Psychic Wars
5,000 years ago, good triumphed over evil and the demon race was vanquished, but now the darkness conspires to shatter our peace once again. However, the old Protector of the Earth is dying and a new one is needed to counter the new threat...
5,000 years ago, good triumphed over evil and the demon race was vanquished, but now the darkness conspires to shatter our peace once again. However, the old Protector of the Earth is dying and a new one is needed to counter the new threat.
When brilliant surgeon Ukyo Retsu operates to remove an old woman's cancer, he discovers that the tumour has a life of it's own, and it's growing. That night, drawn by an unknown force, Ukyo enters a shrine in the forest and finds an idol that looks like the old woman he operated on. When he picks it up, he is endowed with the mystical powers of the Protector of the Earth.
When he returns to the hospital next morning, he discovers that the old woman has passed away suddenly, round about the time he touched the idol. Meanwhile, her "living" tumour has grown into a demon and escaped its confinement, attacking the hospital staff and Ukyo, instinctively using his new powers, destroys it. However, he finds a book among the old woman's possessions and learns from it that the demons plan to return to the Earth after 5,000 years and upset the peace. Can Ukyo defeat the demon hordes and their Queen before they destroy mankind and take over the planet…
Review
I'm not sure where the title of Psychic Wars came from as there's no real reference to psychic powers on either side of the conflict in the story. Perhaps it's the result of some rough translation from the original Japanese novel by Yasuaki Kadota. The story itself is pretty straightforward - evil is coming, a hero is chosen to fight it, they get it together and good triumphs in the end. There's some violence, of course, and some sex and even a bit of time travel to keep things rolling along but it never really grips the imagination.
The demons are a pretty varied bunch - from a 5,000-year-old orc-like demon race to an assortment of huge and grotesque comic book styled, overly coloured monsters. The violence is sporadic but nothing too extreme with most of the blood being green or black. There is also some brief nudity but again nothing too graphic.
The picture is presented in 1.33:1 (4:3) full screen aspect, a standard for an anime title of its time. Digitally remastered, the picture quality is actually quite good as well with a clean transfer, with a few specks here and there and it is a bit soft or faded in places with some evidence of edge enhancement artefacts. Colours are good throughout, but vary from pretty soft and pastel in some scenes to downright psychedelic in others. The animation is pretty basic and the main characters are a bit flat looking and lacking in detail. Background artwork is good in places and pretty plain in others but some the effects such as rain and mist are quite well done.
The sound is Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, which actually works quite well here. Vocals are clear throughout and sounds effects, such as explosions, thunder, rain, etc. are well handled as well. The score is also quite reflective of the mood of the scenes and is quite upbeat in places with some good bass sounds.
Extras
Pretty standard extras, or lack of them, for a Manga title…
The Previews - Seven minutes worth of trailers. Includes The End Of Evangelion, Patlabor, Black Jack, Detonator Orgun, Vampire Hunter D, Virus, Kai Doh Maru and R.O.D.
The Collection - About eight minutes worth of trailers. Includes Bubblegum Crash, Sword For Truth, Vampire Wars, Ray Earth, Amon Saga, New Gall Force, Violence Jack, Dark Myth, Psychic Wars and Land Lock.
Overall
This is a pretty run of the mill good versus evil tale and the quality of the production seems ten years older than it really is. There are a lot better anime titles out there that should be considered before this one.
The package is a bit lean, with a fairly short running time and no extras worth mentioning, but it's a budget title and can be picked up pretty cheaply online or in the sales. Anime fans might find it worth renting at least but you wouldn't be missing anything great by passing it over.
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