Ranked #5997

Violence Jack

Long ago, I used to believe that a good story just needed to have some good doses of blood, gore and of course naked women. Those were the days and I was a hungry teenager influenced by a dying and corrupt world. Of course that as the years passed me by, I was influenced by many other things and came to widen my taste range.
So, watching Go Nagai’s gory Violence Jack takes me back to my youth.

You do have to enjoy gory stories to enjoy Violence Jack, prior knowledge on Go Nagai would be also welcome.

Forget about the main plotline and just enjoy the naked women and the blood and the gore, this is what Violence Jack is all about.
It is Violent as the name implies, so no time watching gardens here.
But if you still insist and you want to find a story there, it also does have one.
A comet has hit the earth and almost eradicated human life. Among survivors, some chose the philosophy of “kill, destroy and rape” all the women and people around. Among those bandits there’s a boss, his name is Slumking. And there’s this individual, a giant kind of immortal one, who no one knows where has come.

The animation is pretty good for 1985.
As I watched a crappy US dubbed version, the background sounds and music was hidden far away for most of the movie and yes if a US dub can be bad, it can be very bad. (I’ll edit this part when I have watched a proper version.)

And that’s it, it’s pretty straightforward material you have here. But the gore is what matters really.

If Go Nagai’s name rings you a bell or if you never heard the name but felt curious on what this strange OVA from 1985 might have inside, go ahead. It’ll be a nice experience, well, might not be nice, but you won’t forget it for sure.

Rate: 7/10 read more

Story: 1/10 - Pathetic
I did not understand this story. Apparently, it has to do with a giant named Violence Jack. Yes, his name is Violence Jack. At that point, when they revealed that was the main characters name, I knew this wasn't going to be very good. The story was absolutely pathetic, and laughable. It jumped around, and really never solved anything.

Art: 7/10 - Good
Actually, the art was pretty nice considering this anime was made in the Mid-80's. The characters are detailed and so are the surroundings. The colors have a dull hue to them, though, and a lot of the characters really aren't drawn very well or colored right. It emits a nice 80's retro-trash-porn vibe, which is nice, but not THAT nice.

Sound: 7/10 - Good
The sound was actually pretty good too. I did not watch this OVA dubbed, as I could not find it dubbed, so I cannot say anything about the dubbing, but the Japanese vocal track was well done, but nothing special. The characters voices barely fit them, but it worked. The sound effects were excellent for their era though, so props to that. Also,Violence Jack has a pretty cool voice.

Character: 2/10 - Dreadful
Most of the characters, besides good 'ol Violence Jack himself, are stock characters that anybody could come up with, and have no depth. Violence Jack is a strange one though, he barely talks, and when he does, he looks extremely angry, and is short. I never really got attached to Violence Jack, due to his lack of personality. That is not a good thing when you can't really get attached, or even semi-attached, to the main character of a show.

Enjoyment: 6/10 - Fair
Besides this OVA's obvious faults, it is kind of enjoyable if you are with the right people. It is one of those shows that takes itself WAY to seriously, and in the process becomes rather funny, sometimes to the point of downright hilarious. If you are in a sound state of mind when watching this, you will probably find no humor in this at all though.

Overall: 5/10 - Mediocre
It isn't that bad, and it isn't that good. Purgatory. If you have the right group of friend's, this is a funny show to watch, once. If you are alone, and looking for a serious dark anime, go elsewhere, Violence Jack is not the thing for you. I would say as long as you can get your hands on a copy of Violence Jack, you should watch it, just for the laughs. read more