Cyber City OEDO 808

Original Title: CYBER CITY OEDO 808
Romanized: Cyber City OEDO 808
Literal:

Plot Synopsis

In the year 2808, high tech crime is rife in the massive cyber cities. To combat this escalating crime rate, the cyber police draft maximum security criminals into the force, equipped with explosive-loaded collars. Successful missions reduce the prisoner's sentence--failure means instant death!

In File 1: VIRTUAL DEATH, 50,000 people are trapped in OEDO tower. Sengoku and his two teammates are despatched to rescue them, but the only man known capable of pulling off a hacking stunt like this died years ago...

In File 2: PSYCHIC TROOPER, Japan's Special Defense Force has developed a new weapon which they believe will make the Cyber Police obsolete. They plan to test it on a live target: the mohawked computer hacker Gogul!

In File 3: BLOOD LUST, three leading genetic scientists are murdered, apparently by a vampire. When the androgynous Benten investigates, he discovers that the three men had all been working on a secret project--a virus which brings immortality... at a price.

Quick Review

Rating: 4.5 / 5
Reviewer: Arcane
Review Date: 2000-10-31

Cyber City OEDO 808 is the cyberpunk anime--it has all the essential ingredients: Advanced technology, a healthy dose of violence, and a bad attitude. It is defined by one word: Cool. The characters are extremely interesting and the plots are engaging. It isn't deep, but this anime isn't meant to be deep--you're supposed to watch it and enjoy it immensely. The first file is the best, with a spectacular climax, and while the third is a bit of a stretch into gothic horror, it's still the "least good" rather than the "worst." It's solid visually, and the action is executed with Kawajiri's usual brilliance--fast paced, smooth and tense. The music is, of course cyberpunk, particularly the maximum rock opening theme.

All in all, Cyber City OEDO 808 is possibly the best cyberpunk anime I have ever seen. Watch it and pray that Yoshiaki Kawajiri makes some more.

US DVD Review

USM's DVD is one of their earlier discs, and is pretty basic; Japanese and English stereo audio, a subtitle track, and absolutely nothing else. At least the video is pretty crisp. Oddly, at least the version I have (it may have been fixed later) the package says "please see reverse side of this liner for complete credits." ...except unlike their later releases, the box isn't transparent, and the liner is blank on the other side.

Content Guide

About 16-up on account of violence and very rough language.

Violence: 3 - Not excessively bloody, but, well, nasty.

Nudity: 0 - Nada.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - More mature themes than anything else.

Language: 4 - Listen to Sengoku swear!

Notes and Trivia

The city of Oedo is supposed to be the future version of Tokyo, and in fact the ancient Japanese name of the city was Edo. The very polite form of that is Oedo. Also, Benten is the name of a Shinto goddess, patron of art and literature, as well as associated with material wealth.

Availability

Formerly available in the US from US Manga Corps on a single bilingual DVD. Was also available on three subtitled or dubbed VHS volumes, as well as a dubbed CD-ROM of QuickTime video. All of the above are out of print (though you can still find the Cyber City DVD Used from Amazon).

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