Genocyber
Tony Takezaki, Koichi Ohata
OVA, 1994
Genocyber is another OVA my buddies and I downloaded in a batch while on that aforementioned kick a while back. Again, I was unsure of what to expect. We chose to watch the dub, and the moment we saw the opening scene, we knew we had struck gold.
I should preface this by going a bit into the director. Koichi Ohata, the man who adapted the original manga to animation, is infamous for being the man responsible for the 1986 OVA M.D. Geist and it's sequel in 1996, a series which has earned the repuation by enthusiasts online as the worst anime ever produced (an opinion i staunchly disagree with). Despite this, however, the first episode of Genocyber is probably the coolest thing i've ever seen in my entire life: Around 45 mins of people being psychologically tortured, abused, mutilated, and all sorts of other gruesome acts. It's a bloodbath to say the very least. The overall pacing is stupidly erratic, but nothing important will be lost to the average audience. If anyone knows how I can get this transformation installed, please let me know ASAP.
The following 4 episodes is where I feel Genocyber begins to fall short. This is where we see the little quirks that made first episode so charming begin to fade away. The stop motion and early CG scenes featured in the initial episode are suddenly nowhere to be found, and the plot/pacing slow down considerably. I can only assume this is a result of the shortened times following the initial animation; The rest of the OVA would be released over a period of several months, and were most likely done up on the spot. I would feel far, far more satisfied with Genocyber if the first episode were extended to the length of a full-blown film, and it all ended there. Despite this, I would still highly reccomend anyone reading this go out and give it a peek, if only just for that first episode.
9/20/26
I am not a massive film buff of any sort. I could probably count the amount of movies I've seen in theater on my two hands. Two years ago, when I missed End of Eva in theaters for the first time ever in North America, I thought I would never forgive myself. I saw the opportunity (albeit not entirely equal) to repair that, and I leaped at it. Here are some quick thoughts on the whole ordeal:
"A recap of the first 24 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, followed by a 30-minute continuation of the plot that would later form the first third of The End of Evangelion." -IMDB
I had not seen death/rebirth prior to the 30th Film Fest. It had been several years since I had watched the series and I figured it would be good to catch it if not for the experience and bragging rights, but to give myself a little reminder. It's probably the best they could have done with condensing 10 hours worth of content into less than 2. The only way I could rationalize seeing this is if you find yourself in a similar situation to mine and want a quick refresher before End of Eva. Would absolutely not reccomend for anyone unfamiliar with the context of the full series.
"As the military and a shadowy cabal assault NERV headquarters, troubled Eva pilot Shinji Ikari is forced back into battle, confronting a secret project that could decide humanity's fate." -IMDB
The first time I had ever watched End of Eva was on my phone and I felt like the biggest piece of shit in the entire world for it. Going from hazy years-old memories of a film I saw on a miniscule screen and airpods to an actual theater blew my mind a little. I cannot imagine seeing this movie at it's release, before the time in which everyone wanted to be it. getting to experience the credit intermission and aburpt ending as it was intended made me grin the entire time like a moron. If there is ever an opportunity for you to see this in a theater setting, drop everything and go do it .
7/22/26
EVANGELION 30th Movie Fest:
Death (True)² & Rebirth
The End of Evangelion
Hideaki Anno
Films, 1997
Dominion Tank Police
Shirow Masamune
OVA, 1988
Dominion Tank Police is the OVA prequel to the manga series of a similar name by Shirow Masamune, author of the highly acclaimed Ghost in the Shell (which I have yet to read nor see any of its several animated adaptations).
I watched this with a few buddies while on a kick for raunchy late-80's anime flicks. We were intially enticed by its unbelievably catchy english opening and decided to give it a shot. We all loved it.
The whole thing spans 4 roughly 40 min episodes and can be split into two halves, the first focusing on worldbuilding and the latter reeling in the plot a bit more. I could go on about that plot but i'd rather not spoil anything and frankly I've never been great with writing. That being said it's a real neat scifi setting and I'm sure both mecha and cyberpunk fans alike would get a kick out of it.
7/6/26