Product Details

• Format: Animated, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: E1 Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1565671880
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #634,524 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard-edged sci-fi anime spun off from BUBBLEGUM CRISIS, July 21, 2003

By 

Brian Camp (Bronx, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ad Police Files 1-3 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A.D. POLICE FILES (1990) is a three-part OAV spin-off of BUBBLEGUM CRISIS (1987), the anime cypberpunk sci-fi classic about battles with "Boomers"--androids run amok--waged by the costumed female crime-fighters, the Knight Sabers, in Mega-Tokyo in 2032. A.D. POLICE is set a few years earlier and focuses on members of the title police unit as they combat Boomer crimes at a time when humans and Boomers (who range from strictly mechanical creations to replicas of beautiful women) have become mutually interdependent. This series is grittier and more bloody than BUBBLEGUM CRISIS and is designed more along the lines of a crime thriller with sci-fi elements. Its mixture of sex, violence and cybernetics, all done in sharp, cleanly executed style, should please fans of harder-edged sci-fi anime of the 1990s.

The chief protagonists in these episodes are two women officers. Gina Marceau is one tough, no-nonsense A.D. cop and she stars in the first and third episodes, "The Phantom Woman" and "The Man Who Bites His Tongue." Interestingly, her partner is none other than rookie cop Leon Nichols, who figures more prominently as the Knight Sabers' sometime ally in BUBBLEGUM CRISIS and its sequel, BUBBLEGUM CRASH. The young and naïve Iris Cara, a member of the regular police, is the lead investigator in the second episode, "The Ripper," in which she encounters a female CEO whose naked ambition has lethal side effects. Each of the episodes deals in some fashion with the question of body parts, either Boomer parts being recycled illegally or humans trading organs and limbs for cybernetic ones.

The animation and visual design are a lot stronger on detail and realism than the simpler, bolder graphics of the 1980s-style BUBBLEGUM CRISIS. The earlier series was, in some ways, more fun to watch, and had much more mecha-on-mecha action. A.D. POLICE, on the other hand, may be tough going for the more squeamish viewers, but it's ultimately a more sophisticated work (and leaves out those intrusive songs!). It's also more tightly written, thanks, partly, to screenwriter Noboru Aikawa (PEACOCK KING, VAMPIRE PRINCESS MIYU, THE HAKKENDEN), who wrote the first two episodes here.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 episodes on one tape, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ad Police Files 1-3 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I thought this was a good tape all 3 episodes on one tape. I think the tape was 90 or 75 minutes however it was worth the time also a good price.

5.0 out of 5 stars Two out of three ain't bad, July 29, 2009

By 

Julian Kennedy (St Pete Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ad Police Files 1-3 [VHS] (VHS Tape)

AD Police Files 1-3 (1990): 8/10: Despite a third episode, that is almost a scene for scene remake of Robocop; this is one of the sharpest Anime around.


Sexist and racist in that unconscious Japanese way with over the top violence and just a dash of nudity AD Police does not fail to entertain. The first two tales are gripping and inventive if a little hard to follow (Character development is minimalist at best) with great moral arks about the downfall of artificial parts and artificial people.



The third episode is a letdown and quite skippable. Tons of action keeps AD Police moving even when the story seems to stall. The plots of the first two episodes are also filled with surprise, and that always-delightful "I always wished someone would do that" feeling.


The animation is very well done, with different styles mixing it up to great effect. At only three episodes, however it left me wanting more. That is usually a good sign.