Regular Price $34.98

Starring: John Swasey,  Phil Ross (II),  Illich Guardiola,  Dean Turner,  Kôji Ishii, 
Directed By:
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Adv Films
Format: Animated,  Color,  DVD-Video,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

Amazon.com
A.D. Police began as a three-part OAV prequel to the popular Bubblegum Crisis series; these 12 episodes constitute the entire 1999 remake for TV. In the not-too-distant future, a massive earthquake has reduced Tokyo to rubble. The metropolis has been rebuilt as Genom City, named after the gargantuan conglomerate that manufactures Voomers (VOodoo Organic Metal Extension Resource), robots that provide most of the labor in the city. When a robot turns into a violent rogue Boomer, the A.D. Police has to resolve the crisis--by shooting the Boomer in its vital core. The most effective cop on the squad is Kenji Sasaki, but he's a coolly arrogant loner who operates on his own terms, rather than a team player. When his partner is critically injured in a fight with Boomers, Kenji is paired with the mysterious Hans Kleif, and the duo slowly forges a friendship. Kenji, Hans, and the rest of the squad are pitted against Liam Fletcher, the right-hand henchman of the Genom Corporation president, in a series of violent confrontations. This incarnation of A.D. Police feels like a standard-issue anime action-adventure series: it pits a tough, motorcycle-riding antihero against an all-powerful industrial conglomerate involved in illegal and unethical biomechanical experiments. The mecha designs are undistinguished, and nothing in the scripts, animation, or direction sets the program apart. Liam's violent attempts at hijacking a plane and a nuclear reactor may disturb some viewers. Unrated: Violence, grotesque imagery, alcohol and tobacco use. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews for A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

Just isn't worth it.
The only reason I give this two stars is because the animation is decent. I guess given the choice, I'd give it 1 1/2 stars.

I owned this series once upon a time when there was no such thing as DVDs. Like most, I went for it because it was set in the world of Bubblegum Crisis, Crash, etc. One of the Bubblegum characters even was a member of the A.D. Police, though it was made very clear that none of the Bubblegum characters would be in this sub-series.

So, I owned this series, and traded it in for credit at a used video store within a day of viewing it, accompanied by an even more die-hard fan of Bubblegum and anime in general. There was mass agreement that nothing in this series added to the Bubblegum universe and it seemed to just be an opportunity for some pretty disgusting animation and confusing stories.

Seriously, when a character is reduced to a tongue supported by a bunch of technology (yes, a TONGUE), you've gone too far into some improbable and twisted alternate reality. The tongue was actually not the most disturbing thing, which is truly frightening. Fortunately, my brain has blocked most of the other sicko concepts, but I can't shake the damned tongue image.

You don't want that image for the rest of your life. I've carried it around for at least 13 years, and it shows no sign of fading.A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

Two out of three ain't bad
A.D. Police files 1-3 (1990): 8/10: Despite a third episode that is almost a scene remake of Robocop this is one of the sharpest anime's around. Sexist and racist in that unconscious Japanese way with over the top violence and just a dash of nudity A.D. Police doesn't fail to entertain. The first two tales are gripping and inventive if a little hard to follow (Character development is minimalist at best) with great moral arks about the downfall of artifical people. The third episode is a letdown and quite skippable. Tons of action keeps AD Police moving even when the story seems to stall.

13 up: violence, grotesque imagery, alochol and tobacco useA.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

One of the best animes out there!
A.D. Police is a futuristic movie about a guy named Kenji Sasaki who works for the ADvanced Police. At first, it was pretty questionable, but after a couple episodes, I couldnt stop watching! Its not as violent as i thought I was. I thought that the enging could have been a little better but it was still very good. 2 thumbs up! A MUST SEE ANIME!

Artwork: 10/10
Plot: 9/10
Audio: 9/10
Extras: 6/10
Value: 10/10A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

It Grows On You
I bought the AD Police remake after watching BGC 2040. This piece is drastically different. I found once I abandoned the question "where does this fit into the 2040 storyline?" I enjoyed the DVD much more. The style of animation is definitely influenced by film noir. The shots are well composed and the dialogue well paced. The storyline had some weak spots and it could have been a better series if they made it longer and fleshed out the story.

I recommend this series to anyone who believes anime is art. It's also a great series to show a newbie who thinks anime is just for kids.A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)

"Just how much worse can things get"
AD (Advanced) Police started out as a take-off from Bubblegum Crisis, the 1990 story of a private squad whose purpose was to stop the spread of evil robots engineered by Genom Tech. Somewhat darker than it's inspiration, the original AD Police only lasted three episodes and then disappeared. But, when Bubblegum Crisis 2040 appeared in 1999, Director Hidehito Ueda retried the spin off idea with this 12-part TV series.

The new series has much less depth than its ancestor, and focuses primarily on the 'buddy' relationship between Kenji Sasaki and his new partner Hans Klief. Set in Genom City (a Tokyo revival) the AD team is dedicated to fighting rogue robots. Genom Corporation plays an anomalous role, sometimes villain and sometimes support. One of the grey areas of the story is whether all the mad robots are accidents or intentional. The underlying technical story arc is the creation of engineered cyber-humanoids and the inevitable question of where humanity starts and ends.

Essentially the series is a shoot out between the AD Police and escalating levels of robots. The phrase I used as the title is a regular refrain on the show, because the team does not fare very well. Liam Fletcher, who is a ringleader behind a long string of robot-nappings, generally runs rings around the police, causing a lot of blood and gear popping. Hans and Kenji are the cowboy heroes, breaking all the rules and occasionally actually saving the day. This isn't a comedy, though, and the two stars have serious troubles of their own.

If you are a logician you are going to find a couple things that don't make sense, but I wouldn't worry about it, the point of the series is a lot of action, and a bit of dialog, not an intellectual exercise. What is odd is that, while done in 1999 the art and animation is very retro - straight out of 1990. This didn't bother me, but I think a snappier production might have earned this series a longer run. But we're just viewers, ours not to reason why. The series is quite watchable, but is just a little too formulaic for my tastes.A.D. Police - To Protect and Serve (Complete Series)