City Hunter (1987) [Anime Review]

City Hunter; or, Mokkori Mania
     There’s a chance you will celebrate your next birthday in hell.
Inspired by the Netflix live-action adaptation of City Hunter that came out this year, I decided to finally check out the glorified anime series from the 1980s that ran for four seasons and was followed by theatrical OVAs. My motivation for picking up the anime consisted mainly of action-packed vibes of the previously discussed movie, but also of the opinions of my dear MDL friend, SumiTheCat.

Release Info

Developed by: Toshio Nakatani, Masuo Ueda Voice actors: Akira Kamiya, Kazue Ikura

Language: Japanese Original Title: シティーハンター No of eps.: 51 (season 1)

Synopsis
Ryo Saeba is a sweeper for hire. He basically rushes to action as a detective, bodyguard, or enforcer for hire whenever the police are helpless. Oftentimes, he aids beautiful women simply because… he likes beautiful women. People in need get in contact with Saeba by leaving the XYZ mark on a blackboard at Shinjuku Station. Initially, Saeba operates the business with a friend and former cop Makimura, but when he gets killed by mobsters, his sister Kaori takes over as City Hunter’s partner.

Get Wild
I have to say that as a person struggling with anhedonia, it’s really hard for me these days to find an anime that would satisfy me and hold my disastrous attention span, but City Hunter does the job! I was quite surprised how brisk and freewheeling it felt. Obviously, the manga and the first season of the anime are from the 1980s, so they are products of their times, and it was quite easy to replicate the sense of Bubble Era, City Pop-charged mania of lavish lifestyle that consumed Japan back then.

With regard to the storytelling perspective, I invite you to check out the anime in its original, uncensored form. Yeah, it has a lot of adult jokes (it goes without saying that Ryo Saeba is a perverted man), but these are kept within the safe-for-work confines and not as direct or brutal as in, for instance, the Golden Boy anime.

Jokes aside, I’m a big fan of crime dramas (even to such an extent that once I used to watch Columbo and Detective Conan religiously) and City Hunter very much delivers on that front as well. Of course, the show is not about murder mysteries, but I like the premise of Saeba doing “bare minimum” detecting to uncover the baddies and serve them the comeuppance they deserve.

When it comes to the animation style, I love the bright colours this anime uses. They are vivid, but subtle, not flashy. As a result, the nightly world of City Hunter looks all the more inviting. The action stuff is of course wonderful, and it makes you wonder that the only rival worthy of Saeba’s skill would be Golgo 13.

The music itself is also worth mentioning. It’s not very City Pop (unfortunately), but the incidental bits are quite jazzy and catchy. However, I absolutely adore the opening theme Cool City and the closing theme Get Wild. It’s awesome that the Netflix crew used Get Wild for the closing credits of their adaptation.

Recommendations
All things considered, I am writing this review right after finishing the first season of the anime, but I really want to continue on watching and check out the whole animated domain of City Hunter. Maybe perhaps I will reach out for manga at some point in the future, but this is highly unlikely. Yeah, I definitely recommend this anime if you are looking for something light and fun.Overall score: 8/10

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AD Police Files [OVA Review]

 AD Police Files; or, Stop! An officer will shoot

     At least she died as a woman.
The weather outside is as beautiful as ever this time of the year, so it makes me all the more surprised that I found myself in the mood for some gloomy cyberpunk feels. Needless to say, I decided not to look for the most popular instances of the genre recommended on the internet, but instead I went for something more obscure. As a result, I ended up watching AD Police OVA from the year 1990.

Release Info

Directed by: Akira Nishimori Voice actors: Toshio Furukawa, Youko Matsuoka

Language: Japanese Original Title: ADポリス No. of eps: 3

Synopsis
It’s the year 2027. The advancements in the field of cybernetics allow people to replace their organs with artificial substitutes. There are also fully automated androids known as Boomers. If Boomer goes haywire and commits a crime, they are chased by the special mad criminal investigation unit known as AD Police.

Blade Running
It should be noted that AD Police is a spin-off series of the Bubblegum Crisis franchise. Actually, the title card at the beginning of each of the three OVA episodes says directly “Another Story of Bubblegum Crisis”. The events of the OVA take place before the first series of Bubblegum Crisis and indirectly focus on the cop character of Leon McNichol and his partner Gina Marceau.

With regard to AD Police,I have to say that I really like the traditional animation style because it’s really evocative of its late 80s/early 90s era. In terms of the visuals themselves and storyline themes, however, you can’t help but notice the overwhelming influence of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. AD Police grows out of the world crafted by Phillip K. Dick in which the uniqueness of human life is constantly questioned amidst hordes of androids who also have their fair share of desires, fears, and personal introspection.

That being said, I kind of regret watching this OVA primarily because of its NSFW content. With each episode, things get so adult-oriented and explicit that by the end of it, I felt as if I was watching hentai. Sure, the plot of each episode is engaging enough, but the way these are handled leaves a lot to be desired.

Allegedly, there were supposed to be more episodes of the OVA, but the studios responsible for it fell into some sort of dispute. As a result, AD Police had its continuation years later in the form of another short-lived series and a reboot OVA. People responsible for the creation of AD Police were Tony Takezaki and Suzuki Toshimitsu, who also crafted a manga called AD Police: Shuuen Toshi.

Recommendations
All things considered, AD Police Files is a product of its time when there was a huge boom on cyberpunk in the anime industry. Some franchises grew larger than life and lived to tell the tale through decades (see Akira and Ghost in the Shell) but many weren’t so lucky, including AD Police. If you want to get some entertainment value from this, I suggest you watch the whole OVA series at one go in the middle of the night and crank up the volume for the intro song and ending songs. It’s a fairly nice schlock anime experience for one time.
Overall score: 5/10

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Mechanical Violator Hakaider (1995) [Tokusatsu Review]

Mechanical Violator Hakaider; or, Requiem for a Destroyer
     Do you want to live? Do you want to live and have a free will of your own?
It’s been quite some time since I covered Tokusatsu outside the realm of Godzilla. Actually, while being on the lookout for some Goji clips on YouTube, I spotted some random video in Japanese characters, but the thumbnail caught my attention, so I clicked on it. All I cay is that looking at unknown 90s Toku vintage action sent me on a search to find the original source. This led me to Mechanical Violator Hakaider, directed by none other than the crazy nerd himself Keita Amemiya.

Release Info

Directed by: Keita Amemiya Starring: Yuji Kishimoto, Mai Hosho, Jiro Okamoto, Yasuaki Honda

Language: Japanese Original Title: 人造人間ハカイダー Runtime: 77 min

Synopsis
A group of criminals raid an abandoned prison facility. In one of the sealed chambers, they discover a man in chains (Yuji Kishimoto). The man turns himself into an android known as Hakaider and kills the criminals. He mounts a bike and rushes to a utopian world known as Jesus Town, which was built on the ruins of Jerusalem. Jesus Town is governed by the Parliament and psychotic leader Gurjev (Yasuaki Honda). A group of outlaws led by a girl called Kaoru (Mai Hosho) plan to destroy the Parliament. Hakaider teams up with Kaoru because she believes he is the black knight who saved her in her dreams. When the outlaws are attacked, Hakaider steps into action.

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Having done some research online, it turns out the character of Hakaider is actually the original creation of Shotaro Ishinomori, the mastermind behind Super Sentai and Kamen Rider. The villainous robot was part of 1970s Toku manga and TV show called Android Kikaider; however, Amemiya’s movie is not in continuity with the previous media. Instead, Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a stand-alone sci-fi spin on the side character, turning him into a sympathetic anti-hero much in the vein as Terminator from T2: Judgement Day (1991).

If you are already familiar with Keita Amemiya (see my review of the Zeiram franchise), then you know you are in for a ride filled with old-school fireworks, miniatures, model work, stop motiion, front projection, and early CGI. Amemiya uses every single trick in the book to make a satisfying dark Toku spectacle driven by ridiculously satisfying action, Mad Max-inspired production design, and moments of genuine poignancy.

The story itself is simple enough to keep you engaged. We have the main hero who doesn’t know what exactly he is: a tool of destruction or perhaps misunderstood champion of morality. It is only when Hakaider meets the cheerful Kaoru, he experiences some real happiness.

I know that I am a sucker for love subplots, but I really like the romance between Hakaider and Kaoru because it wasn’t just “love at first sight”. In fact, the majority of the thing was presented through Kaoru’s dreams, which made it extremely poetic.

Now, moving to the baddies. Amemiya does some clever deconstruction of expectations here. Gujrev looks like an angel, and he even has a bunch of fake wings. The soft way he speaks and his affection for flowers makes you think he is a kind person, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The same goes for Gujrev’s henchman, android Michael, who looks all clean and slick, as if he came out of the Timeranger show. The android even claims to be a representative of justice, but he too is driven by twisted misconceptions about life, peace, and obedience.

Oh, and a bit of trivia! Perceptible viewers may spot among the outlaws a familiar face from Zyuranger; that is, Ami Kawai who played Lami in the show. Here, unfortunately, she doesn't have much a screen time, but it's great to see her in another Tokusatsu production. 

With regard to disadvantages, the movie’s runtime is quite short and I watched the director’s cut(!) This version lasts 77 minutes, whereas the theatrical one is 26 minutes shorter. It makes me think what exactly was cut to accommodate the shorter runtime, but I have no desire to watch the original version.

Recommendations
All in all, Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a lot of fun if you’re looking for something vintage, yet without gruesome violence. It took me like a whole week to track this movie down. I’ve searched for it anywhere, until my stupid brain told me to head over to YouTube of all places, and lo and behold there it was. Now I’m so super charged that I want to check out more of Keita Amemiya’s filmography.Overall score: 7/10

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