Buichi Terasawa wrote the screenplay for this anime film, which is based on his own comic book, er, manga. Set in a near-future city that's been built up twice after having been leveled by earthquakes, Goku: Midnight Eye follows the exploits of Goku, a former police detective turned private investigator. When several of his former coworkers start committing suicide while staking out a wealthy but villainous businessman/gun runner, he assigns himself to the case. Needless to say, there is diabolical hypnotism involved, a stripper dressed as a motorcycle who shoots lasers out of her mouth, and a lot of film noir-inspired voiceovers. Eventually, some mysterious entity gives Goku a bionic eye that allows him to tap into and control any computer in the world. You can tell this movie was made in the '80s because of Goku's penchant for wearing a sports jacket and a skinny tie, but without a shirt. In the dubbed version, the '80s are also evoked in the overly macho but exceedingly flat voice work of the actor playing Goku. Ultimately, this is 60 minutes of vaguely interesting anime. --Andy Spletzer
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Goku Comment: I really like goku, the downside was VHS and no option to change languages. He is someone you would love on the streets today! Customer Rating: Summary: Wonderful anime Comment: Goku midnight eye was one of the first anime movies I watched and i simply loved it. This movie is a true "8.0 Ballrocker" and well worth watching. Customer Rating: Summary: Some interesting concepts, art, but overall incredibally bad Comment: This is not my normal foray into anime, but I caught it on cable and thought I'd give it a watch. The art and animation were great, and the story's hero is dark and tragic - that classic cool look. However, this story's fascination with sex and ultraviolence really destroy any hopes of redeeming the story from the unlikable heap of sex and gore. The story is of a private eye curious about the dealings of a night club owner and the mysterious offings of his old mates on the police force, who are really being killed by hypnotic pornographic figures seducing them. Upon digging deeper into the case, he himself is almost offed, but he thwarts it with the mere loss of his eye, which is mysteriously replaced by someone who admires his courage (????). He then gets the ultra cool abilities of controlling any computers with his left eye.
Inconceivability is usually passable in anime, but for heaven's sake, at least explain yourself a bit! By the end of the piece, you hope to gather some information as to who gave him his ultra cool/almighty eye. However, it's amazing we make it that far as we have to sit through even more sex and gratuitous violence. Sometimes, you wish Goku would use his eye to turn off the telly or change the channel.
In a few short words, Goku is a cool dark hero, but is surrounded by too much sex and violence to establish himself as a good role model. He also doesn't know how he got his inconceivable eye and neither do we. His eye's all powerful and can do anything, so it's a wonder that something more constructive isn't done with it. Sex, violence, and a hokey premise. Pass this one up unless your due for a good vaccuming up of your brain cells.
Customer Rating: Summary: Not as great as the first one, but still pretty good. Comment: I really enjoyed the first tape of Goku: Midnight Eye, so I obviously wanted to see this one. This OAV is basically a small return to the world of Goku. The story is your basic woman-in-distress who wants Goku to help her brother who has gone completely insane and is a threat to everyone. Its pretty quick, but I wish it was longer. One thing I think worth noting is the classy James-Bond style opening. This video is mostly a could-have-been-better tape, but still, if you love Golgo 13 or just can't get enough of the nuclear premise and Goku's computer eye, than pick this one up. Customer Rating: Summary: Fast-paced, bizarre, and well-animated Comment: I had never heard of this movie before, but I caught it late at night on cable. It caught my attention right from the start, just as a action adventure/drama animation - and then the biomechanical stuff kicks in a few minutes later, and it gets stranger from there. The animation is a bit trippy (that's a compliment) at times, and the fighting is way kewl, and it tells a good story. In other words, well worth the watch, even staying up until two in the morning to watch it.
