Ask John: Will the Guyver TV Series Be Released in America?

Question:
Do you think that the new Guyver series, Guyver: The Bioboosted Armor will be coming to America any time soon? Everyone who has seen its run in Japan and/or has got a copy of a subbed version has raved about it. Do you think that since Manga Entertainment lost the rights to the original series from the 1980s they will try extra hard to obtain the new series?

Answer:
The 2005 Guyver television series is something of an odd case. The series was co-produced by American anime distributor AD Vision, but AD Vision has not announced any plans to release the series in America. Since Guyver has never been a big hit in America, it’s possible that there’s little interest in localizing this recent series. Viz stopped publishing its English translation of the manga series before finishing the series. Manga Entertainment allowed its distribution rights to the two OAV series to expire and doesn’t seem to have any interest in renewing the license. And the original Guyver: Out of Standardized OAV which was released on American VHS by Dark Image Entertainment has not been picked up for DVD re-release by any American distributor.

Obviously, the longevity of the series in Japan proves that Guyver is still popular in Japan. And international fans of the series are very loyal, but there just don’t seem to be very many of them. Considering that the TV series was an AD Vision co-production, theoretically AD Vision has the best chance of bringing the series to America. However, at this point in time I have no idea if they, or any American company, will actually license American distribution rights for the series. The Guyver TV series doesn’t seem like a potentially profitable acquisition for American release, but several of America’s anime distributors have recently been focusing their attention on niche market, lower profile titles, which may improve the chances of the Guyver TV series getting picked up.