The AD. Police Files Review

This series may easily be what BGC should have been.

The AD. Police Files begins on a dark note. Police officer Leon McNichol, then twenty-one, is face to face with a BU-33S which has been maddened by the false hormones reacting to the presence of a male. She, a prostitute, attacks Leon only to be gunned down. Soon the compound is surrounded by AD. Policemen and the trouble appears to be over. In fact, it has just begun.

Throughout the series the theories of what does and does not separate man from machine are looked at constantly. There is quite a lot of violence, and more than a little sex, but these are not merely gratuitous--they all serve their purpose. In the first episode, the female Boomer becomes obsessed with Leon after he 'killed' her once. She longs to see him and touch him again, showing a perverse look at the side of humanity that most peole abhorr. Things get even more interesting in the other episodes when human beings are turned into machines.

The most extreme case of a man and machine as one in this series is probably Billy Fanword, the distraught Anti-Boomer Cyborg Unit who had once been popular among the units. He had been nearly killed in a Boomer incident and, without his consent, his body was 'donated' to the research involving Cyborgs. Billy became a walking tank, only more deadly than any tank because he knew the emotions of hatred, love, sadness, loneliness, and ecstasy. Billy brings about his own demise in this third episode, and it is truly a tragedy in the truest sense of the term.

Caroline Evers in episode two exchanged flesh for steel, and she, too, is haunted by this decision, although in her case it is her fault rather than someone else's. The amount of sympathy for the characters varies, but each has a distinct personality and there is always an engrossing story behind the situations.

The greatest flaw in this series may be that the brief episode (about thirty minutes apiece) takes away from the stories. Some details are left out. Still, the story-telling techniques are superior to those of BGC because the time onscreen is spent on the story rather than on a favored character.

The animation ranges from excellent to mediocre. As the series progresses, the animation gets better. The soundtracks are entirely in English, but are still good. Some of the atmosphere is lost due to the English lyrics, but not too much. The two main characters, Leon McNichol and Jeena Malso, both develop very well and are shown to be much more than what they first appear to be. Other characters such as Iris Cara (episode two) are enjoyable and filled with depth.

The effort put into this series is remarkable. Whether or not they knew it, the creators, namely Tony Takezaki and Toshimichi Suzuki, created one of the most astounding works of all anime. This is a MUST WATCH series. Be forewarned, however, that the graphic violence, nudity, sex, masturbation, and other sequences/imagery make it definitely unsuitable for children.