A Wind Named Amnesia

Philosophy for the otaku.

Continuing with our post apocalyptic reviews, we'll give some rest to the 80s, and talk about the 90s. As a matter of fact, today's OVA will celebrate its 23rd anniversary in a few days.

A Wind Named Amnesia, is yet another story that is part of a great list of animated films focused in the aftermath of a giant cataclysmic event that leaves mankind at its weakest and most vulnerable.  The cold war was still a theme when the 90s began, and it influenced a variety of art genres and formats. Philosophical questions like "What do we do now?",  "How can we go on?", "Will it ever happen again?" inspired novels, films, albums, video games, and of course, the animation industry. 

Death & technology.

it's always a good time for a cup o' joe.

The OVA was produced by Madhouse studios in 1990, and directed by Kazuo Yamazaki, famous among connoisseurs for his work on Urusei Yatsura and Maison Ikkoku, two classic titles no worthy Otaku can  miss. The movie is an adaptaion from Hideyuki Kikuchi's 風の名はアムネジア(The Wind of Amnesia) . Other Kikuchi's works include Vampire Hunter D, Demon City Shinjuku, & Wicked City.The screenplay was written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, known for directing titles like Ninja Scroll, Biohunter, & Cyber City Oedo 808. But don't be fooled! "A Wind Named Amnesia" is the exact opposite of those titles. There is neither gore, nor ultra violence of any kind, which is a credit to the people involved in the production of it. They demonstrated they could get out of their comfort zone to deliver quite an unexpected story.

Plot wise, In the year 1999, the world has been reduced to an apocalyptic wasteland due to an inexplicable gust of wind that wiped even the most basic memories, such as speech and civility, from the minds of the world's populace. Wataru (our protagonist) befriends a young man named Johnny who, prior to the incident, was part of a government experiment designed to expand the memory capacity of the human mind and, therefore, was able to retain his memories. Johnny helps Wataru regain his speech and teaches him other basic functions. However, as a result of the physical toll his body endured due to the government experiments, Johnny dies after encouraging Wataru to travel the world. Wataru encounters a strange woman named Sophia after she helps him escape from an encounter with an unmanned Police Mech Unit and agrees to take Sophia to New York City. Together the two travel to Los Angeles where they try to help as many people as they can until they reach their final destination.

 

Wataru wants to unravel the mystery.

Action is needed sometimes.

Amnesia wouldn't be released in home formats overseas until 1996, where Central Park Media, now defunct, released it on VHS tape. Other releases by CPM, include M.D. Geist, Urotsukidoji, Record of Loddos War, the complete Project A-Ko series of OVAs. Moreover, their most celebrated achievement in North America, is they were the first to publish Hentai titles.

Without a doubt, A Wind Named Amnesia takes its time to tell the story. People have criticized it for this . However, the plot moves in and out from different stories as Water & Sophia meet new people on their way to New York. For an OVA directed and produced by artists that are largely associated with ultra violent content, you'd expect a lot of action and blood to be spilled on screen, yet the story focuses more on characters and their personal struggles. There is a major plot twist near the end of the story, and the revelation won't go unnoticed, yet the world seems to be beyond saving, leaving a taste of cynical reaction from our main characters.

Boobs are part of the end of the world.

Did I say boobs?

One funny thing Amnesia has, is the odd setting. While everyone speaks Japanese, to story is actually set in the USA. This is how it feels when Hollywood makes movies set in different countries and eras, and yet characters speak perfect English! 

Animation wise, backgrounds are highly detailed, and look like beautiful watercolor paintings. From the Rocky Mountains, to some valleys, and lakes and streams all of it looks amazing. Character designs ditto. Soundtrack wise, it feels generic. 

Ultimately, Amnesia is a hard to swallow pill. The story is slow paced, and some of the revelations and interactions Wataru goes though, make him remain unchanged despite the implications these have as major plot points, and this is a big flaw, because he is supposed to be the only human who has his memory restored. How come people dying, and Aliens deciding our fate randomly don't have any effect on him? Moreover, the final sex scene, which is perhaps the most unnecessary sex scene ever filmed in the animation industry, makes no sense at all. Would you have sex with one of the people responsible for the  catastrophe that doomed your planet? Moreover, when Wataru asks Sophia why they did it, and if they're planning to undo the results, all she answers is "I don't know". 

Johnny   brought Wataru back to the world.

Violence.

All in all, A Wind Named Amnesia is a one time watch experience. While there is value in the people involved in the production of the OVA, the final product leaves much to be desired in a variety of aspects. Maybe watch it when you're drunk, or playing beer pong or something. 

 The movie trailer in full HD:

Wicked City

Sex, demons & noir.

Hello fellow readers, following the latest trend our team is having (you know the 80's OVA craze) we continue our pursue of happiness with the greatest OVA ever made in the greatest OVA decade of all times: the 1980's! Previously we got our hands into Midnight Eye Goku, a two part OVA for those into noir. Today we continue in the noir genre with another great piece made by the great Kawajiri (Yes, we know we haven't reviewed Ninja Scroll yet but we'll do it some time in the future) 

Wicked City (妖獣都市 Yōjū Toshi) is a 1987 Japanese OVA horror neo-noir film directed by legendary Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Unlike most of the OVAs around, this piece is not based upon any Manga but on Hideyuki Kikuchi's novel of the same name.

The story takes place towards the end of the 20th century and explores the idea that the human world secretly coexists with the demon world with a secret police force known as the Black Guard protecting the boundary.

 

Fast cars.

Hot shots.

Director Yoshiaki Kawajiri had just completed his work directing the very dark and gritty segment The Running Man from portmanteau anime Meikyu Monogatari (1987) and was asked to direct a 35 minute short on Hideyuki Kikuchis novel. Kawajiri completed the short and after Japan Home Video saw a screening of it, they wished him to make it feature length. The producers Kenji Kurata and Makoto Seya expressed their opinion that the director shouldn’t extend it unless he wanted to. Kawajiri was such a fan of the world, he saw it as an opportunity to explore more characterization and created more animation for the start, the middle and the end. The project was completed in under a year.

The film was released in Japan on April 19, 1987 by Japan Home Video (JHV) and received a western release dubbed by Streamline Pictures under the name Wicked City on August 20, 1993. After Streamline Pictures lost the distribution rights, it was licensed and distributed by Urban Vision. A censored version of the film was distributed by Manga Entertainment in the UK with a different dub. 

Seductive women.

Nymphomaniac demons.

Both the Streamline and Manga UK dubs were released in Australia, with the Manga UK dub being released on VHS in 1994. In 1995, Manga Video released in Australia a bundle VHS consisting of Wicked City and Monster City, this version containing the Streamline dub. In 1997 when Madman Entertainment was named distributor for Manga in Australia, the Streamline dub was released on a single tape, and the Manga UK version was phased out.

What is Wicked City about?

The existence of the "Black World" is known to very few people. For centuries, a pact between the Black World and the world of humans has been observed to maintain peace, and terms must be negotiated and renewed every few hundred years to continue relative harmony. A militant faction of radicals from the Black World stops at nothing to prevent the signing of a new treaty.

Naked women.

Jizzed boobs.

Two agents of the Black Guard, an organisation designed to protect the relations of both worlds in secret, are charged with insuring the success of the treaty: The human Renzaburō Taki is an electronics salesman by day, and a Black Guard agent when needed; his partner Makie, who masquerades as a model, is a beautiful and skilled woman from the Black World. Their mission is to protect Giuseppi Mayart, a two-hundred-year-old man with fantastic spiritual power, whose presence at the peace treaty signing in Tokyo is critical. The Radicals intend to kill Mayart to upset the peace between both worlds.

Attacks on Makie, Taki and Mayart begin even before the three meet, and the situation does not improve, despite taking shelter in a Hibiya hotel that supposedly has strong spiritual barriers to keep people of the Black World away; on top of this, Mayart sneaks out after a skirmish at the hotel. Makie and Taki find him at a soapland in the grip of a Black World woman who has sapped his health, prompting a frantic trip to a spiritual hospital under Black Guard protection.

a new level in penetration.

Demons like to fuck too.

Halfway there, Makie is taken prisoner by a tentacle to be punished for her "crimes" against the Black World by being repeatedly raped, and Taki is forced to leave her behind, but as soon as he knows Mayart is safe in the hospital, he rushes to where his partner is being held, despite the threat that he will be thrown out of the Black Guard.

Taki is led to a dilapidated building far from the hospital, where he finds Makie being gang-raped. While Taki is successful in freeing Makie after eliminating a succubus and other demon agents, they are relieved of their Black Guard duties and are captured by a spider-like woman Taki has encountered before; both are knocked unconscious, but they wake up alone in a church (as the Spider Woman was killed), and the two share a romantic night of copulation, impregnating Makie.

Are women in Japan this stunning?

Too much jizz within.

One last attack by the Radicals comes and is partially deflected by a surprisingly healthy Mayart, who reveals he was protecting his bodyguards, not the other way around as they had been led to believe. Mayart and Taki almost succeed in defeating Mr. Shadow, but the final blow comes from Makie, who suddenly displays an overwhelming power, a gift from her joining with Taki. Mayart explains that the two are essential to forming a new peace treaty, he tells Taki that Makie will be the first woman to give birth to a half human and half black world child and will soon make more children , thus ushering in a new race and hopefully ensuring everlasting peace between the two worlds.

Taki is reinstated in the Black Guard, uncertain about his feelings for Makie and what is expected of them, but is optimistic about the future he will help protect as child grows inside Makie's body.

The hero's reward.

Aw yeah, God be with us.

Overall, Wicked City is perhaps one of the best OVA/Animé in which Mr. Kawajiri was involved during his career. The whole noir vibe plus the graphic violence and fan service may not suit everyone but then again this OVA was never made for an all audiences censorship label. A funny thing I learned from watching many OVAs is that every Japanese woman has a tendency for shaving their pussies (LOL) also, they're truly gorgeous! I mean if they're like they're drawn here, hell! we should all be moving to Japan! (not to mention how these women are easily attracted to casual sex, LOL) Anyways, this OVA along our previous reviews do represent la creme de la creme of a decade of creative quality, and for that reason alone, you should give it a try.

Here's Wicked City (with the English dub) for your viewing pleasure:

 

Midnight Eye Goku

Super cop.

Yoshiaki Kawajiri is so fun. You see, there are a lot of stereotypes about anime, labeling the genre as a shallow excuse to animate women being violated and blood spurting in every direction. Those stereotypes developed largely in response to the films of Yoshiaki Kawajiri. And if you can appreciate his movies for what they are, you'll have a blast watching them.

Goku: Midnight Eye is no different. It's an hour-long OVA set in a futuristic city where a sort of female peacock monster is causing police officers to kill themselves. Then it becomes sort of a dark superhero story when the lead character gets a bionic eye and a metal staff that can change to any length (he rams it through people and uses it to vault himself around like the old monk in Ninja Scroll). This is all handled in typical Kawajiri fashion, with well-designed monsters, gore, a cynical hero, frequently nude women, and a hissably evil supervillain.  

Fast cars.

Enhanced law enforcers.

Most modern anime takes a shiny, clean approach to the future. Apocalyptics are easy to find, but the dirt and grit are usually missing from the dealings, especially in anything created since 1995 or so. It's nice to occasionally go back and see the grime on the streets of Megatokyo, and Midnight Eye Goku fits that bill. The love child of Wicked City and Ninja Scroll director Yoshiaki Kawajiri and Space Adventure Cobra author Terasawa Buichi, Goku is not the kind of title to take home to Mom. However, the two-OVA series is a darkly cognizant look at the underside of futuristic society that was way ahead of its time when it was released in 1989 (The first US release date according to Amazon was the year 2000 and yes, it was released in VHS tapes)

Goku is a studly former cop who wears no shirt, just a necktie and jacket as his uniform. He works as a private detective for the meaner crowd of Tokyo in 2014. However, when officers from his old special investigation unit start committing suicide on the job, he knows that something is very wrong. Haruko, a vicious crime lord, was the subject of each cop's work right before death, and Goku is certain he is somehow responsible. He's right, of course, as he finds out when Haruko's naked peacock henchwoman nearly hypnotizes him into taking his own life. In one of the most cringe-inducing moments in anime history, Goku stabs out his left eye to stop the madness.

Spitting shiny evil semen!

The Fluorescent Throw up attack!

Partially blinded and in incredible pain, Goku drives off a bridge. Expecting to drown, he instead wakes up strapped to a table. Somebody somewhere must really like him, because his eye has been replaced by a new cybernetic implant. This device is not just a way to see again, though. It's actually interconnected to computers throughout the world, and any information he wants is immediately accessible. He could even start World War III, if he wanted, but his mysterious benefactor trusts Goku to use his gift wisely. Wisdom to Goku is, of course, taking revenge on Haruko before any more police officers wind up dead.

Meanwhile, the second episode takes us into a new case. A mysterious woman believes her brother, declared dead by the military years ago, is actually still alive, and she hires Goku to find him. He's been made into a superhuman killing machine by the government, but he's kept alive by the drugs they feed him. Goku is tasked with finding the brother, but not before running into various problems with the government. It turns out the bro could go on an indiscriminate killing spree without his drugs...and he's gotten loose right in the megalopolis.

Peeping Tom.

Animé Fact: Japanese woman have no pubes.

Goku is awash in violence and sexuality, which should come as no surprise to those who've followed Yoshiaki Kawajiri's rise to stardom. Goku feels very much like Wicked City, and that's due to a lot of the staff working on both features. We have a return, too, of the angular characters and darkly lit cityscapes that made Wicked City a hit back in 1985. The color schemes are muted in comparison to today's brightly lit palate, but that works in Goku's favor. I really enjoyed going back and taking a look at these two OVAs to see how well they stood up, and they still look great.

Goku certainly will offend some squeamish viewers out there. Each episode has at least one scene that can make the sensitive run for cover. The taking of Goku's eye in the first episode is bad enough, but there's a scene with the superhuman creation and a prostitute in the second one that just makes my head spin. That also leads into another problem in Goku--it's not as misogynistic as Golgo 13, but it certainly has no respect for its female characters, either. Most of them are cunning and all of them are deadly, and virtually each and every one is a sexpot. There's also the matter of characterization. This show is based on style and plotting, but not on deep development of its players. A viewer also has to get past the unknown benefactor willing to risk the end of the world to give Goku an eye that's essentially a gimmick.

C'mon let's play!

The girl is mine!

However, Goku has some really nice strengths. First, that eye is an awesome piece of equipment that predicted the rise of the Internet and works in very much the same way, even though the Internet as we understand it didn't exist for many years after the show was produced. It's haunting to see how close Terasawa could be to reality, even if it's too over-the-top. Meanwhile, the concepts of hypnosis and manipulation combined with the gritty look and feel make this film reminiscent of Kathryn Bigalow's Strange Days, which wasn't made until 1995. Meanwhile, this film has plenty of well-choreographed action, good pacing, and nice plotting. Though we may know our bad guys well ahead of time, the show keeps us guessing at certain things (particularly in the second episode). Fans of Golgo 13 might also appreciate the similar feel but through the eyes of a far more sympathetic and emotional hero.

Midnight Eye Goku is a guilty pleasure show. It isn't pretty in the conventional sense, and I don't doubt that some will just dislike it immensely. However, for an older audience wanting to see a skewed dystopian vision that skims surprisingly closer to reality than we might think, it's a good night's entertainment.

Here's Episode 1:

And here's Episode 2:

 

Kobura/Space Adventure Cobra/Súper Agente Cobra

Chicks & Adventure.

Continuing with Animé that brings joy & nostalgia to the connoisseur, we leave the sassy 70's to enter the early 80's with one magnificent Animé that combined the best of Star Wars, James Bond, and 70's sexploitation: Space Adventure Cobra! 

Kobura, AKA Space Adventure Cobra is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Buichi Terasawa. Set in the far future, the series tells the story of freelance space agent Cobra, who lived an adventurous life until his enemies began to hunt him down. Cobra surgically altered his face and erased his own memory in order to hide from his foes and lead a normal life. Eventually, he regains his memories and re-unites with his old partner Lady Armaroid and his ship Tortuga. Cobra travels the galaxy, fighting the outlaw Pirate Guild, but also fleeing the law-enforcing Milky Way Patrol. Along with his charm and wit, Cobra survives thanks to his Psycho-Gun, a unique weapon embedded in his left arm.

The manga was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1978 to 1984. The individual chapters were collected and published in 18 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. The Cobra manga spawned various sequel manga series, one-shots, a feature-length anime film, two anime series —a 1982 anime with 31 episodes retelling the film's story and a 13-episode broadcast in 2010—, two original video animations (OVAs), audio albums, video games, and other merchandise. In 2010, the production of a live-action film was announced by Alexandre Aja.

it's a man's job.

Whatever you say ma'am!

Space Adventure Cobra, The OVA

TMS Entertainment adapted the manga into a film titled Space Adventure Cobra, which was released on July 23, 1982 in Japan. Manga Entertainment released the film in the United Kingdom in 1995. The Manga Entertainment version's dub had an alternate soundtrack from the pop group Yello. It was released in American theaters on August 20, 1995 by Tara, and later distributed by Urban Vision in VHS format on June 16, 1998. The film was released in the Australasian region by Madman Entertainment on December 5, 2007. On April 8, 2008, Manga Entertainment re-released it. Discotek Media released the film in the United States to DVD on August 21, 2012. Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" music video used footage from the film, and become one of the most-watched videos on MTV.

Space Cobra, the Animé

The series was later adapted into an anime adaptation titled Space Cobra. Loosely based in the first eight volumes of the manga, it was directed by Osamu Dezaki, and aired on Fuji Television between October 7, 1982 and May 19, 1983. The Space Cobra anime was later released in box set form on October 25, 2000 by Digital Site. The series was licensed for a DVD release and digital distribution by Right Stuf's publishing division, Nozomi Entertainment, who plans on releasing the series in two subtitled sets beginning in Northern America; the first one will be available on March 4, 2014. The Animé was known as Space Cobra mostly in English speaking countries. In Europe it was just known as Cobra & in Latin America it was known as Súper Agente Cobra.

   

This series is James Bond in Space. Quite ridiculous as far as realism goes but has that "I'm too cool for school" attitude. The way I see it, Space Adventure Cobra was back then, what date sims are today. For some reason, all retro sci-fi series pictured the far future as a vast harem of skimpy clothed women the all-mighty lead captain must fight and save from ugly aliens, so he can have sex with them. Well, this erotic/ romantic picture gave place to more serious and realistic forms of sci-fi, while the erotism was replaced by fancy erogames and romance was replaced with mild arlekin stories for middle-aged housewives. Hm, time changes everything. Anyways…

Not your average hero.

Don't touch my babes!

What Cobra is about.
 

Oh, Cobra, what a big laser you got!

Well, being a retro-flavored series, means it doesn’t take itself seriously. Just find an excuse for the lead to save some chick, explain the situation in the old days of corny sci-fi and throw in some funky showdowns with weird supernatural aliens and you have yourself a formula any toddler or 40 year old would like. Think of it like a film-noir, where the detective is a cool looking, aloof, half-funny, unrivaled space pirate, taking dangerous missions just for the fun of the adventure… or just so he can have fun with the various femme-fatals running around half-naked around the universe.

The structure of the plot is separated into individual story arcs/mission. Like some James Bond clone, Cobra will be relaxing in his spaceship before someone (usually a chick) asks him to find something or save someone by ruthless pirates and planetary tyrants. So, Cobra will use his super-special-awesome Psycho Gun ™ to blast through armies of identical mook underlings and have a standoff with their leader, who so much happens to have some queer power. Usually Cobra’s robot companion (no surprisingly, also a mechanical chick) gives him info and ways to defeat him, save the day and have a nice off-screen sexual evening with some beauty… sometimes even with a lot of beauties at the same time, way to go Cobra!

That’s pretty much it. There is no overall objective purpose, no real plot continuity and the initial scenario is just teasing. It is pretty generic and predictable, although not repetitive all the times.

a hero can  be anyone.

Are you talking to me punk?

CAST
 

Hey babe, wanna ride my spaceship?

The characters all come by some really lame stereotypes and frankly speaking, you should like them for being exactly the stereotypes they are. Down to it, this anime does not have much of a story or memorable characters. It plays along that lost retro feeling of oldies like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. It is only good as a nostalgic trip back to time where space was full of air, aliens had one eye and women had no shame to walk around wearing barely enough to hide their boobs and ass.

 

PRODUCTION VALUES 

 
In similar tradition, animation and sound have high values for such a series. Although not super by today’s standards, they have exactly what this sort of series needs. Funky spaceships, weird alien worlds, a Psycho Gun and lots of bare skin. Almost like an American b-movie, it has lots of action, many explosions and corny dialogues that never make you think what the hell you are watching and just absorb you to a silly yet enjoyable fantasy. As usual, the villains won’t be able to hit a target two meters next to them, yet Cobra can use his super laser which can bend its rays anyway he likes to kill a dozen mooks hiding in different places and behind steel walls with one shot while safely hiding behind a wooden wall, which is impregnable to their machineguns. Yes, the battles are THAT fair. And no, no bold sex scenes and yet not that lame harem kind of humor with chickenshit boys and tsundere girls. Cobra is wild and offensive and slaps a bitch when she doesn’t listen to him… And she loves it and wants to have sex with him. Hooray for Phallocracy!

Ok, I'll fuck you if it makes you feel better.

Ready for some space action!

As you can probably guess with all I am writing so far, this series is not meant for women as it depicts them quite frail, defenseless and objects of desire… Just like in real life. (kidding of course) anyways, if you have a thing for retro Animé, Cobra will definitely make you smile and enjoy space adventures with sexy girls all over.

Here's the Latin American opening for the original Space Cobra animé:

Here are the two opening sequences for the 2010 Animé sequel  Cobra the Animation: