Angel Cop

A Parent's Guide to Anime
Rated: X

For Adult Audiences Only

Japan is the world's most economically powerful country in the future. The Communist Red May wants to create economic chaos in Japan, so that the economy of the rest of the world would collapse with it, in their first step towards worldwide Communism.

Enter the Special Security Force. The super-secret Japanese police precinct that is actually allowed to use their guns. And that they do. Although the newest member of the force, Angel, is a bit over-eager on the "shoot first, ask questions later" bit.

Her overall lack of concern or respect for human life on either side gets on the nerves of her co-workers immensely. For example, she really is serious when she is about to shoot a terrorist using a child as a shield. When she's leading a group into a raid on a Red May hideout, and one of the men has a gruesome encounter with a mine outside the building, she shames the rest of the group who are shocked at the result.

Then there are the psychics. A butch woman in a fur coat (with the name of Lucifer), a little girl, and a guy who looks like a stereotypical '80s hair rocker. They are out to kill off the Red May, too. At first, the SSF thinks that they are vigilantes, but.....

It looks like the SSF has a lot more than the Communists to worry about. The higher-ups in the government fear that the SSF may stumble upon some very shady dealings involving the Communists, and therefore order that every member of the SSF be eliminated. And the psychics are ordered to do that bit of dirty work.

Giving a halfway decent summary of the plot is impossible to do without a couple of pages. But it's full of all the usual cliche power struggles. And, predictably, Angel develops some respect for the lives of others by the end. There really is nothing original about the plot, and if you could not tell already, you really need to leave your brain at the doorstep if you expect to get any enjoyment out of this.

If this is not the epitome of anime ultraviolence, it comes pretty close. When people are shot, brains fly on the wall behind them. Internal organs cover the walls. People are filled with holes in all possible angles. A decapitated baddie kills all the other baddies in the room with a machine gun (no, really).

What makes this mess worth watching?

The English dubbing, of course. Full of unintentional humor, horrid acting, and memorable lines such as "If this is justice, then I'm a banana." Or "Shut the **** up, you self righteous, moralizing, Communist scumbag." Or "Don't be so surprised, I'm your ******* backup."

In the end, "Angel Cop" is incredibly stupid, predictable, and unoriginal. The dubbing makes it worth watching for a laugh, but the violence (and the profanity) makes this one an "adults only" title.

Warning:

Violence: This anime is excessively violent, as I said above. Gruesome gunshots and exploding people are high in number here. Nothing is left to the imagination as the animators make the violence as graphic as they possibly could. I mean it when I say that this is one EXTREMELY gruesome anime.

Nudity: There is some gratuitous nudity thrown in there (such as Lucifer pulling the shirt off a female SSF member before wasting her), but it is not pervasive.

Profanity: It also deserves noting that the UK branch of Manga (they are responsible for the English dubbing) obviously have never met any profane word that they did not like. This contains some of the most colorful and imaginative uses of profanity that I have ever heard.

"You're Under Arrest," this ain't..... "Angel Cop" is NC-17 grade anime.