Juusenshi Gulkeeva (Japanese: 獣戦士ガルキーバ; also known as Juu Senshi Garukiba, Wild Knights Gulkeeva or Beast Warriors Gulkeeva) is a 26-episode anime series produced by Sunrise that premiered in 1995 on TV Tokyo. The main furry characters are the "beast guardians" Greyfus the wolf, Beakwood the eagle, and Garriel the gorilla, who fight along with the human Touya Shinjou to protect Earth from an enemy known as the Darknoids.
The series also has an accompanying manga and set of novels that further explains the world of the Gulkeeva characters, as well as gives a proper conclusion to the series.
Wild Knights Gulkeeva provides examples of the following tropes:
- Beast Man: The Animanoids are anthropomorphic animal warriors clad in armor. Some of the Darknoids are also walking, talking animal-like soldiers in clothing and/or armor.
- Bittersweet Ending: Sure, Earth is saved, but Kira had to sacrifice himself due to Touya's recklessness. Prince Zaza's spirit is still alive, Lem got away with only a few scratches, and judging by the end credits, it looks like Touya and the Beast Warriors are travelling to Eternalia for another battle. This story was to continue into the second season, however due to insufficient funds, the project was scrapped. Feeling bad for inadvertently creating a cliffhanger story, the author then penned the two novels that is more of reinvention of the story rather than cannon for the anime series. The two differ in many ways.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: It's safe to say that if you're a Darknoid and the Animanoid you're fighting transforms into a giant animal-mecha, you're gonna get promptly killed. Unless, you're Yun. Though, considering the end result...
- Death of a Child:
- "Arist and Unite, Fresh Fighting Spirit!" shows a community center getting blown to smithereens. It's mentioned that twenty or so kids and elderly civilians were inside, and when Kira investigates the wreckage, he finds a child's bloody shoe.
- "The Howl Through My Fangs" features Shiori, an ill girl who can't leave the hospital, dying shortly after a Darknoid attacked the hospital she resided in.
- Decoy Protagonist: It turns out that Touya is not The Chosen One; Kira is. However, shortly after Kira attains Gulkeeva, Touya is killed and Kira sacrifices himself to bring Touya back to life.
- Determinator: Yun. She will go to great lengths to prove her strength to Lem.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: If you're not a main character, Touya and the Beast Warriors aren't gonna remember you after you die. Just ask Onimaru and Shiori, whose deaths are forgotten immediately after the episode they die in ends.
- Heroic Sacrifice
- Onimaru sacrifices himself to destroy the Devil's Core.
- In the finale, Kira sacrifices his life to resurrect Touya after he had been killed.
- Karmic Death: After getting stabbed by Dora Yoma, Gil pathetically crawls over to his gun and clutches it in his hands. Suddenly, a bunch of soldiers show up and see Gil holding the gun with a pile of dead bodies in front of him. The soldiers assume Gil killed them, and waste no time gunning him down.
- Laughably Evil: Dancer, a wacky, bouncy Darknoid who giggles and finds humor in everything. He also came very close to obliterating the entire world just for shits and giggles.
- Little Bit Beastly: Some of the Darknoids, like Olbaru, Ryuuta, and the rat-like mercenary from "The Distant Heart" have animal ears, skin, or even a tail. But they're not full-on Beast Men like the Animanoids are.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone, including the Darknoids, start freaking out in "The Nightmare in the Morning" when Dancer activates the Devil's Core, a weapon capable of annihilating Earth]].
- Mr. Fanservice
- Tedium. To the furries, anyway. Doesn't help that Tedium wears less clothing than other characters in the show...
- A lot of the main cast seems to be this, human and furry alike, including the Darknoids.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Thanks, Touya, for charging into the Darknoid fortress by yourself, getting captured and subsequently killed, and forcing Kira to sacrifice his life just to save your ass.
- Precision F-Strike: Touya drops a huge one after Onimaru sacrificed himself to destroy the Devil's Core.
- Refusal of the Call: Touya initially rejected becoming a knight several times oover, but eventually gave in after realizing the Darknoids wouldn't stop attacking unless he stopped them with the animanoids.
- Running Gag: If Greyfus is holding an object or touching an object (hell, even standing near an object) he's unfamiliar with, he will break it.
- Screaming Warrior: Touya becomes this when Kira dies and he takes up his axe.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Tedium, who starts off as a hot-headed Might Makes Right soldier, but gradually evolves into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who cared for his teammates and learned to show his softer, vulnerable side.
- Villain of the Week: From episode 12 onwards, the Animanoids typically fight and defeat a Darknoid mercenary per episode, whereas earlier episodes consisted of Arc Villains.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: What happened to Lem's girlfriend? She showed up for about thirty seconds, said nothing, and then disappeared from the entire show. Note: Lem has no girlfriend. He only wanted to make Yun jealous, thereby making her powerful enough with her anger/sorrow to trigger the last point.
- Would Hurt a Child: Many of the Darknoids are not above putting children in danger or threatening to kill them just to emotionally hurt the heroes. There's even a few occasions where they succeed in killing children.
