Hades Project Zeorymer is a manga by Yoshiki Takaya (better known as the creator of Guyver), written under the pen name Chimi Morio, and published in the adult manga magazine Lemon People from October 1983 to November 1984. A three-part finale was serialized in Monthly Comic Ryū in 2007. A four-episode OVA adaptation by AIC was produced from 1988 to 1990; the OVA tones down the explicit sexual content and deviates entirely from the manga storyline and setting.
Set in the near future, a secret feudal monarchy led by an empress and named 'Hau Dragon' uses, as a front, a firm 'International Electronic Brains' and has built a set of eight giant robots, each possessing a power based upon the eight elements of earth, fire, water, air, thunder, mountains, the moon, and the heavens. However, one of them, Zeorymer of the Heavens, has been stolen and the main character, fifteen-year-old Masato Akitsu, is forced into piloting it with a mysterious girl named Miku Himuro.
Zeorymer possesses an energy based weapon called the "Dimensional Coupler Cannon" that appears almost telekinetic in nature; by holding its fist in the air, or aiming it at a target, energy strobes across the orb and causes a large explosion to engulf whatever enemy it is directed against. These orbs can also fire beams of golden-hued energy (labeled as the Energy Wave attack) which can cause massive damage, and project a forcefield which seems nearly impenetrable. The robot itself is also incredibly durable: in the third episode, it was struck with a weapon that left an effect similar to that of a nuclear warhead, yet suffered only minimal damage. Zeorymer of the Heavens is able to hover, fly, teleport unspecified distances, and possesses an incredibly potent weapon known as the Hades Attack: when it lifts its arms in the air then lowers them across its chest, slamming its fists together or against the large golden orb on its chest, the robot releases a huge blast of golden energy that, at full power, can cause an explosion visible from space (inferring the power of several gigatons at least, though even on lower settings this final weapon seems equal to most nuclear weapons in scale). When this attack is activated, a mysterious voice, possibly Zeorymer's itself, can be heard saying "Meiou," the attack's name.
The manga provides examples of:
- All Your Powers Combined: Wakatsuki had planned to fuse both Zeorymers into one better one.
- Fan Disservice: Some covers have the very cute Miu completely nude. Bad thing, this often features
a "vigil" mark on her crotch. - Gratuitous Rape: Masaki's rape of poor Miku has no plot relevance, is not even acknowledged by the characters, and makes it hard to like the main character even after his evil side loses the battle for control.
- Healing Factor: Zeorymer can repair itself using parts from another dimension. It can even regenerate the pilot if he's killed.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: The Ultradimensional System's key component needs to be kept inside Miku.
- Spanner in the Works: Prof. Himuro attempts to sabotage Zeorymer as revenge on Wakatsuki, but realizes he didn't need to. Later it's revealed that Zeorymer recognizes Akitsu as its master, leaving Wakatsuki helpless.
- Split-Personality Takeover: For a while. In truth, Zeorymer only gave Wakatsuki's memories to Akitsu. Once Akitsu adjusts to this, he goes and saves the world.
- Your Head Asplode: Golshid hits Akitsu with a J-Kaiser to the face. He gets better.
The OVA provides examples of:
- All Your Powers Combined: Great Zeorymer, which never appeared in the OVA itself, but appeared as a Canon Foreigner in Super Robot Wars Judgment and later in other supplementary media such as model kits. In addition to all the powers of the original Zeorymer, it can use every special move of the rest of the Hakkeshu.
- Anti-Villain: In the anime, the Hakkeshu and Empress Yuratei are, with the exception of Ax-Crazy Saiga, really not that bad of people, except for the fact they want to destroy the world. A Hau Dragon scientist even remarks they really aren't the kind of people that have any reason to be the villains in the story.
- Becoming the Mask: Lurahn originally used Yuratei as a tool for his vengeance, but eventually came to care for her like a daughter.
- Big Bad: Masaki Kihara, the creator of the Hakkeshu machines. In the manga, it turns out that he's still running the show despite being thought dead. In the anime, he's set up a nice little plan.
- Blow You Away: Landstar of the Winds attacks by generating strong winds.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Miku as a child goes through a procedure where she sits naked, has several wires attached to her, and winds up trembling and moaning the whole time until it's over. The end result her fully grown leaves little confusion over what it's supposed to represent.
- Driven to Suicide: Lurahn kills himself after revealing the truth to Yuratei.
- Dysfunction Junction: The Hakkeshu are all these. Masato and Miku are both the most doormatty of Extreme Doormats ( unless Masato is under the effects of Masaki's Grand Theft Me), Taiha feels guilty about not caring for his lover the same extent she does to him, twins Shi-Aen and Shi-Tau have horrible teamwork due to Shi-Aen's detached nature and Shi-Tau's jealousy, Ritsu has an inferiority complex due to bishie good looks making everyone think he's a woman, Giso was hopelessly a Romantic Runner-Up, Rokfel couldn't see Giso's dependability and loved the jerkass Saiga, and Saiga is the only person in the series that's worse than Masato is when he goes psycho. Justified in the fact that their creator wanted them that way so he'd have weaknesses to exploit. As for Yuratei, she is programmed to care about the mission above everything else, which is why when she realizes she's screwed whether she wins or loses, she just gives up and lets Zeorymer win.
- Fanservice: Each OVA has one scene that shows a female character fully nude.
- The first episode has a sex scene between Yuratei and Taiha.
- The second episode has the twins at a hot spring.
- The third episode has Miku naked in a Healing Vat.
- The fourth episode has a flashback that ends with a naked Miku as a result of an experiment to forcibly age her to maturity.
- In Name Only: The only things shared between the original manga and the OVA are Zeorymer of the Heavens and the name of a female character.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Zeorymer pulls out a new ability in almost every episode, such as teleporting itself or being able to instantly teleport its beams inside the enemy. Even losing its key component isn't an issue because it can just teleport that back to itself. Justified in that Masato's evil personality is a sadist and deliberately holds back to let the Hakkeshu think they have a chance.
- Paid-for Family: In the OAV, the Akitsus raised Masato solely because the Hau Dragon Empire paid them for it. Poor Masato is shocked when he's captured and his family collect their fee and leave.
- Powerful, but Incompetent: The general gimmick behind the Hakkeshu as a whole. Each of them has a weapon that could at least theoretically let them beat Zeorymer, but they're also each genetically engineered with a Fatal Flaw that ensures they'll choke when it counts or waste their advantage. In practice, only Ritsu even needs that much of a disadvantage.
- Playing Both Sides: Masaki genetically engineers the Hakkeshu and Empress Yuratei before having to flee from Hau Dragon for whatever reason. He provides the Japanese government with Zeorymer before getting killed, but Yuratei and Masato both are potential vessels for him to control. From there he merely has to wait until either the Hakkeshu or Masato-as-Masaki gets the opportunity to conquer the world.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Color Inverted: Bryst Of The Fire's pilot is the level-headed one while Gallowin of the Water's pilot is the hot-headed one.
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: When Masato is possessed by his evil personality (/ the scientist who stole Zeorymer), he tells the last 3 Hakkeshu that they are clones derived from the same zygote. Rockfell says it does not make any difference.
- Spanner in the Works: Unfortunately for Masaki... he didn't quite think out the "brain uploading" function in Zeorymer, so even though Masato starts acting like a monster, the effect is more or less temporary. Ultimately the two personalities merge, leaving a new person with both decency and confidence.
- Sphere of Destruction: Meiou. *cue Stuff Blowing Up*
- Split-Personality Takeover: Played straight and then inverted over the course of the OVA: at first Masaki's personality successfully conquers Masato's after a few bouts of taking over, but when it turns out that Masato was less of an Extreme Doormat than Masaki realized, a moment of weakness is all it takes for Masato to drive Masaki out of his body and claim the latter's memories and intellect for himself while keeping his own personality.
- Talking the Monster to Death: More like talking yourselves to death in the anime. Most of the time in the fights deal with the Hakkeshu ranting to Masato or each other for various reasons. And then Masaki takes over, uses "Meiou" and wins without any effort.
- Wave-Motion Gun: Rose C'est La Vie's J-Kaiser. The Adaptation Expansion of this OVA in Super Robot Wars Judgment gives the Canon Foreigner Great Zeorymer this same weapon.
