Dominion Tank Police

One of the first OVA's ("original video animation") I ever bought, this still has to be one of my favourite anime titles. A cyberpunk sci-fi action comedy set against an unlikely (for a comedy, that is) background of near-future pollution in a dystopian society.

The "heroes" of Dominion are the Tank Police, formed with a "if we can't beat crime, we'll get bigger guns" philosophy, and who are, like the name suggests, patrolling the city in tanks instead of patrol cars, and who are actually far more dangerous than any criminals they are trying to catch. Most, if not all, of these cops are borderline(?) psychopaths and neurotics, giving new meaning to the phrase "loose cannons".

Equally colourful and amusing are their adversaries, terrorist Buaku and his hench(wo)men, the Twin Cat Sisters, whose existence always seems to involve giving the Tank Police a hard time.

The animation is not state of the art, but it's very nice otherwise; the colourful palette and cartoonish look of the characters and mecha fit nicely with the comedic atmosphere of Dominion.

The English dubbing is, again, lots of fun. The soundtrack of the English version is also very good. I wonder if they ever made a soundtrack album of that...

Anyway, Dominion Tank Police is great. It's Japanese cyberpunk SF with lots of comedy, filled with completely over-the-top characters and situations, making sure that it never takes itself seriously. Highly recommended.

Dominion Tank Police is without a shell of a doubt, one of the most amazing shows ever produced, but not just in the field of animation. While the first part (Acts 1 and 2) mostly consists of action and fun, the second part is more serious and one should not treat the second part in the exact same way as first part. The subtleties are truly out of this world and the characterization is beyond brilliant. You must have an extra degree of intelligence to appreciate the intricacies of the second Part (Acts-3 and 4). I do have some complaints though. In the first part, the Tank Bonaparte quite literally jumps over a tank shell and it did not make any sense at all. One might also question the plausibility of Bonaparte jumping on the wing of Helicopter Gunship even though it was cool. Buaku rules.

Dominion tank police is an exercise in contradictive film making. The storyline across the 4 parts blends mindless action, slap-stick humor, touching humanity and thought provoking philosophical questions. It's hard to believe that there was only one director, as the style changes from episode to episode. A must-see movie for anyone who likes anime.

Why did this amazing totally mindblowing series only have to last for 2 acts spread over just over 2 hours? Just when it gets better and better and more emotional, they leave the story hanging and we have go refer to the bloody comic. That itself would have just about covered 1-2 more episodes. Is that too much to ask? Its hard to believe that the Japanese were making this in the late 80s while the other parts of the world were making childish nonsense? I think even though Ghost in the Shell is much more popular, the Tank Police are closer to Shirow's heart. The follow on series, Crusher Police or New Dominion Tank police, is no way in the same league.

Don't have much to say about this other than I think that these movies are underrated in England, they're funny and very well written out etc. I watched my first one a few days ago and I will admit that I'm quite impressed at the story lines and also the characters involved since they are at times stone head stupid and then at others can be REALLY senstive and funny 0=]

Watch this if you like Anime and have a laugh, this movie won't be very good for thought provoking drama or such like, but it is something just to waste the time away....