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Title Info
- seen: 1 of 5
- type: OAV
- grade: burnable
- source: commercial
- form: sub
- dur: 45
- made: unknown
- Review created: Thu Aug 23 20:54:32 EST 2001
- mod: none
I'd heard quite a lot about this title. Arguably of the most unnecessarily over the top excursions into violence and destruction. And, well, I've got to agree with the majority as this title goes too far to make up for a general lack of skill and style. Strangely enough though, I can almost find some sympathy for the creators.
I also had the opportunity to complete the experience and see the rest of the Genocyber anime. For reasons that might become apparent a case could be made for it getting a seperate review, but I don't know that I have that much to say, so i'll combine it all into this review. I'll also mention that the show is arranged into 5 `episodes' although effectively the first OAV is a complete story followed by two, completely independant, 2 episode stories.
Synopsis
A story with a bit of everything. At the heart of it the essence is on the monsters that mankind and science can create. For example a scientist waxing lyrical over machines that enhance the psychic powers of humanity. Machinery that should enable him, or more precisely his rather trusting wife, to give birth to a revolutionary scientific break-through. What he doesn't know is that the powerful corporations, some of whom are now at the level of being military super-powers, aren't going to let the results of such a discovery escape them.
Horrifyingly enough the project is a success, with two rather unique children born in the process. One of them has the mind of an child but also has immense psychic powers. The other has some psychic power, much more intelligence (although this mainly allows her to be borderline psychotic) and her defective limbs replaced with powerful cybernetics. They detest one another, but their adopted `father', is certain that the two can be used to create an even more powerful psychic force. He doesn't seem to be too concerned about whether or not this is a good idea though. Meanwhile the corporations want some return on their investment and are not afraid of some collateral damage and deaths in securing their objective.
Review
How to begin...well, let's just say that this title is both graphically violent and cruel. There's simply no way around the fact that someone has decided that gore sells. As a result there are some sections with more splattered internal organs and dead bodies than the most cheesy of B-movie horror. And these are focused on, and animated, with a lot more detail than the rest of the title. It's casual, it's cruel, and it's often meaningless. I'm also sure there are some who will find this reason enough to watch the anime.
Although before you rush off to do so I'll mention one more thing. The production on this anime is pretty awful. Normally I discuss production at the end of the review but in this case the two are clearly linked. The reason for this being the strong suspicion that the graphic gore is intended to make the title both more saleable, unusual and powerful. Since they knew the production quality would not do so alone. At best it is flat and low detail artwork, with some quite unattractive motion animation. Mixed in are some desperately poor attempts to use other media, such as arty drawings, computer animation and even live action which not only don't work but don't even make much sense. The story and dialogue is simplistic, the plot is overly familiar and the music is not going to make a best of list anytime soon.
In fact it is partly this poor production that makes the violence stand out so much. Whereas the average technical quality on the animation is low some of the violence is rendered with loving care. So much detail is lavished on certain scenes that it seems to be glorified, in addition to not merging with the rest of the show. This also occurs on some of the technology, specifically the cybernetics, which was clearly considered to be another possible selling point. However once again it goes for effect without due consideration of logic or story...which makes it feel like a bit of a mess.
So given that it is basically an epic power and gore fest why do I have some sympathy for the creators? Well, I couldn't help feeling like they actually tried to do something worth while. There are some sections in the series that show a degree of thought and care, and the core plot could have developed into something quite positive. Even the really bad use of other media felt more like the creators struggling against the limitations of their budget than anything else. It's just a shame that, ultimately, someone made the decision that this wasn't enough to make the OAV sell.
Other Reviews
- THEM review THEM has seen further than I, and apparently things only go downhill from here. I will note that THEM don't seem to favor overly violent material, but I suspect they're making fair comment on this one. In case you can't guess they detest the tape and seem concerned about why it was made and who might watch it. Their rating system forces them to give it one star, but I think I'll go with the score they suggest in the conclusion (0/5).
- Akemi's AnimeWorld review A rather short review from Akemi's, and an interesting counterpoint to the above. They also give a synopsis so I can see that it becomes even more of a `Ultraviolent Action Horror' in their words. The review is much more neutral, perhaps impressed by, but not supportive of, the extreme violence on display (2.5/5).
- Lord Carnage review The casting vote, and unlike THEM the lord is not above a bit of violence. However it quickly becomes obvious that this was too much, with too shallow a basis, for his standards. The fact that it was released in the U.S. first is an interesting, and telling, fact as well (.5/5).
Words by Andrew Shelton, Web by Ticti, Last Compile: Wed Aug 5 12:39:18 WST 2009