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Violence Jack Pt. 2 - Hell's Wind

Anime OVA

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Wow. Just too awful. Not enough words to describe this tripe.

Nov 24, 2012

by Madpenguin
posted in ASIANatomy

Rating:

-3

Many cities on the Earth are destroyed when a gigantic meteor breaks up into smaller devastating pieces. The impacts across the globe spawn a series of earthquakes and millions die. In the aftermath, several factions begin to surface and the world has quickly fallen into the "survival of the fittest" mindset. In the Kanto region, a man by the name of the Slum King has set his sight on domination. One man stands in his way... Violence Jack.

Previous Volumes:

Violence Jack Part One - Slum King aka Harem Bomber

Violence Jack Part Two - Evil Town

Violence Jack Part Three - Hell's Wind:

A young couple are attacked by a biker gang called Hell's Wind. Jun's boyfriend is massacred by the gang before her eyes, and she's then raped by them. Hell's Wind next invades a small town and begins killing the villagers. They get more than they bargain for on this particular violence trip. -summary

I am still struggling on what exactly is more horrifying. The fact someone out there actually thought Violence Jack was important enough to make it to a DVD set, or that I have actually seen this putrid anime OVA featured on at least one person's greatest anime of all time list; both are just too disturbing to think about because these people obviously have very low standards when it comes down to their entertainment. I have seen some very bad titles over the years, with some of them actually forcing me to put them off for a few days in between episodes. Violence Jack put me off a few weeks to even months in between the three episodes. I thought this anime was bad before, but after this rewatch it is totally wretched, and I mean wow, unbelievable.

Violence Jack is a three part OVA series based on random stories from Go Nagai's manga of the same name. This volume is meant to be second in Japanese language and third in English. Since these stories are stand alone they can be seen in any order. Directed by Takuya Wada, Hell's Wind continues to increase the body count while examining the exact same themes concerning evil people with power, and being as tasteless as it can possibly be along the way.

The plot begins when Jun returns for vengeance against the gang, and she begins to take them out in an all out battle with explosive arrows. Later, Violence Jack makes his dramatic entrance and one would think this is when things would become better. Well, after the first two volumes starring our charismatic-handicapped hulking friend, I did not expect anything other than staleness and that's what I got. Jack tosses a few punches, and then stares into space only to be shot repeatedly as if he's some type of irresistible force of nature just waiting to explode on these poor bastards asses, and then.... he does nothing but hit the floor, only to be bandaged up and transported to the next battle. Yeah, that's what happens. Then we wait and wait for another lame action scene that leads to an ending leaving story elements wide open. I know that OVA's are usually low budget and one shouldn't expect much from them, but if you seen Area 88, Battle Angel, or Neo Tokyo, then you will know that these titles can be pretty damn amazing when put into the right hands. Violence Jack is so poorly done that I can see it pushing away any newcomers to the anime genre. Please dismiss any claims of this being the gold standard of anime in any time period.

Wada also doesn't skip out on the misogyny, as you will be treated to some really long torture scenes that grows quite annoying. Outside of some really sick death scenes that I did think were kind of cool. I really didn't enjoy this volume. I didn't care for the side characters at all, Jack is just too damn lame for words, and there were some stupid story elements. Seriously, Violence Jack makes Fist of the Northstar look like 2001.

Visually this volume looked a little better and there were moments where the midnight dark blues helped with the atmosphere. The violence is pretty graphic at times with guts torn out of stomachs, and people ripped into two pieces. However, there are far too many shortcuts taken with still action, and too many explosives simulating action. There's no real choreography to speak of, and as a result the animation just really isn't good. The language is only in subtitles, and some times the words move by a little too fast. My feelings on the voice acting is mixed; some of the adult characters sounded alright while the kids were just too chibi for my taste.

If I will give this anime OVA any credit at all, is that it truly knows what it wants to be. It maintains a dark, sinister tone through out. The world is indeed hell and the backgrounds along with the vile mannerisms of the local bandits depict this. It's such a shame though that this OVA wasn't put into the hands of people with talent. To this day, I have not read the manga on this and although it sounds promising, I can't bring myself to reading it, because Go Nagai's batting average has been pretty low from the things I've seen. If you enjoy over the top violent anime with hentai elements then this is for you. Others who need better storytelling, well developed and interesting characters shouldn't even bother.

Pros:
-Tonal Consistency

Cons:
-Wretched in just about every other area

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RabidChihuahua November 28, 2012

Another great review, Frank. I haven't seen any of the Violence Jack OVAs, and while they don't look good at all, something tells me that I'd probably enjoy them more than High School of the Dead.

Madpenguin November 28, 2012

You probably would like this more. And I'm going to spend the rest of my life forgetting High School of the Dead. I don't even want it in my collection.

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FM_ALEX November 26, 2012

I love these reviews man

Madpenguin November 26, 2012

heh, I'm actually on my way to torching something else.

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woopak_the_thrill November 24, 2012

your negative reviews are the ones I really enjoy--your lines can really make me crack up. Hey, this was better than HELL GIRL? LOL

Madpenguin November 25, 2012

Hell Girl had far more to work with and the writers chose to milk the hell out of it. I'm sure I explained why I hate Hell Girl so much, but if you're that curious about it still then watch it for yourself. You might like it, after all you enjoyed High School of the Dead and I think that shit is complete trash with no redeeming qualities at all.

woopak_the_thrill November 25, 2012

nah....I tried to see a few episodes of Hell Girl and I couldn't get into it. I just always see that one as the measuring stick as to how much you can dislike anime.

Madpenguin November 25, 2012

The worst anime ever for me would probably be a toss up between Art of Fighting and Spectral Force. For a series more than 13 episodes.... Hell Girl definitely gets the nod because it relies on a gimmick that was barely good for the 80's. It shamelessly uses the format to Vampire Princess Miyu and tries to be so deep despite reusing the exact same themes and outcomes over and over. It's 26 episodes for no logical reason other than to seperate people from their cash. I rather rewatch Eden's Bowy before that pile of pig shit, and I hate that series a whole lot too. It grinds my gears just knowing people have the nerve to defend Hell Girl.

For an OVA, Violence Jack may not be the worst I ever seen. MD Geist is worse, Voogies Angel, Knights of Ramune, Kodomo no Jikan, man, I've seen some very terrible shit over the years.

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More Violence Jack Pt. 2 - Hell's W... reviews

Quick Tip by Madpenguin. November 24, 2012

posted in ASIANatomy

A Quick Tip by Madpenguin

This horrendous 3 part OVA pulls the trifecta in being pure ass. Outside of its consistent tone and maybe a killing here or there, there's nothing to really speak highly of here.

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About the reviewer

Madpenguin
Ranked #2

Serious gamer and hardcore comic reader. Currently in my Nintendo Wii U: Currently … more