Back in the Day - Dominion Tank Police 01/09/2010

Back in the Day - Dominion Tank Police

So it’s 2010; where’s our twin cat-girl android sex dolls?

OK, so I can do without the bacteria cloud that causes people to have to wear gas masks when outside, but still, talk about the future letting you down. Of course if Dominion Tank Police is any indication of how well the police can handle tanks, it’s a good thing the future didn’t come through on that one too. With sometimes multiple buildings being destroyed in an episode it’s questionable who’s more dangerous, the cops or the criminals. Then again, with a crime being committed every 36 seconds in Newport City, the Tank Police are the last defense to keep it from becoming every 35 seconds. While it would seem Dominion Tank Police is all about the mayhem and comical destruction, there’s still an inkling of the question, what makes one human? A question that the creator of Dominion is known for posing in all of his works. This man, who is more famously known for giving us Ghost in the Shell, is Masamune Shirow. Dominion is his lighter and more comical work compared to the rest. It’s also in the middle of it all, coming after Appleseed and before Ghost in the Shell. The manga was first serialized in “Young Animal Arashi” in 1985, and the first OVA came about in 1988, animated by Agent 21. This first OVA was actually a prequel to the original manga.

The music for the opening of Dominion all depends on your choice of subs or dubs. U.S. Manga Corps’ dub release of Dominion changed the OP music from the original “Cherry Moon de Odorasete” by Shoujo-Tai to “We’ll Give It Out Best Shot” by Brown Eyes. The differences between the two are immediate. The original song is lighter, smoother and works better with the opening animation. The English replacement though is harder, louder and more memorable. It’s also much more dated, reminding you this anime is from the eighties. The dub itself is not good at all, though I give a bit of credit to them for trying their best to match the lip movements while attempting to stay in the same vicinity as the original dialogue. Unfortunately, it made for some odd, forced and out of place dialogue at times. It’s also rough and choppy and comes out stale in most instances. Because of that I would recommend going the subtitle route with Dominion. As far as the animation goes, it’s detailed but a bit muddled and washed out, as was common place for anime of the decade. However, it still has the feel of loving care when you look at the detail it does have. From the backdrops of the city with no two buildings being alike to the tanks being consistently and uniformly animated, Dominion Tank Police does have an air of originality to it that only Masamune Shirow could give it.

The story of Dominion takes place in Newport City, Japan in 2010. It’s a dark and dirty city that seems to breed crime, and the bacteria cloud that looms overhead doesn’t help. The city looks almost completely organic, as if it was grown rather than built. The focus of the story is the spunky and boisterous female lead, Leona Ozaki. She’s a fresh transfer from the motorcycle division of the Force to the tank division who is first greeted by the rest of tank division interrogating a suspect using unconventional methods. Here we are introduced to the main players of the tank police, Alcuad Solte (called Al throughout the series), Leona’s newly assigned partner, proficient hacker and possible love interest; Charles Brenten (or Britain depending on the translation), Leona’s squad leader who has a lifetime subscription to “How to Kill”; Chaplain, the unofficial chaplain to the tank police and finally Specs, the glasses wearing scientific expert, aka the smart guy of the group. After the explosive end, literally, to the questioning of the guilty suspect in the tank garage, we cut to the Chief of the tank police screaming Brenten’s name with an exaggerated facial expression, popped out eyes and all. So it’s a motley crew of misfits in charge and in control of tanks. What could go wrong?

With only 4 episodes to Dominion Tank Police there’s plenty to be left on the table. But in those 4 episodes we are treated to plenty of action and a multitude of jokes, most of them physical and visual. The first episode follows Buaku and his gang, most notably the Puma sisters Anna and Uni, as they attempt to steal urine samples of perfectly healthy people. As they make their escape they rear end Leona, Al and Brenten while they are out giving Leona her first bit of patrol training in the tank squad’s pride and joy. This leads to Leona giving chase to Buaku and the Puma sisters and ending with her ramming the tank into a building, which then collapses from the impact. Not to be the only one dead in the water, Leona takes one final aim at Buaku and fires, overloading the tanks systems and destroying it. It is from this wreckage that a smaller, more manageable and agile tank is built for Leona. A mini-tank that is christened Bonaparte by Leona and is valued more by her than human life. It’s not long after the birth of Bonaparte that she gets to give it it’s first trial by fire, once again in pursuit of Buaku and the Puma sisters.

Buaku and the Puma sisters have escaped the rest of the squad thanks to one very special and unique weapon you will never see used any where else and will not soon forget. This weapon is simple enough, flat mines that once activated “grow” or “inflate” into giant pole vaulting tacks that look very much like a certain part of the male anatomy. And so the rest of the squad has been knocked over onto their backs, like turtles on their shells. However, thanks to the speed and agility of Bonaparte, Leona and Al are able to run swiftly through the mines without being caught by them. They eventually catch up to the would-be criminals at the hospital where they had originally tried to steal the samples. A tank battle ensues, and one thing leads to another, and once again a building is caught in the cross fire and destroyed. This time it’s the very hospital Leona & Al are trying to protect. This same chase-Buaku-and-his-gang plot is repeated for all 4 episodes of Dominion Tank Police and while repetitive, it doesn’t get old. After the final episode of the OVA you will want more of the same reckless endangerment to society that is Leona & Bonaparte of Newport City’s tank police.

Fortunately there are more of the same hijinks and antics, if not a bit pulled back and refrained than before, thanks to the later OVA, New Dominion Tank Police, in 1993. This time it is animated by J.C. Staff and takes place after the original manga. There’s also a second manga and third OVA, “Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise” and Tank S.W.A.T. 01. The later two take place in a different continuity and thus have different characters and roles for already established characters. As for getting your hands on the original OVA, it seems to be a reoccurring theme for me to tell you that any and all retail copies for the series has been out of print for some time now. The good news here is that many sellers still have copies of U.S. Manga Corps’ 1998 DVD release of Dominion Tank Police. The bad news is that many of them are selling it at collector prices. But not to fear, if you search around you can find copies going for decent prices at around $10-20. As time goes on you can expect the rarity of the OVA to go up, so if you really want to own and watch this one, I suggest you start hunting ASAP.