Violence Jack, Part 1, Slum King

What, I'm supposed to not watch a trashy straight-to-video anime trilogy from the 1980s after learning that it's called Violence Jack and the main character is also named Violence Jack? And people usually refer to him as Violence Jack? And it's also set in a dystopian world where people are apparently made of plasticine?

Actually, maybe I shouldn't have. This was pretty empty and eventually also got perverted... but, to its credit, later than expected, which counts as restraint by the standards of a 40-minute-long anime film called Violence Jack.

The other two Violence Jacks are better-rated, so maybe I'll keep going next time I have three-quarters of an hour to spare. Also, the English dub is bad enough that I'd recommend it, as something that probably enhanced the experience rather than hurt it.

This OVA is short and craptacular, so this review will be too. If there's anything redeeming about this OVA, it's got to be the gratuitous, grisly violence. *Disclaimer: Not an 80s anime guru by any means

Art: 7 Despite how old it is.. they did at least try to make the gore brutal by drawing in viscera and not just red waves. A couple of satisfying moments, mostly eh otherwise.

Enjoyment: 4 As stated above, if you like grisly, (but cheesy) violence, and some random sexual violence thrown in to be a shocker, there's some entertainment to be gleaned from this. Otherwise, it's asinine and absurd.

Sound: 3 Cheesy as hell 80's music. Probably ripped from a C list porno and the creator thought Violence Jack was so stupid that it wasn't worth suing over.

Story: 2 Imagine Mad Max, make the plot nonsensical with the only unifying theme as violence, and 30 minutes long.

Characters: 2 Violence Jack doesn't even speak in this, yet they make it a point to beat you over the head about explaining how intelligent he is... Well, he's good at using his knife to intelligently eviscerate people, and that's about all. The rest of the 'cast' are a bunch of aimless morons who serve little to no purpose other than to be cannon fodder and take up some screen time running around.

Overall: 3.6 (rounds up to 4, because I laughed a couple of times at how ridiculous it was) I was told this was an 80's schlockfest of depravity and ultraviolence. Perhaps I'm just really desensitized to violence, but there wasn't anything abhorrent or reviling here. Violence Jack succeeds in that it achieves what it set out to do. It's not trying to provoker deeper thought or offer extended introspective metaphor. It promises violence, and delivers. I'll give them points for trying; the 80's were a shocking time.

This post apocalyptic tale of giant on giant violence and porno rape sets out to be serious and dark but with the aid of a ridiculous set of character designs , bad dialogue and a bland script , fails. Badly.

Add to this set of flaws a hero who is just as unlikable as the villains he graphically crushes under his big feet , and you get a violent , corny , and unintentionally hilarious anime that's best watched and mabey (just mabey) enjoyed while drunk. Very , very drunk.

Violence jack ? Unintentionally funny jack more like. grrrr.

The screen dwellers (mark out of 5): *

First things first, this is not the greatest work of anime ever by any means. If you want to see the greatest anime ever (well, in my humble opinion) that title belongs to Ghost in the Shell.

True, Violence Jack is crudely animated and poorly scripted, but it is also a visceral assault on the senses. These animators have just poured their darkest fantasies onto a blank canvas and the product is Violence Jack. The most compelling aspect of this film is that you are shocked but riveted by its twisted reality.

The rape scenes are appalling and you can not believe the animators have got away with such a graphic depection of the act. You dismiss them as sick perverts, and perhaps they are, but at the same time you are rivited to the screen in much the same way that people slow down as they pass the scene of an accident. You want to see what chaos and retribution Jack will inflict on the characters responsible.

I guess what I'm trying to say is its easy to dismiss what at first glace seems poor, but the fact that this film pushes the boundries of taste and decency, much like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Scanners, will keep you bemused. This series of films became a cult classic in my house last year after we watched them on the Sci-Fi channel. The final film in particular is responsible for one of the greatest lines of dialogue of all time;

BAD GUY: "GO TO HELL!!!"

JACK: "I'LL GO HOME WHEN I'M GOOD AND READY!"

My 1/10 mangaupdates review for the manga but the 3 OVA's are direct adaptations: This Slum King is well documented already and Bennett The Sage did not even review the equally abhorred ova which is banned in Australia/Germany when he reviewed in for real so you know what to expect. Just look at (my) categories and know that cannibalistic futanari rape (yes that is a sentence) is a thing and not the worst part of the manga. Dick slicing and then devouring, child rape and.. are in it too with no further meaning to back them up so this is basically gore porn only. The first few volumes were published as shonen so that is just lovely, the art is meh at best, the continuity and tone make no sense, the cameo's are a disgrace and i hate these characters already so let's stop. One day a group will unleash the entire thing on the world but i had my fill a decade ago. Till then you will have to imagine the fire or RUN FOR YOUR LIFE/SANITY. Berserk reigns supreme on the other end of the spectrum and only his Dante Shinkyoku (8,5/10) and to a lesser degree Mugen Utamaro (7/10) should be read but both are also adaptations. Amon - Devilman Mokushiroku (6/10) is the only part of the Devilman(4/10) mythos i can give to other people without fearing a lawsuit btw. Fun fact: Sho Aikawa wrote the ova's for V.J. and the ones for Urotsukidōji too. He also wrote most of the first FMA anime so that puts it's misguided gecko ending in perspective doesn't it?