Parasite Dolls

Really interesting series. It's quite derivative from other cyberpunk movies like blade runner or ghost in the shell, so don't expect something groundbreaking, but thanks to a great art style it creates a really immersive atmosphere. Furthermore, the characters and their interactions are well designed and Chiaki J. Konaka never disappoints at the writing. The main problem with this series is that it never capitalizes on its potential because of its 3-standalone-episode structure, never really delving into the themes it deals with. This is a shame because it could have been one of the best cyberpunk-crime anime out there.

If you already like cyberpunk-themed series or ... Chiaki J. Konaka works you should definitely see this and personally I don't know nothing about A.D. Police universe but it was still enjoyable.

Parasite Dolls is set in the universe of the anime series Bubblegum Crisis(BGC), which is a futuristic world that involves battles between man and machine. The OVA also happens to join the ranks of the previous spin offs of the series: A.D. Police: Serve and Protect, and A.D. Police: Files 1-3. I'll start by pointing out as mediocre as it is, this is definitely the best of the BGC spin offs, because to me both incarnations of the A.D. Police were very close to utter trash and this is coming from a fan of the franchise. Parasite Dolls has quite a bit going for it, ... but it does have a few issues keeping it from being a must see title.

Parasite Dolls has its moments in the visuals department. The very beginning suffers from lackluster animation, character designs, and backgrounds. It definitely starts out with the look of a low budget OVA. Eventually, the series picks up with the visuals in the later episodes. The artwork becomes a little more pleasing to look at with pretty backgrounds and the well use of lighting and camera angles. The action scenes are limited because the anime attempts to push the story through its characters. However, the action scenes really aren't impressive in the least bit. They completely lack imagination which happens to be the trend with all of these spin offs. The animation doesn't suffer from stills, or an over abundance of reused cells; but there was one moment where it was definitely inconsistent. One of the side characters named Angel, whom had the appearance of an African American female with white hair, all of the sudden was Caucasian with white hair. This type of inconsistency is just in your face and is very hard not to notice.

The soundtrack is alright at best and it delivers a cyber punk feel. The opening song called "Get on the Beat" is a techno track with an electronic beat. The background music which is almost of the same type has a nice sound as well. I especially enjoyed it in a scene where it was dimmed down to the point where only the bass can be heard. I really didn't have a problem with the English cast or the Seiyuu. They were both fine to me and seemed to fit well with the character types.

The series is definitely meant for those whom are familiar with the BGC mythos, because the organizations such as A.D. Police and Genome have already been covered in detail. There is a certain story point covered here such as the purpose of Boomers. Therefore, someone whom is unfamiliar with the franchise will still know what's going on, but there will be questions that aren't fully answered or answered at all.

The series is broken into three separate stories. I definitely give the series credit on the stories despite how derivative the series may be overall. It does ask the same age old question: Who is the real monster, man or machine? There happens to be dual plots taking place with one concerning the Boomers developing emotions, along with the sick perverted minds of man. The writing is pretty strong developing both through some disturbing content. However, I felt the actual ending didn't exactly wrap everything up on a strong note.

Character development is very shaky from where I see it. The main characters Buzz and one of his subordinates a female named Reiko Michaelson are given a bit of depth; but there were situations injected that really didn't go anywhere, and it came off as meaningless filler. The interactions between these two could have been jettisoned altogether and focused on an additional character whose actions played a part into the ending. This would have given the series a more satisfying conclusion. In all honesty, most of the boomers were developed better.

One more thing that bothered me is the exact same thing that bothered me with the other spin offs. Other than dealing with androids or cyborgs. The series doesn't have a real futuristic feel. The original BGC trumps this as well in regards to the futuristic atmosphere. The weapons, landscapes, vehicles, technology all seems too modern. This is some of the reason why Ghost in the Shell and even Armitage have little competition in the sci-fi and cyberpunk department; and if anime studios continue churning out stuff like this. They may never be toppled.

All things considered, Parasite Dolls is slightly average at best and that's pushing it. The series does contain soft sex scenes, nudity, and disturbing images, however the meaningless comedy that ruins a series image is completely non existent which is a good thing. I mainly recommend this to fans of BGC and die hard cyber punks. If you enjoyed either one of the A.D. Police spin offs. Then give this a shot.

Highs: Dark setting, mature themes

Lows: Action is not impressive nor very imaginable, not for everyone

Parasite Dolls is an OVA that has a very encompassing atmosphere and world, but it regressed into silly edgelord aesthetics. The story is disjointed and confusing, with numerous plot incongruences. Such as a character getting blasted the fuck up in an explosion, we’re talking about a normal human in this instance, and then they’re shown surviving it? How? Why? Your questions mean nothing to this anime.

• There is also an elongated and unnecessarily graphic scene, where a batshit insane dude is fucking a girl from behind and then shoots her in the back of the head, and her brain matter splatters everywhere and he ... keeps fucking her corpse. Those kind of things made the series less entertaining for me, though it seemed as if the creators were doing that to establish a bleak atmosphere. Shock shlock is nothing that a refined viewer should be expected to put stakes into.

• The director of Patlabor was one of the two head directors on this project, so there are some similarities in how their cyberpunk worlds feel. You can also expect it to be exceedingly dark because the script writer who penned Vampire Princess Miyu (TV) and Texhnolyze wrote this script. I think that this OVA can be very appealing to watch, based on the aesthetic and atmosphere alone… Only, keep in mind that this OVA is not something that I would ever consider good.

• Parasite Dolls is in the same universe as Bubblegum Crisis, though two VERY different takes on the world. The basis of the story is very similar to many other science fiction premises: Who is truly in the wrong, man or machine? Like, Ghost in the Shell. There are weird inconsistencies with the cells and animation frames.

• One of the side characters named Angel, who had the appearance of an African American female with white hair, but in a different scene, suddenly was Caucasian with white hair. This type of inconsistency is just in your face and is very hard not to notice. It’s like that one episode of the D.N. Angel anime, where Risa Harada suddenly has red hair instead of brown.

• The characters and the story aren’t memorable at all. The only thing that I can piece together from my watching of it, was that there was a cool cyberpunk worldーspecifically there is a scene that I admired where there’s a landscape shot of the protagonist on the balcony of his overly-mechanized apartment complex and the scene pans away to the buildings towering above everything, like a futuristic Tower of Babylon, ominous hopelessly resides and we’re left to marvel at the scenery, while the sound of a saxophone that slides as smooth as liquid, and the experience drips into the viewer’s senses. Parasite Dolls is haunting. Though ironic that the atmosphere and world are the pinnacle of the experience in Parasite Dolls, seeing as it’s already a pre-established universe. Parasite Dolls is something that was seen often in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.

• The Matrix monotony and pessimism was ran rampant in the cyberpunk community and anime series like Armitage caught its fever. I enjoyed this trend, but they were mass-produced so heavily at the time that most/I mean like probably 90% of the things produced were garbageーmanufactured in the form of short OVAs. Like the mass amount of TV series we get now (via streaming), there used to be nothing but trash OVAs back in the day that you would watch once from a video store, just to have something to watch with friends and a box of cheap, slimy pizza.

• Overall, the series could have been much better. It’s okay to watch, like once, but nothing that requires further exploration. Literary works like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick) and the Robot series (Isaac Asimov), as well as other animated creations like Ghost in the Shell, Metropolis, or Astro Boy are better representations of the theme. I give a hard recommendation for Texhnolyze, if you enjoy a similar type of story coupled with a soul-crushing atmosphere. All and all, I give Parasite Dolls a 3/10.