Ranked #2818

Strait Jacket

::QUICK REVIEW::
Story: 6 (what do you expect from 3 episodes)
Art: 10 (Edge of your seat action sequencesl)
Sound: 8 (A lot of bodies ripping apart)
Character: 7 (Typical bad ass action buffs)
Enjoyment: 10 (I've seen it twice already)
Overall: 41/50 = 8.2 = ~8 (So much action in 60 minutes)


::FULL REVIEW::
Strait Jacket manages to put more action, violence, and drama in 3 episodes than some action drama series can put in 50+ episodes. If you are a complete action aficionado, this is one that you CANT MISS. Theres not much you can explain in terms of story but they manage to make a good beginning middle and end to this OVA. Basically magic technology is advancing civilization so much that everything requires magic. But overuse and misuse can have its drawbacks and thats where we start this show. An elite armed force unit hired to dispatch these anomalies.

The story is obviously second to the action because these fight scenes take up over half of each episode and thats perfectly fine with me. Just everything about the fight scenes screams completely over the top. From ripping people to shreds to using super powerful guns that rips holes through buildings. It all just screams edge of your seat action. Now I'm sure you're saying, "a lot of anime do the same thing what makes this one so special?" Details my friend, details.

First off, the monsters they cook up for this show is something only to be seen to be believed. Although for the most part they're pretty ridiculous, but they will still make you go "woah" when you see them. But the artwork, camera angles, and detail to everything is just amazing. You actually feel the sense of destruction and power when watching a show like this. For seasoned action freaks like me, thats very hard to do considering we are usually numbed by things like that.

Overall this show, was completely awesome for a 3-episode stint. The story had a pretty reasonable beginning, middle, and end with even a plot twist that even surprised me (but I think that was mostly because I was still amazed with the action). For being such a short series, I highly recommend this to anyone who likes action, violence, and amazing artwork. Although, those who doesn't like gratuitous violence you might want to watch this. read more

Strait Jacket is a 3 episodes OVA. Which is, no matter how you look at it, finished within a flash.
But truth be said, after seeing some of the artwork and reading a synopsis about Strait Jacket, I just had to watch it.

Good thing It wasn't disappointing. The scenes were quite well done; though you always see details that could have been better. Such as battle scenes being done too fast and the magic not being well explained. But what do you expect from 3 episodes; there wasn't any time to do so.

However, Strait Jacket did a perfectly fine job on making 3 episodes worthwhile and actually make sense. A lot of short Anime series (OVA in particular) explain nothing and/or let nothing happen due to their short time. Some even rush things through a few episodes and gives us an open ending.

Strait Jacket isn't one of them. Though you might consider it to have an open end; it is not a cliffhanger and doesn't really disappoint you. It's just what you'd expect it to be. Nothing too flasy, nothing too fancy, nothing weird, awkward or lame. It is quite enjoyable and can be watched with a coke and some popcorn. See it as watching a movie; since it in total is almost as long.

I give this series a 7 overall, though the sounds get an 8 from me. It really adds up to the series, creates suspense and isn't repeated too much. Other words, it's perfectly fine, just like the OVA is.

So really, if you have little time to kill and want to enjoy a good serie within a short amount of time; this is a pretty good choice. read more

I take it from the number of recent reviews that, much like with Negadon, most of the people will probably be familiar with this through Sci-Fi's 10/20/08 airing. Strait Jacket is definitely an OVA worth watching, and a pretty easy one to watch at that. Not too hard on plot elements, backstory, or technobabble/magibabble, it's not exactly a laid-back anime but it's something that can be enjoyed with a full bucket of popcorn, just be careful not to spill any after seeing a few "OH SNAP!" moments here and there.

Before going into detail, I should add that what makes this OVA work for the English-speaking world is its nearly spot-on dub. The dub isn't perfect, and in some areas can be less than stellar (I'm less than impressed with the dub of Mary Simmons, who comes off as a pretty weak character, despite being voiced by Bridget Hoffmann) but with a cast made of up, get this: Steve Blum, Crispin Freeman, Vic Mognogna (yes, you read that right: all three in the same OVA!) Kari Wahlgren, Jamieson Price, and Lara Jill Miller along with the aforementioned Bridget Hoffman, you just cannot go wrong.

Story: 7 (Good)

The story is not exactly exceptional but far from bland and unoriginal: it's the late 19th century, and people have figured out how to mechanize sorcery, basically. Since practicing too much sorcery can have nasty side effects, mainly turning people into homocidal demons, sorcerists wear "mould suits" which allows them protection. However, sometimes these suits fail, and the number of demon transformations have risen due to mold suit sabotage by a terrorist group calling themselves "Oddman." It's up to the Tactical Sorcerists, or "Strait Jackets" to deal with these demon outbursts. Hammond is one of these sorcerists; he considers his rival Steinberg to be an extreme danger due to his unlicensed status, unrestrained methods and sometimes downright suicidal attitude, which may have something to do with the relationship he has with the strange little girl Capeltata.

The story alone is not what makes this OVA great, but it's not something just tacked on either.

Art: 7 (Good)

Anymore, the art really can't be considered all that special, but given the average state of art in anime in recent years (a pretty big jump in quality, and pretty much light-years over some of the darkest days in the medium; see M.D. Geist, Mad Dog 34 or Vampire Wars) that's almost becoming a compliment, and if you can't be spectacular, at least being average beats the other alternative, especially when "average" is becoming pretty darn decent lately.

Though, speaking of M.D. Geist this OVA doesn't spare on the blood and gore either. It lacks the sheer cheese factor of that particularly ancient and bad OVA, but take it as you will in regards to whether it drags the OVA down or props it up.

Sound: 8 (Very Good)

It's hard to determine, really, whether all the points that contribute to this category being so high really deserve to belong here or over at the character column, because the voice acting really goes far towards making this OVA work. But even if you take all that out, we get some pretty awesome sound effects.

Character: 8 (Very Good)

Ahh, now we get to the best part. The characters are great, and its entirely thanks to their English VA's. Mary Simmons, despite having Bridget Hoffman behind her, does tend to fail, but given the opportunities for the rest of the cast (hey, it's got Steven Blum and Crispin Freeman as the leads) there's not much that can be said other than you simply can't go wrong. If you want to experience just how awesome Freeman and Blum can be, let alone together, you owe it to yourselves to see this.

Enjoyment: 8 (Very Good)

And that's just what this OVA is: awesome, and Blum's and Freeman's voices are just dripping of it. Trust me, you may not enjoy all 90 minutes but you'll enjoy darn near close to it. The only real damn shame about Strait Jacket is that unlike Read or Die there's no series to follow it, but given how recent this OVA is hopefully that will change soon.

Which gives Strait Jacket a final score of:

8: Very Good read more

Are you someone who likes watching grotesque abominations kill and mutilate humans?

Do you like blood, guts, and epic magic weapons?

Then take a second to read this review!

Onto the review!

Story: The least fleshed out part of this anime. It is easily excusable as it is only 3 episode altogether about 1 hour and 30 minutes long. I would classify this as more of an action movie than anything. Let's just say the story takes a backseat in this anime.

Brief explanation of story: This takes place in a world where humans mix technological and magic to advance the human race. The only problem with using magic is that over time it turns you into a monster. Think radiation from nuclear waste. The only problem is that this whole main concept was not explained very well at all. Continuing on there is a special magic unit who uses suits of magic armor and guns to take care of the monsters that appear. Compare it too Americas SWAT team. They drive in similar trucks and are well organized and trained. The story is about the special magic SWAT team fighting the monsters. I would say more but it would give the ending away.

Art: I have mixed feelings about the art. This is from late 2007 early 2008 so i took that into consideration. I will separate this category into two what i enjoyed and didn't.

What I enjoyed about the art: The thing i enjoy about the art is the fight scenes, animation is fluid, and the magic spells especially look pretty cool. They also did a decent job at animating the scenes where the the monsters dismember humans in various gruesome ways.

What I didn't like about the art: The characters all seemed washed out it. I do believe the animators did this to set the mood of the anime as it is really dark. I think they should have made it more bright though to add contrast to the darkness and evilness of this anime. Elfen lied is a good example of how i think they should have used color.

Sound: The best part of the anime is the sound. The sound effects are all well done, from breaking glass to the magic weapons. The monsters deformed voice and way it moves and everything. They use a lot of orchestra music to set the mood, which really does a great job.

Character: I forget names easily so i will just give the main character types. There is the damsel in distress who tries her hardest to make things right, but ends up being mostly just pretty and useless. There is the good man whose mistakes have lead him to live a life of repenting for his sins, and is seen as an outcast. Then there is the blond masculine man with blue eyes who holds a grudge on the outcast for past deeds. Overall the characters are ok.

Enjoyment: This isn't for everyone. I will say that right away. This is more of a action movie, the story isn't too great the characters lack emotion, but there is a lot of fighting, explosions, and blood!

I would recommend this too people looking for a good action anime movie. read more

In Brazilian Portuguese:
Com uma boa arte, e até uma boa idéia quanto ao uso da magia e tudo mais, este anime teria sido melhor se os roteiristas tivessem tido mais episódios pra desenvolver a personalidade das personagens.
Com apenas esses 3 episódios, somos obrigados a supor o que os personagens pensam, como se sentem, ou como reagem.
Agora se você assiste um anime como esse a procura de apenas lutas e sangue, talvez você se sinta satisfeito. Embora eu tenha achado a ação deste anime bem "fraquinha" também.

Translated to English:
With a good art, and a good idea for the uses of the magic, this anime could be better if the writers had more episodes for developing the characters' personality.
With only 3 episode, we have to imagine by ourselves what the characters are thinking, or feeling, or even how they react.
But if you watch an anime looking for fights and blood, maybe you like of this anime. Although, for my "taste", the action of this anime is very "weak" too. read more

A nice action anime OVA with 3 episodes. Set in a 90's scenario it is a world where both magic and science coexist, with a persons experiment which made magic come into this world from some other.

The main protagonist Reiott Steingberg (Leiott Steingberg in some dubs), is a character well built as per the story's current situation and very little reference to his background/childhood. The main story is about the work of the protagonist as a tactical sorcerist (people who are qualified to take down demons).

Along with magic came a problem to the human world, people who used magic too much became demons. Tactical sorcerists take down these demons again using magic.

Every episode ends with a spiritual touch whether its right to kill another person/demon just because people say its right or good for them. Doesn't it make the person who kills, even though a good person in others eyes, a sinner. So what does a sinner need, how should a sinner be judged.

The action scenes are very nice. A very nice watch, and I definitely recommend it. I give it a 8/10. The main reason for giving it an 8 is because of very little reference to the background of the protagonist which is the reason for his current behavior. read more

This anime reminds me a bit of Karas but even though Karas had a twisted plot with a number of holes it was still enjoyable. Strait Jacket clearly should have been longer to develop the characters just a bit more...it feels more like a preview to a possible 13 or 26 ep series which i would be interested in watching since i like this particular universe. If you want a nice quick slugfest and carnage mixed with magic then this is your show.

Pretty good anime. Hope they will make more episodes. the characters here are pretty impressive as well. The only thing that sorta sucks here if you look away from the fact that its only 3 ovas is that the action sequences are short and their are not really alot of them. Hoped for more of them. Otherwise not bad. Would recommend ths for everybody. Great anime. Should be at least at the top 500 if you ask me.

Strait Jacket is based around an interesting concept, but itdoesn't really go anywhere.

It focuses on Leiot Steinberg and his hunting of these demons as well as a few other characters, but the action is pretty static, since the MOLDS just stand and shoot at the demons and then they usually get taken down with one shot, the characters don't really pull you in and by the end, you're left wondering what the point was. It's just demon encounter after demon encounter and they all play out similarly, and Leiot's guilt over the deaths he's caused just seems too cliché.

but the voice acting (in the dub at least) is pretty good, with stalwarts like Steve Blum and Crispin Freeman heading the cast.

Overall, not terrible, but it doesn't excel at anything really, and when the final battle is literally two guys just standing in front of each other and shooting without actually moving it's not very impressive action either.

If you want a demon slaying superhero, Karas is by far superior.
read more

Story: 7.5/10
Art : 9
Sound: 9
Character: 9
Enjoyment: 8
Overall:8

Well this is my first review and I have just finished watching all 3 episodes of Straight Jacket.

Story:
Although only 3 episodes long I believe the story, at its most basic level, was flushed out quite nicely. Yes, of course more details could have been given to fully explain the relationships between characters, especially that of Reiott and Filisis, but for a 3 episode series, I cannot say that anything truly important in terms of the continuity of the show.

I can't say I truly enjoyed the ending as well, as much of the story was wrapped up very quickly but then again what can I expect from 3 episodes?

Art:
For a modern show the animation is pretty standard. This anime is much darker than most I have seen and the dark scenes really bring that aspect of this show to the forefront with the exception of any scene with Reiott's house which is used to help bring forth the concept of redemption which the show centers about.

Sound:
Mostly rock-type songs are used in the show and one specific one in the 3rd episode that really stands out. Nothing really bad about the music and the sound effects during the action scenes were pretty standard.

Character:
For only 3 OVA's, there was plenty of character development. The viewpoints of Reiott and Kapel Theta regarding redemption changed in much the same way, although I was unimpressed at how all it took to change Kapel Theta's view was a one sentence line from Filisis. Isaac was a strong character who displayed a lot of emotion and really was the main person one could identify with.

Other than those main characters however, I disliked most of the other characters especially Mary. Mary really didn't serve much of a purpose in the show except for whining in one specific scene.

Enjoyment:
On the whole Straight Jacket was a very well done story. The action scenes were not all that action-packed, but it was more of the thrill factor that made it enjoyable nonetheless.

Overall I would recommend this anime and suggest you watch all the episodes in one sitting. :) enjoy read more

Why Strait Jacket have to be an OVA? I just love Strait Jacket. The story were full filled with excitement n thriller! I love the part when Rayott Steinberg start to read the spell. So cool!

"I defy all transcend reason, I the............ Beruuta eimu kuifa kuifa, Magna Blast, EXIST!" [kyaa~!!] kakkoii!! ^_^

Even though this has only three episodes, it is one of the best anime ive seen ever. And i have seen a lot of animes. One of the reasons there are only three episodes is so that you can view all the episodes as a full movie. A lot of animes are like this (including season 1 of Afro Samurai, i think they are makin a 2nd season). But anyway i gave everything a ten. I also loved how the main character was voiced by the same character in Cowboy Bebop (Spike)

Well it was ok, animation was great but the story was typical and it had excess gore. It was disgusting and pointless. The story was basic sinner killer/hero looking for redemption and kind of finds it. The whole thing was predictable from start to finish.

Strait Jacket takes place in the past but there is both technology and magic. The way they handle magic is similar to the concept of an all powerful mutating virus that has a vast usefulness but also big consequences.

Basically, though magic does challenge logic, it eventually mutates the body when it is used too much, causing people to become big murderous insane monsters that cannot be turned back into humans. To be able to use magic without turning into monsters, they developed the molds, which are small mecha armors.

The story revolves around a man who feels guilty over an event that is later revealed about his past. He has adopted a little girl who was born partially mutated from a human mother and mutated father. This further makes him question if there is some humanity left in the rampaging monsters.

The story deals with a plot of how people's greed cause them to put lives at risk, terrorists fighting the police force and society holding on to the belief that they have no choice but to do certain things to console themselves and justify the actions taken against those who were once humans.

The setting and somewhat systematic approach to magic reminds me of Fullmetal Alchemist, along with the hidden plots and guilt trips, and the occasional mutated human, though Strait Jacket is far more violent and bloody.

I never liked random magic and like it when they give some sort of explanation, even if magic is still magic and defies logic, there are certain established boundaries to it, which allows viewers more insight into the world were the story takes place and more chances to speculate about the upcoming plot twists. This is always a plus to get into the plot, maybe even a necessity for some, myself included.

The art and sound is very good, no complaints there. The story is short, but it does pack a good plot, it feels more like a movie than an OVA. Overall, it is a good anime and worth watching. read more

I'm impressed with this more than possibly any anime I have ever seen. They did so much with just three episodes. This was short, even for something like a film. And yet they filled it with story & action & twists & drama & it's just so amazing. More anime should be like this!

Considering the short amount of anime the story was quite impressive. IE there was one. Little stories building up a living breathing world & a story not without a few twists along the way. Some felt a little forced or rushed. But what do you expect from something so short? You'll however be pleasantly surprised. Maybe I just set my standards to low?

The art's really good too. Amazing designs on the Molds & on the enemies & the tech & just about everything really. It was a shame that the weapons only really amounted to flame throwers & yet looked a lot like gatling guns or mech weapons... And we didn't see more Mold's or more specials (one didn't even have a name!) but it all still looked good, just shame there wasn't more. But what do you expect?

And the enemies, Jesus, they go from creepy to plain fucked up, really amazing work & detail.

The characters are maybe the weakest aspect. I would say, what do you expect? But for what is here, the story is damn good, why can't the characters be too? Although the designs are interesting it ultimately amounted to a series of anime archetypes in a line. Meh.

Now for the amount of anime here, I would whole heartedly recommend this. You will probably set your standards quite low, all for the better! The art is damn fucking awesome. The details are just wow. And the story will probably really surprise you too. A lot happens. It's a rollercoaster of a journey & much like a rollercoaster it's over in a blink of an eye. But hell, that short amount of time will be some of the most fun you'll ever have in your life. Same goes for this!

It's like a brilliant mixture of D.Gray-Man, FMA & Fallout. SO. MUCH. WIN. Go, watch, NOW. read more

There wasn't much story to this anime. It starts off with history of the "strait jackets" and then dives straight into some action that's not necessarily awesome, but it keeps your attention none the less.

It really feels like this anime was just thrown together. Something to feed the public that has creepy mutants, kick ass robot thingys, magic, and enough of a climax to call it a climax (there isn't much of one).

If they took more time with this anime, it couldn't had potential.

STORY: Very very cool idea! They didn't draw it out or add any twists though to make it an actual story! :( 4

ART: Very very clean and clear!!! But it looks like they filled in coloring with the paint bucket on microsoft paint, no shading or anything :( 4


SOUND: Sound was actually nice on this anime. Not because of composition for the movie, but the sound effects! they are great! 6

CHARACTERS: Though there was no depth to them because the movie was so short, the main character is still pretty cool! 3

I might have graded this a little harsh, but only because there are better animes out there to spend your time with.

Try KARAS instead
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