New Dominion Tank Police

I was extremely pleased when Manga announced this release, I still have fond memories of those insomnia stricken nights when I’d wile away the hours watching Tank Police on the Sci-Fi channel.  Comprised of the six episodes from New Dominion Tank Police’s second OVA run in 1994 this DVD boasts a newly re-mastered picture and includes both the English and Japanese language tracks in DD2.0 as well as an English 5.1 mix for anyone looking to flex their satellite speakers and aggravate the neighbours.

Set in an atypical Shirow vision of the future New Dominion Tank Police follows the heroic misadventures of the Tank Police; an affable ensemble of cops who’ve traded their panda cars for something a little more substantial.
At the centre of the story are Leona and Al who piloting their lovable teeny tank Bonaparte are making life difficult for the criminal fraternity of Newport City.

The six episodes come together to form a fairly tenuous story arc involving the diabolical machinations of Dai Nippon Gaiken, a sinister corporation of corrupt suits and slimy executives that develop state of the art weaponry whilst also indulging in a little drug trafficking on the side. Their evil schemes never really amount to much more than letting their latest super-weapons loose on the city, invariably resulting in a showdown with the Tank Police, it’s a tried and true formula that serves only as a springboard to some furious mecha on tank action. Those looking for the deep-seated navel gazing of Shirows’s other title Ghost in The Shell will be disappointed however as New Dominion Tank Police showcases his lighter side, with sporadic bursts of wacky comedy and explosive action scenes the emphasis of show. The characters are extremely likeable albeit shallow and never really extend beyond the usual anime stereotype; Leona is your typically brash, impulsive heroine and her antics, no matter how entertaining, are tempered by that nagging feeling of familiarity. On the plus side the mechanical designs as you’d expect from Shirow are phenomenal, the titular tanks are triumphs of sleek imaginative design and the assortment of Tachikoma-lite spider tanks provide that definite ‘whoa’ factor. I can’t finish the review without mentioning the lovely Puma sisters, a pair of scantily clad and hapless crooks, they’re the real stars of the show and the Tank Police experience just wouldn’t be the same without them.

Video:
The animation though a little antiquated retains that nostalgic hand-drawn feel that’s all but extinct in these days of digital animation. Characters look good but the designs have strayed a little from Shirow’s original concepts, still it’s the tanks and mechs that steal the spotlight and all have been rendered in impressive, pleasing detail.
The transfer has been well handled; the picture is sharp and detailed with no noticeable print damage, there are no serious encoding problems and although some scenes suffered from some slight pixelation this is still a very pleasing effort.

Audio:
For my viewing of the series I opted for the original Japanese DD2.0, it’s a solid mix with some reasonable directionality across the front stage and some subtle effects at the rear. Music and dialogue is nice and clear although I suspect the subs have taken a few liberties with the original Japanese dialogue.

Packaging:
Packaging is of a satisfying quality; a standard amaray case is housed in one of Manga’s trademark cardboard slipcases all decked out with some lovely artwork, and although the cover image is a tad fuzzy it’s evident some thought has gone into the design.

Yet another bare bones release from Manga the extras include a trailer reel and a smidgen of info regarding the characters of Tank Police and shirow’s original manga.

In Summary

The heady mix of wacky humour and frenetic action make this perfect Friday night entertainment, Shirow fans will no doubt love it however if you’re new to the genre this will probably leave you feeling a little cold. Still Manga have put together a very desirable package boasting some nice features in the sound and visual departments all at a very thrifty price.