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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great series with bonus DVD goodies, September 28, 2000
This review is from: Genocyber - The Collection (DVD)
I really enjoyed the first episode of Genocyber. Great action, incredibly violent sequences. Horrifically gory in parts. High quality early 90's (pre-CGI) animation. Character design really strong -- especially the mercenary cyborgs assassins! The disc is filled with lots of goodies, but they are only accessible through your DVD-ROM drive on your PC or Mac. The DVD says PC-only, but they are just folders of JPEG and TIFF images, which any Macintosh can also read. Lots of prototype designs and pencil sketches. The DVD features english and japanese language tracks along with an english subtitle track. Be warned that the english language and english subtitles are dramatically different (especially in Episode 1). I would recommend watching it twice, or watching with both the english audio and english captioning turned on. I think think Genocyber was written as a one episode movie. But it was so popular, they had to write more episodes. Because so much happens by the end of episode one, where does the series go? They have to push the `reset button' and start over. Episodes 2 & 3 are quite good with a few neat tie-ins to the first show. But clearly, it has a hard time measuring up to the incredible first show. By the time 4 & 5 roll around, it's almost completely off subject. As it takes place 500 years in the future, Genocyber is relagated to just taking up scenery in episode 4. The entire story suddenly shifts to two new characters. Only by episode 5, does Genocyber once again appear in any sort of meaningful way. That's one of the problems of having a character like Genocyber be so powerful. Entire cities are destroyed by the creature at the bat of an eyelash. I only wish the amazing ideas and fascinating characters presented in episode one were continued on in the series. As with each episode we have to learn a whole new cast of characters, it's difficult to build any sort of bond with them. The disc alone is worth episode one and the DVD bonus material.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most underrated anime I've ever seen, April 1, 2008
This review is from: Genocyber - The Collection (DVD)
After finishing Genocyber, I really feel that I should write a review, because all over the Internet there is a lot of negativity directed at this series, and after viewing it, I strongly disagree with the negative reviews railed against this great OVA and thus feel obligated to give it the praise and respect that I feel it rightfully deserves.
First of all, if you are squeamish and do not like blood and gore, then you should obviously not watch this series, as people are torn apart and eviscerated throughout each episode, and yes, this does include children. Many people found the opening scene in which several children are gunned down, their bodies graphically torn apart to be disturbing and absolutely appalling. While such a scene might at first glance seem pointless and random to some people, it factors into Elaine's (who is referred to as Laura in this episode) motivations later on in this and in the next episode as it is hinted that she might have had a bond with some of these children.
Other people have criticized this has either having no plot or having a very choppy plot that is hard to follow. I personally had no issues following what was going on or being able to figure out why certain things happened the way they did or why characters reacted to events the way that they did and I did not think that the series felt choppy or rushed at all. This isn't one five-part storyline, but instead three 45-minute stories, the first one set in the early twenty-first century (which would be considered the near-future back in 1993 when this series was made), the second one, which encompasses episodes 2 and 3, being in the near future, and the third, encompassing episodes 4 and 5, being set hundreds of years into the future. Each story involves the Genocyber character but are otherwise unrelated to one another and the viewer must keep this in mind when watching the series rather than sitting there complaining about how it all of a sudden jumps to the year 2400 and has completely different characters than the ones it started off with. Each storyline is handled very well, with plenty of violence, gore, and carnage to satiate the bloodlust, but it also contains plenty of intelligence and a very compelling plot as well.
Characterization has been done well enough considering that each story only has about 45 minutes to delve into the characters and get the plot rolling, but they do give you enough information about characters to understand their motivations and reactions and each storyline features a few likeable heroes to root for, such as Myra in Episode 2 and 3, who lost her own child earlier but is very protective of "Laura" during this arc. In episode 4 and 5 we have Mel who is blind but psychic and Ryu her lover, who is searching for a cure for her affliction in the City of the Grand Arc and winds up getting himself way over his head in the process once he and Mel are caught in the middle of the war between the government of that city and the underground worshippers. Elaine is a very endearing character; a mute child with the mind of an animal, yet with a heart of gold and a fierce protectiveness toward her friends. The motivation of the villainous are not as well fleshed out beyond motives such as greed, arrogance, power, and the need to keep that power and they are therefore not at all sympathetic. But they are still believably portrayed. Each of the characters were interesting in their own way, and perhaps if the stories were longer they might have been fleshed out even better (though the stories were as long as they needed to be, in my opinion), but characterization was still handled well and I did find myself caring about what happened to them.
Considering this anime was made in 1993, the art and animation hold up fairly well. The artwork was clean and detailed, particularly on the gory bits, and the character designs were well-rendered. The animation flows well enough, though there are a lot of still frames throughout each episode.
Overall, I found Genocyber to be a very enjoyable and compelling ride through each of the three storylines and can recommend the series with at least some confidence despite the glaringly negative nature of many of the reviews I have read. Obviously, if you prefer more light-hearted, zany, happier fare such as shoujo, slice-of-life, high school comedies, or animes of that nature, then you will absolutely despise Genocyber with every fiber of your being. If on the other hand you prefer works of a darker and more brutal nature, such as Elfen Lied, Now and Then Here and There, Berserk, or Gantz, then I urge you to at least give Genocyber a try and hope that you will enjoy it as much as I have.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Waaay underrated, October 18, 2007
This review is from: Genocyber - The Collection (DVD)
I think that the reason why this gets generally unfavorable reviews is because it's seen by people who it wasn't intended for. Like, if you mostly watch calmer anime, like Shoujo, why would you watch this?
I find this to be a very intelligent piece of sci-fi. A lot of the subtler elements of politics, ethics, religion, and philosophy seem to be lost on the other reviewers. After watching it in its entirety, I actually believe that there is an underlying message of Christianity to the whole thing. A Clockwork Orange, which in the early 70's, was considered extreme, has an underlying Catholic message (as reported by author Anthony Burgess himself). The violence is definitely quite graphic, but necessary for the point of the movie. I think that Ohata is quite a political thinker, and is aware of the attrocities that men do to one another. This OAV is very much a study of human evil. Those kids who were killed at the beginning of episode 2 were not done so for sick pleasure, but to prove the point that innocents suffer the most in a wartime conflict.
The plot, I actually find to be not as hard to follow as others suggest it is. I think that the others are just so put off by the violence, they stop paying attention to what is really going on. So if you don't like violence, DON"T WATCH IT! THIS MOVIE ISN"T FOR YOU! The other reviewers will have you think that this is 2 1/2 hours of only violence. Not true. Long periods go by without any significant action, as there is a complicated plot that is underway, besides the action.
The characters are all pretty well crafted, and we care about them. The story of Dianna and Elaine is very touching, as is the story of the couple the Ark de Grande story at the end. There are quite a few touching moments. This is as much a human story as it is a more general sci-fi exposition.
The voice acting in the dubbed version is sort of comical ("Isn't. That. Right. Raznack?"). The animation is clearly outdated, but there are some pretty interesting visual effects throughout. There at times pencil sketches, and CG.
If you watch this, try to get a sense of what's really going on. If the violence is too much of a distraction, then don't even bother. This is a smarter piece of sci-fi than it gets credit for.
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