Films 15 - Bizarro Jerry's trip thru vintage anime OVAs part 1

Haven't done a movie post in a while because I got stuck on weirdo sci-fi anime, which I've never really posted up here. So, if you're into that, here are some of the things I was watching.

'Baoh the Caller' - 1989

This one stuck out as rather strange. Sure, the plot is kinda similar to a lot of other 80's OVAs (people given weird powers by the government/military/corporate giant) but it's done fairly well and it's cheesy in all the right spots. There are also a whole heap of bizarre, unexplained things happening, and a lot of head-exploding goodness. If you haven't seen much anime but want to give this stuff a try (believe me, it's NOTHING like the streamlined shit Adult Swim puts out) this is a pretty good place to start.

'Darkside Blues' - 1994

This isn't like anything else I've seen, really. It is very stylish, and a lot more mysterious/suspenseful than most sci-fi animes. It's definitely not all blood, guts and robots. In fact, the only 'robot' in it turns out to be a regular guy. There is also a demented homeless blues musician, alternate-universe storylines, and a shit ton of surreal imagery. The opening scene is a little graphic, but don't worry, this one is much more tame than some of the stuff out there. It's also by the creator of 'Vampire Hunter D,' so you know it's classy.

'California Crisis' - 1986

I don't know why, but I really like Japan's take on 1980's American pop culture. It's so flawed and insane. They must've thought we did nothing but dance and eat cheeseburgers, and that's pretty much what happens here. This isn't a bloody one, or an 'artistic' film. It's just non-stop 80's action and super-stylish animation. I don't think I've seen anything MORE 80's than this. From what I remember, some guy and girl come into possession of some weird orb and get chased by gangsters for it. It's only 40 minutes, so the generic storytelling doesn't get boring.

'Cyber City Oedo 808' - 1990

This is pretty much the epitome of splat-fi cyberpunk anime. I liked it a lot better than more well-known stuff like 'Appleseed' and 'A.D. Police File,' and while a lot of anime fans seem to hate on English dubs, this one is fucking demented. So much unnecessary swearing! Plus, it's graphically violent, overflowing with creativity, and every one of the three episodes has ex-cons being mean to a C3P0-esque robot.

'Take the X Train' -  1987

When it opened with a dedication to Duke Ellington, I wasn't sure what to expect. But, indeed, this is a jazzy little OVA. It's more like an art-picture than some of the stuff I've posted here, and my only complaint was that the dialog was a little too fast to watch it with subtitles. Unfortunately, there is not an English dub, but oh well. It's an interesting (and also not especially violent or disturbing) story about a guy who works for a railway company that is trying to capture a ghost train. He has some kind of a link with the train, and his nose starts bleeding whenever it comes by. It just gets weirder from there. A lot of stuff happens for no reason. But, if you're into experimental filmmaking, this is worth checking out for sure.

...hopefully I will find time to post a LOT more because I watched like way too many of these things.