Genocyber is a loose/freeform adaptation (directed by Koichi Ohata) of the infamous cult Manga of the same name, written by Tony Takezaki in 1992. It is also genuinely one of the most CONTROVERSIAL, misunderstood, powerful, and equally underrated Anime OVA miniseries EVER made with quite the troubled production history too! If you don't know what OVA means then I highly recommend reading about it on wikipedia, the process is actually pretty interesting to say the least! Tragically, there was only one singular volume released of the orgiinal Manga before it was quickly discontinued for unknown reasons, thus never finished which is a damn shame. This is just one of the few reasons why it's one of the seriously most UNDERRATED Animes of all time!
Genocyber is notorious for its extreme graphic violence, as well as rather dark subject matter despite the strong surreal, Post-Apocalyptic Cyberpunk storyline which resulted in it being banned in Japan soon after its initial release in 1994. Just like with Midori (Chika Gento Gekiga: Shojo Tsubaki, roughly translates as "Underground Projected Dramatic Pictures: Maiden Camellia") which was a 1992 Japanese independent Ero Guro, experimental Adult horror/Drama film by Hiroshi Harada, based on Suehiro Maruo's surreal comic version of the kamishibai standard. Although much different in plot, it still was heavily controversial and even reviled by many at the time by it's daring, bold, genre-defying, more or less boundary-breaking content. Because of this, it is very hard to find in its home country still to this day.
Many have tried to argue that it's "only gore for for gore sake", and that there is very little, or no plot at all despite there being an abundant amount of evidence to easily rebuke such ludicrous claims. Some viewers have also inately suggested that the Anime has no message either, and that if it did, the violence has destroyed any sort of thing ever existing... Unfortunately the piss-poor English dub is too frustrating to not only listen to, but also try and watch. Mainly due to the amateur voice acting, in addition to just how much of the dialogue was lost in translation. I highly recommend the original Japanese with English subtitles, if not the DVD put out by Central Park Media and US MANGA CORPS for optimal quality.
In contrast to the gore: Not only does it have sincerely wonderful visuals, but also magnificent character development, likewise with a surprisingly complex, well-written plot to go along with an incredible futuristic soundtrack that is reminiscent of other OVA Anime classics like both Wicked City (1987), and Demon City Shinjuku (1989). The only down-side to this though is that the animation quality sort of falters after the 3rd episode due to budget restraints. However it is nothing major and only a minor flaw, but still worth mentioning to those that are curious. Is not the fault of the animator but the production company for being a little too over their heads on a patricularly tight budget. It definitely is FAR from being poorly done amateur animation either (like some harebrained viewers have also stated), it is more or less, very well done for its time and what little money they had.
I wish that people could look past the carefully planned violent action scenes of Genocyber to what it's saying about technology's role in the natural dilapidation of a human being in a world where corporations only treat them as cattle and subjects. For example, when the One world government was being formed in the anime, it uses the fact that now old tribal wars can be fought with War Machines and Mechas now thanks to the UNs role in sponsoring tribal wars in almost every part of Africa. Not to mention, at the beginning of Episode 2 Ohata already makes the clever decision of showing children being torn apart by rapid fire from a War Helicopter Chaingun in the most inhumane way possible (this is one of the most infamous scenes of the Anime that caused quite a stir with audiences, as well as censors worldwide). Needless to say, we aren't given context to this scene until the next... However first and foremost, what it's trying to tell us is that by letting any children die at all in your world you've essentially already doomed yourselves to a hopeless future within a cold, decaying War Utopia.
That's why the final boss of the anime is an American leader who talks about peace as children are being murdered in his police state, so the children are all underground, That's why the world of Genocyber was as bleak as it was supposed to be, the soul of man was basically dead. Which also means that by murdering the hope of the future, it demonizes anybody and every person who never thought about the cruel, dehumanizing aspects of war. It's clear from the very start that this is an ANTI-WAR Anime with more than one reference to Akira (1988) by Katsuhiro Otomo, if not the atomic bomb in general. Some of the bleakest, nightmarish, and most psychedelic imagery I've ever seen with my own two eyes was used to invoke the intensity of an abstract shroom trip. To sum it up, Genocyber is basically a Cyberpunk Dystopian bad Acid trip thats ready to test whoever ventures into its territory at his/her own risk. 9/10
Genocyber is notorious for its extreme graphic violence, as well as rather dark subject matter despite the strong surreal, Post-Apocalyptic Cyberpunk storyline which resulted in it being banned in Japan soon after its initial release in 1994. Just like with Midori (Chika Gento Gekiga: Shojo Tsubaki, roughly translates as "Underground Projected Dramatic Pictures: Maiden Camellia") which was a 1992 Japanese independent Ero Guro, experimental Adult horror/Drama film by Hiroshi Harada, based on Suehiro Maruo's surreal comic version of the kamishibai standard. Although much different in plot, it still was heavily controversial and even reviled by many at the time by it's daring, bold, genre-defying, more or less boundary-breaking content. Because of this, it is very hard to find in its home country still to this day.
Many have tried to argue that it's "only gore for for gore sake", and that there is very little, or no plot at all despite there being an abundant amount of evidence to easily rebuke such ludicrous claims. Some viewers have also inately suggested that the Anime has no message either, and that if it did, the violence has destroyed any sort of thing ever existing... Unfortunately the piss-poor English dub is too frustrating to not only listen to, but also try and watch. Mainly due to the amateur voice acting, in addition to just how much of the dialogue was lost in translation. I highly recommend the original Japanese with English subtitles, if not the DVD put out by Central Park Media and US MANGA CORPS for optimal quality.
In contrast to the gore: Not only does it have sincerely wonderful visuals, but also magnificent character development, likewise with a surprisingly complex, well-written plot to go along with an incredible futuristic soundtrack that is reminiscent of other OVA Anime classics like both Wicked City (1987), and Demon City Shinjuku (1989). The only down-side to this though is that the animation quality sort of falters after the 3rd episode due to budget restraints. However it is nothing major and only a minor flaw, but still worth mentioning to those that are curious. Is not the fault of the animator but the production company for being a little too over their heads on a patricularly tight budget. It definitely is FAR from being poorly done amateur animation either (like some harebrained viewers have also stated), it is more or less, very well done for its time and what little money they had.
I wish that people could look past the carefully planned violent action scenes of Genocyber to what it's saying about technology's role in the natural dilapidation of a human being in a world where corporations only treat them as cattle and subjects. For example, when the One world government was being formed in the anime, it uses the fact that now old tribal wars can be fought with War Machines and Mechas now thanks to the UNs role in sponsoring tribal wars in almost every part of Africa. Not to mention, at the beginning of Episode 2 Ohata already makes the clever decision of showing children being torn apart by rapid fire from a War Helicopter Chaingun in the most inhumane way possible (this is one of the most infamous scenes of the Anime that caused quite a stir with audiences, as well as censors worldwide). Needless to say, we aren't given context to this scene until the next... However first and foremost, what it's trying to tell us is that by letting any children die at all in your world you've essentially already doomed yourselves to a hopeless future within a cold, decaying War Utopia.
That's why the final boss of the anime is an American leader who talks about peace as children are being murdered in his police state, so the children are all underground, That's why the world of Genocyber was as bleak as it was supposed to be, the soul of man was basically dead. Which also means that by murdering the hope of the future, it demonizes anybody and every person who never thought about the cruel, dehumanizing aspects of war. It's clear from the very start that this is an ANTI-WAR Anime with more than one reference to Akira (1988) by Katsuhiro Otomo, if not the atomic bomb in general. Some of the bleakest, nightmarish, and most psychedelic imagery I've ever seen with my own two eyes was used to invoke the intensity of an abstract shroom trip. To sum it up, Genocyber is basically a Cyberpunk Dystopian bad Acid trip thats ready to test whoever ventures into its territory at his/her own risk. 9/10