Angel Cop Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2004-10-28 (updated 2011-08-14)
• 1.5 stars out of 5 (?)

Part AD Police Files-style cyberpunk police action, part detective yarn with a psychic twist, and part AKIRA-style psychics-run amok, Angel Cop may not be quite the gritty futuristic police drama it could have been, but it puts together a solid action movie with an interesting plot and above-actioner-average characters to tie it together. Just one problem: the "good guys" are frightening in their tactics and morality, and the series seems content to only question how far the heroes are willing to push themselves rather than the right or wrong of their tactics.

If you're less bothered by the disturbing politics--24 fans take note--and you're the sort who enjoys psychic mayhem and violent overkill, then Angel Cop is worth a look. Otherwise, you've been warned.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Marc
• Review Date: 2004-10-28 (updated 2011-08-14)
• 1.5 stars out of 5 (?)

Angel Cop would have to rank among the more disturbing anime I've seen. Not because it's the most graphic, or the most violent, or even the most inane. No, Angel Cop is disturbing because of its politics and morality (particularly in light of world events since it was created), combining xenophobic overtones with brutal heroes who subscribe to an extreme ends-justify-the-means philosophy.

Things start out on somewhat shaky ground when the plot setup starts sounding unsettlingly like isolationist anti-Western propaganda, but the bigger problem lies in the people that are supposed to be the good guys later on. Among the "how far will you go for justice" questions asked and answered: One of the main characters is initially put off by the idea of discarding his human body for a powerful cybernetic frame more suited for crime fighting, but he eventually comes around, and realizes that it's better to be tough enough to fight crime than completely human.

But that's not so bad. How about this: in an effort to extract information from a criminal, a group of cops proceed to torture him by cutting off circulation to his arm and letting gangrene do the rest... and worse. I don't know about you, but even by NYPD Blue standards, that probably qualifies as police brutality. The particularly disturbing part is that the scene is played straight and, so far as I can tell, without any particular indication of the moral ambiguity. The fact that these people are apparently supposed to be the good guys honestly scares me. Then again, there are a lot of 24 fans, so obviously some people aren't bothered by that sort of thing.

If you put the questionable politics aside, Angel Cop is a decent piece of violent action anime, with a bit of plot thrown in to back up the action. The characters actually have a fair amount of depth, particularly by action flick standards, and the lack of a clear border between the "good guys" and the criminals they're after is handled relatively well--there is some interesting moralizing within the story about the border between criminal and cop (albeit seriously tainted by the show's own messed-up morality).

The story itself is a half-decent detective yarn with a psychic twist, though toward the end things get a little weirder and the mood evolves into more of a desperate showdown, slash, how far will you go to beat the bad guys kind of thing. (Don't take that to mean that the characters start questioning their own brutality--it's more along the lines of self-sacrifice.) Had I not had such serious issues empathizing with, or even rooting for, anybody at all in the story, it would have been a pretty good plot.

On the technical end of things, Angel Cop is around average. The animation, while not spectacular, is fairly high budget, and the artwork has the higher level of detail you'd expect in an '80s-vintage production. The character designs are also a passable variant of the "dark and angular" style. As for action, there's quite a bit, but less cyberpunk-cop shootouts and more psychic havoc than I was expecting--more AKIRA than AD Police Files. On the bright side, the psychic stuff is done well. I haven't heard the Japanese version, but apart from a lot of profanity, the dub is passable--no particular standout performances, but they get the job done.

Overall, if you don't get put off by the supposed good guys (and you should be put off--you might just be able to ignore their "tactics" or find an ironic air I didn't see), and you enjoy a good bit of psychic mayhem and violent overkill, you will probably enjoy Angel Cop--but you've been warned.

(For an alternate opinion, check out this reader's comments...)

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Related Recommendations

Angel Cop has some things in common with AD Police Files, but can't compare in terms of style. Ghost in the Shell also deserves a mention, mainly for the setting and similarly morally-questionable anti-heroes, but it is far more nuanced and asks a lot more questions about right, wrong, and philosophy in general.