Curapedi
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
Humbersi
The first must-see film of the year.
Gary
The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.
Donald F
Cyber City Oedo 808 (what a mouthful!) is low-brow alright. But its quite close to being so campy its legitimately good. Its got some cool sci-fi elements, with one of the trashiest dubs I've seen. The dialog wasn't just translated, but saturated with swears and even rewritten to suit a raunchier script. Thank God that happened, because they made some of the most awful, awesome lines in history, period! Its perfect for a show focused on guts and scrap metal over plot.Heck, the stories aren't that bad. In fact, they may even be too serious for this kind of show. Each episode focuses on a different member of the force, and display a unique aspect of this cyberpunk world. There are attempts to add more sympathetic characters than our trash-talking, violent ex-criminals, but they have too little time to make an impact.The worst part about the series? Honestly, its that there's only three episodes. You only scratch the surface of these characters and their explosive adventures. There's no over-arching plot in the OVAs, and no conclusion. I feel like I've watched three episodes from a TV series instead of a direct-to-video one. Where can I see the further adventurers of Sengoku, Gogol, and Benten? :c Ah well. Overall, its the exact junk food you want to watch occasionally. Its a 5 out of 10, but it doesn't get that rating for being boring, typical, or unwatchable. Definitely watch the English dub, preferably the U.K. edition if you want some kickin' synth rock.
screwtape83
I first saw this on Channel 4 (UK) when it was aired here in 1994/5 and I was blown away, one of the reasons was the amazing Rory Mcfarlane UK edition alternative rock and electronica score which fit it perfectly.Unfrotunatly not nearly enough people, let alone anime fans themselves have even heard of this which is a shame. Im no die hard anime fan who watches all these new random animes but i do like a well produced one and the guy who created this created Ninja Scroll (which i also have)! Its a very well realized, animated, written OVA although its short with only three episodes, its very sweet. I highly recommend this for any anime and cyberpunk fan who wants to see where cyberpunk began and was at it best.
thepartyoftea
The series is about 3 cons who are working as cops to stop criminals in cases normal cops don't usually take to lower their prison sentence. The main character is in for 370 years.All 3 episodes in the movie have a strong sci-fi and almost X-Files feel to them. The X-Files piece pushed to an extreme. A little bit of detective work, connecting the dots and action.The series if full of some pretty colorful characters, but it lacked a main focus. It follows the 3 former cons as they hunt down baddies... but there's no main baddie. No big boss or organization. Maybe one would have come into focus in the later episodes if they made more, but no big baddie.So it was short, sweet and worth the $4.99 in the discount bin.
editor-107
The plot might seem simple and well worn, three criminals offered a reprieve if they take the cases for the Police that no-one else will take, but the development has been truly awesome. Indeed, I have brought the series several times, only to have people who were friends be prepared to become enemies, just for a chance to run off with my copy. Curiously, I loathe most Manga with its convoluted and contrived stories and gross out monsters ravaging innocent little girls, yet this avoids all that junk and deeply appeals, even to me. Each f the tales is told in the style of the three, highly imaginative characters: Sengoku, a sort of Sam Spade of the 28th Century: Gogul, a monstrous thug who is also a grandmaster at computer-hacking and Bensen, a transvestite who, despite all his shinny nail varnish, is an expert assassin.Sadly, the series has one, monumental drawback, THEY ONLY EVER MADE THREE. Why, I have no idea. I even phoned the studio in frustration when I discovered this, yet was blandly assured that the project simply ran for three episodes and then they moved onto something else. It's like breaking the home-run record for a season and then quitting baseball before you've picked up the trophy. Now that was a TRUE CRIME ...worthy of Senguku.
