Regular Price $19.98

Starring: Chiharu Kataishi,  B.G. Mills,  Hank Wilspank,  Debra Rogers,  Wataru Takagi, 
Directed By: Hiroyuki Ochi, 
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]
Format: Animated,  Color,  DVD-Video,  Subtitled,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Armitage III - The Complete OVA

Amazon.com
This four-part 1994 OAV spawned several follow-ups, and writer Chiaka Konaka went on to do screenplays for Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and Serial Experiments Lain. Armitage III is noted for its brooding, dystopic Blade Runner-influenced backgrounds--which are more interesting than its characters. Terran police officer Ross Sylibus arrives on Mars and finds himself drawn into a complex plot involving seemingly random bombings and the murders of women who are actually "Thirds," or state-of-the-art androids. (Their circuitry is so sophisticated, they can be impregnated by human males.) Sylibus's partner is Naomi Armitage, a sharp-shooting, hard-punching Third, whose scanty costumes suggest a '50s burlesque show. Together, they battle a standard array of addled scientists, sinister corporations, screeching maniacs, and corrupt police officers. Fast paced and violent, this influential adventure is not for the squeamish. (Rated 16 and older: nudity, graphic violence, violence against women, considerable profanity, grotesque imagery) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews for Armitage III - The Complete OVA

Bad Characters, Bad Action, Interesting Story and Concept
Armitage III
Before we go any further, Armitage III is not the third in the series it is the first. The III just has to do with the movie's plot. With that being said, I did not enjoy this anime. The story seemed intriguing, but the movie never seemed to pick up. I wouldn't say this is horrible to watch, but I would avoid this if I were you.

Ross Sylibus is a police officer that is being transferred to Mars. A robot killed his partner, and now he finds himself hating the robots. Upon reaching Mars, he witnesses a strange event that has another cop, Armitage, stopping a couple men with a large briefcase. After a firefight, the case drops and a country singing legend is discovered inside. She has been savagely murdered. You soon figure out the country singer is actually a robot. She is apart of a line of robots called the Thirds (hence the name of the series). As time goes on there are many more murders of the Thirds. Ross and Armitage soon learn that an extremist named D'anclaude is behind the murders. Stopping D'anclaude and learning about Armitage's past becomes the main focus of the story from there.

Mars is now a huge society. The population is extremely against robots, and claim they do nothing but hurt the economy. Earth is now a feminist world. The two are trying to establish a relationship, but through watching the movie you learn that the feminist ideals of Earth cause Mars citizens to hate the newer line of robots. Why? I don't want to spoil too much do I?

The story does sound very good. It just doesn't play out so well. Most of the show is very boring. The action scenes are unrealistic and just not fun to watch. So, you have a boring story and horrible action sequences. What is left? The exceptional amount of nudity that really has no purpose. If you are into that sort of thing, you can expect a good bit of it. The rest of us will just wonder why everyone is naked. Even Armitage dresses in hot pants and a bra.

The characters do not have a sense of depth. Armitage has a mystery surrounding her that is revealed in the first episode. Honestly though, you expect it all along. Other than that, you just watch a bunch of boring characters try to save a bunch of robots. They never made you care about these robots at all. They never even make you care about Ross or Armitage. The lack of emotion really kills this anime.

Overall, there was a good story here, but it wasn't good enough to make up for the flaws in this series. This is a four-episode set on one DVD. The extras are only trailers and artwork. I would suggest buying something else. This anime has bad action and bad characters, so there is really no draw here.Armitage III - The Complete OVA

I still don't get the hype behind this
First off, the Armitage OVA is the one to get. It has additional footage and it's about 80 minutes longer than the movie. If you saw the movie and hated it. Then there is no reason to bother with this then.

Armitage somehow reached the status of "cult classic" for reasons I never understood. Some people even said it's one of the best ever and thought provoking. Armitage is not even close to the best of it's genre. And it's about as thought provoking as Green Eggs and Ham.

The main character is every nerds wet dream. A young teenage chick half naked, looking like she's ready for a porn shoot and equipped with a pink pistol. How corny could they get? Armitage is a cop and the story begins when she encounters a guy in an airport who has a dead body in his briefcase. Long story short, the guy is responsible for killing robots. These aren't ordinary robots and they actually do have a purpose. That's a real big spoiler so I'll leave that alone.

Armitage does work out and the ending fits really well tying up the story. But I found the story and plot very boring. The action scenes aren't that good. And I just don't care for half naked animated characters for the most absurd reasons. Plus I did not like the soundtrack at all.

I didn't understand the hype behind this years ago and I don't see it now. My guess is, alot of these reviewers haven't seen anything better. Or it must be the little bit of fan service. If you love seeing half naked chicks with guns then get this. I'll even do you a favor and toss together a short list fitting this criteria; Najica Blitz, Divergence Eve, Misaki Chronicles, Burst Angel, & Godannar. The last two are actually good. And here goes more chick anime; Noir(best of the best), Madlax, Gunsmith Cats, Iria, Bubblegum Crisis(original), Gunslinger Girl & The Dirty Pair.Armitage III - The Complete OVA

The Right Anime, The Right DVD
Sometimes finding the right DVD version of an anime is as important as finding the right anime in the first place.

This is one of those times. I remember watching this anime a long time ago on late at night. On the Action Channel or something like that. I actually watched Dual Matrix, not this. But it inspired me to purchase this DVD. Unfortunately only AFTER I purchased "Armitage III Poly-Matrix (Geneon Signature Series)." That's one of those decisions I wish I hadn't made.

The Poly-Matrix Geneon Signature Series DVD is nothing more than a heavily edited, stuttering bare-bones version of the complete OVA featured in this product. The disk I purchased didn't even have Japanese Language as an option, so unfortunately I had to listen to whiny and often unpleasant and emotionally askew English voice acting by the main character.

Thankfully I found this DVD and rectified that mistake. This is a good anime with a compelling story. It may not be one of the greatest, but it's well articulated and pleasant to watch as well. It's an older anime, but just like watching older movies, you can acquire a taste for such things. It's great to watch the emotional articulation of the main character, and see how the story comes together. It's not as powerful or intellectually challenging as, say, Ghost in the Shell. And it doesn't have the depth and scope and impact of Akira. But Armitage III does have a certain character to it that I think every serious anime fan should enjoy. It's a pleasure to see any film or animation where there is a good story. And Artimitage III: The Complete OVA has that, a good story.

Now just make sure you get the OVA or the Complete OVA so you can actually enjoy that story without it being butchered, chopped up, and served to you fast-food style.Armitage III - The Complete OVA

Not quite what I expected.
I had seen this anime a couple of times in magazines and on previews, and it looked pretty good. Big cool looking guy, pretty girl, lots of action. When I watched it it seemed very slow moving and not as action packed as I had hoped. Also, there is not a lot of character development. Maybe if it were a series and they had more time to bring the characters to life it would have been better. Who knows? I think some people may enjoy this, but it just wasn't for me.Armitage III - The Complete OVA

I love Naomi Armitage!
I found myself scratching my head while watching Polymatrix. When I found out that it was a butcher job of a short series, I decided to seek out the original. Now that the whole thing makes sense, I can give an honest review of the actual anime.

The two main characters are great fun even as they explore the underside of Martian society. I very much enjoyed the exploration into what makes someone human.

This series is one that I can't reccomend enough.Armitage III - The Complete OVA