Mad Bull 34

Mad Bull is a wonderful example of the Japanese's warped view of American culture. It takes place in an alternate universe New York City where the palpable scent of death, decay, and violence permeates the air. A fresh, half Japanese recruit is teamed with a seasoned veteran nick-named Mad Bull for his tendency to shoot people's heads off a segment at a time. The recruit is serious and by the book, and Mad Bull would rather spend his time sleeping with prostitutes.

Naturally, in the beginning there is some tension between the two partners, stemming almost entirely from the recruit's contempt of Mad Bull's habit of sleeping with prostitutes and then stealing their money. He even has a cadre of whores that he pimps to his partner so he can lose his virginity. And this is the protagonist! He's the guy we're supposed to relate to! Amazing!

Eventually the mismatched duo need to work together in order to fight the character I have christened the "Super Negro"--a bad ass pimp (of course) who wants to do some bad stuff. I wish I could remember what that stuff is, but it's really secondary to Mad Bull's random outbursts of violent fury.

You should definitely view this if you are a fan of misogyny, violence, racial stereotypes, and heroes with absolutely no moral compunction. I loved it.

Mad Bull 94 is an action/comedy OVA series from the early 90's about a couple of New York cops, and it gives everything one would want and expect from an early 90's OVA. Incredibly violent/gory, absurdly sexist (nudity from almost every female character), and an utterly ridiculous and over the top english dub. An absolute must watch for fans of trashy 80's/90's OVAs!

God only knows how the japanese view the NYPD but I'm sure they're nothing like this (well mostly anyway). Corrupt cops who delight in dispensing vigilante justice a la Charles Bronson seem to make up the majority of the force here and Mad Bull is the best of a bad bunch although he has a heart and only deals out his particular brand of justice to those scumbags that deserve it you can't help but feel that shooting first and........well, not even bothering to ask any questions later is a bit over the top but hey OTT is what Mad Bull's all about and it's bloody well enjoyable.

Full of top notch graphic violence action and comic moments, this is like the anime version of Lethal Weapon only more so.

Definately one of the better manga's around, give it a shot, at the very worst you'll at least be entertained.

The first episode of this series is a little like TRAINING DAY (please forgive me for making that comparison), as young police recruit Daisaburo Eddie Van (he IS young-only 18, we are told,) is teamed up with muscular police veteran John Esties, who has two nick names-Sleepy and Mad Bull. "Sleepy" is quite reckless, and apparently quite lucky-at the beggining he gets shot at by a drug addict, and dispite the fact that Sleepy is a rather large, bulky target, and that it's close proximity, only his hat is knocked off.

Anyway, Daisaburo soon learns that his new partner has questionable morales, as he spends his free time with a bevy of prostitutes (if he's not killed in the line of duty first, he'll no doubt pick up some fatal disease before too long,) and tends to be quick to shoot without hesitation, like when he shoots and kills a gang of rapists before they can commit their latest crime, although it turns out they had concealed uzis, but how Sleepy knew this is beyond me.

Sleepy and Daisaburo also do some unusual things like dress up as women in order to infiltrate a group of murderor/rapists posing as gun dealers who provide women with pistols, then assault them later-they're they guys mentioned above who Sleepy kills. (Aren't they're female detectives they could get to do this particular job? I mean, Sleepy especially stands out when in drag, using what looks like a surgeon's mask to hide his mustache, which only makes him all the more conspicuous.) One thing I thought about during this thing was how Sleepy wore high heels while dressed as a woman. Unless he does this kind of thing on a regular basis, and especially since he must have at least about 200 pounds of musule, you'd think walking around in those things would be as uncomfertable as hell. At the end of part 1, Daisaburo, unlike Ethan Hawk's character Jake Hoit at the End of T.R., decides that the unconventional methods he mentor employs are nessassary to battle crime, and refuses to help the authorities revoke his partner's licence. (Of corse, this is only part 1, right?)

And all that's just the first episode! In parts 2, 3 and 4, our heroes must deal with a drug dealer who's part cyborge, a Hong Kong assassin ring who's arsenal includes a tank, and a cop killer who has gotten ahold of a futuristic cybernetic suit that looks like a cross between ALIEN and PREDATOR. Oh, and in part 3 we learn that Sleepy has the same ability that so many movie action heros have-the ability to appear at any place at any time, and to be able to adapt instantly any skill. (In this case, becoming a helicopter pilot so he can catch the bad guy.)

My biggest problem with this show is later in episode 3 when Sleepy decides he's no good for a news reporter who's fallen in love with him, so he threatens to rape her. (Yes, you heard right.) It kind of makes it hard to sympathize with the guy who's supposed to be the main hero. If you can forgive that part of the film, however, you'll probably like this.

Mad Bull 34 is a 4 part anime series that features the story of an 18 year-old police academy grad named Daizaburo Eddie Ban. He joins the NYPD's 34th precinct and meets his new partner John Estes, AKA: Mad Bull. Mad Bull's over-the-top way of dispensing criminals, and dealing with prostitutes has yet to be seen. This guy gives new meaning to police brutality. Shoot first, ask questions later. This concerns Daizaburo, but learns the meanings behind Mad Bull's Actions. Visually, it's pretty average. I've never seen the Japanese sub version, but the English dub isn't that bad at all. In fact, it's pretty funny. Overall, it's a good action-comedy series that shouldn't be taken seriously. Watch it at midnight on the weekend and you won't be sorry. Highly recommended but contains sex(not really graphic), graphic violence, and language that would make a sailor's ears bleed.