Ranked #3617

MD Geist II - Death Force

M.D. Geist II - Death Force is the sequel to M.D. Geist and thus has the same shared history and problems. Since the art, sound, and voice acting remains the same (remarkably, after 10 years of opportunities to improve), this review will be short and concentrate on this one episode OVA's story and characters.

Story: 4 (Decent)

The story picks up where the first left off: Geist, fueled by his lust for random chaos, destruction, and battle, has unleashed the Death Force, a horde of robots designed to be a "final option" of total destruction (much like real-life nukes) from the Brain Palace (yes, this is what the dub actually calls them). These powerful robots are capable of reproducing, feasting on humans and using their flesh as raw materials. Only a single outpost remains safe from the Death Force, a military base protected by the second only successful specimen of the Most Dangerous Soldier project, M.D. Krauser. Krauser, though more stable than Geist, learns that his predecessor is still alive and out there, and aware of his bloodlust is determined to become the last Most Dangerous Soldier standing, even if it means sacrificing all that he protects.

The plot does sound more complex and developed than the first OVA, and in all fairness it is, but it ends up working at the same level as a ringworm is a more complexly developed life form than an amoeba. The plot is ultimately Krauser vs. Geist, and there is little in the way of what really amounts to window dressing to give it additional depth.

Character: 3 (Poor)

Despite an expanded cast of characters, more than just the addition of Krauser, the characters of this OVA suffer the same rating as the first, and for many of the same reasons. For starters, Freya's voice actor is back, which means that despite ten years we're still treated to what should be classified as a breach of the Geneva Convention. Geist and Krauser remain the most developed characters, and Krauser is as one-dimensional and single-minded as Geist, except that, as a more stable example of a Most Dangerous Soldier, he has even less of an excuse for it. Krauser's singular and noble drive to protect what he can of Jerra's population is swept under the rug for his singular and less noble drive of finishing off Geist, and his would-be private fiefdom suffers dearly for it. Meanwhile, Krauser's cronies seem just as banally motivated, only this time they all want to kill their leader...for some reason, even if it means knowingly helping a homicidal maniac who would kill them if they didn't happen to be the only means of getting to Krauser. All other characters are pretty much meant to just stand there and die in gruesome ways, which occupies at least half of the entire OVA's screen time, oddly enough perhaps being the most enjoying, or at least tolerable, thing this OVA has to offer.

Enjoyment: 5 (Medicore)

...which remains unchanged from the first OVA. The big difference here, however, is that the sequel ratchets up the on-screen gore, with the first act consisting entirely of Geist destroying a small contingent of Death Force robots in an admittedly awesome and downright GAR way, followed by many, many people having their heads explode after being chomped upon by the remaining 9,099 robots (yes, this stupid-looking number actually has a meaning to the plot). At least the creators knew what they were doing this time, and delivered more of what made the first OVA oddly tolerable, with a corresponding increase in still decent action scenes which are unfortunately also followed by a corresponding increase in laughably pathetic attempts at sexual tension and arousal.

And with that, our final score is:

5 (Medicore)

...as with its predecessor, for some different reasons, but largely for the same.

Once again, more can be read about the bizarre histories of M.D. Geist and M.D. Geist II - Death Force at Justin Sekis' "Buried Garbage" column at Anime News Network. read more