New Dominion Tank Police Anime Review

Quick Review

• Reviewer: Chainclaw
• Review Date: 2005-11-14 (updated 2013-12-22)
• 3.5 stars out of 5 (?)

New Dominion Tank Police picks up right where the original 1989 masterpiece left off. On the down side, it retains neither the superb soundtrack, nor the voice actors from the original OAV, but thankfully the ones it does have are good enough to make up for it. On the up side, it has the same mix of comedy, lovable characters, and crazy action scenes that made the original a fan-favorite. Its only weakness is a somewhat simplistic plot, with a few too many cop show clichés and some downright lazy story advancement.

Still, in the end, New Dominion Tank Police is more of what made the first series great. If you didn't like the first one, I don't see any way this OAV will turn your taste around, but it should fully satisfy fans.

Read the full-length review...

Full Review

• Reviewer: Chainclaw
• Review Date: 2005-11-14 (updated 2013-12-22)
• 3.5 stars out of 5 (?)

New Dominion Tank Police picks up right where the original 1989 masterpiece left off, featuring most of the cast members from the first series such as Leona, Al, Britan, Chaplain, 4 eyes (a.k.a. Einstein), the Chief, and the cat sisters Annapuna and Unapuma. Unfortunately, like the 3 sequels to the hit anime "Project A-ko," New Dominion Tank Police retains neither the superb soundtrack, nor the voice actors from the original OAV, but thankfully the ones it does have are good enough to make up for it.

More importantly, all the character traits and styles from the first series are well maintained, such Al's affection for Leona and Leona's obsession with her mini-tank Bonaparte and her (and her fellow officers') casual use of overwhelming force in every situation. I especially enjoyed watching Leona explain to the Chief why she used her tank to break up a peaceful protest in the streets ("They were throwing cans at Bonaparte! He's not a dumpster!"). Also, some of the humor seemed to be inspired by old American cartoons, like a scene where the cast sisters try to hide from the pursuing Tank Police by pretending to be mannequins in a department store window, Scooby Doo style.

But overall, as far as the action/comedy element goes, fans of the original series know exactly what to look forward to: Fun comedy and lovable characters mixed with crazy action scenes. And this one features an even greater number and variety of them. Chasing an explosives-filled truck on the highway, battling crooks in a dimly lit warehouse, protecting the mayor from an assassination attempt--these are just some of the many action sequences New Dominion Tank Police provides. Just like before, the action scenes are fairly cartoonish, with a somewhat low death toll (but a maximum destruction toll) and mostly devoid of the gory violence anime fans are used too. But I'd say that's a good thing in this case, because it goes along with the whole comedic atmosphere in the show.

The story is a bit weak at times, even for a comedy. One of the things that made the original Tank Police OAV great was that it contained a surprisingly fascinating story, focused around the main villain Buaku, who turned out to be a lot more deep and interesting than one might expect. This time around that's just not the case. The main villains here are a bunch of greedy, corrupt corporate guys who commit crimes because... well... they're a bunch of greedy, corrupt corporate guys. Similarly, the story is riddled with typical cop show clichés, which can be forgiven seeing as it is a comedy, though it did not seem like they were trying to parody them.

Also, in some situations, the story advancement seemed downright lazy. A good example is an episode where Leona discovers her former partner from when she was in the motorcycle division has been murdered and is subsequently told to stay off the case. Of course she does what any TV/movie cop would do in that situation: go on leave and pursue the case on her own. But she's barely out the door when she picks up her first lead. And that lead almost immediately takes her to what she is looking for. I was expecting that subplot to branch out over a few episodes, but as usual nearly all of it is resolved in the episode it first appears in. The ending was also disappointing. It's not the worst ending I've ever seen, but was way too cheesy (even for this show) and drawn out.

Still, in the end, New Dominion Tank Police is more of what made the first series great. If you have not seen any of the Dominion Tank Police series, this one is still worthwhile, though I strongly recommend seeing the original OAV first. It's better overall and gives a good introduction to the main characters in New Dominion Tank Police. If you did not like the first one, I don't see any way this OAV will turn your taste around, but it should fully satisfy fans.

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