The year is 2808 AD, and major technological advances have enabled humanity not only to travel to work in self-driven hovercars, but also to seal off the planet's most dangerous criminals in a maximum security penitentiary which differs from our contemporary 21st century versions in just one respect: it's in space.
Thus, along with a rocking guitar riff to introduce the absurd acronym title ("Oriental Electric Darwinism Oasis 808", apparently), we are introduced to our three protagonist anti-heros: Sengoku, a hardened criminal who must have decided at an early age to commit as many crimes as humanly possible, currently serving a sentence of 375 years for
...
a plethora of crimes, with a generous 0.005% chance of parole; Gogul, a computer wizard with a Geordie LaForge-style visor and a tendency to swear like a disgruntled sailor, serving a 310-year sentence with a 0.013% change of parole; and Benten, a silver-haired effeminate embezzler working through the start of his 295-year sentence. Chance of parole? 0.008%.
So, what possible adventures could these three get up to? The situation of no chance of escape, the possibility of parole slimmer than Kate Moss' middle finger, not to mention being encased in solitary confinement for centuries on end does not lend itself well for three half-hour episodes of fast and furious futuristic frolics.
That is, until you learn about their special dispensation.
Hasegawa, a man of questionable power and sombre disposition, has enlisted the help of these three 'cyber criminals' - and here's the deal - for every grade A criminal that they bring into police custody, they get a couple of years knocked off their sentence. What's the catch? Well, aside from the fact that each mission they undertake comes with a time limit that (triggered by Hasegawa's cigarette lighter, no less), when expired, will explode the collars around their necks 'Battle Royale'-style; nothing. To be honest, I'd rather rot in a titanium alloy cell, gazing at the stars and singing old country & western songs to myself and for the benefit of nearby inmates with their hearing still intact; but these three know how to take care of themselves, and are desperate to stretch their legs again after a prolonged period in the can.
The feature is split into three episodes, and though all of the protagonists feature in each episode, it is clear that each half-hour slot is dedicated to allowing the audience to get to know the three criminals individually.
First up is Sengoku's chapter, where we get to know VARSUS, another insane acronym, this time describing a bulky robot on wheels who acts not only as an aid for when Sengoku needs vital information, but also to warn him against the dangers of alcohol, correct his grammar, and generally irritate the living Jesus out of him. You tend to lose count of the amount of times Sengoku tells VARSUS to reproduce with himself, and not always in such eloquent terms.
Which brings me to one of the main features in OEDO 808: swearing. The dubbed English versions feature an absolute overabundance of bad language. "Fuck off" is used in the same vein as "good morning" for much of the feature - and while many Mary Whitehouse-minded viewers will find it moronic and immature, I confess to enjoying it somewhat. Though I freely admit that I am at my basest level a vulgar excuse for a human, often finding fart jokes to be the highest form of wit, I found the continuous stream of curse words a joy to behold, bringing forth the immoral and felonious characteristics of the law-breakers-turned-upholders into the mind's eye of the observer. My personal favourite highlight is the utter pointlessness of the line in the first episode where Gogul, sat in front of a computer, is trying to isolate the location of a hacker in an attempt to stop him from accessing a huge satellite laser cannon: "Come on, where the fuck are you, you cocksucking son of a bitch?".
Anyhow, back to the show. Sengoku is sent into a building (though 'building' is an understatement, I believe the literal Japanese translation is a 'Mega Skyscraper': it stretches into space, just in case you were becoming jaded by the relative realism after the captives are freed from their orbital incarceration) that has been completely overrun by a mysterious hacker, who has not only trapped everybody in the building, but is working on other, entirely more sinister plans too. I'm not going to give any of these away, suffice to say that they rather predictably involve high-tech weapons, large explosions, and a lift falling 100 floors in 10 seconds.
The animation is for the most part impressive as well as functional, somewhat akin to an ultra-modern 'Ninja Scroll' (probably owing to Yoshiaki Kawajiri's direction). The only minor gripe would be a few poor choices of wipes to denote scene changes. In one scene after Sengoku, trapped in a confined space, has just shot a maintenance droid who was bearing down on him at some speed, the screen fades to bright blue and then back to the next scene. The first time I saw it, I thought he had died. Still, this is a very minor grievance, and as a general rule the dynamism of the animation is upheld pretty pleasingly.
Character interaction in this episode is exciting and definitely worthy of note. It's always good when three people are working together towards a common aim and still have the audacity to rip the living piss out of each other at every opportunity. Benten dodges a corridor full of lasers for the best part of an hour while Sengoku takes the maintenance shaft; and on his way out of their common destination, seeing Benten a couple of yards away, Sengoku laughs, "Is that as far as you got? Shit!"
An interesting incident of note in this episode is at the end: the chapter ends just before Sengoku jumps through the window of Hasegawa's office. Apparently in the original he ran inside and was killed, but due to the overwhelming popularity of the first episode, they decided to resurrect him in preparation for the other two. So there you go.
The second instalment of the OEDO 808 series is dedicated to Gogul, and features a mysterious robot killing machine created by the military that is not only close to indestructible, but can harness psychic power and tear the limbs off people from fifty yards away. The army's plan is, after successful testing, to replace the entire police force with these monstrosities, including the special cyber criminal unit of which our three 'heroes' are a part.
Inevitably, Gogul ends up fighting it.
This is by far my favourite episode, featuring gore, protracted fight sequences, the never-ending futuristic anime obsession of the struggle between man and machine, not to mention no end of personal satisfaction when you spend the entire episode wondering whether this insane psychic carnage appliance has any kind of weakness at all. Beautifully animated and crafted, with an amusing and practical script (and still plenty of swearing, abuse fans).
The third episode, however, soon made me wish that I had pressed stop on the video player after Gogul's chapter. My main beef with this episode is the main character - Benten. In the two previous episodes Benten's solitary purpose had been staring up into the sky and saying "The stars are not in alignment - it's a bad omen". Besides the fact that it's a vague and superfluous line, it's the fact that it's some androgynous gimp with long white hair, a pointy nose and glittering earrings that's saying it. In fact, until Benten spoke, I was actually under the impression that 'he' was a 'she'.
The storyline starts out as a murder mystery, and soon becomes twisted in the supernatural, toying with the ideas of vampirism and immortality. Though the last 5-10 minutes are inherently viewable (due to the fact that there's a fairly insane fight going on), the rest of the episode is fairly rudimentary, and the script definitely suffers from Benten's flagrantly bisexual tendencies (the only reason I didn't say homosexual is because he kisses a girl right at the end). In my humble opinion this is the only reason why this 3-part series doesn't achieve a better score, as the other two episodes are no only involving, but at times extremely funny, too. Benten's affair tries its very hardest at being moving, appealing to the heart instead of depicting it being splattered all over the walls; unfortunately there is not enough basis to form any kind of emotional interest, and, coupled with the distinct lack of likeability of Benten's character, fails to entertain.
All in all, however, there is plenty to see here. On the whole OEDO 808 is involving, fun to watch, and has a few moments that may well stay with you forever.
Alternative Titles
Japanese: CYBER CITY OEDO 808 (サイバーシティ オーエド ハチマルハチ)
More titlesInformation
Type:
OVA
Episodes:
3
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Jun 21, 1990 to Oct 4, 1991
Producers:
Japan Home Video
Studios:
Madhouse
Source:
Original
Theme:
Adult Cast
Duration:
43 min. per ep.
Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
Statistics
Ranked:
#33202
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#3958
Members:
31,870
Favorites:
207
Resources | Reviews
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Your Feelings Categories Apr 17, 2007
The year is 2808 AD, and major technological advances have enabled humanity not only to travel to work in self-driven hovercars, but also to seal off the planet's most dangerous criminals in a maximum security penitentiary which differs from our contemporary 21st century versions in just one respect: it's in space.
Thus, along with a rocking guitar riff to introduce the absurd acronym title ("Oriental Electric Darwinism Oasis 808", apparently), we are introduced to our three protagonist anti-heros: Sengoku, a hardened criminal who must have decided at an early age to commit as many crimes as humanly possible, currently serving a sentence of 375 years for ... Sep 14, 2016
Overview:
The German phrase Zeitgeist translates to "spirit of the age". This anime perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 1980s even better than Fist of the North Star...despite the fact that Oedo was actually released in the 1990s and was laughably dated upon arrival. Despite how goofy it often gets, Oedo is freaking awesome and well worth checking out! Background: The 1980s were a truly bizarre decade in terms of film. The year 1980 saw the release of Heaven's Gate, one of the most boring, pretentious, shitty art films ever made. It bombed so hard it is legendary to this day! At the same time, the wildly popular ... Dec 1, 2015
Great 80s animation (yes it's 90s, but is very 80s)! Full on over the top cool cyberpunk action! Enjoyable swearing! Highly highly trashy! Enjoyable heavy rock soundtrack! Inventive architecture! Over the top dubbing! Stuffed full of attitude and one-liners! Excellent yet laughably bad!
If that sounds amazing, go watch now and have fun. Seriously, you can work out if this is for you from what I've just said. This is not a complicated anime. Go watch the UK dub now if it appeals. 3 cyber criminals in space prison (they literally call it that) are offered the chance to do dangerous police jobs in exchange for their ... Jan 17, 2011
When bad guys are forced to do good in a futuristic city, fighting their fellow criminals, cybernetic creations, and even synthetic immortals, you get Cyber City.
Lets start with the plot. The idea is simple, three cyber criminals who have done more then a lifetimes worth of crimes, are given a chance to reduce their sentence and get a little fresh air. For every criminal they catch, their sentence is reduced, disobey, be blown to smithereens. Each episode follows a story centered around one of the three criminals turned cop and gives you a little insight into each one of them. Really, the story isn't very ... Jul 1, 2015
Cyber City Oedo 808 is another one of those great ideas that ended up being completely wasted. I remember coming into this one with very high hopes only because it was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. The mastermind behind well known classics such as Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. My fascination increased once I learned this was one of his earlier works, because that was when he was really creative. Anyone remembers Neo Tokyo?
Right from the very beginning, I was immediately hooked to the style of the series. The series began with an introduction to the three main characters named Gogol, Bentan, and Sengoku. ... Jun 1, 2013
I went into this expecting delightfully generic, violent 80s stuff like Devil Man or Angel Cop, but unfortunately with overly long, uneventful hour-long episodes and mostly lazy animation, it falls on the decidedly "un-delightful" side of generic. The hilariously bad dub can make it watchable, though. "Get lost. You wouldn't know a goddamn vampire if one jumped up and bit you on the end of your fuckin' dick. So just get off my back."
May 16, 2012
Cyber City Oedo 808 is one of those anime that it is almost impossible for anyone to hate,its just awesome.three of the worst prisoners have been been given life sentences in space prison.They have been made on offer that if they decide to work for the state they will get a small portion of their sentences reduce for each assignment that they undertake.sengoku,benson and gogle reluctantly agree and become members of the Cyber Police .They have been given explosive collars around their neck in case they should ever get out of line.
What I love about this ova was how each of the main ... Jan 22, 2013
I,ve seen it first time on videotape, and fast became and fav because it was HANDDRAWN and a good dark cyberpunk story, and i like oldskool cyberpunk anime a lot. This ova is split in 3 parts, each tell a story of a member and their mission, wich all 3 are done very well i think. the animation is more proffesional from that time , wich really integrates into their personal story´s and make´s it flawless. Violent as hell, wich i like but sometimes its a bit slow, good background animation and it seems nearly everything from that time is done very well, but hey
...
Sep 29, 2019
Sometimes I want to watch something that just gets right to it and know exactly what it wants to be. And one of the best examples of something like this is Cyber City Oedo 808
In the year 2808, crime rates are at an all time high. To help try and lower the crime rates, the Cyber Police unit decided to employ hardened criminals with talents suited to certain jobs by promising to reduce their sentences if they comply. This 3 episode OVA follows three such criminals, Sengoku, Gogol, and Benten, who happen to be serving more than 300 years each in an orbital penitentiary. And ... Sep 11, 2019
Ima keep this short. In fact, so short that this paragraph is just filler to reach the minimum amount of words required. Can I start yet? Ok.
Cyber City is amazing, but I suggest you dont go in with absurdly high expectations thinking the entire thing is the best Cyberpunk anime ever made. Let me explain. Each episode is dedicated to one character and out of the three episodes 1 is good, the other is peak cyberpunk masterpiece and the other is kind of stupid and out of place. The first episode is good standard cyberpunk action. I don't have much to say about it. The second episode, o ... Jan 29, 2019
Saw this one on DVD WAAAY back in the late '90's. A truly atrocious English dub mixed with Kawajiri's direction and animated by MADHOUSE -- WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE? If you are on a Kawajiri binge or want to see some seedier, B-level anime this is a good place to start or finish, what have you.
A perfect little gritty trilogy of sorts, comparable to Gunsmith Cats. Unlike Cats, though, this is more of an anthology where each main protagonist gets their own 15 minutes to shine and hop in and out of each other's stories. Some really great future neo-noir (ala Blade Runner) aesthetics complement ... Jun 27, 2020
Art & Sound - Masterclass, pure hand drawn work from the unadulterated original Japanese idea, their execution is not just good it's just flawless, every single detail is preserved from the small scale displays to the car shine under the light, the dystopian crime underworld in a very advanced futuristic city, the color, the atmosphere and the whole animation sequences are just phenomenal and also the gothic style is present despite the huge sci fi aspect. The main characters are very well drawn, so are the supporting ones for them. Also the Voicing is superb, very perfect and matches the expressions, the sound mixing for
...
Jan 31, 2021
This anime was very short, but what I loved most about it. Was not only the the era that in which it was created in, but by the personalities that each of the three characters possessed. Although all three were in fact working together to comeplete their each individual missions that unltimatly came together as one most very important mission. But, what I don't like is that both the end of episode one and the end of episode two didn't show what happened in the end, it sort of cut off, before even finishing the important parts so to speak. And I found that very
...
Sep 4, 2017
This anime lives, eats, and breaths GAR. The main characters are criminals, which completely sets it up well, and the screens fills with blood frequently, but not in poor taste.
The story is about criminals who are given shorter sentences if they take care of other dangerous criminals, an offer they gladly accept yet wish they didn’t have to. I personally think it’s a good premise and although it doesn’t do too much with it considering the anime’s short length I still consider it to be a good story. The art is very 90s and you can take that how you will. They know how to use ... Nov 23, 2018
Cyber City Oedo 808 is not one of the anime i'd consider if i had to list the best works of Cyberpunk genre, neither i'd recommend it to someone who wants to watch some serious Cyberpunk stuff for the first time; the reason? Because from the point of view of someone who is unfamiliar with it this anime could result cheesy and goofy due to its incredibly exalted 80's extravagant fashioned aesthetics heavily influenced by Glam Rock and punk fashion (moreover this anime was already a bit outmoded at the time of its release in 1990, when the hyper colored punk was
...
Dec 22, 2023
NOTE: I originally wrote this review on Letterboxd on 1/12/2022
I haven't seen Cyber City Oedo 808 in a long time, and I recently received the Discotek Blu-ray as a Christmas present. So I decided that today would be a good day to rewatch it. Cyber City Oedo 808 is just as awesome as I remembered. This anime is excellent in every way. You have a fantastic cast of characters who are both memorable and awesome. I like how each of the three gang members has their own distinct personality. Sengoku is a complete badass who is both funny and arrogant. The plot is essentially a ... May 27, 2022
Not going to go into too much detail on the synopsis or whatever. But i thoughroughly enjoyed this anime, seen so many influences in video games that seemingly stem from this.
Namely metal gear solid, where alot of the tech and ideas are clearly taken directly out of this, such as the scooba diving into shadow moses, sneaking into the tanker at the start of mgs2 to take photos and upload them, the whole vampire story line is identical to vamp in mgs2 and 4 and the way he finally dies as well with the vaccine. Also just the sniper duel in episode 3 was very ... May 18, 2021
Catching criminals to reduce your own sentence is a scenario that's going to lead to some fireworks, and fits right into the Cyperpunk world of Cyber City Oedo. A 3-episode OVA, each episode focuses on a different character (all of whom are former criminals). The highlights of this short show are the solid animation and surprisingly good production values. If the character design wasn't so early 90's, it'd be tough to tell it was made 30 odd years ago, although I suppose the cell animation makes it a bit more obvious. The soundtrack is surprisingly minimalist, and it works. There’re two different soundtracks, but I
...
Jan 14, 2018
In the future we have a police force of the country of Japan that decides to fight crime with using criminals with life long sentences with the promise they get their sentence reduced if they do good jobs. If they don't the bombs attached to them will explode and kill them. You can label this anime as being inspired or ripping off the comic Suicide Squad or the movie Escape from New York. Yet this OVA take those story ideas and somehow make a fun, yet stupid entertaining series.
Each episode is a standalone story that focuses on one of the criminals racing against the clock ... Jan 17, 2011
Actually, I did not have any expectations about this anime for I just decided to get through with all the things I have before stuffing my hard drive with another portion of titles... so, here are the impressions.
Story. It is extremely simple. I would even say - average. There's nothing special about the situation when good guys fight bad guys (a typical action movie). The point is, these good guys themselves were bad guys not long ago. It is placed into cyberpunk setting, which now happens to be old-fashioned (take the usage of floppy disks, for ex.). However, some day the OVA used to be ... |