MYSTIC'S CAVE

Reviews

Genocyber

(1994)

22/07/21

ジェノサイバー虚界の魔獣

I don't mind watching trash from time to time. Some anime are certainly best enjoyed with the expectation that they are going to be just that, and I think genocyber is one of them.

While the five episodes do tell one story, it feels more like three. The first episode tells one of these, covering the creation of the genocyber. It's a bit stupid, to be blunt, but there's some good gory moments and some cool cyborgs. It's the darkest and ugliest of the episodes, and the overall vibe actually lightens up afterwards. Then there's episodes 2 and 3, which tell a story that seems to come from a different anime to the others. They take place on a futuristic aircraft carrier, which becomes a battleground for two superpowered beings. The final two episodes, are not worth it. The good gore is gone by that point, and there's not even much to be seen of the monster. They tell the story of a couple pursued by authorities in a dystopian city, while the genocyber is dormant.

Ignoring the story, the visuals and sound are pretty good (Here I feel obliged to point out that I don't measure an anime by the framerate or fluidity of the movement). The gore is quite creative, I think. It's more than just blood too, there's organs, bones, and things that really don't belong inside bodies in the first place. People get burnt, vaporised, torn in half, blown to pieces, etc. etc. No disappointment there. There's also some pretty cool machines, particularly in the first episode, but it's pretty standard stuff. There's also some really cool sound effects, although they don't always match what's happening. As for the voices (english dub) - not great, but not horrible (for the time).

Overall, the redeeming factors only apply to the first three episodes. I'd recommend watching those if you like gore and destruction. Give the last two a skip, unless time is not that valuable.