[This review is based on the first 15 volumes of the manga.]
While it's an oldschool shounen manga with its own charm, Guyver has some shortcomings that make it hard to recommend today. For one thing, battle scenes are depicted confusingly (and don't look particularly good), to the point that I skim through them. That already defeats most of the purpose of a battle manga.

Then there's the issue of the soft-hearted protagonist: while he's willing to kill the unnamed cannon fodder, he's remarkably unwilling to fight mind-controlled or brainwashed opponents (who were formerly his friends), to the point that it becomes farcical. More damningly, among the whole cast, he's probably the least interesting character!

On the upside, the story is epic in scope, and our protagonists hardly ever get a chance to rest. (And when they do, the author sensibly uses timeskips to skip over these parts - rather than, as some shounen mangaka do, drawing pointless ecchi chapters or something.)

Ultimately, my issues lie less with Guyver's shortcomings and more with the fact that there are better manga out there. Two superior examples from similar genres and from around the same time are Hajime no Ippo, from 1989, and Yu Yu Hakusho, from 1990. My recommendation: read those instead.

... Last updated on October 19th, 2015, 11:19am

Honestly I only started reading the manga after watching the 12 episode ova series, 2005 series remake and guyver dark hero movie.
The franchise holds warm memories for me since my childhood. My ranking of the various guyver media is as follows:
1 Guyver 12 ep ova
2 Guyver dark hero movie
3 2005 Guyver series
4 Guyver original manga
5 Guyver out of control ova
Although with its 1980's art style persisting even today, small chapters and slow pace I understand why most younger manga readers don't rate it very highly.
The manga really shines in its early volumes. For most of the middle volumes Sho is given too many typical shonen lead characteristics (whiny attitude and stupid "guts" based fighting style). Luckily he has matured in the later volumes.

... Last updated on October 21st, 2014, 4:53pm

as in it's bloody, and cool. I actually first saw the american movie which was kinda bad but kinda ok, as a sampling. And I've watched the OVA.

Guyver is a fast paced series. Tons of actions, and it can be graphic. Sho is out to survive, willing to kill this para military corporation. This manga evolved out of the same style as Devil Man, as oppose to a lighter shonen type.

I feel like it has a lot of cross cultural appeal. It's no wonder someone adapted it.

At the same time, the manga does show its age but It's not necessarily bad either; the dialogue is very fast, almost terse, and it's heavy on action. Sho definitely has emotions but it doesn't linger how an audience might expect, and the shots of these events aren't usually the main shots. It like how in old American comics, some iconic shots were tiny panels that are usually recreated to take on a whole or half a page.

Summary

A test type Zoanoid escapes from the Kronos Corporation with three Guyver Units. Kronos soldiers attempt to recover the units from the test type, but are thwarted when the test type detonates a bomb that he has concealed in his bag. The Guyver Units are scattered in the blast. Two young high school students, Shō Fukamachi and Tetsurō Segawa, stumble across a lost Guyver Unit known as "Unit I". The second one is retrieved by Kronos and merges with Oswald A. Lisker to become the second Guyver later on. The final unit falls into the hands of Agito Makishima, who merges with it at an unspecified time. Shō accidentally activates the unit which then painfully merges with him.

Over time, Shō learns more about the Guyver and its abilities. The Guyver is virtually invulnerable with its only weak point being the Control Metal. With this part intact, it can rebuild the host from the data stored within. If this part is damaged, however, the host is eaten alive by the unit and perishes. This is disconcerting and Shō starts to question whether he will ever be free from the Guyver. The situation gradually gets worse with continuously more powerful Zoanoids appearing. This makes it increasingly difficult to protect his friends, who are not immortal.

As the story progresses it also takes a startling turn, in which the antagonist organization, Kronos, actually succeeds

Being a big fan of the anime adaptation, I started this series with some expectations, and I wasn't disappointed! It's really good, a good story, interesting characters, the drawings are not so bad and come on ... the bio-booster armor is so cool!

Read it, and dont worry, it's nowhere as horrible as the movies American adaptations, which raped this awesome manga.

Well, I only saw the anime which is based on vol 1-10...however, if the manga is only a bit alike it's by far not mature enough to fit in this genre. The only difference to mangas like one piece is that the story is set in the real world with a rather dark scenario. Mangas like Death Note, Gantz or NGE are mature but Guyver is definitely not!

This is my favourite manga. It has an amazing story and awesome characters and artwork. The designs for the different characters are awe inspiring. It's really surprising that this manga ain't that popular compared to other greats such as berserk. This manga should definitely belong to the same league!!! Read this manga everyone!!!!!