Dominion

Dominion is an extremely strange anime. Masamune Shirow has many ideas and many things to say. Anybody who knows more than the superficial about him knows that he's hard to neatly categorise as an author. Ghost in the Shell is a thought-provoking milestone in the medium coming from that mind and although Dominion is also thought-provoking, it is so in a much meta-textual way. I will presently attempt to articulate why.

From the very second it starts, Dominion appears to present itself as biting commentary on police brutality and excess. The first minutes are spent hearing (voice-off) a heated discussion between a police chief and the ... mayor of that city. As the mayor struggles to keep her composture and argue rationally about the necessity for the police to minimise civilian casualties stemming from police misuse of extreme force (via military tanks deployed in the streets), the chief uses screaming, bombastic arguments and logical fallacies to argue for the necessity of even more force than that, less oversight and, of course, more funding. You could have easily think that this was a very facile caricature of American law enforcement following certain events in the mid-2010s but this story was written in the mid 80s, which in itself is both remarkably prescient and quite depressing.

If you thought that this was setting the stage for a grim analogy on the corruption observed and expected in law enforcement, you may be surprised to find out it's not the case as they are the protagonists of the series. Although the series does parody (to a rather great comedic effect) the police forces' ineptitude, cruelty, and proneness to violence and excess, nowhere besides that intro dialogue and a blink-and-you-miss-it part near the end are those traits condemned, let alone met with consequences. Even the sympathetic rookie that we could have expected to become a motor for change, or at the very least a permanently horrified straight-woman, does little else than pushing against the (also expected) prevalent sexism in the institution, before being widely embraced by it when she proved she could be as bad or even worse as the lot of them.

I was constantly puzzled trying to figure out what was Shirow trying to say with this piece. Does he ultimately agree with the police stance that the necessity for their existence justifies their excesses no matter how bad? Or did he simply choose, for some reason, a complex real life issue as the backdrop for his sci-fi comedy featuring a gang of irredeemable fuck-ups? Then you have to add to this a rather significant amount of the runtime (for its scant 4 episodes) spent in intriguing worldbuilding (that sort of goes nowhere) or almost a whole episode worth of delving into the main antagonist's backstory for a dramatic and gripping commentary on the inhuman lenghts to which humans can go in the name of scientific progress as way to understand their own existence.

Having said that, by the end, the story is expertly told and wrapped up satisfactorily. In short, it is a good watch but one that might leave more questions in your mind than answers were received. And, I posit, maybe that's not a bad thing.

I have such nostalgia for Dominion Tank Police, as I saw it for the first time back in 1994 at 12 years old when it premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel during anime week. It turned out to be one of my favorites of that week, and I've loved it ever since. Having the ability to see the unedited version over the years, in its original language, has only increased my fondness for it. The gags all hit, it's super funny, it has incredibly memorable characters, the animation is excellent, the story is fun; if you thought Masamune Shirow could only do hard cyberpunk the likes ... of Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed, and Black Magic M-66, this will open up your eyes. There's a reason this one is considered one of the hallmarks of classic, old-school anime.

Dominion, better known as Dominion Tank Police, can best be described as an utterly goofy depiction of a truly dystopian world. Beginning with the story, the viewer is presented with the backdrop of Newport City. This is a place where a crime occurs every 36 seconds, all while most of the earth is enveloped in a toxic "bacterial cloud', and the police ride around in tanks and torture suspects for fun. However, it is all played for comedy, which in its own way adds to the bizarre, irreverent charm this show puts on. The story itself is disjointed and focuses more on gags and jokes ... than the progression of any kind of plot. There are two separate storylines which are covered 2 episodes a piece, and they're both unceremoniously dropped, bereft of any satisfying conclusion. The art is probably the strong point here, but that's relative only to the rest of the show and not a general statement of quality. The world is designed in an utterly unique style, with a striking, maverick art direction. This really shines through with the backgrounds, where Newport City embodies this grungy urban squalor while still preserving that punchy visual optimism characteristic of the 80s. The best aspect of the art by far is the architectural design of Newport City, where many buildings feature this bizarre asymmetric style reminiscent of bacterial mats, while others embody a more classic cyberpunk skyscraper vibe. The character design, while characteristic of their decade, lack a certain polish which makes them feel cheap by comparison. Put simply, it feels as though this whole anime is in the same artistic genre as the Metal Slug games. The sound, however, is a little rougher than everything else. Aside from a catchy OP, the music is goofy and often fails to compliment the tone of a given scene. Even when it tries to be deep or cerebral, it just comes off as corny. This is all not to mention it is the most dated aspect of the OVA, showcasing the worst of 80s sound design, with shallow, cheap sounds of life and uninspired voice work. The characters are broadly inoffensive, meeting all standards of quality for their time, though nobody really stands out. Overall, Dominion is a weird couple hours, and I can only really recommend it if you are uniquely passionate about the 80s, tanks, or both.