Parasite Dolls

Having watched Bubblegum Crisis many years ago, I was familiar with the setting this anime takes place in. I'd heard much about it being brilliant and alluring, but that it was also darker than the other series. True enough. Masterfully drawn animation, muted in color through many scenes, this anime tells a morbid yet intriguing tale of the AD Police, The Branch, the citizens and Boomers on both sides of the law.

I found myself mesmerized by particular moments of both active and passive scenes, but fading in and out of whether I liked the story being told or not. There's a cadence to it that holds the viewer at points that raise good questions, while trying to point out both sides of issues of relevance within the tale. But there are also moments when it lets up on the points trying to be conveyed and sides given their say to get back to moving the story along at a subdued pace that works for those who like the "hard-boiled film-noir mystery", but doesn't work so well for those who don't or have come to find it a bit cliche and/or overdone.

Parasite Dolls is part of the AD Police universe, which is itself a spin off of Bubblegum Crisis. PD continues to deeply examine the nature of human-robotic interaction as technology continues to improve, especially with how people will use this tech for pleasure and entertainment. The story itself is fairly solid, though at times can be a bit hard to follow. The art is as expected for an early 2000's anime, but it can get rather heavy-handed with the gore for my taste.

What it really comes down to is that if you liked the Ghost in the Shell or Armitage III movies or you want to get more from the world of BGC, this is definitely an OVA series for you.

There is something to be said for an underlying theme, and these three episodes definitely have an underlying theme, but at the same time the individual stories have little to do with each other beside the involvement of the characters in them. It also relies heavily on the viewer having already seen the original Bubblegum Crisis and/or AD Police.

The voice acting and animation are superbly done, as expected, and while I was not surprised to the graphic violence and unnecessary nudity/sexual images that fill parts of the episodes, I do think that they could have toned it down a bit more. At the same time, having seen the original Bubblegum Crisis I realize that they did tone it down from that OAV.

The first two stories are alright, but depart from the cannon of the universe a bit. They are definitely action oriented and give little explanation as to what is going on. The characters are well known archetypes because of the short lengths of the productions they do not really get fleshed out. At the same time the skill with which they are animated and portrayed make them feel more alive than the writing itself would have allowed. The third episode is highly loaded with action and emotion and very well put together, but has essentially nothing to do with the story of the first two episodes except that it relies on them to have set up the characters for you.

The music and sounds used in this animation are a very good match, although I will admit because it has been something like 15 years since I saw Bubblegum Crisis I have no idea if the audio of the two have any similarity. I imagine they do, but I do not know for certain.

Overall I found this to be an enjoyable set, although I somewhat wished there would have been more. More story, more characterization, more Boomers, and more to help people not familiar with the related series understand what the heck the government structure is like.

I'm trying not to spoil what there is to this series, so I won't expand any further on my thoughts than this, but in general I'd call the overall set to be 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's good, almost really good, but just not quite there.

Storyline: At first, I felt like there wasn't a story line or at least I didn't understand the underlying point or purpose of the anime. However, each OVA starts out with "how many years passed" to kind of link each other together. Gives you a sense of time line. As you get from the title of the Anime, you know its going to be about "dolls" or more properly called, "Boomers." Boomers are humanoids. Made to protect the country.

As you watch the first episode, you notice Boomers working as at a radio station, later learn that some are specially made to be prostitutes, and etc. Towards the very end, you come to see that a re-occurring theme is "Do robots man made objects possess feelings through time?" and "Do they deserve equal treatment?" This anime shows those who believes humanoids are nothing and those who treasure them as friends.

It's a pretty deep and heavy anime. I believe it takes a more mature stand to watch this series. Otherwise it's rather boring.

Music: It's alright, not my type of music. But! It was very suitable for this series. It has a semi creepy tune along with a very "old" feeling. The anime was drawn in a very old fashioned manga/anime artstyle.

Characters: You don't get to see much character development, but each of the main character has a different personality and trait. I think the characters were used properly and was perfect for their role.

Animation: 2 words: OLD SCHOOL

Overall, I give this anime 4/5 stars.

Strangely addictive, I am only sorry that there were only 3 episodes I have all the episodes and OVA for Ghost in the Shell. This anime makes me reminiscent of that series although I know that this was done first. The idea of human form is very common in anime. Bi-roid from Appleseed, Cybogs, and Puppets. I always wonder if they have wants or desires? Particularly the characters from Ghost in the Shell.

For an OVA series made of three episodes, I didn't expect it to be this good. Even though it is set in the Bublegum Crisis Universe, it is quite easy to understand the purpose of this series. The writing, which is done Chiaki J Konaka, the same one who did Serial Experiment Lain and Devil Lady, really is a great writer. He knows not only how to present plots dealing with computers and human beings, but he also knows how to represent the human psyche and how to create an atmosphere, unlike certain commercial series which tend to have a very bland atmospheres, mostly based on entertainment. He really knows how to put his own vision and his personality in his stories.

As for the character design, I really like how it is very mature and quite different from today's anime character designs. I am not saying that today's designs are bad. But it is good to see someone who tries to take a different path.

A great series to see.