AD Police

1999

published in Empire No.65, Sydney
Complete Collection

2007

Anime has no qualms about completely reconfiguring all the key elements in any of its remakes, and this version of AD Police is no exception. The AD Police are a special unit developed to battle renegade cyborgs - Boomers - whose programming has been deviously altered to wreck urban chaos. In place of the original's focus on cyborg psychoses and their manifestation in sexually complex scenarios, we have a buddy-cop drama of Kenji and Hans.

Kenji is a brooding cowboy whose recklessness has caused the death of numerous partners, while Hans is a cocky German full of arrogance and self-centred. Fortunately, the 12 part series gradually pans out from these clichés - stereotypes which have been set up to be slowly dissolved as they gradually bond and deal with perplexing issues of identity and subterfuge.

To some, the look and feel of AD Police may not bear the gloss of post-2000 anime. But this version of AD Police while not strictly 'retro' does clearly relate to the late-80s type of anime which series like Bubblegum Crash helped shape. For those who like this period of anime, AD Police will appeal. The story lines and characterization are solid if slow in unfolding, and the workman-like momentum of the episodes reveals a solid and controlled dramatic shaping.