The Cyberpunk genre remains to be one of the most sophisticated and highly influential genres in fiction, ranging from subjects such as artificial intelligence, cybernetic limb augmentation, hacking as well as powerful and controlling (but also corrupted) Megacorporations, Cyberpunk fiction manages to explore a part of Science Fiction that really dives into the advancements in technology and how it manages to become integrated into the human society. With the settings being widely dystopian but blended with cultural parts of different societies the genre has exploded through various forms of entertainment. Anime is no big exception from titles such as Akira to Ghost in the Shell to Bubblegum Crisis; Cyberpunk has had a huge influence on the medium. However one series in particular that remains overlooked and sadly not as popular as the former and one that really had a lot of potential in the stories and themes it was conveying, only to sadly end without there being a real conclusion – That would be Cyber City Oedo 808.
Set in the year 2808 in the city of Oedo, the story focuses on three convicted Criminals, Shunsuke Sengoku, Gabimaru "Gogul" Rikiya & Merrill "Benten" Yanagawa currently serving a 300-or-more year sentence in an orbital penitentiary. Having now been recruited into the Cyber Police unit of the city they are given a chance to earn their freedom back by doing various tasks such as reducing the crime in the city, however there is a catch. All 3 criminals now have to wear explosive collars around their necks, which are wired to explode should any of the criminals not complete their assigned tasks within the set time limit. Under the tight control of the Cyber Police Juzo Hasegawa, the 3 criminals now must find a way to escape their respective shackled prisons but also stay alive through the tasks they are given.
The OVA itself is split up into 3 different episodes for each of the characters.
The first episode - "Virtual Death” focuses on Sengoku having to save 50,000 people trapped in Oedo's largest skyscraper’s after its central computer is mysteriously taken over, however apart from the rescue plan Sengoku must go up against the suspect who turns out to be a man long dead.
The second episode - "Psychic Trooper" focuses on Gogul as his investigation of a murder puts him up against an experimental military cyborg after a slight run-in with his Ex-partner.
The third episode - "Blood Lust" focuses on Benten looking into the murder of 3 geneticists whose main common cause of death looked like they were bitten by what looks like a Vampire, as well as meeting a young woman who has been turned into a vampire by a man’s quest for his immortality.
The second episode - "Psychic Trooper" focuses on Gogul as his investigation of a murder puts him up against an experimental military cyborg after a slight run-in with his Ex-partner.
The third episode - "Blood Lust" focuses on Benten looking into the murder of 3 geneticists whose main common cause of death looked like they were bitten by what looks like a Vampire, as well as meeting a young woman who has been turned into a vampire by a man’s quest for his immortality.
Cyber City Oedo 808 as an anime has a rather interesting quality to it which makes it stand out in the Cyberpunk genre of Anime, which ties into the idea that’s presented in this type of fiction of a dystopian society ruled over by a giant succession of technology and how that’s been integrated into human lives, most notably how it’s used to uphold law and order. By recruiting criminals, the police have an upper hand over their lives and have the control upon which they can snuff their lives out with only a push of a button which activates the collars around their necks, but what stands out more apart from the idealism of supreme control over the 3 main characters is how each of them operate within each other.
The characters of Cyber City Oedo 808 are written to be rather unlikable for the most part, as they are criminals and they are brought together by one common goal of eventual freedom they have a hard time getting along and following orders. Sengoku’s foul temper and rather colourful vocabulary puts him under a category of characters where upon they don’t follow the rules and bite back against people of authority, Gogul’s rough and grizzled personality makes him harder to get along with as well as being very vocal towards the other main characters, finally the same goes for Benten who is a little bit more laid back and quiet compared to the other 2 leads but manages to still bite back.
All 3 characters are written like “bad boys”. They don’t undergo any kind of change in their personalities, they aren’t fighting for anything at stake and they behave like bonafide assholes dominated by their masculine & upfront personalities. But at the same time they are fun to follow because of what they are trying to achieve, they are put up against rather interesting challenges and their persistence of their freedom is what they are working towards the most. Because of the society and the time this takes place in, all 3 characters don’t display any kind of heroic qualities and would gladly kill the criminal they are forced to apprehend without so much as having a fair trial planned. Which displays the strong feeling of how the importance of the law can have no effect on anyone when if it’s someone’s freedom involved they will take the character down no matter the cost, luckily though If it’s not each other they have to bounce each other’s frustration and hatred off of the supporting characters (what few there are) manage to bring some human quality to the series.
What makes Cyber City Oedo 808 stand out is its stellar production. Animated by Studio Madhouse and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Oedo 808’s look at a dystopian society is depicted as nothing but cold and slick beauty. The architecture from a far distance appears dimly lit to where the shadows from below give the city of Oedo a very towering and ambient feeling of dread and sheer discomfort, at night as well as during the day. Each room and corridor has clever use of shadows and dim lighting to where the characters have to appear mysteriously and forebodingly where upon the only way they are better looked at is through neon lights which appear very rarely throughout this. Apart from the design of the world, the mechanical design work by Takashi Watabe (Silent Möbius, Moldiver, Halo Legends) is quite specific in how each robot or vehicle is given a way to stand out. Mech designs range from either a box with wheels like the character of Varsus to frightening and primal designs like MOLCOS.
Character designs Kawajiri appear while very over-exaggerated don’t display a more inhuman disproportionate body style like his frequent and later contributor Yutaka Minowa, the character designs and the fashion styles of Oedo 808 reek of pure Cyberpunk Aesthetics. Characters like Gogul who are designed with a Mohawk and augmented goggles to rather effeminate characters such as Benten with hidden wires in his hands as part of his weaponry stand out because of how these common tropes would be used in Cyberpunk works of fiction. Sengoku’s design while not very bold wears mostly a long coat, something that is obligatory in Cyberpunk fashion (depending on the colour). So there is something rather iconic about this because of how common this type of fashion pops up every now and again in Cyberpunk lore, nothing is left out that this series doesn’t manage to do.
From an audio perspective are where things are very much divided, the music as well as the voice acting stand out because of what they brought to this for an English adaptation.
In the Japanese release of Cyber City Oedo 808, the score is done by Kazuhiko (Kazz) Toyama (New Cutie Honey, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII). While it’s not a bad score, it’s very copy/paste for what it sounded like and it doesn’t hit the right notes with the scenes that the score is put alongside by. Very few tracks stand out as memorable and it’s difficult to pick which one is worth listening to as well as liking when there is no punch to it, so while it’s not the fault of the people involved the score in Japanese just falls under the category of “passable”. In the English release, the score is composed entirely by British session musician Rory McFarlane. Keeping in que with the outlandish fashion, the bizarre and unique mechanical augmentations as well as the dark and gritty atmosphere, McFarlane’s soundtrack is The Cyberpunk Genre personified into a rather rocking and very rough score. Ranging from Metal guitar tracks to electronic synth as well as very mysterious ambient tones, the score stands out because of how it blends well with the animation. The action scenes get you fired up when you hear the electric guitar blaring away accompanied by Synth scores which are at times tense and very on edge but the ambient tones give you a clear sense of scope once you pull back and see the world that goes on in this how bleak and very intimidating everything is. Rory McFarlane’s score has seen nothing but praise as the years have passed on and remains his most well-known work.
The English dub by Manga UK while at times it’s a little ropey and abit over the top, is in fact well-chosen and each actor is perfectly casted for their respective characters. Bruce Martin plays Sengoku like a foul-mouthed, disrespectful but sly character, Sean Barrett plays Gogul as very rough but at the same time as cool and as humorous when he is getting through certain scenes, Daniel Flynn plays Benten very calm and monotone most of the time but manages to give a passable performance to the character. Additional voices such as the late Bob Sherman for Juzo Hasegawa comes off as strictly uncaring and very precise about what he wants, Julia Brahms plays the character of Kyōko "Okyo" Jōnouchi very upbeat and lively and manages to bring something rather warm and feminine to a series that is dominated by male supremacy. And finally Nigel Greaves who plays the robot of Varsus manages to have some humorous lines of dialogue, despite being a robot what he says is usually thrown right back at him from the snarky and foul tempered attitude of the 3 main characters where upon each insult has to be analysed and detailed accordingly. What make the English dub for this stand out is not just in how well the casting works and how real the voice acting feels at times or even how well each actor plays off one another, is how much this anime drops the F-Bomb every single time it gets. Manga UK have never really shied away from using profanity unless It was convenient for them, but nearly every line from the main cast is a curse word which gives you an idea how little the people behind the translation of this had any kind of restraint whatsoever. Lines such as “Get lost. You wouldn't recognize a goddamn vampire if one jumped up and bit you on the end of your f*****g dick.” From Benton to nearly every word out of Sengoku’s mouth should give you a clear sense of what kind of product this is and what you would be in store for if you continued to watch it.
So while this anime is enjoyable and while it makes no attempts to calm down from the profanity or the violence or the mayhem it displays, the problem that is very clear with it is that it’s just too short. 3 episodes which manage to explore each of the 3 characters adventures but no real ending or answer to what happened to them, the idea of 3 criminals being forced to work for a police organization in order to obtain their freedom sounds like there should be so much explained in regards to the mythos and what is explored. Especially with the main cast and how they come across as brutish and very unsympathetic one dimensional anti-heroes, had this lasted longer they would have been developed a little better. We might have seen them fight back against the system they are working under but also see them go up against more risky and terrible challenges along the way.
When all is said and done though, Cyber City Oedo 808 is Cyberpunk entertainment at its purest. A grimy and very foreboding and atmospheric city, characters that don’t behave like heroes and instead are just convicted everymen trying to win their freedom, a controlling and very shifty looking system of the law that have no problem with expunging their chosen employees. And really in 3 episodes some rather good storytelling, it’s not perfect and doesn’t have to be but it manages to give you something to get excited for and it presents something rather dark and unpleasant. The Cyberpunk genre paints its stories in a neon-lit, cold smoothed out surface where everything is artificial and where nothing is safe or out of reach from anyone who would change it and make it into something different. But the end result being if the story is good and the characters have a goal in mind then it’s worth paying attention to.
A Cyberpunk classic that deserves to be rewatched over and over again.
Highly recommended.
A Cyberpunk classic that deserves to be rewatched over and over again.
Highly recommended.
Sami Sadek is a lifelong Transformers and Anime fan, and can often be found propping up bars or appearing in the background of Auto Assembly vids. He has also talks on Youtube, Tweets on Twitter, doodles on Deviantart and is a regular co-host on this very site's Cyberritz. He has never had a swordfight atop a church whilst a crow watches. Honest.
