BioHunter

Original Title: バイオハンター
Romanized: Baiohantaa
Literal: BioHunter

Plot Synopsis

An unexplained and unpredictable fluke in human evolution has produced the Demon Virus. It's a Virus that attacks the human genetic code, turning any victim into a monster. Koshigaya and Komada are your typical college professors, teaching about DNA. On the side, however, they combat those infected with the Demon Virus by request of their employers. Their goal is to gather research about the virus and find a cure. The results are always inconclusive, yet the main key the puzzle is Komada himself! He has been infected with the virus, yet has suppressed it. However, it grows stronger inside him. Will Koshigaya be able to figure the cure inside his partner's body before it's too late? It'll have to wait for now, as a mysterious string of related murders has the two on the run toward the answer to this mystery. Maybe they'll get an indirect answer to Komada as well!

Quick Review

Rating: 1.5 / 5
Reviewer: Legion
Review Date: 2004-11-07

BioHunter is another one of those horror deals offered by Urban Vision, but unlike other various anime of the same ilk, BioHunter doesn't seem like it could appeal to very many people. The beginning had some potential and the ending wasn't actually bad at all, but the middle was just flat and boring. The entire production caved in on itself because of that, and the rather uninteresting characters didn't help any. The thing that makes BioHunter worth watching at all is the animation and art, in particular the sharp, moody art and creatively designed demons.

The plot and characters, while there, were thin, and any potential that would've made this watchable was wasted. The comparatively small amount of violence and sex made it seem a little underwhelming even for the target audience, so unless you're an absolute advocate of Yoshiaka Kawajiri, I'd pass on BioHunter if I were you.

US DVD Review

While advertised as a Special Edition DVD, a Special Edition this is not. Unlike the two DVDs by Urban Vision which predate this one, there's not many special features. The only extra included are original storyboard images. They're interesting enough, and very well laid out, but that doesn't garner a Special Edition in my book. Still, this DVD is a fair production. The video did have some rather noticeable shimmering (one room was filled with it) but on the whole the video was sharp with good colours. The audio is offered in 5.1 for the English and the original stereo mix for the Japanese. While I can't take full advantage of 5.1 audio, both tracks appeared to be well done in their own respects. Unfortunately, this disc does not contain Japanese cast credit. On the plus side, I believe this was the last DVD from Urban Vision to omit that. Correcting that mistake after only three DVDs is a feat above CPM at least.

Content Guide

While there wasn't as much sex and gore as I would have expected, this definitely garners a 16-up--put the children to bed.

Violence: 4 - What's there is really there.

Nudity: 4 - See above.

Sex/Mature Themes: 4 - A sex scene at the very beginning and a couple brief rape scenes.

Language: 2 - Actually, it wasn't very bad for swearing.

Notes and Trivia

Yoshiaka Kawajiri, credited as the writer of the BioHunter anime, is well known for his dark, usually violent and sexually charged films. Credits as writer and/or director include Ninja Scroll, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and Wicked City, among others.

Availability

Available in the US on bilingual DVD from Urban Vision. Was also available on subtitled and dubbed VHS.

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