Hyper Police - Episodes 1-4

Rating:
Summary: Catgirl fun!
Review: As other reviewers said, this isn't the deepest show in the world. But it definately is a fun show.

Besides catgirls need no excuse. :)

The transfer wasn't horrible, just mediocre.

A solid little release from Image, I loved the show and was happy with the presentation.

Now warm up some milk and watch it! Nyao!

Rating:
Summary: Inexpensive, but bland
Review: Hyper Police has been released in the US as a budget title, and boy does it show. The DVD is bare bones (no special features), and the video quality is poor--this show was produced in 1999, but the video just looks *old*, like a show made ten years ago. The colors are washed out and muted, and it's grainy.

Beyond the technical problems, Hyper Police suffers because it's just fluff. And it's not even particularly good fluff. The show revolves around Natsuki, a magical catgirl bounty hunter in a future world where people live alongside monsters. Natsuki is the most engaging part of the show, with numerous cat-like quirks (such as always drinking milk, and purring when scratched under the chin). As for the rest, most of the anthropomorphic monster characters are rather ugly to look at--Hyper Police has the same disturbing quality as those calendars with dogs dressed up in clothes.

Despite the action inherent in the underlying bounty hunter premise, Hyper Police tries for comedy. Natsuki's bounties don't go as planned, and her partner, Sakura, is really just after Natsuki's magical power. Unfortunately, most of the good jokes (Natsuki's cat quirks, Sakura's scheming) are repeated so often as to be stale by the end of the 4 episodes on this disc (and this is just the first disc!). I certainly laughed a few times across the 4 episodes, but not enough to justify having bought this disc--particularly since I know I will never want to watch it again. That's the way Hyper Police is: if you were flipping through the channels on TV and saw it, you might go ahead and watch it, but it just isn't good enough to justify being on your shelf or in your DVD rack.

Rating:
Summary: Inexpensive, but bland
Review: Hyper Police has been released in the US as a budget title, and boy does it show. The DVD is bare bones (no special features), and the video quality is poor--this show was produced in 1999, but the video just looks *old*, like a show made ten years ago. The colors are washed out and muted, and it's grainy.

Beyond the technical problems, Hyper Police suffers because it's just fluff. And it's not even particularly good fluff. The show revolves around Natsuki, a magical catgirl bounty hunter in a future world where people live alongside monsters. Natsuki is the most engaging part of the show, with numerous cat-like quirks (such as always drinking milk, and purring when scratched under the chin). As for the rest, most of the anthropomorphic monster characters are rather ugly to look at--Hyper Police has the same disturbing quality as those calendars with dogs dressed up in clothes.

Despite the action inherent in the underlying bounty hunter premise, Hyper Police tries for comedy. Natsuki's bounties don't go as planned, and her partner, Sakura, is really just after Natsuki's magical power. Unfortunately, most of the good jokes (Natsuki's cat quirks, Sakura's scheming) are repeated so often as to be stale by the end of the 4 episodes on this disc (and this is just the first disc!). I certainly laughed a few times across the 4 episodes, but not enough to justify having bought this disc--particularly since I know I will never want to watch it again. That's the way Hyper Police is: if you were flipping through the channels on TV and saw it, you might go ahead and watch it, but it just isn't good enough to justify being on your shelf or in your DVD rack.

Rating:
Summary: Great Series. Mediocre DVD.
Review: I bought this DVD only half-knowing what to expect. Although I usually like to judge primarily on the quality of the show, I took a a star off for what this DVD lacks. That is, it could have been translated a LOT better.. and it didn't have any special features whatsoever. Not to mention the cover art is kind of 'blah'.

Anyway, I purchased this DVD because it was low-priced (which is reflected in the DVD's quality unfortunately) and the main character, Natsuki, is a catgirl. I love catgirls. ^_^ I'm kinda picky with anime like this, and I'm not much of a Masamune Shirow fan, but I was surprised just how much I ended up enjoying the show. It really keeps your attention, doesn't get slow, and the characters are alluring and amusing. I'm rather looking forward to seeing more episodes of this, even though I am ordinarily a less action-oriented anime fan. I tend to lean towards shoujo series (I am a girl, after all).

The show itself focuses on a futuristic Japan where humans and monsters (err.. anthropomorphic individuals) live together in a state of disorder and mayhem. Natsuki is a nekomata catgirl who works for an independent law enforcement agency called Police Company. In essence though, workers for Police Company are bounty hunters. They don't get money from the government for their work, but rather from the commissions they make catching criminals. Natsuki's partner Batanen is perverted half-wolf guy who has feelings for her, but has all kinds of trouble working up the guts to admit it to her. Natsuki's other partner, Sakura, is a 9 tail fox (with 8 and one fifths of a tail) who plans to finally grow out her 9th tail by stealing Natsuki's powers. Although Natsuki may seem a little dense, stealing her powers is no easy task for Sakura! Especially when Natsuki's kindness begins to grow on her.

In the long run, this DVD is worth the buy for the price and the quality of the show itself. Don't expect any special DVD bonuses though, because there aren't any.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun!
Review: I've seen about the first 16 episodes of this series. Even though it gets off to a pretty strong start, it definitely continued to grow on me. It's set in a vivid, post-apocalyptic Japan, that includes humans, monsters, and humanoid animals living in an uneasy coexistence. It centers around a catgirl named Natsuki, and the bounty hunters she works with to help keep the peace, in this new world. You could almost call it a police anime (like Patlabor, You're Under Arrest, etc.), but that would overlook much of its unique character.

Don't expect anything profound - this series aims to be fun, and it absolutely delivers. There are themes of racial inequality, technocracy, the price of harsh and uncaring justice, and totalitarianism - but it (thankfully) doesn't dwell on those topics, as far as I've seen. Among its strengths I count: lots of action, cute characters (even some of the monsters), vivid colors, a rich and detailed post-apocalyptic Japan, and good character development. It should also be noted that there's a bit of mature humor, but nothing terribly crude or explicit (I think it helps liven things up, personally).

Rating:
Summary: Great Anime on a budget
Review: If you're looking for a good series that won't break your wallet then look no further than Hyper Police. I'm not a fan of special features on DVDs so I'm very happy that to save money, none were included.

The first four episodes I saw at a convention about a year and a half ago and I thought the show was pretty funny. It took me a while to find the DVDs but I'm glad I have. If you're an anime fan that likes a somewhat serious story with lots of humor, this is a good choice. Don't expect anything mind bending though.

Rating:
Summary: funny
Review: This anime is funny and filled with hidden jokes that you have to watch twice to get. If you like funny animes with half beast killing eachother this is for you. Oh and don't forget about the acasional pervert warewolf.

Rating:
Summary: Lots of fun!
Review: This review is more about the entire series, which I've seen in its entirety. Even though it gets off to a pretty strong start, it definitely continued to grow on me. It's set in a vivid, post-apocalyptic Japan, that includes humans, monsters, and humanoid animals living in an uneasy coexistence. It centers around a catgirl named Natsuki, and the bounty hunters she works with to help keep the peace, in this new world. You could almost call it a police anime (like Patlabor, You're Under Arrest, etc.), but that would overlook much of its unique character.

Don't expect anything profound - this series aims to be fun, and it absolutely delivers. There are themes of racial inequality, technocracy, the price of harsh and uncaring justice, and totalitarianism - but it (thankfully) doesn't dwell on those topics. Among its strengths I count: lots of action, cute characters (even some of the monsters), vivid colors, a rich and detailed post-apocalyptic Japan, and good character development. A notable aspect of this series is the visual humor, which worked very well, for me, and complemented the other visual aspects quite nicely. It should also be noted that there's a bit of mature humor, but nothing terribly crude or explicit (I think it helps liven things up, personally).