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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.

One Piece recounts the story of Monkey D Luffy, a young man who wishes to become the Pirate King; and the rest of the crew of the Mugiwara ('Straw Hat') Pirate crew, each of whom join the crew to realise lifelong dreams of their own.

Luffy ate a Devil's Fruit as a child, more accurately the 'Gomu Gomu' fruit (gomu means 'rubber'), thus his body took on the form of rubber, enabling him to stretch and inflate himself at will - though the downside for anybody who eats a Devil's Fruit is that they can no longer swim: something of a disadvantage for a pirate. Luffy ... is a bit of of a unique character in all of the anime series I have watched: he's not smart, but he's not stupid. Perhaps 'simple' is the best way of describing him, as he has the same thoughts and ideals no matter what the situation is, sees no reason in pretending to be something he isn't, and often has trouble adjusting his fun-loving character to act appropriately in serious circumstances. Although he is the captain of the Mugiwara Pirates, he is pretty much held in line by the rest of his crew, especially Nami. He does, however, usually get the final word.

Luffy's aim is to become Pirate King and to claim the ultimate treasure that the old and greatest Pirate King, Gol D Roger, announced at his execution was at the end of the Grand Line: the most dangerous, treacherous and feared ocean in the world. This treasure, 'One Piece', gives the series its name. It is yet unknown exactly what One Piece is, or what it does. However, with every island of the Grand Line that the crew traverse (the only way to sail the Grand Line being to hop from one island to the next) they are one stop closer to finding Gol D Roger's heritage.

The rest of the Mugiwara Crew consists of characters just as well-rounded, though still retaining their individuality. Roronoa Zoro, a green-haired 3-sword-wielding (one in each hand, one in his mouth) bounty hunter who has come to be known as 'Pirate Hunter Zoro' (though the name was neither coined nor furthered by the man himself) joins the crew in order to realise his childhood dream of becoming the best swordsman in the world, figuring the Grand Line should bring him a plethora of worthy opponents.

Nami, the navigator, is a beautiful yet intelligent orange-haired girl whose dream is to draw a map of the whole world - though her main passion is accumulating vast sums of money, usually via theft. She is generally the brains of the crew, but occasionally needs Luffy to show her that her heart is in the right place.

Usopp, a long-nosed man whose penchant for stretching the truth is made evident in pretty much every episode, wishes to follow in his father's footsteps and become a great pirate. Although he's not as strong as other members of the crew and has no specific 'special powers', his quick-thinking and ingenious-yet-comedic inventions have too often been known to save the day.

Sanji, self-professed 'Love Cook', is a talented chef from the floating restaurant Baratie, who can cook as well as he can kick - Sanji is generally characterised by his inability to resist stepping in to rescue a beautiful lady, especially Nami (even though she manipulates him simply because she knows she can). Sanji joined the crew after great persuasion in order to find All Blue, the legendary ocean where the four seas meet, and thus fish from all the seas can be found - a gourmet cook's paradise.

Tony Tony Chopper is the ship's doctor. Here's where it starts getting a little, well, let's say idiosyncratic. Chopper is a reindeer (not a tanuki, a reindeer!) who ate the 'Hito Hito' Devil's Fruit (hito means 'man'), meaning that he is not only able to talk (to both humans and animals - a skill that comes in very useful), but also walk on his hind legs, and even transform himself from cute to somewhat monstrous forms. Chopper wants to become a great doctor and help people, and eventually, after much persuasion from Luffy, sees piracy as a way to give his wish meaning and direction. An ongoing joke with Chopper is for him to shout "Doctor! We need a doctor!" whenever anybody gets injured, before realising that he's the ship's doctor, and so gets to work. Chopper is a cutesy/comedy character but also gives us plenty of reasons to take him seriously.

Finally we have Nico Robin, a woman with a mysterious past, and another with the power of a Devil's Fruit. Robin ate the 'Hana Hana' fruit (hana = 'flower'), and thus is able to grow hands from any surface - an ability which sounds pointless on paper but has saved the Mugiwaras from so much danger over the episodes that it has become almost integral to their survival. Robin is an archaeologist who joined the Mugiwaras at her own behest, as Luffy had saved her life against her will. She spends most of her time reading history books, and someday dreams of finding the 'one true history' of their world by traversing the Grand Line in search of 'lodestones', which have ancient documents inscribed on them.

Even at the early stage of introducing Luffy and watching him recruit the first few crewmates, I had fallen in love with this anime series. The first 20 or so episodes are somewhat slow-paced, as well as a little confusing, as the quirky sense of humour that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda gives the series takes a little getting used to for a gaijin. The other members of the crew don't want to join Luffy's outfit immediately, but Luffy manages to convince them that becoming a pirate with him is the best way to realise their dreams, and also helps them to tie up loose ends in their homeland before setting off under the straw hat-wearing Jolly Roger.

It's important to bear in mind that these are not your classic Western, rum-toting, eye patch-wearing, "YAAAAAARRRRR"-shouting pirates, with huge beards, peg legs and hooks for hands. That isn't to say there aren't characters who fall under these categories (except for the "YAAAAARRRR"ing), but One Piece is a world filled with intensely interesting, larger-than-life characters who bring a dimension to the anime you wouldn't have thought possible. The powers of the various enemies of the Mugiwara crew bring an almost rock-paper-scissors element to the show, as the party is often split up into groups who have to survive and meet back up with the others in order to continue their journey, some characters' expertises being more useful against certain enemies than others - although the rubberman never knows when to accept defeat!

This anime contains some of the most imaginative and out-of-this-world story arcs I've ever come across in an anime series, especially one that does not take itself too seriously. One arc sees the Mugiwaras sail up into the sky to 'Skypeia', or Sky Island, where they take on an evil God who has the power of lightning. The final 'showdown' battles can span 10 or more episodes and are, for want of a better word, epic. Simply the journey undertaken to get onto the Grand Line itself is a tale worth rewatching for its many highlights, as well as being an introduction that comforts you by subtly indicating that the future escapades of the Mugiwara crew will pique your interests further.

The Mugiwaras are to a point misunderstood as pirates - they don't plunder, rape or murder everybody they meet. In most cases, they actually help those they come across, but are still very much wanted by the Marines (the main governing body of the sea), who set huge bounties for Luffy and Zoro in order to garner help from bounty hunters, as well as the many other pirate factions sailing around.

The animation sometimes lets the show down slightly - it seems the budget for the animators seems to rise and fall depending on the importance of the arc. Some battles are brilliantly animated, such as the showdown between Luffy and Crocodile, leader of the Shichibukai, but many of the filler arcs look poor in comparison. However, this does not take anything away from the fact that One Piece is a masterpiece, with a quirky Japanese sense of humour and a narrative that can be appreciated by all, but loved only by some. My advice is to give it a try - if you're anything like me it will certainly captivate your interest, and then some.

Quick warning: stay WELL away from the 4KIDS English dub. They gutted the show, stripping it of many of its best features, and hired a voice cast that could test the sanity of anybody, be you 3 or 43. The lush orchestral musical score and lively J-pop intro has been replaced by awful faux hip-hop in order to market it to Americans, some of the blood is cut while some remains (this is NOT a gory anime by any stretch of the imagination - blood is used as more of an indicator that a fight has been going on a while), characters are renamed according to whim (Zoro is renamed Zolo, either to escape copyright infringement, give a closer transliteration from katakana, or just as an effort to be utterly, utterly lame), and there are some frankly ridiculous amendments - the one that really sticks out for me is Sanji's cigarette. Sanji likes to smoke, and he always has a cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth. In the 4KIDS dub, this cigarette is replaced - in every frame - with a lollipop.

Kaizoku-Fansubs (http://www.kaizoku-fansubs.com) make by FAR the best, most comprehensive, accurate and best-looking fansubs for this show, and episodes can be downloaded by BitTorrent or by XDCC transfer via IRC (#kaizoku-fansubs on irc.rizon.net).