Film

Cyber City Oedo 808

Name: Cyber City Oedo 808
Genre: Animation, Science Fiction, Horror, Action, Crime
Released: 1990
Cast: Hiroya Ishimaru, Kaneto Shiozawa, Tessyo Genda, Norio Wakamoto, Mitsuko Horie

A 1990 OVA cyberpunk action film following three criminals forced into a special police unit in futuristic Oedo. Stylish, violent, and drenched in neon—it's a love letter to 80s anime excess wrapped around a straightforward redemption premise. For anyone who wants their sci-fi nasty, visually inventive, and gloriously uninterested in subtlety.

TMDb rating

3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy grimy, rain-soaked cyberpunk built on a pulpy cop-caper spine, where the mood and the mechanical detail of a dense future city matter as much as the plot.

Skip it if you want tight, fast plotting, because the pacing sags at feature length and the gore lands hard on a story that rarely hurries.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a little over two hours of patient world-building, then a late stretch of stylised brutality; it rewards focus more than casual half-attention.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Akira1988

The spiritual ancestor of everything Cyber City does: a sprawling, gorgeously animated cyberpunk vision with real stakes, stunning action sequences, and a protagonist who doesn't fit the heroic mould. Essential viewing.

But Nearly two hours long, the plot sprawls deliberately, and the ending requires patience. Some find it self-indulgent.

Ghost in the Shell1995

A meditative, philosophical cyberpunk masterpiece that pairs exceptional animation with genuine questions about identity and consciousness. It's visually arresting and intellectually rigorous—the rare film that works as both.

But Deliberately paced and philosophical; if you came for explosions, you'll spend long stretches in your own head. Not for the impatient.

Cowboy Bebop1998

Genre-hopping space western animated series with style to spare, memorable characters, a killer jazz soundtrack, and the kind of episodic structure that lets each story breathe. Rewatchable endlessly.

But The film conclusion is unsatisfying if you're expecting neat resolution. Some episodes meander. The ending of the series itself is melancholic and unresolved.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Cyber City Oedo 808

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Wicked City1987

Both are 1987–1990 OVAs that treated animation as a medium for adults willing to watch ugly things; both favour style and transgression over narrative tidiness.

An adult-oriented horror-action OVA that shares Cyber City's commitment to neon, nastiness, and not caring what Western audiences think. Bewilderingly lurid and visually gorgeous in equal measure. A genuine precursor.

But The sexual violence is graphic and presented without irony. The plot is secondary to the mood. Some sequences are genuinely disturbing rather than thrilling.

Neon Genesis Evangelion1995

Brutal, visually inventive mecha anime that burrows under your skin and refuses to leave. Genuinely psychologically disturbing in ways most animation won't attempt. If you want to feel something dark, this delivers.

But The later episodes become deliberately abstract and unwatchable by design. The protagonist is deeply unlikeable. The entire affair is exhausting and sometimes incoherent on purpose.

Ninja Scroll1993

A straightforward, gorgeously animated action film with demons, swordplay, and no pretense whatsoever. It's pure kinetic pleasure—beautifully drawn fight scenes and a protagonist with actual agency doing actual damage.

But The plot is thin. The sexual violence is exploitative, not artful. If you're watching for substance, you'll leave hungry.

Battle Angel1993

A fast-paced cyberpunk action film with a compelling female lead, stunning hand-drawn animation, and genuine emotional core beneath the neon and hardware. The fights land hard.

But Only ninety minutes to set up a whole world; it feels rushed. The ending is abrupt and feels like it's cut short mid-story.

Appleseed1988

A high-octane cyberpunk action film with an android lead, impressive animation, and a plot about artificial life that doesn't bog itself down in philosophical hand-wringing. Just moves, constantly.

But The script is thin and the dialogue is workmanlike. The emotional beats don't land because we don't spend enough time with anyone to care.

Judge Dredd1995

Both are about criminals forced into service by oppressive systems; both prioritize kinetic action and visual excess over character depth, and both embrace the trashy pleasures their source material offers.

Sylvester Stallone in a cartoonishly violent, aesthetically excessive live-action adaptation of a comic about authoritarian judges and mutant-infested wastelands. It's camp and committed in equal measure—genuinely entertaining trash.

But The performance is broad, the dialogue is clunky, and the whole thing is aware it's stupid but not in a witty way. If you need sincerity, run.

Perfect Blue1998

Where Cyber City uses animation's freedom for visceral action, Perfect Blue uses it for psychological violence; both prove the medium can handle adult horror, but Kon goes inward while Cyber City explodes outward.

A psychological thriller animated film that uses the medium to create genuine unease and dread. Satoshi Kon's directorial debut is formally inventive, disturbing, and proof animation can do horror as well as live action.

But The violence toward women is central to the discomfort, not a side effect. It's slow-burn dread, not action. Some find it exploitative rather than illuminating.