Genocyber...
Way back when VCRs still stalked the Earth, I picked up the VHS version of Genocyber...
In Genocyber, we have none of that sappy teamwork stuff here -- the two main characters are sisters (possibly paternal twins) and are just out to kill each other (well... more so one than the other). There are some very gruesome scenes -- a nice close-up view, in slow-motion, of kids being blasted to pieces by machine-gun fire comes to mind. There's quite a lot of red ink and gore in the series including severed limbs, blood-spattered walls and notably, one person wakes up to find his internal organs exposed. While there are no naughty bits to speak of, there is one highly suggestive scene where we see an X-Ray of one character's skeleton while another character has a hand inside the first character's body. If you blink, you might miss it -- the X-Ray isn't on-screen for very long.
There are three story arcs and each arc shifts in time and location. Genocyber starts off in the present day, then moves a few years in the future and then moves a few centuries in the future. All the while, the battles between Genocyber and the Kuryu Corporation get bigger and more violent. There are some people who have issues with the disjointed feel of the story, but, I'm not one of them. Of the three parts to the story, I like the first and last parts best. The middle segment is a bit slow after the aforementioned kiddie-machine gun incident. I used to have all three subtitled VHS volumes. I enjoyed Genocyber so much that I repurchased it on DVD. I gave Genocyber a 4 out of 5. Given the graphic nature of the series, the younger anime fans should probably stay away.
The two Geocyber soundtrack CDs have 12 and 10 tracks respectively and I liked 2 tracks on each CD for total of 16.6% and 20% respectively which works out to ratings of 1 and 2 out of 4. My favorite track is the instrumental Ark De Grande City on the second soundtrack CD which serves as the background music for the opening of the third story arc.
It began with two sisters, both powerful and at opposite ends of the spectrum. If they could be fused into a single being, that being would be the most powerful being this world has ever seen: The Genocyber!
Part 1
Birth of Genocyber
As the nations of the world begin to merge their armies into one international force, world peace is now being threatened by the private armies of individual corporations. The Japanese Kuryu Group may have discovered the one weapon which will tip world power in their favor.
At the center of this covert industrial espionage are two sisters: one whose body is mostly machine and the other who has the mind of a wild animal and possesses unbelievable psychic powers. If these two could be combined into one, a weapon beyond anything ever conceived would be created: Genocyber - a cybernetic monster strengthened with pure psychic energy!
But their scientist father never considered how deeply each girl hates the other nor how far his employers would go to insure the project's success. Now as the battle for possession of Genocyber erupts, the cyberpunk world of the future explodes with violence as not even death can be taken for granted.
Parts 2 and 3
Vajranoid Showdown
The destruction of Hong Kong was only the beginning. Now, emerging from the ashes, the Genocyber's rage is unleashed against its creators.
Wandering into a small nation's war of aggression, Elain is embroiled in the Kuryu Group's latest weapons test: The Vajranoid, a biomechanical monstrosity designed to be the ultimate fighter pilot. Capable of merging with almost any piece of machinery, the Vajranoid is the only one who can sense the dangerous power within this innocent-looking girl's cybernetic body. And even the enormous American aircraft carrier they find themselves on isn't big enough for the two of them.
And now, as the carrier approaches the battle zone, fate draws Elain and the Vajranoid even closer together. Closer to a battle which could destroy everyone aboard!
Parts 4 and 5
The Legend of Ark de Grande
The End times are here. After a nearly 100 year battle with the forces of the Kuryu Group, Genocyber has succeeded in its defeat... at the cost of all human civilization. But, on the eve of its final battle with the last remnants of the Kuryu's forces, its mysteriously vanishes from the surface of the Earth.
Some 300 years later, mankind has only barely recovered from the destruction. In the city of Ark de Grande, mankind's pre-apocalyptic civilization has been recreated. As two young lovers arrive to start a new life, the are swept up in the plots ripping through the city. As one is unwittingly linked with the growing rebel movement, the other is mistaken for a heavenly messenger by a cult devoted to the legend of Genocyber.
As tension builds to a boiling point, one final enemy from the old world floats in the darkness above the earth, waiting... for 300 years Genocyber has slept, but now the time for its rebirth is almost at hand.
In Genocyber, we have none of that sappy teamwork stuff here -- the two main characters are sisters (possibly paternal twins) and are just out to kill each other (well... more so one than the other). There are some very gruesome scenes -- a nice close-up view, in slow-motion, of kids being blasted to pieces by machine-gun fire comes to mind. There's quite a lot of red ink and gore in the series including severed limbs, blood-spattered walls and notably, one person wakes up to find his internal organs exposed. While there are no naughty bits to speak of, there is one highly suggestive scene where we see an X-Ray of one character's skeleton while another character has a hand inside the first character's body. If you blink, you might miss it -- the X-Ray isn't on-screen for very long.There are three story arcs and each arc shifts in time and location. Genocyber starts off in the present day, then moves a few years in the future and then moves a few centuries in the future. All the while, the battles between Genocyber and the Kuryu Corporation get bigger and more violent. There are some people who have issues with the disjointed feel of the story, but, I'm not one of them. Of the three parts to the story, I like the first and last parts best. The middle segment is a bit slow after the aforementioned kiddie-machine gun incident. I used to have all three subtitled VHS volumes. I enjoyed Genocyber so much that I repurchased it on DVD. I gave Genocyber a 4 out of 5. Given the graphic nature of the series, the younger anime fans should probably stay away.
The two Geocyber soundtrack CDs have 12 and 10 tracks respectively and I liked 2 tracks on each CD for total of 16.6% and 20% respectively which works out to ratings of 1 and 2 out of 4. My favorite track is the instrumental Ark De Grande City on the second soundtrack CD which serves as the background music for the opening of the third story arc.
