Forum - View topicBuried Garbage - M.D. Geist
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Wow, lots of replies! Let's see...
I don't think it's expired, I think CPM probably owns it outright (since they co-produced the Director's Cut and the sequel). It's just out of print. I don't think any DVD could be released much cheaper than the $5 you can currently find it for online.
No, no. That was a story from when I worked at CPM, some six years ago.
I couldn't find an opportunity to trash the dub in my write-up, but it was actually the first dub by AudioWorks, whose proprietor Kip Kaplan met John O'Donnell at a motorcycle rally. He did a number of CPM's worst dubs, including the vast majority of their hentai releases. This was in 1995, so its age does not excuse its quality. I think the amount of respect one will have for Geist pretty much depends on how impressed one is by hulking bad-ass machismo.
I like Genocyber, and it was the subject of a previous column. I like eps 1-3 at least...
They almost certainly still have the rights, along with the rest of the CPM shows on Sci-Fi. Pretty sure Venus Wars is expired, tho.
This is a guess (that verbiage was cemented long before my employment at CPM), but that "Company Spokesmecha" line was probably written with John at some point with great gusto. I agree with MangaJunky (Frank) that I miss having that guy in the business. I have a lot of respect for him and thought he was incredibly entertaining, though I don't think I'd ever want to be in his employ again. 
Garaga has a good chance of being a future BG. Baoh I'd have to rewatch, as I don't remember the extent to which I hated it.
I'm not such a fan of the TV series -- I think it's fairly dated and slow and doesn't hold up so well today. I might write about the movie at some point, though honestly I don't know if it would go in Garbage or Treasure. I think I might have to do a special that straddles both categories.
Sure it does. Watch the address bar. |
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SalarymanJoe
 Posts: 468 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA |
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I first saw Venus Wars back about 1996 or '97 during the dawning of my anime fandom. I loved it the couple times I saw it (since it was a rental) but when I picked up the DVD several years ago, I was worried that my perception of it would change because time had elapsed and I had seen so many anime in between that time. I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it much more when I watched my DVD than when I first watched it. So much so, I made sure it was one of the "earlier" reviews on my podcast (shameless plug), where we give most of it a glowing review (and mention a couple of the same faults as Justin did with it). MD Geist, though, I don't think holds the same quality. I haven't seen it since I first watched Venus Wars. Even when I first watched it, I had mixed reviews. Surely, it wasn't absolutely great; not like the fanboy-love of AKIRA or Bubblegum Crisis but at the same time, MD Geist was readily accessible because it was one of those anime tapes that "every Blockbuster was mandated to have BY LAW"  . I enjoyed it mostly because it was a new anime back when any new anime I saw was a good thing. I think to give MD Geist a ture, heartfelt review, not to slight Justin's ability, impartiality, or closeness to the subject matter because I honestly mean no offense by this, I think the review would have to be given to someone whose first exposure to MD Geist was for that very review, not the veterans of fandom who have come to know it as everyone agreeing this is the second worst anime ever made. I know it'd be incredibly hard for me to do but the outcome of someone who has seen a decent amount of anime being exposed to Geist, as I predict, would be absolute and utter hilarity.
What I enjoyed most about the column was all of the background about how important this OAV was to CPM. I really enjoy that sort of stuff. To me, it makes the article feel less like an article and more like chatting with a friend.
As a Hokuto no Ken fan (certainly not the biggest or a die-hard), I'd have to agree with you about how dated the TV series looks. I mean, HnK and HnK 2 looked dated in the eighties when they came out. However, the film, despite its head explosions and jumpy plot (compared to the drawn out shounen epic of the TV series), it makes for an entertaining watch and the theatrical quality animation is something that holds up incredibly well given its age. Although, if you're going to split a treasure/garbage angle with it, you surely must be talking about that gorgeous dub done by Streamline Pictures. At that point, give us a little heads up; I'd like to grab a copy off of Amazon or eBay before your article causes them all to be grabbed up. Oh, and toss me into the "Baoh is garbage" group. The problem is though that Baoh is the type of garbage that doesn't do well re-hashing how much it sucks, unlike Geist, DOG SOLDIER, or even Genma Taisen/Harmageddon. |
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Goodpenguin
Posts: 457 Location: Hunt Valley, MD |
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'Geist' certainly comes from that forgotten 80's 'Hyper-Machismo' vein. Folks have mentioned some of biggest standard-bearers of that niche of yore-'Crying Freeman', 'Fist of the NorthStar', 'Violence Jack', etc. Though not of the same trappings, material like 'Golgo 13' also had the same vibe. Not my favorite sub-genre, I tended to like my ultra-violence courtesy of later sci-fi/horror vehicles like 'Ninja Scroll' or 'Wicked City'. I will say though, even though Mr. Sevakis gave the title, and sub-genre, a pretty thorough punting, if you like 70's/80's 'post-apocalyptic/rough future' cult movies and over-the-top B-grade entertainment than there's a good chance you may get a kick out of this old sub-genre. It's (the material) is definitely a niche/acquired taste, but fairly, on a relative scale, I'm not sure the genre's 'hyper-masculinity' action is any more 'off-the-beaten-path' than the male-aimed 'hyper-melodramas' popular today, or the tearjerker classics of earlier periods (some seen in this column) where a poor, angelic European waif is put through history's worst crap-cycle for your viewing pleasure.
Lot o' funky stuff in anime, how 'good' (in a personally entertaining sense) some of the genres play come down to strictly personal tastes, there not often 'Fun for everyone' deals. |
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nooneofconsequence
Posts: 57 Location: WV |
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I just prefer my anti-heroes to be appealing in some way - like Bean (Gunsmith Cats manga, Riding Bean OVA) or Alucard (Hellsing) - unlike Geist who pretty much can only think about getting his fill of violence. Okay he might be appealing in a nihilistic sort of way, but there is nothing heroic about the guy especially spoiler[when he releases the Death Force] at the end of the first OVA in order to have something to fight.
Okay, okay... it's hilariously bad. The production values are pretty good for the time, the but writing and characters are... just inept... but in a good way. For something fun to do at a convention, if Scott Houle (the ADR Director for Baoh how did move on to do great work on You're Under Arrest) is a guest, bring a copy of Baoh for him to sign. Priceless reaction. |
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billyarnie
 Posts: 190 Location: San Antonio, TX |
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When I went to this, I did notice the title on the ANN Home Page. Before I read too much, I got caught up on 2 weeks of Gurren Lagann & Negadon before seeing M.D. Geist Director's Cut from my Ani-Monday tapes. My take pretty much agrees with the quote. Cheesy 80's animation, music, dubbing bad but not awful, with the whole Mad Max vibe & some Dirty Harry thrown in. If I watched this when it came out (80's or 90's), I would probably be shocked by the ultraviolence. Now with some modern anime & Adult Swim's Metalocalypse, I'm jaded. So he crushes a guy's head & the eyeballs pop out... so what? I'll tape GL & M.D. Geist Death Force next week... I may stay up to watch both & enjoy the cheesy end of this OVA. BTW, if Manga/Starz has access to this & other CPM shows/OVA's, why can't they be available for sale other than online auction? Not that I'd buy it, though... 
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JELEINEN
 Posts: 253 Location: Iowa |
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"Nobody agrees on what the worst anime is, but everyone agrees that M. D. Geist is the second worst." Not sure who said that, but it's true.
I actually have a copy of that music video with Shatner's "Mr Tambourine Man" on VHS somewhere (friend of mine used to send me tapes filled with them from various cons. It's one of my favorites for combining such a hilariously bad song with an equally bad show. |
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Descent123
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Baoh was better in the manga. The OVA doesn't make too much sense since it feels like a cut and paste job.
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Anime World Order
 Posts: 389 Location: Florida |
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Grr, double post. Revised one's below.
Last edited by Anime World Order on Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Anime World Order
Posts: 389 Location: Florida |
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Oh yeah? I'll show YOU the REAL "shameless plug": The best part of the Mecha Masters DVD set is that none of the titular characters really count as "mecha." MD Geist is a man in a metal football uniform, and Cybernetics Guardian and Genocyber are weird biological mutation things. Perhaps the moniker refers to the creative talents behind them all, but they're all by Koichi Ohata! I'm not saying the title isn't well earned on his part given his work on titles like Gunbuster and Char's Counterattack, but I just want to know what's up with the pluralism. I feel compelled in light of this article to post a link to my dear associate Darius Washington's article The Truth About MD Geist: It Doesn't Suck, which he wrote in response to my summary recitation of exactly what happens in MD Geist (I cannot in good conscience call that a "review"; included is the entire "WHAT REGULAR ARMY YOU'RE INSANE" speech Justin alluded to) along with my other associate's astute observation regarding the fact that if you kill their boss, they will have SEX with you, a train of thought which was concluded here. The death of the OAV really put a damper on Koichi Ohata's output. I used to think Cybernetics Guardian was his weakest work too. Then I saw Burst Angel. As I wrote about in the August 2008 issue of Otaku USA, the greatness of Ohata is not something that deserves to be shackled by television broadcasters and their standards of decency! We got an interview with the man in the same magazine, and while I don't have it in front of me right now I'm pretty sure he was wearing his MD Geist T-shirt in the picture. JAM Project fans may be interested to know that Hironobu Kageyama did the vocal songs for MD Geist. Just how well he remembers this fact will be revealed once I (or anyone else) decides to edit and post the audio to their press conference interview session conducted at Otakon a few months ago! That is the proper way one goes about the "shameless plug." Stick with me, sir, and the sky's the limit! Or in the case of Geist (and the cast of Cyber City Oedo), an orbital prison located ABOVE the sky.
OH NO YOU DI-NT. Baoh is so awesome that I am considering making T-shirts that just read BAOH HAS A LASER CANNON! on them. Though personally, I don't think Venus Wars stands the test of time. MD Geist however, is EXACTLY the same as it was 10-15 years ago. Such is the timelessness and universality of Koichi Ohata; Genocyber is indeed wonderful, and I happen to know that the real reason that Justin likes Genocyber so much is because the beginning of episode 2 features young children being eviscerated by minigun fire like so many Doomsday bunny rabbits. At least 400 people cheered this depiction of wanton slaughter at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2008. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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You caught me. Turned into hamburger is more like it. In slow motion, no less. |
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AirCooledMan_2006
 Posts: 594 Location: Delaware, U.S. |
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I keep forgetting CPM co-produced it. Still, they should put it back in print (Both on DVD and Blu-Ray), along with iTunes downloads. That reminds me: Is CPM dead, or just hibernating? We haven't seen a new license from them in fecking ages! |
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Greed1914
 Posts: 4456 |
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I think they're still technically hibernating, but like you said it's been half of forever since they've done anything, so considering them done probably isn't much of a stretch. |
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Descent123
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I show the Second episode intro to friends yesterday, freaked them out. 
Then I told them it was actually a good mindf*** series (which it is). Last edited by Descent123 on Thu Oct 02, 2008 6:42 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mrsatan
 Posts: 912 |
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The TV series is another one of those "it gets better" titles that people talk about. The first story arc with Shin is full of horrendous, ridiculous filler that slows the story down. And unfortunately most people give up there. I actually think the animation became very good for 1980's TV animation around the middle of the show. As for the 1986 anime movie, I don't know what to say. It's actually makes sense in its original Japanese, but there has never been a subtitled version released in North America, only that nonsensical Streamline dub. But if you're going to review the dub-only version, it unfortunately does belong in the Buried Garbage section. 
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danth78
Posts: 27 |
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In a bizarre coincidence, I watched Baoh for the first time last night, and boy, it was gorgeously animated! I mean super slick, wet-looking cels, high contrast shading and highlights, and beautiful, perfectly drawn characters. Visually, it was top notch, and blows away 98% of everything else out there. The story and characters were perfectly decent for a short OAV. Definitely a buried treasure.
As for Geist, I don't see what the hoopla is all about. It's not great. It's not horrible. Just a typical 80's OAV. |
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