Review of Cyber City Oedo 808 (1990)

Moving picture, 120 minutes

Kawajiri Yoshiaki (director).

2808 CE in “Ōedo” (oo meaning “big” plus the old name for Tokyo), three convicted criminals with prison sentences in excess of 300 years each are offered the chance to reduce their punishment by working as independent law enforcers. The catch is explosive collars and other dangers. Each episode follows one of the three criminals on a case in the megalopolis, where several buildings reach space.

Soft SF action with some watered-down motifs of cyberpunk. Lots of schlock and very large hair. Some moments of great kitsch, including a computer-assisted consciousness powerful enough to predict evasive maneuvers but not powerful enough to understand that not all targets try to avoid fire, and a showdown inside the 150-metre observation deck of Tokyo Tower.

moving picture animation Japanese production fiction series