| Genocyber:
The Collection |
|
| Director:
Koichi Ohata
Studio: C. Moon
Relased in US by U.S. Manga Corps
5 Episodes on 1 DVD |
Genocyber
is the bizarre, hard to follow, and gory story of a girl-turned-cybernetic-genocydal-godlike-monster,
spanning 4 centuries and 4 episodes. The series was created in what
appears to be 3 separate installments, leading to a choppy story. The
first episode is somewhat more violent clone of Akira that makes even
less sense. Evil corporations, strange experiments on psychic kids,
and a super-powered little girl that turns in to a berserk monster,
"Genocyber". The plot is pretty predictable, ending with massive
destruction and death.
Episodes
two and three take place several months later, on board a massive futuristic
aircraft carrier. The little girl is back, as is the evil corporation,
the Kyuryu Group. The Kyuryu group has been conducting further experiments,
creating the perfect soldier who can control any machine. A battle breaks
out between Genocyber and the soldier, resulting in the soldier melding
with the entire ship and its crew. The two episodes end with massive
destruction and death.
Episodes
four and five are the most interesting, and the longest. Set 400 years
in the future, they depict and earth where war between the Kyuryu Group
and Genocyber have destroyed civilization. The Kyuryu Group has been
reduced to an orbital battle station waiting for Genocyber's next move,
while Genocyber itself has gone into a sor tof hibernation. The last
bastion of civilization is "Arc Grande", a city that's beautiful
on the outside, but decadent and corrupt within. The art and design
of these two episodes are by far the best, with very interesting buildings
and vehicles. Some new and likable characters are introduced, developed,
and the quickly killed as the final battle between Genocyber and the
Kyuryu group results in destruction and death.
In
short, Genocyber is one of the most confusing and violent series I've
seen. The confusion results from the almost total lack of cohesion in
the story, the inability not to kill a character, and odd changes in
the behavior of those that aren't killed. It's violence is on par with
series such as M.D. Geist, where gore and sheer grossness are emphasized.
Genocyber is not without it's pluses, the animation is very well done,
apart from some poor attempts at computer graphics in the first episode.
Mecha design is also well done. I disliked the dubbing, a problem I've
had with other titles released by Central Park Media companies. I definitely
recommend watching the subtitled version, the Japanese voice overs are
better, and the series doesn't feel so much like a B horror movie.