Angel Cop immediately felt like a dumbed-down poor man's Ghost in the shell in every way! I personally liked the drawing and animation and the closing theme music was actually really quite good. but the translation as well as some of the general presentation is atrocious.... Perhaps I have a bad translated sub (doubtful but always possible) but this is extremely tough to follow. The art itself is at times a bit odd in a way i can't describe. I think it's the color. It doesn't particularly have a dark gritty edge feel, but rather soft and warm (there is a bit of soft edges and out of focus type effects as well as brighter tones) which can seem a bit out of place with the juxtaposed violence and other stuff... (Plus in this era, you typically have anime themed like this with a classic dark noiry and glowy look and limited palette) and other times you have those classic PC-98 styled shots of some cigarette butts in a beer can next to an old ass laptop that is very on point!
the jist of this is very much like a Ghost in the Shell type police agency, however the story is a bit of concocted goofiness and there is this weird mystical element... Throw in what would seem to be a poor translated subtitled version (what i got anyway) and this falls apart kinda quickly. This is where the thing is a bit atrocious imo.
It's tough to really get a grasp of the characters. Yeah there is something there but it's not really distinct or much to mention. I could blame the translation but I kinda think the translation can only be blamed so much, the presentation doesn't hold a great case for the original source perhaps (Can't say i'd be interested from a watching of this one)
Overall, by the end of a second episode one can't help but think 'why don't i just stop this and watch solid state society or second gig?" lol. Still, it's short enough to wade through despite the confusion and there are actually some decent stills of various things here and there so I'd say it's worth while if you like to look at that stuff, but definitely not something i'd recommend to someone who perks up at the thought of "Ghost in the Shell." Still, it's interesting how this is quite a bit older than ghost in the shell but still seems a bit similar in many ways, such as storyboarding. I'd say both are a spirit of the times that they were made in, and reflect a lot of that in their discourse. If you think Ghost has aged badly get a load of this one! XD
Angel Cop is one of those 'classics' that has aged badly. I like stuff in this period but this isnt really one of them. If you like violent stuff there's plenty to pick from that both looks more gruesome and has nicer aesthetic. If you like noir/cop stuff there is def way more choices. If you like body horror/weird stuff there's plenty else and heck if you like Ghost in the Shell there is several versions of the show. I can't see why one might reccomend this one unless you were familiar with the source. It doesnt really excel at anything
