8 Man After

This was one of the very first anime titles I had a chance of seeing in the mid-90s when the Sci-fi Channel usually aired anime movies and OVAs. By the looks of it, Streamline combined the OVA episodes into a nearly two hour long movie for its video release and it lacks the original Japanese audio track, even with its DVD release. It's also apparently supposed to serve as a sequel of sorts to a 1960s TV anime series take to the 8-Man character yet with a more darker and edgier feel to it. But like Iria Zeiram the Animation and Green Legend Ran whenI seen them on Sci-fi, I can't say 8 Man After's aged too well for me when I have had enough exposure to many titles over the years. The anime does do a decent job at first sucking you into its cyberpunk-like world with a corrupt megacorporation and an enthusiastic freelance detective fishing around for clues suspecting that the executive of said corporation has connections to the city's crime world. But when the character of 8 Man makes his presence felt towards the middle of the series, things do become formulaic pretty quickly with the series making a poor mix out of the typical "anti-hero hooked on revenge" cliche and 8 Man's character becoming conflicted with the blurring of both his human and robot sides. While the latter usually has its potential in cyberpunk titles to explore a robotic character conflicted with their humanity, the series does suffer some major logical lapses with how 8 Man came about with his origins as some details on his past are brought up from a man who provides maintenance and his missions for him and the series conveniently ignores this issue as later developments in the main plot progress thus killing any kind of feeling one is suppose to have for 8 Man's personal conflicts. The plot with the megacorporation is your typical Hollywood-style plot in terms of its development and having its fair share of over-the-top moments compliments of the violent activity of the thugs and the issues faced from the megacorporation's actions. The only prominent aspect of the plot that stuck out decently was its exploration on how the megacorporation's actions effected a washed-up football player who winded up having his limbs converted into a cyborg during the later part of the series. The visuals to 8 Man After are mostly standard for the time period with decent details given to scenery shots and character designs, though 8 Man's design looks a bit rough compared to other characters. The animation leaves quite a bit to be desired as animation shortcuts are quite apparent in action sequences, especially with reused animation frames done when 8 Man is showing off his ridiculous speed. The music does do its part to complement the title's various scenes, though nothing memorable sticks out with it. Unless you are a fan of the original 8 Man anime and/or manga series, I wouldn't recommend watching 8 Man After as many of its prominent elements are quite cliched and poorly developed making it a weak watch if you are a fan of cyberpunk titles.

8-Man After is the sequel to the original 8-Man series of the 60's.The character was also given a live action film I have never seen and a couple of manga series as well. There has also been a video game released of him for the old Neo Geo system. 8-Man has also been said to be the inspiration for Robo-Cop. The similarities seem to be rather obvious but I think it pales in comparison to the robotic police officer. The point people.... 8-Man is rather popular and has developed quite a following. 8-Man After is in no way a work of art and I could neverconsider it to be classic material. It is a below average OVA that would have been better suited for a 13 episode format. The story is simple and predictable at times, to include it doesn't truly excel in any area. The OVA contains action scenes that are brutal at times. You get quite a few graphic death and body tearing scenes, with the occasional blood gushes that have become synonymous with anime of the 90's. Some of the action consist of 8-Man running pass his opponents at very high speeds causing them damage, plus using his super strength to tear off their cyborg body parts in bloody fashion. It's cool to watch at first, but soon becomes boring due to its repetitive usage, which is very similar to the exploding heads found in Fist of the Northstar. The setting of the anime is an often over looked attribute. The OVA paints a decent picture of the crime laden city. The gangsters have no respect for the police department, and random violence does claim the lives of civilians. The dark tone is never really lost, and the very small comedic segments doesn't rob it of the dark setting provided. Unfortunately, the length didn't give this viewer much reason to truly become gripped to the story. This is only one of the areas where a longer length could have helped the story develop. I believe there was a bit too much attempted here with not enough runtime to accomplish it. Surprisingly, there is a very small bit of character development to be found here, which is mainly provided through character background. Now to me, character background doesn't quite equate to character development; unless the character becomes a better or worse person, but the background was indeed needed since it added a bit of depth to at least one of the characters, in particular, a former washed up football player seeking to regain his former glory through cyborg implants. I'm sure there's a former broken athlete before his time out there whom could relate to this in some way. Once again, it's a shame that the length works against this story element as with others because more time could have fleshed out the characters a lot more. The artwork is decent and doesn't have that much of a dated feel to me. 8-Man has a nice, yet cold look with the coolest design in the OVA. The gangsters whom are referred to as cyber junkies are ok themselves, with some of them using rocket launchers and gatling guns for limbs. Almost everything else is sub-par at best. The animation has plenty of down moments on the other hand which consist of re-used cels. For example, 8-Man running in slow motion on static backgrounds time and time again, plus too many annoying stills, such as the main cast speaking and moving while everyone is in freeze frame motion. Some of the battles took the lazy approach by providing quick paced, non detailed action in order to simulate action. The few battle scenes that contain motion are pretty good though. Although the soundtrack is nothing impressive and barely worth mentioning. The music sets a good mood for the action taking place. I also have to mention that there is no Japanese sub for this release which can be an issue for some viewers. The OVA has an ending that seems too rushed but at least the loose ends are tied up well. The main villain is also a plus in someways, however he never came off as a real threat to me. 8-Man After can really use a remake. The film can use a longer run time, better animation, and character development. It definitely needs more to become the classic that several has claimed it to be. I have known many to compare this with Ninja Scroll in a good way concerning action. Don't believe this for one second; there is no comparison between the two. Ninja Scroll is far more stylish with much better and memorable choreographed action. It blows 8-Man After into pieces in the action department. I only recommend this title to hard core anime fans and action gurus. There is also no fan service for those whom must have that in their anime. Others are better off skipping it. Highs: Some good gore, dark tone, somewhat decent action at times... Lows:...action is weak otherwise, re-used animation, kind of stale

yooooo...I enjoyed this anime having watched it for the first time today it did not disappoint. so i dig it very much. i loved every aspect of the anime narrative story, and the name given to the ultimate super hero '8 man' like a man who never dies or if he does he comes back to life (8=infinity yeah? whatever lol) The soundtrack to this anime was part of the reason it kept me wanting to watch it as you may know the story ends with the inevitable, all action super hero live and win, by destroying the enemies in the citytown, the catch is that sometimes it will make you question wether that isn't the case for once. what if this time round, a superhero leaves and never comes back after suffering a violent death? but hey what do you think or do?, well...you turn to technology and make man a machine to fully operate and functioned for military purposes and local police duties. thats the story. :)