AKA: バウンティ・ドッグ

Genre: Sci-fi

Length: OAV, 60 minutes minutes

Distributor: VHS and R1 DVD from Manga Entertainment out of print

Content Rating: R (graphic violence, language)

Related Series: N/A

Also Recommended: Mighty Space Miners

Notes: This title is apparently only available in English dub format. Start worrying ... now.

Rating:

Bounty Dog

Synopsis

Yoshiyuki is going to visit the moon, but not on vacation -- he's actually part of a secret strike force called Bounty Dog. There's been some suspicious military activity, and Bounty Dog has been called to clandestinely investigate and eliminate any subversive forces.

While orienting himself, Yoshiyuki meets a woman named Inez who seems to be linked with the death of his old friend Yayoi and the mechanical arm he mysteriously gained as a result. As he delves deeper, it becomes apparent that the suspicious military activity he's been sent to investigate is much more than that -- it's the beginning of a plan to destroy all of humanity on both the earth and the moon! You see, the dark side of the moon has awakened, and Yoshiyuki and his mechanical arm somehow hold the key to overcoming the Darkness. Yeah...

Review

Bounty Dog is one of those titles that, after five minutes have gone by, make you wonder if you've already missed something really important. And it doesn't get any better, either; the two words that most succinctly summarize our experience of watching Bounty Dog are "Huh?" and "Whatever." This title is definitely a puzzler, but not in the good sense.

Obscurity seems to be the ultimate goal of this title, and it achieves it in all aspects. The art style is purposely stark and strangely angled, and apparently on the moon everything is brown, gray, or amber. Action seems to all take place in the back alleys and dimly lit streets and corridors of the newly colonized moon. The animation is actually pretty decent, although it's certainly no Akira or Ninja Scroll. It's a decent product, if a bit on the hazy and dark side.

The story, though, is where the title really dims. For those of you who like mysteries, Bounty Dog does a pretty good job setting up lots of conundrums and questions throughout the flick. Unfortunately, the title doesn't do a good job giving any information or hints to help you figure them out -- you're just pretty much clueless for the entire hour until the last five minutes where it quickly answers everything. The story itself actually isn't too bad (albeit a bit preposterous), except that you don't know what it actually is until the very end. The cinematography is almost as perplexing as the plot; transitions are non-existent from scene to scene. You don't get much of a sense of coherency at all, and the OAV feels much more like a collection of thirty-second shorts than anything else. You don't get enticed, you don't get intrigued, you just get bored.

All in all, Bounty Dog is an utterly forgettable title with very little to distinguish itself from anything at all. Blank tape might have been about as memorable.

— Raphael See and Sam Yu

Recommended Audience: A fair bit of nudity, and some _rather_ graphic violence and gore, especially with the umpteen deaths of Inez. Don't ask, although I will admit it got kind of amusing in a sick sort of way. ("Oh my gosh, they killed Inez! You bastards!") Also, this dub job features profanity on a level considerably stronger than the typical anime title.