Amazon.com
J is a cyborg of almost unlimited power and the partner of laid-back, irreverent Daisuke Aurora, who prefers popping wheelies on his super-motorcycle to filing reports. Although their duty as officers of the City Management Safety Agency is to prevent future crimes, J and Daisuke get caught in the mob warfare ripping through the city-state of Judoh. The accession of maniacal Claire Leonelli as the leader of a major crime family unleashes this savage power struggle. J rescues Daisuke from Leonelli bombers and beast-faced humans who have been genetically and surgically deformed as punishment for their crimes. The filmmakers seem to be trying to recapture the stylish noir tone of Cowboy Bebop, but Daisuke has neither the charm nor the vulnerability that make Spike Spiegel so appealing, and the results remain less than the sum of the parts. (Rated 13 and older: violence, grotesque imagery) –Charles Solomon
Product Description
They needed a hero? So they built HEAT GUY J. Android J was secretly built by the government as a special agent to combat crime in the oceanic city-nation of Judoh. While J initially appears to be human, the illusion quickly disappears in clouds of scorching steam when he fights. Together with his partner, Daisuke Aurola, the most dangerous criminals will soon find themselves on the run -from the underground legend known as the Heat Guy! From the director and staff that created the Escaflowne Movie comes a brand-new, action oriented cop drama! Airing in Japan in early 2003. Animation production by Escaflowne staff!
Don’t be put off by the awkward title, “Heat Guy J.” This is an enjoyable futuristic crime caper with lots of action, some good technological effects, expertly rendered digitally animated backgrounds and a flavorful urban crime thriller ambience that we don’t see much in anime these days. It follows the exploits of Daisuke, a callow young cop working for the City Safety Management Agency as part of a special three-person unit whose rather vague assignment is to look for “signs” of impending crimes. Daisuke would be dead meat if it weren’t for his bulky “super android” partner, J, who’s constantly taking bullets and bombs to protect Daisuke. The third person in the unit is Kyoko, an attractive redhead and put-upon office manager who has to issue Daisuke a gun and ration of bullets before every job. Support is provided by the sultry Dr. Bellucci (who has more than a passing resemblance to a certain Italian actress), who tends to J after every mishap and restores him to working strength.
Being a TV series, it lacks the hard edge and gritty, bloody violence of an earlier wave of OAV sci-fi crime thrillers that included “Midnight Eye Goku,” “Cyber City Oedo 808″ and “A.D. Police Files.” Also, the design of the young hero seems more inspired by boy band pop idols than by crime-fighting anime predecessors like Goku in “Midnight Eye Goku” and Taki in “Wicked City.” The plots, at least on the basis of the first four episodes, are not as intricate or compelling as those of the series cited above and are probably this series’ weak points. Daisuke’s chief problem appears to be the Leonelli crime family, the stewardship of which has been newly inherited by Clair, the young, body-pierced, somewhat unhinged son of the family’s previous Don or “Vampire,” as the position is inexplicably called here. Perhaps the true nature of their threat to the heroes will become clearer as the series progresses.
The series is set in a sprawling metropolis (in which police cars are marked by both English and Japanese lettering) that’s an amalgam of future urban centers, resembling San Francisco in some shots, and Tokyo and Hong Kong in others. There’s a nice sense of the city’s back alley flavor, as manifested in its immigrant cultural mix, open air markets and red light district.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Robot cop
In the futuristic city of Judoh, androids are forbidden — all except Heat Guy J, a police android belonging to the special unit that tries to prevent crimes.
I originally saw this anime at Anime Expo ’03, and I really enjoyed it! I like the ‘strong, silent type’, and J is all that! The ‘villain’, snarky little punk Clair Leonelli, is really creepy, and he reminds me a lot of unhinged villans like Gary Oldham’s character in “The Professional” or Jack Nicholson’s Joker in “Batman”.
I gave this anime four stars because the plot in the beginning is a bit hard to follow–Daisuke Aurora, J’s human partner, is investigating an entity known as “The Shop”, which is smuggling illegal goods and allowing illegal immigrants (not to mention an android, which except for J, are forbidden) into the city. There are mob-style hits on whoever seems to be connected with this smuggling activity, but eventually I just give up on trying to figure it out and watch the show. The visuals are really compelling (nice mix of CGI and cel-style animation) and the action is well done. Looking forward to the next disc!
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Sci-Fi Concept But Sadly Lacking Any True Entertainment
The series is like most of the android sci-fi animes in that it involves a city, a human partner who dislikes for some reason his/her robotic partner, and an underground plot by…
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great item
The stylishness of this box is almost as stylish as the show itself. A great series that I would recommend to any anime fan.
5.0 out of 5 stars
There are better deals on this anime.
You can get the first 3 dvds for the price of one individual, but for some reason on Amazon you can’t.
5.0 out of 5 stars
“I’M GOING TO THE OVERGROUND..”!
Heat guy j is a cross between ROBOCOP and COWBOY BEBOP with elements of T2 thrown in for good measure.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slick, Stylish and Action-Packed..
Just the way I like my Anime! Filled with eye-catching visuals, Heat Guy J centers around a cop and his android partner in the near future called “J”.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great new take on cyborg-police anime.
Finally there’s a new police anime, I’ve been waiting since 8-Man, Angel Cop and Tank Police for a good series.