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M.D. Geist II - Death Force is the sequel to M.D. Geist and thus has the same shared history and problems. Since the art, sound, and voice acting remains the same (remarkably, after 10 years of opportunities to improve), this review will be short and concentrate on this one episode OVA's story and characters.

Story: 4 (Decent)

The story picks up where the first left off: Geist, fueled by his lust for random chaos, destruction, and battle, has unleashed the Death Force, a horde of robots designed to be a "final option" of total destruction (much like real-life nukes) from the Brain Palace (yes, this is what ... the dub actually calls them). These powerful robots are capable of reproducing, feasting on humans and using their flesh as raw materials. Only a single outpost remains safe from the Death Force, a military base protected by the second only successful specimen of the Most Dangerous Soldier project, M.D. Krauser. Krauser, though more stable than Geist, learns that his predecessor is still alive and out there, and aware of his bloodlust is determined to become the last Most Dangerous Soldier standing, even if it means sacrificing all that he protects.

The plot does sound more complex and developed than the first OVA, and in all fairness it is, but it ends up working at the same level as a ringworm is a more complexly developed life form than an amoeba. The plot is ultimately Krauser vs. Geist, and there is little in the way of what really amounts to window dressing to give it additional depth.

Character: 3 (Poor)

Despite an expanded cast of characters, more than just the addition of Krauser, the characters of this OVA suffer the same rating as the first, and for many of the same reasons. For starters, Freya's voice actor is back, which means that despite ten years we're still treated to what should be classified as a breach of the Geneva Convention. Geist and Krauser remain the most developed characters, and Krauser is as one-dimensional and single-minded as Geist, except that, as a more stable example of a Most Dangerous Soldier, he has even less of an excuse for it. Krauser's singular and noble drive to protect what he can of Jerra's population is swept under the rug for his singular and less noble drive of finishing off Geist, and his would-be private fiefdom suffers dearly for it. Meanwhile, Krauser's cronies seem just as banally motivated, only this time they all want to kill their leader...for some reason, even if it means knowingly helping a homicidal maniac who would kill them if they didn't happen to be the only means of getting to Krauser. All other characters are pretty much meant to just stand there and die in gruesome ways, which occupies at least half of the entire OVA's screen time, oddly enough perhaps being the most enjoying, or at least tolerable, thing this OVA has to offer.

Enjoyment: 5 (Medicore)

...which remains unchanged from the first OVA. The big difference here, however, is that the sequel ratchets up the on-screen gore, with the first act consisting entirely of Geist destroying a small contingent of Death Force robots in an admittedly awesome and downright GAR way, followed by many, many people having their heads explode after being chomped upon by the remaining 9,099 robots (yes, this stupid-looking number actually has a meaning to the plot). At least the creators knew what they were doing this time, and delivered more of what made the first OVA oddly tolerable, with a corresponding increase in still decent action scenes which are unfortunately also followed by a corresponding increase in laughably pathetic attempts at sexual tension and arousal.

And with that, our final score is:

5 (Medicore)

...as with its predecessor, for some different reasons, but largely for the same.

Once again, more can be read about the bizarre histories of M.D. Geist and M.D. Geist II - Death Force at Justin Sekis' "Buried Garbage" column at Anime News Network.

Wow, I'm honestly surprised that this is the first review for M.D. Geist on MAL.

Particularly surprised considering how old, "well-known" and (in)famous this particular one-episode OVA is. M.D. Geist is really not any better or worse than most of the subpar anime series that was released to the U.S. from the early 80's to the early 90's. In some circles, it's particularly infamous but not so much for what it actually is or how bad the story is, but more on that later.

Story: 5 (Medicore)

The story begins in the far future, where humanity has colonized space. One of the planets, Jerra, lost contact with Earth ... and civil war broke out between a grassroots rebellion and the ruling planetary government. To counteract the rebels, the government created the M.D.S., or Most Dangerous Soldier (yeah, seriously) program, which would create bio-engineered soldiers capable of taking on any mission. The first fully capable soldier from the program, M.D. Geist, was so unstable he was locked away on an orbiting satellite until it crashed into the planet's surface, unleashing Geist upon a divided and war-torn world.

Of course it's easy to make any work sound cliche through a basic, boiled-down premise, but with M.D. Geist, that's all you get. A "twist" thrown in is that Geist is more interested in chaos than actually helping either side establish order, but as any M. Night Shaymalan fan can tell you simple twists wear thin real quick. A legitimate twist does come at the very end, way too late to salvage anything. The story is certainly not going to carry this OVA at best and at worst, is just downright bizarre and disturbing.

Art: 5 (Medicore

And neither is the art style, which as far as I can tell is completely unremarkable compared to contemporary works. There's not much to say about this category, so we're moving on.

Sound: 2 (Dreadful)

The sound or music quality isn't really all that spectacular, but neither is it really all that bad. What really brings it down, however, is the voice acting, which is a nice segue into....

Character: 3 (poor)

Actually, the characterization of Geist isn't all that bad. His voice actor (who is otherwise most notable for providing the voice for background or minor support characters, and sadly passed away a number of years ago) remarkably carries off a tone not unlike Vin Diesel's performance in Pitch Black, perhaps all the more appropriate given just who Geist is. Geist is a very one-dimensional character, but when all you crave is wanton chaos and destruction, it's easy to let that one slip by. However, this all at best makes him a rather average if not interesting character, and the rest of the cast and voice acting is simply dreadful. At the top of the list is Freya, whose character model is actually pretty damn sexy for what we're dealing with, but is a completely flat, unmotivated character whose actions are performed solely to remind the audience that she's not a zombie, and worst of all, her voice actor is just atrocious. Seriously - I had to listen to someone drag their fingernails across a chalkboard as therapy after listening to her grating work. Though at least she probably still had a lot of employment in the past eight years or so - going to places like Abu Grahib and Guantanamo Bay where her voice no doubt provided valuable interrogation work. Geist and Freya are the only two characters the OVA wants you to care about (but not the audience) which probably is the reason why all the other characters to appear are either mind numbingly bland or have bizarre character designs whose only purpose is to remind us of how stupid 80's fashion accessories were. Oh yeah, they also have another purpose - to die horribly.

Enjoyment: 5 (Medicore)

Really, the massive amounts of gore being splattered against everything is probably actually the most enjoyable aspect, and perhaps the only reason why this OVA is worth watching. Otherwise, this work just comes off as bland as everything else in it.

Which gives M.D. Geist an overall score of:

4: Decent

Yup, it's...decent. Just...decent. Come for the blood and guts (you'll probably find it so over the top you just can't help but enjoy it) and admittedly pretty good action scenes, stay for the...well there's nothing to stay for.

Fun facts: This was, bizarrely enough, the favorite anime of John O'Donnell, who happened to be none other than the CEO of Central Park Media, one of the largest distributors of anime in the English speaking world during the 80s and into the early 90s. So enthralled was he with M.D. Geist that he made Geist a part of the logo of CPM at the beginning of every anime intro that was licensed by them and even bought a rare vinyl record of the OST. And in the ultimate show of love for a particular anime, he and CPM funded and commissioned entirely on their own a sequel, M.D. Geist II: Death Force, of which you can read about in my review of that work. More information on both the sequel and John O'Donnell's bizarre love affair can be found at Justin Sakis' "Buried Garbage" column at Anime News Network.

Judging by the number of recent views, I take it most people have probably seen this during Sci-Fi's airing on 9/22/08. What an interesting OVA to show, especially followed so closely by Gurren Lagann and seen by a fanbase that has probably seen Big-O :)

Anyway, there are two, maybe three important things to know before viewing this:

1.) It's intentionally done in an "old school" style and is obviously an homage to Kaiju films (i.e. Godzilla etc)

2.) It picks up after the admittedly largely forgettible and throw-away beginning.

3.) It appears to largely be an interesting tech demo with some pretty cool giant monster vs. giant mecha ... fight scenes added.

Either way, with the whole thing being only 24 minutes long you won't waste a lot of time watching it.

Story: 6 (Fair)

The story is largely throw-away and just an excuse to get a giant monster and giant robot fighting. In the year 2025, mankind has expanded to 10 billion persons and is exploiting Mars for natural resources. A large cocoon is brought back from the red planet, which escapes from the space ship holding it and lands in downtown Tokyo. Meanwhile, an old man is remembering his lost daughter who died during an accident during the construction of a large machine he designed for terraforming. As he watches the news, a large monster emerges from the cocoon and obliterates the army. He decides to activate the machine, which turns out to be a giant mecha, and flies into action as the only remaining thing standing in the monster's way. Yes, it's admittedly cookie-cutter, but hey I guess it's besides the point.

Art: 7 (Good)

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Negadon, and perhaps its main point, is its art; the movie is entirely in CGI, but unlike other CGI works like Advent Children, there is an asserted attempt to make the CGI seem as lifelike as possible, and the details on the main hero's skin for example are pretty impressive. However, the technology clearly hasn't climbed out of the Uncanny Valley...yet....

Sound: 7 (Good)

The sound is sharp and crisp, but there's a lack of any memorable BGM or other audio mood modifiers.

Character: 6 (Fair)

The characters are pretty stock and one-dimensional, perhaps unsurprising given how much needs to be fitted into 24 minutes, and also perhaps because it's besides the point - you watch this so you can see CGI giant monster fight CGI giant mecha!

Enjoyment: 8 (Very Good)

...and that is after all what Negadon is about. Just sitting back and enjoying a good fight as you munch away on popcorn - or pocky. It's a pretty interesting and enjoyable fight, and one can't help but conjure up images of, say, Roger Smith (The Big-O) or Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) especially since the mecha's aesthetics and activation sequence look as if they've been ripped right out of Big-O (I was just about ready to shout out Cast in the Name of God, Ye Not Guilty!) and the mecha also has a big freakin' drill for a weapon (yeah, go ahead, play My Libra/Row Row Fight Da Powah! during the fight scenes, you know you want to)

...and that is why this gets an overall rating of:

7 (Good)!

A rather good anime ruined with an incredibly disappointing (lack of) ending. Though it lacks anything spectacular or unique with its plot, setting, or characters, Tokko is for the most part a good action series with good action scenes, and is able to hold the viewer in with its deepening mystery and conspiracy behind the secret organization Tokko and the evils it fights. Another thing it has going with it is, yes, fanservice - some may complain it's overboard but I think it's actually handled rather well. However, once again, the series is ultimately ruined by its short length and obviously rushed conclusion - it's ... such a shame they couldn't continue it for as long as they hoped.

Story: 3 (Poor)

Don't get me wrong, the story behind Tokko is excellent - and, as much of a paradox as it may seem, that's precisely why its rated so low. Tokko's plot revolves around Ranmaru, a recent graduate of the Tokyo police academy who is accepted into a special operations branch; he spends much of his time trying to investigate a mysterious, paranormal event that occurred in the apartment complex he lived in as a child which left his parents dead. Soon after joining the police force, however, he begins to encounter strange monsters which inhabit people's bodies and induces as demonic, zombie-like state. When bullets prove ineffective, a mysterious and secret branch of the police known only as Tokko steps in and cuts the demons down. Ranmaru starts investigating Tokko at the behest of his boss, which attracts their attention. They discover that Ranmaru possesses powers which may prove helpful towards fighting the demons, and Ranmaru discovers that these demons may be links to his parents' deaths.

Unfortunately, all of the binding plot points and intrigue that comes with a compelling, mystery-laden story like this comes for naught. The story comes to an abrupt end at episode 13 as it is cleared that this series was not renewed for what should've been a well-deserved second season, and the only conclusion we get is a trite epilogue over the end credits of the final episode that leaves the viewer feeling cheated. It is for this reason that the story ends up being rated so low; there's no point investing any time or emotion for a story that builds up to a blank conclusion.

Art - 7 (Good)

The art is at least decent and on par with other popular works, the special effects help carry the story along, and at least the ladies are very sexily drawn :)

Sound - 7 (Good)

The sound quality is good, and the music pretty ok save for the OP, whose only saving grace is that TVs come with mute buttons now.

Characters - 7 (Good)

Tokko comes with some pretty interesting characters - Ranmaru himself is pretty interesting: devoted towards the care of his sister who also is a recent recruit into the police force; towards the investigation of who's responsible for his parents' murder and discovering the truth behind the Tokko organization and discovering the true meaning behind the dreams he's been having. The show's supporting cast is diverse, along with Ranmaru's boss who provides a combination of comedic relief and a level of GAR that sometimes approaches Kamina's, or at least Bruce Campbell's, taking down a horde of zombies with a freakin' machine gun! The female cast is pretty interesting as well; they heap on the fanservice yet are very well developed and motivated.

Enjoyment - 8 (Very Good)

For the short while it lasts, Tokko is a very enjoyable series with the right amount of action mixed in with the right amount of mystery and intrigue. People will be glued to the series wanting to discover whether or not Ranmaru will avenge his parents, if Tokko will stop the "Big Bad" from accomplishing his demonic goals, and just how deep and twisted does this ancient demonic conspiracy run. This enjoyment, however, is ruined when most of these questions are given rushed answers, or none at all.

Overall - 6 (Fair)

Overall, Tokko is an excellent series which unfortunately got cheated from a proper ending, and this will effect the viewer's enjoyment in turn, as much of the enjoyment comes from the deepening conspiracies which revolve around the forces Tokko fights against. Unfortunately, these conspiracies come to rushed conclusions, and the final show-down between Ranmaru and the evils Tokko fights barely happens at all. Anit-climatic indeed.

This is simply the most eff'ed up manga I have ever come across (yes, that even includes all the hentai I've ever read, which given the depravity and gratuitous breast shots Franken Fran may even qualify as. And yes, I've seen Bible Black). It's going to be hard to write this review simply because it was too much for me - I dropped it like a hot rock after chapter 7, and in all honesty I have to say I really wish I could un-read this.

Story - 6 (Fair)

It's an extremely twisted manga with just about every chapter having the most twisted, sick, and flat-out ... depraved outcome imaginable (I'll give the manga-ka some credit, he at least avoids violent rape for the most part although it's certainly filled to the brim with extremely dark, perverse sexual undertones). It also doesn't shy away from gore either, in fact it makes any of the Saw movies look like Barney and Friends. The chapters are for the most part pretty stand alone, and I think it would be fair to describe this as akin to Blackjack - if Dr. Blackjack were one sick sonnava****.

Art - 6 (Fair)

The art is decent at best - the character designs come off as generic as they come. Franken Fran's ugliness may paradoxically be one of the best points of the manga's art for at least it conveys just how much of a literal monster she is, being a reanimated corpse and all. The graphic details of Franken Fran's "medical practice" are certainly well detailed at least - perhaps too well detailed.

Character - 6 (Fair)

Once again, the characters are at best decent. Franken Fran is perhaps the most well-developed character, somewhere in between acting with the best of intentions and acting out with all the depravity and lack of any moral grounding whatsoever of the monster she appears to be. All the other characters, mainly the one she performs her gruesome surgeries on, are a mixed bag - some are surprisingly developed, others are as shallow as you'd expect from an exploitation flick, and some pretty much just exist for fodder for perversion.

Enjoyment - 2 (Dreadful, and that's putting it lightly)

I simply did not enjoy this. It's way too over the top, too depraved, and just too much. Quentin Tarantino's Hostel can only wish to live up to the amount of depravity this has. The depravity goes beyond the gruesome mutilation of flesh and straight into what could only be really described as rape in some cases. That said....

Overall - 7 (Good)

So with all that said, why do I give this the final score I give? For the simple reason that I recognize that this is the type of manga that simply isn't for me (I only read it on a dare, for those of you interested). Viewing the message boards for Franken Fran right here on MAL, this manga seems to have quite a cult following who manages to enjoy the over-the-top presentation of Franken Fran, and with that in view I feel it unfair to rate the manga low just because I'm unable to see what they see in it.

In conclusion:

The art style is decent, the characters are admittedly rather flat but fair enough, and everything else will just vary by the reader's tastes. I know there's quite a following for this type of stuff, so I don't believe it's fair to judge it by my own bias, though I simply cannot recommend this manga.