9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Starts slow, but gets really good..., March 11, 2001
This review is from: Dominion Tank Police 1 & 2 (DVD)
I was actually amazed to discover at the end of act 4 that I'd watched the whole thing. Tank Police is set in 4 acts, but in fact there are two stories on this disk. The first story, in acts 1 and 2, set up the characters, the environment, and the internal conflict about the Tank Police. The second story, in acts 3 and 4, are about the criminal Buaku, his origins, and being human.
In act 1 and 2, the reasons for the crime isn't explained at all, and isn't alluded to at all in acts 3 and 4. Big mystery. The slapstick is sorta funny. The tanks look rediculous, but around about the middle of act 2, you no longer notice. You feel for Leona, exiled to welfare for wrecking Squad Commander's "tank special". You feel a little amazed that she is allowed to build a little tank out of the wrecked tank after this order is given. (But never mind, it wouldn't be nearly as fun later if she wasn't around.) This first story, qualified this DVD as "just another anime". Fortunately, there were two more acts.
The later acts start out vague, but riveted me to my seat. I couldn't have torn myself away from the tube if I'd wanted to. The back-story about Buaku and his reasons for stealing the picture are deeper than I was willing to give this anime credit for. Then the interaction between Leona and Buaku as the story comes out is nothing short of magical. Leona is forced to see this hated criminal, who she can't make a deal with to save her life because she is a "tank police", as a person. And Buaku sees that not all humans are bad, sparing Leona's life even though she wouldn't make the deal.
The animation is okay, with some shots seemingly stills with enhanced flashing bits to make them "move". Not as dreadful as some, and never a whole scene.
As for technical merits, the menus are easy to follow, the transfer is good enough average. Sound is mono, but maybe thats all there ever was.
And finally, I must mention that if you are into lowbrow humor that none of us would ever be caught dead actually laughing at (we are all grown-up here, right?) buy this one for the "anti tank" weapons in act 2. Absolutly hillarious!
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Think Tank, January 12, 2001
This review is from: Dominion Tank Police 1 & 2 (DVD)
I just recenlty bought this DVD and I must say, it is an excellent buy. I am not a hugh fan of Anime, but this one is definitely worth a second look.
The story is set in a future world where huge amounts of pollution has made the earth's air unbreathable and everyone must wear a mask to avoid brathing in the toxic gases. The crime rate has risen to a crime being committed every 36 seconds and the mayor forms an elite fighting force know as the "Tank Police". When a new crime gang (Led by the Cyborg, Buaku and the Cat Sisters, Anna & Uni Puma) wrecks havoc in Newport city, young Leona Ozaki is transferred to the "Tank Poilce" squad. After wrecking the "Squad Commander's" (Charles Brenten) personal armored tank, Leona hand-makes a small Mini-tank (Nicknamed: Bonaparte) out of parts of the "Squad Commander's" own Tank. This new mini-Tank is a force to be reckoned with as it goes head to head with the criminals in an awesome action packed showdown.
Orginally released in Japan in 1989 as a two part movie. (The movie was later dubbed to English and released in the U.S. in 1993), the movie is clearly Anime at it's finest (With no computer graphic effects). The DVD includes both parts (All 4 acts) and features dual languages (English and Japanese. I recommend that people watch the film in the Japanese version becuase some dialog and music is deleted/changed in the English version.) Filled with lots of action sequence and hilarious one-liners, that will keep you on the edge of your seat, "Diminion: Tank Police" is no Saturday morning cartoon.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A dissapointment, February 25, 2001
This review is from: Dominion Tank Police 1 & 2 (DVD)
When I first purchased this DVD movie, I had fond memories of the first Anime I ever saw. Dominion Tank Police had a good storyline first captured my attention a few years ago. When I watched the DVD, I was disappointed. Not because of the storyline, or music, but because the DVD conceals the nudity found in the original version in very uncreative ways that are very distracting from the plot. For example, objects are placed in front of the offending areas in ways that would have you beg for black bars instead. Because one of the most important features in a DVD is the Extra features, I consider ANY omission, or concealment to severely hurt the value of a DVD.
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