Monday 17 August 2015

Zoanoids - Monsters Hidden In Human Skin - #MonsterMondays 15


Welcome to Monster Monday 15. What, I hear you ask, is a Zoanoid? Well read on to find out :).
Monster Mondays posts may be fiction, film reviews, book reviews or me waxing lyrical about a particular monster. Monsters can be paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy or even simply human. So basically, anything monster goes. I also invite anyone who would like to, to join in with their own post. (See end for details).
Zoanoids - Monsters Hidden In Human Skin


So these are Zoanoids, well at least from the movie universe of the particular fandom and they are the Guyver's worst nightmare. The fandom in question is two movies: Mutronics (or The Guyver outside of Europe) and Guyver: Dark Hero. They are based on a Japanese manga series by Yoshiki Takaya called The Guyver, but are an alternative universe to it, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to the Marvel comics.

Zoanoids are human beings who have been genetically altered by the Chronos Corporation so that they can turn into incredibly strong, mostly blood thirsty monsters at will. All significant employees of Chronos are Zoanoids, even the guys in suits who pretend to be pencil pushers.

In the movies the Guyver, the hero of the piece is Sean Barker, who just happens to find an alien artefact called "The Unit", which bonds with him and makes him the Guyver. It covers him in organic armour and gives him extra strength and speed which allows him to fight the Zoanoids. In Mutronics, Sean is played by Jack Armstrong  and in Guyver: Dark Hero he is played by David Hayter.
Sean 1Sean 2
The Guyver
The Guyver looks like a slick alien robot, almost, with organic touches, but the Zoanoids are much more animalistic.

Mark Hamill is in the first movie as Agent Max Reed and even he isn't spared the deadly touch of Chronos. If they can't convince you of their point of view, they convert you anyway. Here is Max after Chronos have had a go at him.

Wittegen Press
$3.29 | £2.11
Amazon | Other
I love Zoanoids in the same way I love werewolves, because one minute they are completely human and the next, slathering monsters. I also love the way all the really bad Zoanoids seem to be very proficient in mixed martial arts. Maybe they have to take up a discipline to keep control of the monster inside?

Of course the worst possible possibility is a Guyver Zoanoid - two lots of kick ass in one package. The armour definitely improves the look too. I'm not going to give away how anyone would take on a Guyver Zoanoid, because it would spoil the ending of movie 2, but it's spectacular.

These movies combine two of my favourite things: martial arts films and monster movies, so I have to love them. They are cheesy and the monsters are done with rubber suits, not CGI, but they are so much fun to watch. The Zoanoids are brilliant monsters because some of them appear so civilised until they shed their skin and yet others seem to be barely contained creatures even with their human guises. If you like cheesy sci-fi with some kick ass fight scenes I highly recommend Mutronics and Guyver: Dark Hero with their monstrous Zoanoid baddies.

Do you enjoy adaptations from Japanese manga? Which is your favourite? Have you seen either of the Guyver movies?


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