Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie Review

Cyber City Oedo 808 is an action-packed anime series. The anime features animation production by Madhouse (Trigun, Cardcaptor Sakura). Created by Juzo Mutsuki, Cyber City Oedo 808 is a series featuring a Suicide Squad style assembly of villains turned action-heroes. Broadcast on the Bandai Channel, the theme song for the series was performed by Hidemi Miura (The Brave Fighter Exkizer, Ozanari Dungeon: Kaze no Tou). Executive produced by Tadao Masumizu (Demon City Shinjuku, Wicked City), Cyber City Oedo 808 is a thrilling production. Produced by Makoto Seya (Demon City Shinjuku, Wicked City) and Yasuteru Iwase (Tibetan Dog, Barefoot Gen), action fans will want to see the fun spectacle of the OVA.

Shunsuke Sengoku (Hiroya Ishimaru), Merrill "Benten" Yanagawa (Kaneto Shiozawa), and Rikiya "Goggles" Gabimaru (Tesshō Genda) are criminals with a past. These elite criminals are gathered together and are presented with a special offer: the three criminals can band together to form an incredible elite team and help the government or go back to prison for the remainder of their lives. Helping the Cyber Police, the three criminals might be able to earn themselves a chance at going back to society in the end.

Can these special ops criminals form an elite squad? Violence and swearing are the custom forte of the trio. Even though the three prisoners are given a chance to lower their prison sentence, the original sentencing was 300 years each. With a collar attached to them in case of attempted escapes, the prisoners-turned-heroes must complete each task to reduce their past sentencing. Can the squad complete every mission successfully, become the heroes, and be free once more?

The characters are hard-hitting and tough-as-nails. This element of the series adds some depth and dimension to the series. These are not ordinary heroes. These are antiheroes, the type of villain characters turned into heroes along the way. An impressive character roster for the OVA.

The character designs by Hiroshi Hamasaki (Bride of Deimos, Darkside Blues), Masami Ozone (Giant Robo, Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend), Michio Mihara (Kick-Heart, Kyoryu Wakusei), and Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Demon City Shinjuku, Wicked City) add a lot to the production. The design work is certainly an impressive aspect of the OVA. The characters aesthetic is cool and well-stylized. These designs simply work – exceptionally well.

The animation is stunning. The series features art direction by Katsushi Aoki (Slipstream, Unico in the Island of Magic) and animation direction by Hiroshi Hamasaki (Darkside Blues, Goku: Midnight Eye), Masami Ozone (The Big O, Cybernetics Guardian), and Michio Mihara (Paranoia Agent, The Tatami Galaxy). Fans of dark and gritty aesthetics will find the cell-based animation of the production to be exquisite.

The mecha designs by Takashi Watabe (Gundam: Mission to the Rise, New Dream Hunter Rem: Massacre in the Phantasmic Labyrinth) are excellent, too. The mecha design elements add to the sense of scale on the OVA. The mecha aspect makes the action scenes more intense. Anime fans who appreciate quality mecha designs will appreciate the designs here.

The cinematography by Kinichi Ishikawa (Demon City Shinjuku, A Wind Named Amnesia) is essential to the tone of the series. The cinematography provides a dark and grim aesthetic that adds a sense of cohesion to the production. The series cinematography has a rough edge to it that is undeniably cool and adds a flavor of action-packed fun to the series that would have been missing with a more modern visual aesthetic. The cell-based film aesthetic is essential to the reproduction of the anime. The animator’s work is brought to life with a sleek style encapsulated with the production style.

The score composed by Kazz Toyama (New Cutey Honey, A Wind Named Amnesia) adds to the experience in spades. The score is fantastic – a first-rate score and one that is stunning. The outstandingly beautiful music adds a lot to the OVA. Composer Toyama does a great job.

Written by Akinori Endo (City Hunter, Armitage III), Cyber City Oedo 808 is an energetic anime with a fantastic sense of style to the scripting. The dialogue is smart and suave. The writing is simply cool: adding a lot of great excitement to the production. Endo is a talented scriptwriter (with titles like Armitage III being an especially iconic creation).

Directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Demon City Shinjuku, Ninja Scroll), Cyber City Oedo 808 is a lot of fun and action-anime fans will appreciate that aspect of the OVA. The series showcases some great action set pieces and the spectacle of it all is reason enough to check out the OVA. Cyber City Oedo 808 is an ambitious production with a nice sense of scale.

Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek Media, Cyber City Oedo 808 is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original aspect ratio of 1.33:1 full frame. The release is a native high-definition presentation scanned from the original film materials. The presentation is newly remastered and offers an improved image over the previously released Blu-ray edition (which was not from the new remastered source). The remastered animation is outstanding on the release. The film-based animation looks exquisite. Though there are some occasional specks on the print used, clarity and definition on the release adds to the high-quality restoration work of Discotek. Discotek has lovingly restored this classic anime OVA and fans will be thrilled with the quality of the presentation.

Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release also provides a selection of lossless English dub options in uncompressed PCM 2.0: the English dub (UK Version) featuring an audio score composed by Rory McFarlane and the English dub (US Version) featuring the original Japanese score composed by Kazz Toyama. The lossless audio sounds immersive and engaging. The score is exceptional sounding on the release – bringing one even closer to the action and spectacle. An outstanding lossless presentation with good depth and fidelity. A great job by Discotek Media.

Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Blu-ray release comes package in a gorgeously designed steelbook. The steelbook is high gloss and the print quality of the steelbook is of exceptional quality. This feels like a premium quality steelbook in hand. A wonderful element of the release.

Episode 1 and 2 Audio Commentary with Producer Masao Maruyama & Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri

Inside Cyber City Oedo (HD, 53:37)

UK VHS Trailer (SD, 2:22)

US DVD Trailers (SD, 3:53)

Cyber City Oedo 808 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Cyber City Oedo 808 is an entertaining and action-packed anime OVA. Fans of exciting action anime OVA productions will find a lot to love about the series. The animation is outstanding and has a gritty style: aesthetically pleasing in spades. The Blu-ray release provides a first-rate native high-definition scan. Featuring a new restoration, the release offers an impressive upgrade. The lossless audio sounds exceptional on the release as well. The Blu-ray also provides a nice selection of bonus features. Highly recommended.