“ANGEL COP: The Straight-to-video Classic That Saw Anime Screaming into the 90s
GATA’s anime highlight this week is a straight-to-video cyberpunk classic from director Ichirō Itano, known for his mecha-themed animations like “Megazone 23”. An adaptation of the manga by Taku Kitazaki, the film was met with mixed reception upon release due to its ultra-violent scenes and adult-oriented art style. Today, it has firmly planted itself in the so-bad-it’s-good camp and remains a must-watch for fans of the OVA (original video animation) genre.
Released in 1989, just before the bursting of Japan’s economic bubble, “Angel Cop” tells the story of a dominant Japan on the verge of becoming the world’s sole superpower. Facing internal terrorist attacks from communist organisations as well as political corruption, a group of specialised agents known only as the Special Security Force are assigned to subdue the threat of these rising insurgents. Led by the fierce and (seeing as we are in the realm of OVA) finely proportioned leather-clad protagonist, Angel we are led through a hyper-violent game of gunfights, vengeance and political intrigue.
Distributed by “Manga Entertainment” for Western markets, the series pushed the idea that anime was exclusively for adults. With it’s classic lines such as “Fuck and piss!” and “Don’t be an idiot; anyone can see you’re totally fucked!” “Angel Cop” clearly wasn’t being aimed at the same crowd that would be tuning in to “Pokémon” or “Dragonball Z”. In an interview with John Wolskel—who was tasked with creating the English dub for the anime—he says that the producers at Manga Entertainment told him to, “Go for it, make it as edgy as you can.”
After initially setting out with the intention of making a trashy and provocative OVA that would ride the wave of nationalistic pride and optimism that was so common during the 80s in Japan, in hindsight the series now represents something much more. It defines a time in the history of anime in which risk-taking was much more prevalent and creators had no time to second guess themselves because they were too busy drawing brains being splattered against the wall. Wonderful.”
Source: GATA Magazine
