Anime Meta-Review
Dog Soldier
Index's
Home
Alphabetic
Quality
Genre
People
Recent
By Date
Title Info
- type: movie
- grade: burnable
- made: 1989
- Review created: Recently, but I didn't record the date.
- mod: none
Ever wanted a very poor anime rambo-alike? Well, then your needs have been met. The story, as much as it exists, considers a conspiracy centered around a mysterious biological sample from america that is hijacked in japan. Is the sample a chemical weapon, a medicine or something else. And while various people want it what do they want it for? In addition three childhood friends find themselves central players in this conflict, and old affection and rivalry are re-awakened.
I don't really know why I avoided giving away the story (habit?) because the biggest spoiler is that the story is broken and the anime is really not worth the bother. The first problem is that the pacing and direction is slow and illogical. There are lots of attempts to have impressive scenes, or angst ridden flashbacks, but it simply doesn't work. This is not helped by the story itself being illogical and poor. Attempts to suggest dark secrets and conspiracy come across as being obvious and stupid. As a final blow the characterisation is shallow, with the lead character having the rambo look, the youthful angst, and then occasionally cracking weird anime facial expressions...it was probably meant to be humor, but it basically looks like a cry for freedom from the animators, as if the character is trying to crawl out of this anime and into something worthwhile. The romantic subplot and tragic conclusion completely fail to interest, let alone suprise.
Perhaps, like the real rambo, it can get away with impressive action? Sorry to disappoint, but this is not only an older production but it was probably cheap animation when it was made. The action is rare, poorly animated and looks terrible. The hero pulls an endless number of dumb moves that have you praying for him to get what he deserves. The voices, production, dialog and music are all distinctly average. The scenes of `tough' are so cheesy that you may enjoy this more if you pretend it is a parody. This is simply a pointless watch, failing to meet even the low targets it aims for.
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:17 WST 2009