A.D. Police Files

A.D. Police Files is a three-part original video animation produced by Youmex and animated by Artmic and AIC. It's a spin-off of the Bubblegum Crisis series. Due to the legal conflict between Artmic and Youmex, the production of the series was stopped with only three complete episodes made.

Plot

Chronologically set before the events narrated in Bubblegum Crisis, it tells about AD. Police inspector Leon McNichol's early days in the AD. Police when he was a mere officer.

Episode list

Episode Summaries

The Phantom Woman

The Phantom Woman is an introductory episode in the beginning arc of AD. Police showing us a rogue boomer that cannot be taken down by normal police and the assistance of the AD. Police are called in to help. After killing a few of the advanced police the squad commander orders the boomer to be killed by firing squad, destroying the storefront the boomer worked at in the process. Later it is theorized that one of the AD. Police members killed was part of a larger scam but to correct that two AD. Police offers agree to help prove it incorrect. After getting new leads that set them on the right path to follow, their visited a hacker who is able to provide them with a list of possible users that have illegally been recycling old boomer parts. The two follow the next lead that helps them to learn the original boomer was part of an underground sex boomer business that unfortunately one of the police officers has stumbled into the heart of and was attacked by one of these such boomers. A fight insures with the lead female detective who delivers the finishing blow via pistol to the rogue boomers head thus concluding the episode.

The Ripper

After a gruesome murder on the subway in an area called Paradise Loop, AD. Police steps in to help find the killer when the normal police don't seem up to the task. A total of six prostitute are found to all have been murdered on this subway line and its suspected the work is done by a boomer. Two officers of the normal police are cast in this episode to help find the killer and bring it to justice. While the victims all share the same stabbing to the abdomen, they died however from massive cardiac arrest or shock. While one of the normal officers is at the organ bank to replace her eye with a cybernetic replacement because of discomfort she notices an argument from another of the clients, Caroline Evers, a billionaire and business tycoon. After bumping into her, she has a hunch Caroline is somehow connected to the murders. It also comes to light that Ms. Evers had almost her entire lower body converted into cybernetic parts. Later the younger of the officers investigates an abandoned part of Paradise Loop herself and runs into Ms. Evers of all people. When it is unveiled Caroline is “The Ripper” she explains that long ago she had been competing for CEO of her current company, however a man got the job because he concocted a bogus chart that compared her menstrual cycles to her productivity. To alleviate the concerns of the companies board of directors she has most all of her female organs replaces with cybernetic ones. After this move they no longer had any reason to keep her from becoming CEO and in time the same man came to work under her and they fell in love, later to be wed. She then discovered he has begun to cheat on her and when asked why, his response was “real women are better after all” referring to the operation that had many of her sexual organs replaced. After finishing her confession, Ms. Evers moves to kill the officer but the AD Police break through the walls and open fire thus saving her. It is revealed that should more than 70% of the human body become cybernetic you're treated as a “boomeroid” and thus can be killed with the same prejudice as a boomer, as such the order comes in to kill Caroline Evers, not to arrest her. The episode concludes with the officer agreeing to throw away some of her humanity for the surgery.

The man who bites his tongue

This episode stars Billy Fanword, Captain of the AD. Police Spacial Mobile Squad. After sustaining massive injures due to a rogue boomer and almost dying his only remaining viable organs (brain and tongue) are transplanted into an experimental battle cyborg body. To help remind him he was once human he is seen at times biting his tongue. During the course of the episode Billy slowly loses touch with his humanity if not by a selfish and overly prideful doctor that helped to “make him” then by continuously taking ever higher does of drug DA-27 injected into his tongue to give him greater sensations that he’s all but lost. It is also theorized that he acts like a tank with a human brain; smart & intelligent but with no fear of pain or death. He loses his humanity, impacting his performance in the field. His ex Jeena progressively tries to get him to remember his human side to no avail. After finding out the prideful doctors plan to let him die in the line of duty to rid herself of his poor performance he helps himself to massive doses of DA-27 that finally do him in. Going on a massive rampage, he kills the doctor and many of his AD Police comrades, viewing it as more like a dream than reality. Jeena is finally able to stop him with a large anti-tank gun after he pleads to her to shoot his tongue to give him pain, the only thing he has left to feel. We are left seeing his burial on the top of a high rise and Jenna reminiscing his past.

Release

In North America, the series is licensed by AnimEigo, who first released the series to VHS and Laserdisc in 1993 in Japanese with English subtitles. They later reissued it in both formats in 1995 with an English dub produced by Southwynde Studios in Wilmington, NC.^[3] The show was released to bilingual DVD in 2004, with bonus content featuring music videos for various songs featured in the series as performed by Filipino singer Lou Bonnevie in addition to translation notes and production artwork.^[4] On September 27, 2015, AnimEigo announced that they will be funding a brand new HD telecine of the series from the original 35mm film in-house through Kickstarter, with a Blu-ray release planned for 2016.^[5]

In the UK, the series was licensed by Manga Entertainment, who produced their own English dub for VHS in 1994, and later issued it onto dub-only DVD in 2004.^[6] Their release is now out-of-print.

Reception

Helen McCarthy in 500 Essential Anime Movies describes The Phantom Woman as the video "definitely not for the faint hearted", noting that the "design is good and the atmosphere well maintained, but it's Aikawa's script that will stick in your mind".^[1] She also praised The Man Who Bites His Tongue as a "stylish, dark retelling of Robocop".^[7]

Justin Sevakis of Anime News Network described A.D. Police Files as being "a flawed work, but has enough memorable moments and beautiful, macabre touches to redeem it in some way." ^[8]

References

External links

• A.D. Police Files (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• A.D. Police Files at the Internet Movie Database