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Holistic Guidance - Genocyber 1: Birth of Genocyber
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List Price: $14.99
Our Price: $0.50
Your Save: $ 14.49 ( 97% )
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
Starring: Vincent Bagnall
Directed By: Koichi Ohata
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303104317
Format: Animated
ISBN: 6303104312
Label: Us Manga Corps Video
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Us Manga Corps Video
Release Date: 2002-08-06
Running Time: 106
Studio: Us Manga Corps Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1993
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The most underrated anime I've ever seen
Comment: After finishing Genocyber, I really feel that I should write a review, because all over the Internet there is a lot of negativity directed at this series, and after viewing it, I strongly disagree with the negative reviews railed against this great OVA and thus feel obligated to give it the praise and respect that I feel it rightfully deserves.
First of all, if you are squeamish and do not like blood and gore, then you should obviously not watch this series, as people are torn apart and eviscerated throughout each episode, and yes, this does include children. Many people found the opening scene in which several children are gunned down, their bodies graphically torn apart to be disturbing and absolutely appalling. While such a scene might at first glance seem pointless and random to some people, it factors into Elaine's (who is referred to as Laura in this episode) motivations later on in this and in the next episode as it is hinted that she might have had a bond with some of these children.
Other people have criticized this has either having no plot or having a very choppy plot that is hard to follow. I personally had no issues following what was going on or being able to figure out why certain things happened the way they did or why characters reacted to events the way that they did and I did not think that the series felt choppy or rushed at all. This isn't one five-part storyline, but instead three 45-minute stories, the first one set in the early twenty-first century (which would be considered the near-future back in 1993 when this series was made), the second one, which encompasses episodes 2 and 3, being in the near future, and the third, encompassing episodes 4 and 5, being set hundreds of years into the future. Each story involves the Genocyber character but are otherwise unrelated to one another and the viewer must keep this in mind when watching the series rather than sitting there complaining about how it all of a sudden jumps to the year 2400 and has completely different characters than the ones it started off with. Each storyline is handled very well, with plenty of violence, gore, and carnage to satiate the bloodlust, but it also contains plenty of intelligence and a very compelling plot as well.
Characterization has been done well enough considering that each story only has about 45 minutes to delve into the characters and get the plot rolling, but they do give you enough information about characters to understand their motivations and reactions and each storyline features a few likeable heroes to root for, such as Myra in Episode 2 and 3, who lost her own child earlier but is very protective of "Laura" during this arc. In episode 4 and 5 we have Mel who is blind but psychic and Ryu her lover, who is searching for a cure for her affliction in the City of the Grand Arc and winds up getting himself way over his head in the process once he and Mel are caught in the middle of the war between the government of that city and the underground worshippers. Elaine is a very endearing character; a mute child with the mind of an animal, yet with a heart of gold and a fierce protectiveness toward her friends. The motivation of the villainous are not as well fleshed out beyond motives such as greed, arrogance, power, and the need to keep that power and they are therefore not at all sympathetic. But they are still believably portrayed. Each of the characters were interesting in their own way, and perhaps if the stories were longer they might have been fleshed out even better (though the stories were as long as they needed to be, in my opinion), but characterization was still handled well and I did find myself caring about what happened to them.
Considering this anime was made in 1993, the art and animation hold up fairly well. The artwork was clean and detailed, particularly on the gory bits, and the character designs were well-rendered. The animation flows well enough, though there are a lot of still frames throughout each episode.
Overall, I found Genocyber to be a very enjoyable and compelling ride through each of the three storylines and can recommend the series with at least some confidence despite the glaringly negative nature of many of the reviews I have read. Obviously, if you prefer more light-hearted, zany, happier fare such as shoujo, slice-of-life, high school comedies, or animes of that nature, then you will absolutely despise Genocyber with every fiber of your being. If on the other hand you prefer works of a darker and more brutal nature, such as Elfen Lied, Now and Then Here and There, Berserk, or Gantz, then I urge you to at least give Genocyber a try and hope that you will enjoy it as much as I have.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Waaay underrated
Comment: I think that the reason why this gets generally unfavorable reviews is because it's seen by people who it wasn't intended for. Like, if you mostly watch calmer anime, like Shoujo, why would you watch this?
I find this to be a very intelligent piece of sci-fi. A lot of the subtler elements of politics, ethics, religion, and philosophy seem to be lost on the other reviewers. After watching it in its entirety, I actually believe that there is an underlying message of Christianity to the whole thing. A Clockwork Orange, which in the early 70's, was considered extreme, has an underlying Catholic message (as reported by author Anthony Burgess himself). The violence is definitely quite graphic, but necessary for the point of the movie. I think that Ohata is quite a political thinker, and is aware of the attrocities that men do to one another. This OAV is very much a study of human evil. Those kids who were killed at the beginning of episode 2 were not done so for sick pleasure, but to prove the point that innocents suffer the most in a wartime conflict.
The plot, I actually find to be not as hard to follow as others suggest it is. I think that the others are just so put off by the violence, they stop paying attention to what is really going on. So if you don't like violence, DON"T WATCH IT! THIS MOVIE ISN"T FOR YOU! The other reviewers will have you think that this is 2 1/2 hours of only violence. Not true. Long periods go by without any significant action, as there is a complicated plot that is underway, besides the action.
The characters are all pretty well crafted, and we care about them. The story of Dianna and Elaine is very touching, as is the story of the couple the Ark de Grande story at the end. There are quite a few touching moments. This is as much a human story as it is a more general sci-fi exposition.
The voice acting in the dubbed version is sort of comical ("Isn't. That. Right. Raznack?"). The animation is clearly outdated, but there are some pretty interesting visual effects throughout. There at times pencil sketches, and CG.
If you watch this, try to get a sense of what's really going on. If the violence is too much of a distraction, then don't even bother. This is a smarter piece of sci-fi than it gets credit for.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant in Its shortcomings, but the Premise is Rock Solid
Comment: I've seen many reviews griping of the violence/gore factor, and having this negatively impacting the entire review. This bias is undeserved; the violence or rather the intensity of it speaks to the inhuman nature of those committing the acts of violence. Note that the perpetrators are humans who've been radically implanted with cybernetics---inhumanity attained through the intrusiveness of technology. The main plotline of two sister fusing their psyches to become a complete being was a brilliant metaphor for the dominance struggle of two personalities. I'll admit, when I first saw MD GEIST at 16, I was apalled by the viciousness and hostility of the characters and their respective settings, but when I began watching it again (i'm now in my early twenties) I saw the thematic necessity of such a volatile atmosphere. The work, much like Genocyber, is from the dystopian school of science fiction akin to Blade Runner and Akira; where technology has transformed humanity into the boogey man and, in effect, making man a part of the problem. Also, in the last installment of the OVA, the cult worshipping what is actually the Genocyber is a great allegory for the instictive assimilation of culture by religion. All of the aforementioned themes are dark, negative and inherently evil; thus making them less appealing to a viewer demographic that enjoys goofy slapstick hijinks, teenage romances, and giant robots piloted by teenage antiheros or other mass-appeal sub-plots so popular nowadays. This is anime for the crowd that outgrew wing gundam when it was popular, and want to see the extremes of technology and its violent backlash against society brought about by those that greedily aspired to harness and control power too destructive to make any benefit on the whole of humanity. The storyline is a bit punctuated; that is a noticeable reality. Overall, this is proabably Ohatas most fleshed out work. Plus the android metamorphoses are mind-blowing. For the scifi fans that like a little blood spilled on their mecha. Premise-5/5
Customer Rating:
Summary: High Quality Anime Gore
Comment: This is one of my favorite animes of all time. From the ultra-apocalyptic theme for humanity to the female-deity theme of the angel of death, this movie is solid from front to back.
It takes the thematic elements that most hardcore animes use and takes them to an extreme level. So if you like watching things blow up, turn into giant fleshy robots, be eaten from the inside, evolve novel technological life forms, etc, this is the movie for you. It may be gory, but the artwork is inspired and I wouldn't cut a scene from Genocyber for anything. You can tell that the animators put a lot of talent into scenes of not only gore but also into action scenes and apocalyptic scenes. From front to back this movie has either humans playing with science they shouldn't play with or ferocious and beautiful angels and demons and their creatively written battles. In short, if you want to see some beautiful drawings of the most intense s*** you hope never actually happens to our planet, watch Genocyber.
Customer Rating:
Summary: WITH OUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT, THE WORST ANIME OF ALL TIME!
Comment: Don't waste your time watching this movie, it will make you sick with gore. Watching the entire motion picture gave me a headache and I was disgusted with myself for a week for watching it all the way through. The first five minutes should have told me it was going to be horrendous, every other word was the "F" word. There is foul language, molestation, attempted rape, the inside looking out of a woman giving birth, severed body parts beyond belief, blood, vomiting, spilling guts and exploding brains, sexual situations, nudity, and violence against women and children. The only good thing about this movie was the organs were well drawn.
It seemed like the plot lost its train of thought and was being made up as they were going along. It doesn't make sense, and switches gears left and right. It starts out with two physic sisters, and when the little sister takes mind control over the other, they combined to create a super power called Angel. Then it goes on to destroy there enemies and in doing so destroys the earth. Almost all of humanity was killed off in doing so, then it jumped centuries into the future. Then they have the nerve to put Christianity into the film and making the "genocyber" God to them. I did not know they could make a show this appalling. I have never seen an anime movie or series that comes even close to how ghastly this was. If you like this movie, I swear something has got to be wrong with you.
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