Angel Cop

Original Title: エンジェルコップ
Romanized: Angel Cop
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

Sometime in the future, terrorism in Japan has become commonplace, and the police have become almost as brutal as criminals in response. One cop, known as Angel, is the best of the best, stopping at nothing in her fight for justice.

Angel and her new partner are investigating a series of murders in which the victims are the terrorists, killed in very unpleasant ways by a group of rouge psychics working together to hunt down the lowest scum in the city. But with opponents this dangerous, even surviving this case will be a challenge for Angel and her team.

Quick Review

Rating: 1.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2004-10-28

Part AD Police Files-style cyberpunk police action, part detective yarn with a psychic twist, and part Akira-style psychics-run amok, Angel Cop may not be quite the gritty futuristic police drama it could have been, but it puts together a solid action movie with an interesting plot and above-actioneer-average characters to tie it together. Just one problem: the "good guys" are frightening in their tactics and morality, and the series seems content to question how far the heroes are willing to push themselves rather than the right or wrong of their tactics.

If you're less bothered by the disturbing politics, and you're the sort who enjoys psychic mayhem and violent overkill, then Angel Cop is a series worth a look. Otherwise, stay far away.

US DVD Review

The bilingual DVD features the whole series in stereo audio in both languages and not much else.

Content Guide

Graphic violence and rough language easily bump this into the 16-up category, and definitely don't let your kids near it unless they have a good sense of what a good guy is supposed to be.

Violence: 4 - Generally violent and bloody, with a few particularly disturbing scenes of torture.

Nudity: 1 - Nothing of note.

Sex/Mature Themes: 0 - Not really.

Language: 3 - Enough expletives in the dub.

Notes and Trivia

There is a single-volume manga adaptation, originally serialized in Newtype starting a year after the first OAV was released. By Taku Kitazaki, ironically much better known for romance comics (in fact, only known for romance comics outside the Angel Cop adaptation), it has a significantly different story and stronger characterization.

Availability

Available on one hybrid DVD from Manga Video; was also available on six dubbed VHS tapes, as well as a one-tape compiled version of the whole series.

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