M.D. Geist II

Original Title: 装鬼兵M.D.ガイスト - デスフォース
Romanized: Soukihei M.D. Gaisuto - Death Force
Literal: Demon-garbed Soldier M.D. Geist

Plot Synopsis

The Death Force, released at the end of the first movie, are an army of unfeeling war robots that have covered the planet Jerra, hunting down all human life and destroying it. There is only one hope left for mankind: a mechanical island in the desert that is the home of most remaining humans, lead by M.D. Krauser and protected by his elite fighting force. Geist still lives, and is traveling the land killing Death Force robots as well as anything else in his way. Vaiya, meanwhile, has lost her memory and is wandering with a small band of humans foraging for survival. When she is taken in by Krauser, her only fear is that the phantom haunting her, Geist, will return, which is exactly what may happen when the last two M.D.s find out about each other...

Review

Rating: 1.5 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-06-27

Well, I must admit, there is a bright side to the first M.D. Geist movie: There's actually a follow-up to its seemingly pointless and inconclusive ending. This sequel takes up a short while after the first movie ends, and actually does a fair job of continuing the story. Unfortunately, it's also a faithful continuation of the first movie in that it's just not very good. If you haven't seen the first one, don't worry--it'd help, but Death Force makes sense on its own.

In essence, where M.D. Geist was a standard gory '80s action flick, M.D. Geist II is a standard gory '90s action flick. That basically means that it looks better, focuses more on convoluted (and in this case seemingly random) plot twists, and has more traumatized and/or insane characters. (Seriously, now that I think about it it's amazing how many mentally unstable people show up in newer gory anime.) Whether these things are changes for the better or the worse depends a lot on your personal taste, but in general I thought it was a slight improvement over the first one.

The original M.D. Geist's plot was simple and illogical, and while the sequel has a lot more going on it makes even less sense. There seems to be a lot of intrigue and double-crossing, but the execution is so muddled it's just confusing. The characters are a bit more sympathetic this time (particularly Vaiya, although due to her amnesia she's essentially a different character). They're certainly a more interesting bunch (they actually have personality, a big improvement).

Sadly, the improvements are compensated for by the fact that new characters keep popping up without nearly enough explanation, betraying somebody at random, and doing their darndest to compound the confusion. Topping it all off, the end makes almost no sense, but at least it's conclusive (unlike the first one, which made no sense and was inconclusive).

There is, however, one subtle change from the first movie that I thought made all the difference: The gore and violence are... well, more fun. The extremely detailed and graphic carnage in this one is more over the top (the robots eat people!) and just seems to be more good natured (despite the fact that the general mood is a little more serious). The implicit admission that the movie is fundamentally an action-splatterfest romp makes it more enjoyable on the whole. My favorite example (which may not have been intentional) was probably the best scene in the movie: A nameless bystander watching an evil robot feed on a corpse proclaims "How horribly gross!", and then is abruptly decapitated and dismembered himself.

The improved art deserves most of the credit for the better gore--more detail equals more detailed chunks. The art in general is cleaner, somewhat more detailed, and it generally looks higher budget. The character designs also look much better (especially Vaiya), which helps a lot in creating some modicum of empathy for the characters. Unfortunately, the mechanical designs that were the sole bright point of the visuals in the first movie aren't as good this time, and since they would have been drawn better, more's the pity. The animation is somewhat better, improving the sufficiently plentiful action.

The acting in the dub is a bit better than the first movie, which means that it isn't great, but not glaringly bad either. Unfortunately, the dialogue is not an improvement--badly written and so awkward at times that it barely even makes sense. There seemed to be less music in this sequel, or it was so inconspicuous that I didn't even notice it. The moody end theme isn't bad, though.

In all, I'd say that M.D. Geist II: Death Force is a modest improvement on its predecessor--it's better looking and a little more fun, though the story is more confusing. Even so, it is at best a mediocre gory action flick. The stylistic change from older to newer cheesy gore flick may put off some fans of the original and gain a few others, and since the story can comfortably stand on it's own, if you can't get enough bloody chunks and/or you liked the first one, go for it.

Related Recommendations

There's of course the more classically-styled M.D. Geist original, but the later parts of Genocyber are an even better match.

US DVD Review

The (now very inexpensive) "Collector's Series" DVD includes both this movie and the prequel M.D. Geist Director's Cut, plus a bonus disc of extras. In addition to hybrid stereo audio and of course an English subtitle track, the set claims a heap of special features. Among them: An "alternate angle graphic novel", commentary tracks, interviews, storyboards, galleries, trailers, conceptual art of all sorts, and more.

Content Guide

Plenty of extreme violence and some nudity easily qualify it for a 16-up.

Violence: 4 - Chunks galore.

Nudity: 2 - A scene or two.

Sex/Mature Themes: 1 - Mostly implied.

Language: 1 - Not noteworthy.

Notes and Trivia

The sequel to the original M.D. Geist, produced 10 years later and released alongside the original's Director's Cut.

Availability

Available in the US from US Manga Corps combined with the sequel on a hybrid DVD, re-released after a while at a budget price of about $10. Was previously available on subtitled and dubbed VHS, now out of print.

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