is a 1990–1991

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

. It was directed by

Yoshiaki Kawajiri is a writer and director of Japanese animation. He is the creator of titles such as '' Wicked City'', ''Ninja Scroll'', and '' Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust''. Biography Kawajiri was born on November 18, 1950 and grew up in Yokohama, Kanagawa Pr ...

. Set in the year 2808 in the city of Oedo (Tokyo), it tells the story of three criminals who are enlisted into fighting crime in exchange for reduced sentences. They are Sengoku, an anti-social maverick, Gogul, a mohawk wearing hacker, and Benten, an

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...

bishōnen (; also transliterated ) is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth (boy)" and describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man of androgynous beauty. This word originated from the Tang dynasty ...

. The UK release of the OVA includes a completely new score by

Rory McFarlane Rory Mcfarlane is a British session musician who has also written scores for anime and games. He is probably best known for his score to the influential anime series ''Cyber City Oedo 808 is a 1990–1991 cyberpunk original video animation. ...

Premise

To combat computerised crime more effectively, the Cyber Police unit of the future

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese city of Oedo has restarted the feudal practice of hōmen (放免), employing hardened criminals with a history of

hi-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

offences and other crimes such as murder as officers themselves, despite this being, quite clearly, a terrible idea. Three such criminals are Sengoku, Gogul and Benten, who are serving their 300-or-more year sentences in an orbital

penitentiary A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...

. For duty served, each criminal will receive a reduction in their prison time. Desperate to get away from the boredom and monotony of jail life, they half-heartedly agree to the deal. They answer to police chief Hasegawa, who keeps them in check thanks to an explosive collar that each criminal wears around his neck. Hasegawa can blow this collar remotely and it will also explode if they fail to complete their missions within an allocated time period. Each one is also armed with a

jitte A is a specialized weapon that was used by police in Edo period Japan (1603 – 1868). History In feudal Japan, it was a crime punishable by death to bring a sword into the ''shōgun''s palace. This law applied to almost everyone, including the ...

(the traditional weapon and symbol of authority of the ancient Edo Police), although they also have access to more powerful weaponry. Although there are no specifics to what kind of society the series is based in, it is presented as very high-tech but with a rather

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

feel. In the first episode for example, a man under pressure confesses to a murder (which he did commit) and which is responsible for the present crisis. This is enough for Hasegawa to order Sengoku to kill the man there and then without so much as a trial. When Sengoku fails to do so his sentence is increased.

Episode list

Cast

Related media

Video game

is a

graphic adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...

released on March 15, 1991 for the PC-Engine CD-ROM² by Nippon Computer System exclusively in Japan. The storyline is completely original and not an adaptation of any episode.

Music

The original British VHS release (also televised on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

circa 1995) features a more rock-centric 23 track score composed by

not present on the US or Japanese versions. McFarlane's score combined metal, electronica and ambient styles. It has been out of print for years and, as such, is very rare to find on CD, but it is known to be available on the internet. The UK soundtrack has a considerably different tone than the original (more pop-like) Japanese score. Due to

Manga Entertainment Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

UK losing the rights to the Cyber City series this edition of the score was unavailable on western DVD releases and remained available only on the old VHS versions from the mid nineties until Anime Limited released the movie on Blu-ray in the UK with the UK Dub and Soundtrack CD included in the release.

Reception

Critical reception of ''Cyber City Oedo 808'' has been generally positive, and has received a cult following over the years. Hemanth Kissoon of Filmulation.com reviewed the series in 2007, saying that the series "was released 17 years ago, yet still stands up as a gripping take on Japan’s potential future." Stig Høgset of THEM Anime Reviews gave the series a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, with his only criticism being very little character development. He states that the series “rounds off a nicely paced trilogy of stories starring an intriguing cast of different characters and set in a gray, leaden metropolis. It goes from action-filled to conspiringly suspenseful and ends with a legendary battle ballet culminating in a beautiful and melancholy ending.”

In popular culture

Clips of ''Cyber City Oedo 808'' were used to create the official video for the track "

Innocence Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience. In relation ...

" by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. The video was uploaded to YouTube by UKF and Nero's

Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...

channel. British DJ

Lone Lone may refer to: People *Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people w ...

released a song entitled "Oedo 808" on his 2018 EP ''Ambivert Tools Vol. 4''.

References

External links

* * {{Madhouse OVAs 1990 anime OVAs Central Park Media Cyberpunk anime and manga Films set in the 29th century Madhouse (company) 1991 video games Adventure games Japan-exclusive video games TurboGrafx-CD games TurboGrafx-CD-only games Vampires in anime and manga Video games based on anime and manga Video games developed in Japan Films directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri