Tokusô sensha-tai Dominion

I enjoyed the 1988-1989 mini-series Anime "Dominion" (aka "Dominion: Tank Police") and thus of course I also had to watch this 1993 mini-series sequel.

I remember owning this on VHS back in the day, alongside with "Dominion". However, I must admit that I had entirely forgotten about the storyline in "New Dominion Tank Police". And thus, as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it against here in 2023, digitally this time, of course I did so.

And having just sat through all six episodes, then it is clear why I had forgotten about "New Dominion Tank Police". In comparison to the 1988-1989 mini-series, then "New Dominion Tank Police" was a swing and a miss. There was an overwhelming lack of continuity and coherence in between each episode, which made it feel like you are just watching six random short ending episodes, each one independent of the previous or the next. Plus, the storylines weren't all that interesting, and the entire show was just lacking an interesting villain.

Sure, you had the returning members of the Tank Police force in the show, and even my favorite UniPuma and AnnaPuma returns. However, the cat-girl twins were reduced to shallow husks of what part they played in the 1988-1989 mini-series, and that was a shame.

The art and animation style in "New Dominion Tank Police" is good. It is definitely a step up from the original mini-series, and it feels a bit more gritty, which I happened to like.

Ultimately, then the 1993 six episode mini-series "New Dominion Tank Police" just didn't pack as much punch as the original mini-series.

My rating of "New Dominion Tank Police" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Dominion Tank Police (Parts 1-4) has always been among my favourite anime titles. Based on the SF/comedy manga series by well-known artist Masamune Shirow, it dealt with the titular Tank Police, patrolling in tanks instead of the usual patrol cars, and generally giving new meaning to the term `overkill'; the policemen themselves, while well-intentioned, are borderline psychopaths and almost as bad as the criminals they're after. None of this, however, is to be taken seriously. It's a lot funnier than it sounds, and the series doesn't take itself serious for a moment.

Later on, six additional episodes were made, and released in the West as `New Dominion'. This `new' series takes a more serious approach. It was made by a different animation team, resulting in a different look, slightly more realistic than before. Also, while still fairly funny at times, the wackiness & humour are toned down, with some pretty dark storylines, such as murders, terrorism and hints of large-scale conspiracies unfolding as the series goes on.

The Dominion series is highly recommended for all fans of anime.

The follow up to Dominion Tank Police. Sort of a reconstruction with a little different tone. One reason to call it "New". With better animation, from the golden age of animé. Even tough its really bizarre in a logical sense, its well made and the dialogue is at times top class. But somewhere i still wish the creators didn't had want to want so much. A simple depiction of a Tankpolice units everyday life, is interesting enough. The gallery of characters is not the strongest. But Leona Osaki is my favorite female character of all time. She carries almost single-handedly the entire TV-series. Strangely enough i love her, despite i wouldn't call her a very nice person.

Its not Shakespeare, but a fun over-the-top satire with quite nasty humor. Did i mention Leona Osaki?

The original Dominion tank police is one of the most amazing and outstanding productions in existence. Its was extremely disappointment no, heart breaking to see that it only lasted for 2 hrs in totality. However, the new series can't hold a candle to it and does not feature Buaku who was a major part of the former. It does not continue on the greepeace saga which the original left hanging and instead follows a different storyline. The animation in New Dominion Tank Police is no doubt, excellent, can't really make out if they used CGI or not but it actually looks far better than GITSAC. Its not as dark the older one and is actually quite bright, although not as vibrant. Most of the old voice actors have been retained and thats a major plus. The characters look slightly different though and thats a minus.

Sequel series to "Dominion: Tank Police", both based on the cult series created by Masamuni Shirow, reassembles Leona, Al, Britain, the Chief, Specs (now called Four Eyes), Chaplain (now called Reverend or "Rev"), and the cat sisters Anna & Uni Puma to do battle with an evil corporation that's up to no good with heavily armed weapons. And how does the death of Leona's old partner Sharon figure into all this?

Not quite as manic or blackly comic as "Dominion: Tank Police" and not as darkly lit either, this is still a fun and funny entry in the Anime cannon. The humor is more harmless slapstick here than it was in the first series (no tying thugs to spinning wheels while throwing knives at him and stuffing a live grenade in his mouth). Some of the English voice cast were replaced, some for the better, some for the worst, and others with no real noticeable difference.

I kind of preferred the darker, harder edge animation of the first series, but I enjoy this one too partly because I love the concept, characters and the fact that this one got to finish it's storyline.