サイバーシティ OEDO 808

CYBER CITY OEDO 808

OVA

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
3
RELEASE
October 4, 1991
LENGTH
43 min

DESCRIPTION

It is the year 2808. Three convicts are recruited as members of the Cyber Police to keep major criminal activity in Oedo (formerly Tokyo) in check. In return, their life sentences will be reduced by a few years for every mission accomplished. However, to ensure that these convicts are doing their job, the police have secured special collars around their necks. If they attempt to remove their collars or fail to meet the time limit of their mission, the collars will self-destruct.

(Source: Anime News Network)

CAST

Merill Yanagawa
Kaneto Shiozawa
Shunsuke Sengoku
Hiroya Ishimaru
Gabimaru Rikiya
Tesshou Genda
Juuzou Hasegawa
Norio Wakamoto
Varsus
Kyousei Tsukui
Kyoko Jonochi
Mitsuko Horie
Sarah
Yoshiko Sakakibara
Shuuzou Saionji
Unshou Ishizuka
Remi Masuda
Emi Shinohara
Kelley Takakura
Ako Mayama
Mashiba Bakuryouchou
Osamu Saka
Kazuo Shiroyama
Banjou Ginga
Dave Kurokawa
Takeshi Aono

EPISODES

Dubbed

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REVIEWS

megafat
75/100
An fun and cheesy short 90s cyberpunk OVA.
Sometimes I want to watch something that just gets right to it and know exactly what it wants to be. And one of the best examples of something like this is Cyber City Oedo 808

In the year 2808, crime rates are at an all time high. To help try and lower the crime rates, the Cyber Police unit decided to employ hardened criminals with talents suited to certain jobs by promising to reduce their sentences if they comply. This 3 episode OVA follows three such criminals, Sengoku, Gogol, and Benten, who happen to be serving more than 300 years each in an orbital penitentiary. And to keep the criminals in check, theyre forced to wear collars that can be remotely detonated, killing them instantly if they dont complete their missions on time or try to escape.

And right of the bat its a shame that this is only 3 episodes long. Maybe it didnt deserve a whole series, but it would have been nice to maybe see a few more episodes. But unfortunately this was release right before the Japanese Bubble Economy burst and the copious amounts of money that Japan had was drying up, so any hopes for a smaller OVA like this one getting more episodes was out of the question. Hell, its amazing that it got a blu-ray release with an almost hour long retrospective. A lost of highly acclaimed anime dont even get that.

But its 3 episode run is actually used effectively, with each episode focusing on one of the three lead character, meaning that each character had enough time in the spotlight to get some development. Sure, its not the most fleshed out series, but there`s something to it.

The first episode focuses on Sengoku, sent into try and save 50,000 people trapped in Oedo’s largest skyscraper after it’s central computer is mysteriously taken over, with the only suspect being a dead man. The second episode focuses on Gogol, who is up against a military cyborg as he crosses paths with his ex-partner. The third episode follows Benten, who investigates one man’s quest for immortality, as well as comping across a young woman who seems to have been transformed into a vampire with telekinesis powers as a result of the quest for immortality.

Cyber City Oedo could have easily been a complete schlock-fest, going all in with its premise and making something silly and campy, but it instead takes a more serious approach and it ends up being a more memorable experience because of it. Because each episode focuses on a single character, it can focus on each characters strengths and character traits, giving each episode its own self-contained tone while feeling like a part of a whole.

But the anime does show its age to some degree, especially with the English dub, which is awesomely cheesy. This was dubbed by Manga UK, and per usually with their dubbing, it comes filled with lots of unnecessary swearing. I was never really bothered, since it adds to the already cheesy nature of the series, but I can see how some people might be annoyed at the strenuous amount of cursing. Of course, this leads to this OVAs most infamous line "You wouldnt recognise a goddamn Vampire if one jump up and bit you on the end of your fucking dick". Sure, it goes in a different direction that the original dub, but its not with it`s merits, and the voice actors do a good job with what they were given.

There were actually 2 different versions of the dub. Both use the exact same dub, but the soundtrack in the UK version is completely different to the original. The soundtrack for the UK version was done by British musician Rory Mcfarlane. He did so some score for some more obscure video games and anime, but he had a much more prolific career as a session musician for Richard Thompsons bad, which is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist. This version used to be harder to find, but with the release of the 2021 blu-ray, it should at least be a bit easier to find. The soundtrack in the UK version is appropriately cheesy rock music very much sounded of its time.

But while the UK music has both it`s energetic rock moments and as well as more upbeat but enjoyable atmospheric tracks, the original soundtrack has a few enjoyable songs too. The stand out track would have to be the ballad “Aishiteru kamoshirenai” (Maybe I’m In Love With You) by Hidemi Miura featured as the ED. Both versions of the soundtrack are fantastic in their own rights, but for completely different reasons.

Cyber City Oedo 808 might come from a different era of anime, but it’s one of the stand out titles from that time period, when the anime boom could produce some more unique titles. It’s not perfect, but it does have a ton to appreciate, such as it’s setting, animation, soundtrack, and even characters to a certain extent, and is highly entertaining. Cyber City Oedo 808 comes highly recommended.
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GhostHardware
72/100
Despite the lack of a definitive ending, this is a easy recommendation for Cyberpunk fans
Catching criminals to reduce your own sentence is a scenario that's going to lead to some fireworks, and fits right into the Cyperpunk world of Cyber City Oedo. A 3-episode OVA, each episode focuses on a different character (all of whom are former criminals). The highlights of this short show are the solid animation and surprisingly good production values. If the character design wasn't so early 90's, it'd be tough to tell it was made 30 odd years ago, although I suppose the cell animation makes it a bit more obvious. The soundtrack is surprisingly minimalist, and it works. There’re two different soundtracks, but I think anything other than the original Japanese version wouldn't suit the mood.

The first episode was probably my favourite. It’s a basic heist scenario but it was a good introduction to the characters, the Cyberpunk dystopian world, and was a showcase for the great art design. There was also some great over the top action scenes and kick-ass character moments. I thought the second episode on the other hand was a bit weak. Not bad, but a bit cliché and I didn't find it nearly as interesting as the first episode. There are still some solid action scenes throughout so it wasn't a bore, still worth the watch of course. I think they tried to bring in some political intrigue with how the different factions of the government work against each other, but the plot was too basic to get me involved. I also did not like how it introduced someone from the main characters past just to kill them off straight away (aka a 'Sacrificial lamb' as described by TvTropes). This happens in the next episode as well, and it doesn't work there either.

The third episode was thankfully an improvement on episode two. More of a low-key story, I honestly thought I was watching Vampire Hunter D at times. Hard to put into words exactly why, but if you watch it you'll immediately understand what I mean. It also featured probably the most interesting character in the show which is Benten. It would have been great to get more information on his character and backstory. Unfortunately, this didn't happen because... there's no resolution.

I don't know if there was more OVA's or a TV series planned, but it just ends abruptly with a lot of questions unanswered, we never know the characters fates. The last episode ends on a poignant note and it’s a good ending to the episode, but not the show itself. It’s a challenge to recommend something that doesn't really have an ending, but if you take the show as just a series of individual stories it’s not so bad. Cyberpunk fans should check this one out regardless, definitely one of the better Anime in the genre.
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