YMMV / Guyver: Dark Hero

• Ensemble Dark Horse: Crane's Guyver Zoanoid form is popular with fans on both sides of the Pacific, even getting model kits based off it.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Crane's distinct "You're fired!" line becomes this given Donald Trump's series The Apprentice came out a decade later and became even more infamous after Trump became the US president. The above mentioned line is sometimes mistaken as a pop culture shout out to The Apprentice, despite this movie being older.
• Memetic Mutation: "Nno," from the scene where Sean refuses Crane's offer to "help" him get rid of the Guyver. Especially considering how he said that word in the exact same voice he would use for Solid Snake a few years later.
• Moral Event Horizon: Crane is generally softer in his villainy compared to his direct cinematic predecessor Fulton Balcus... up until the moment he decrees an archaeological team comprised of nothing but innocent people has outlived their usefulness. From then on his godawful Karmic Death seems warranted.
• Narm: The Volker Zoanoid has an odd choice in sound effects for its roar, being a combination of small felines and a bull. Decker Shado compared it to sounding like a bag of angry cats being swung around.
• Narm Charm: While the Prop Recycling from the first movie is pretty blatant due to budget issues (notably the reused Lisker Zoanoid suit) it's actually rather appropriate for a Guyver adaption, since multiple versions of the same Zoanoid type often get reused from time to time in the various tellings of the story including the original manga. Plus the movie still having plenty of original suits helps to balance it out.
• Nightmare Fuel: After his control medal gets torn out, Crane begins to horrifically and graphically melt while screaming in agony. Him getting obliterated by the Mega Smasher is honestly merciful.
• Retroactive Recognition: Hey, it's Solid Snake playing Sean!
• Signature Scene:
  • The second battle between the Guyver and multiple Zoanoids at the forest.
  • The final fight between the Guyver and Crane, especially when the latter activates his own Guyver unit to become a Guyver Zoanoid.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: Near universally considered a better film than the first by both critics and fans of the manga for having a more consistent tone, more visible fight scenes, and taking a lot from the source material while still being its own story. The retelling of Chronos' past and the Guyver's history, in particular, is straight out of the manga, complete with the shot of the ships lifting off. The presence of David Hayter as the main character also helps.
• Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • The very articulate and detailed Guyver and Zoanoid suits, stunt work, and practical effects are easily some of the best in the Tokusatsu genre for its time. Doubly impressive given this movie had a budget less than a third of the first film's.
  • Crane's Guyver Zoanoid form, which manages to meld his Zoanoid form and a Guyver together near flawlessly.
  • The Transformation Sequence that allowed the Guyver suit to emerge from Sean's back like it does for Sho in the manga and anime is quite the sight.

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