Mad Bull 34 (OVA): A Review

There is many anime adaptations that have been well known of being based of manga created by legendary writers, but one in particular that I can think of is none other than Mad Bull 34.

Mad Bull 34 is a four episode original video animation (also known as OVA) series based off of the manga of the same name written by the legendary Koike Kazuo (the writer of Lady Snowblood and the famous Lone Wolf and Cub series) and illustrated by Inoue Noriyoshi, and it is about two cops who aims to stop the most violent (and messed up) crimes in the streets of New York City. In my opinion, it is one of the best OVAs I seen (even though it is only four episodes long), but it does have its extreme sides when it comes to its over the top portrayal of violence, and the extreme amount of sexual content from nudity to the sex scenes involving one of the major character (which I will get to in a little bit). The series itself does show crime at its darkest when it comes to rape scenes and brutal murder that even make the content very disturbing. However, even with its dark and gritty content, Mad Bull 34 does have its humorous moments, and they tend to be very over the top as well. Of course, it is one of the few anime OVA series that has a bit of recognition here in the states, due to its VHS release back in the mid-1990s by Manga Entertainment with their own English dub. The dub isn't really that great, but its enjoyable when it comes to the performance of the two main characters.

Our two major characters seen throughout the series are John "Sleepy" Estes (who also goes by the nickname, "Mad Bull") and Daizaburo "Eddie" Ban, and I have to say that without these two characters, the series probably wouldn't be that interesting. Sleepy, who is voiced by Akio Ōtsuka (Ghost in the Shell) in the Japanese version and Allan Wenger in the English version, is a tall, tough cop who also runs a prostitution ring in the 34th precinct of the New York Police Department. He is probably one of the most predicable character in the series, but also one of the strongest since he is able to walk away from a bomb explosion in the second episode and have the strength to lift a tank in the third. But, whenever he sees a criminal takes somebody hostage or a scumbag try to rape the next woman on the street, he tends to give his own amount of justice by killing them right away. However, he is a man with a big heart, since he cares a lot for some of the important people in his life. One of these people that he cares for (and also the other major character) is Daizaburo, who is voiced by Yasunori Matsumoto (Initial D) in the Japanese version and Alan Marriott (Bob the Builder) in the English version, and he is Sleepy's newly recruited partner. Throughout the series, the Japanese-American police officer tends to be very caring of his over the top partner, and he's also the comedy relief at certain moments of each episode. At first, he was very embarrassed to have Sleepy as a partner due to his actions of killing the criminals they catch, but he accepts this due to Sleepy's knowledge of the crimes done in his particular area of New York.

Also in the series is the beautiful Perrine Valley, voiced by Gara Takashima (Cowboy Bebop, Ninja Scroll) in the Japanese version and Lisa Ross in the English version, a police lieutenant who is in the same police precinct as Sleepy and Daizaburo, and she is also the woman that Daizaburo is in love with. She is introduced in the second episode, and tends to be around our two main characters at very important moments in the series.

Don't worry. They're only grenades attached to his pubic hair. WHAT?

The OVA series itself, as I explained before, is only four episodes long, and each episode is roughly 45 to 50 minutes long. Now, it's practically normal for an OVA episode to be that long, but in some parts of the episodes, the story is a bit too drawn out for explanation that should of been seen more visually instead of discussed by each character in a long monologue. However, there are comical scenes that are pretty hilarious that are in some of the longest scenes that involves multiple amounts of gunfire and violence, like the moment when Sleepy reveals that he has multiple hand grenades carefully attached to each pubic hair and starts throwing them at each small group of mobsters below. But, does each episode have to contain multiple scenes of Sleepy randomly having sex with a woman? I get that this is series that was only released to the home video market and sex scenes are allowed to be seen, but come on? Well, at least its not shown in complete explicit detail like some of the adult aimed OVA series that are created every now and then, and its a good thing this isn't a full out pornographic hentai series either. Of course, I do have to say that even though the violence is over the top, but there some violent moments that are pretty awesome, like the subway fight between Sleepy and a man named Curtis, who killed one of the women that a part of Sleepy's prostitution ring, which becomes pretty intense at the moment when Sleepy is about to be killed, but ends with Curtis being decapitated and his helper being shot multiple times (along with half of his head being blown away from the other side).

Here is the scene right here (Warning! Please note that the scene does contain strong language and graphic over the top violence. Viewer Discretion is Advised!):

Even though many anime fans call Mad Bull 34 a really bad anime, I still think it has something to it, because the OVA series itself tells a decent story of the vice in New York City in a graphic animated style. The main characters are enjoyable to watch, even though Sleepy becomes insane during the intense moments of the show (except the final moments of the fourth episode where he becomes a very serious character). But, you are probably asking me if I recommend this OVA series, and the answer I have to say is yes. Even though it has its flaws, I highly recommend this to those who like gritty anime that contains a lot of over the top moments. Of course, I have to advise that you have to be seventeen or older to watch it, because this series is definitely not for children.

The series itself is currently available on DVD from Discotek Media, and it contains both the original Japanese audio and the old English dub created by Manga Entertainment.

Written by Nolan Schmidt