it's appropriate that the remake reflects it's era as well.
The action in the remake is rammed up accordingly - it does try to capture the feel of the original - though one can tell the budget had to be considered at times. There is, of course, blood and nudity factored in now where there wasn't in the original - as one might expect.

Secondly, the art is a bit "extreme" and there certainly are some questionable choices - what is with all the cats? And what in the world is Detective Joe wearing? Further, there is a clear inclination that they are trying to punch up the art style, to make it grittier - the point that even the tears are exaggerated.

Finally, the tone is a little weird - that is, EXTREME action and then ODDBALL comedy for long stretches; the show seems a bit confused about the tone that it's really aiming for - I imagine this a product of both misguided direction and an attempt to pad out the whole VHS. The whole mess comes out a bit over-the-top, as it were.

It's not a bad OVA by any means - it's fun and very watchable - quite action-y for your thirty minutes. However, it also feels very much a relic of an "extreme" time gone by.