Product Details

• Actors: Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren
• Directors: Ichiro Sakaki n, a
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: ANCHOR BAY
• DVD Release Date: October 7, 2008
• Run Time: 76 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AYWYEA
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,885 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The screenplay for the dark fantasy Strait Jacket (2007) was written by Ichiro Sakaki, the novelist who created Scrapped Princess. In a parallel world where humans use sorcery in tandem with steam power, magic sometimes causes people to turn into murderous demons. Perky Nerin Simmons of the Sorcery Management Bureau realizes a rash of demon attacks has overtaxed the government's resources. She has to call in unlicensed "Tactical Sorcerist" Leiot Steinberg, although she's reluctant to do so. Sardonic, guilt-wracked Leiot can destroy any monster, but he's hard to handle. Strait Jacket plays like a mixture of Cowboy Bebop and Fullmetal Alchemist, with monsters that recall the ones in Hellsing Ultimate, Demon City, et al. Stephen Blum offers a strong vocal performance as Leiot, another wisecracking antihero, but he can only do so much with the hokey dialogue. Leiot Steinberg lacks the depth and complexity that make Spike Spiegel and Edward Elrich memorable characters, and Strait Jacket is little more than a superficial gorefest. (Unrated: suitable for ages 14 and older: considerable violence, grotesque imagery, nudity, profanity) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

In a world where sorcery and science co-exist, the power of magic comes with a price: Humans who do not take proper precautions are transformed into horrific demons. Those who destroy these demons and run the highest risk of all are tactical sorcerists known as Strait Jackets . But when terrorists unleash a plague of demonic carnage, the Sorcery Management Bureau must enlist unlicensed assassin Leiot Steinberg to stop the slaughter. Even if this rogue killer and a mysterious young girl can end the outbreak, will they be able to face their own dark secrets? Monsters, murder and redemption collide in this explosive anime written by Ichiro Sakaki (SCRAPPED PRINCESS) and based on his popular light novel series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Straight Forward Action at it's best, November 22, 2008

By	R. Rivera "Maur" (USA!) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes it's violent. Yes it's gory. No, Strait Jacket is not groundbreaking anime, but if you require having your mind blown every time and being revolutionary is the standard by which you measure things, then you will find most anime (and things in general) very disappointing.

I may be the lone voice of praise in an ocean of aspersion, but I really liked Strait Jacket. Maybe there wasn't enough comedy relief or cliche sweatdrops for some people's satisfaction. It's not the most original thing you'll ever see, but the things Strait Jacket does, it does well.

There's action, violence (graphic), a blend of magic and science, fighting and explosions. It's not Hollywood level action, so the explosions/fighting are more limited and there are no car chase scenes, but still fairly entertaining. The voice acting was flawless, with an all-star cast, Freeman and many more, how could one complain. Like others, I went into it with very low expectations. To my surprise, I found the setting intriguing and the premise fascinating, so much so that I went from "kind of paying attention" to giving it my full attention. It was very action driven and the pacing was perfect. It still spared enough time to flesh out or develop the characters just enough to make them interesting. I suspect that perhaps it's not as character driven as some people would like, but I liked Strait Jacket for what it was. No different than someone who enjoys a good action flick. The plot was "incomplete," but unless you are too busy looking down your nose from your high horse, you should get the sense that it was meant to be that way. Like an appetizer before a full course meal, it gives you an idea of how rich the story could be if they could make it into a series.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable, October 14, 2008

By	Shawn Brown "PACHIjedi" (Japan, aomori) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Strait jacket is a good anime about a man wrestling with the sins of his past. Magic has become a way of life for everyone, and by doing so we have unleashed demons into the world. It's the job of the "tactical sorcerers" to destroy one every time it takes over someones body. Good story, decent battles, real cool battle suits, but the back story on the main charcater is real vauge. I really didn't get why he was so depressed. He was alittle too EMO I felt like "the cure" should of been a part of the soundtrack. The animation isvery good. Nice and smooth with a sort of"final fantasy" look about the characters. The english voice acting is very nice and the visuals/aduio looked and sounded great on suround sound with a HDtv. If you like anime and horror genres with alittle sci-fi on the side then you should really pick it up.

4.0 out of 5 stars A great buy for any anime fan who likes action/violence!, November 11, 2009

By	T. Davis "Anime Fiend" (Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

In this title, the action is well-paced, English dub is acted like they took it seriously and the animation is above average. The CG blends well with the hand-drawn animation and all the characters are generally likeable( I especially liked the main character's sidekick.
The story was good enough to keep my interest quite well, and when it ended I only wanted MORE! This is a one-shot movie, not a series. That's hard to come by these days in anime.
If you like anime with a great story, awesome animation and plenty of action, you should definitely pick this one up! It could have stood to be about 10-15 minutes longer though.

I'll rate it 8.5 out of 10.