Parasite Dolls - CineGeek
- CineGeek
- Stephen Lackey
- 11/09/04
- click here
"The art design is gorgeous"
"Everything is grittier, darker, and more adult."
Parasite Dolls
ADV Films brings us this set of three episodes that have been combined into a feature length release. This story is a side story set within the futuristic world originally created in Bubblegum Crisis and later expanded upon by the A.D. Police series.
The Movie
In 2035 androids known as 'Boomers' live alongside humans. They were created to serve as workers and as sex toys. On occasion these Boomers malfunction in some way and can become dangerous. The A.D. Police are responsible for stopping the rogue Boomers. The Branch, an elite investigative team connected to the A.D. Police, takes on some of the tougher cases. These stories are much more noir than those of Bubblegum Crisis and A.D. Police focusing more on the investigation than the big guns.
Buzz, the primary detective within The Branch, his partner, who is a Boomer, and a renegade female work together to stop the murders of Boomers and stop the Boomers from killing humans. Buzz is the most complex character of the three, and really the only one given a good amount of development. He has transferred to The Branch from the A.D. Police due to an incident that nearly got him kicked off the force and that continues to haunt him.
These three individual stories within the film should be familiar to most fans of cyberpunk stories from Philip K. Dick and William Gibson. In the first story Boomers seem to be on a drug that is causing their programming to go haywire. In the investigation The Branch learns that this case involves more than just street drugs, it goes to the top and features a twist at the end that none of them could have suspected. The second story involves a serial killer targeting Boomer prostitutes. This story also considers in the most moving of ways whether an android can dream. It really made me think of Blade Runner the most of the three. The last story, and definitely the best of the three involves a terrorist who believes the world would be a better place without the Boomers. So a plot is hatched that will destroy half of Tokyo and 90% of the means to manufacture Boomers, and it all gets blamed on Branch officer Buzz.
None of these stories are innovative and more often than not character development is sacrificed for the sake of the main plot. This is a mistake because the characters are what makes these stories unique. The worst problem with Parasite Dolls has to be the fact that these episodes are stitched together as a feature film. The only thing connecting these stories is a very minor story arc involving the female lead being in love with Buzz but not pursuing it. These stories do feel like individual episodes of a series rather than one long film. There's no big far reaching story arc that plays out through the entire film, other than the fact that these are cops dealing with Boomers. It sort of reminds me of the collection of short stories within Asimov's I, Robot novel. On the upside while they aren't as innovative as say Ghost in the Shell or as deep thinking as Blade Runner, they are still smarter than many anime films currently available, and a lot of fun. On top of that is the upgrade in atmosphere from previous stories set in this world. Everything is grittier, darker, and more adult.
The second and third stories are far superior to the first in execution and in plot. The third story in fact makes the disc worth a buy. The action is exciting but still subdued and the characters are grounded enough to be easy to identify with. The presentation, outside of a few issues with character animations, is top notch. The art design is gorgeous and goes a long way to setting the emotional tone of the movie. I especially love the super blurry sepia coated car chase in the last story. The bright neon lights and dark shadows are utilized heavily in the storytelling and I couldn't get enough. In some ways Parasite Dolls is a throw back to great anime such as Akira in that it has gorgeous visuals but the tone is a bit on the somber side. Even with the flaws I mentioned Parasite Dolls is still superior to most anime hitting domestic shores today.
8/10
The Video
The full screen presentation looks exceptional with only minor issues. There were a few instances where the blacks looked a little soft. Other than that the transfer is excellent featuring great color and contrast.
8/10
The Audio
The 5.1 mix is fairly front loaded with a few nice exceptions when the rear speakers kick in. The explosions in the last story blast through the rear speakers nice and loud. The only disappointment is the lack of sub woofer action during these explosions. Dialogue, score, and sound effects come through loud and clear.
7/10
The Packaging and Bonus Features
The single disc release cones in a standard keep case. I usually like what ADV does with their cover art, except in this case. It's just kind of ugly. The girl on the cover sort of resembles a character in the movie but only after a drunken night with no sleep.
There's not much in the way of extras here. We do get a couple of videos used to promote the launch of the title here and in Japan. There's nothing surprising in the videos but it's cool to see how the movie was promoted prior to launch. There's also a music video, some production notes, and some sketches. That's about it.
3/10
This film offers a unique and refreshingly adult atmosphere to the world of the 'Boomer'. For fans of the previous stories in the series or fans of cyberpunk such as Blade Runner, Parasite Dolls is a must.
Overall (Not an Average) 8/10
Posted on Tuesday, November 09, 2004 (Archive on Thursday, December 09, 2004)