Film

Violence Jack: Harem Bomber

Name: Violence Jack: Harem Bomber
Genre: Animation, Horror, Fantasy
Released: 1986
Cast: Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Tessyo Genda, Minako Arakawa, Gara Takashima, Hiromi Tsuru

Action
Very dark
Relentless

A 37-minute OVA from 1986 that throws you into a post-apocalyptic grudge match with the raw energy of early anime horror. It's violent, surreal, and visually inventive in ways mainstream anime still hasn't fully recovered from. For people who want their animation transgressive and strange, who aren't looking for comfort.

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like gleefully gruesome post-apocalyptic pulp with a mythic, operatic streak, and you don't mind the blood being the point of the whole exercise.

Skip it if you want restraint or a story that stays in its lane; this is loud, lurid and often lurches between romance and carnage, with dated animation that can feel crude.

What it asks of you: Half an hour of your time is all it takes, but it wants you to surrender quickly to abrupt, feverish shifts, with little build-up before the excess takes over.

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

If you liked this

Fist of the North Star1984

Conan-meets-Mad Max with a protagonist of near-impossible strength navigating endless wastelands. The source DNA for all anime post-apocalypse that came after. Hypnotically grim and oddly philosophical.

But Repetitive fight structure and crude animation by modern standards will test your patience. Some episodes drift aimlessly.

Demon City Shinjuku1988

A ferocious 82-minute OVA with the same anarchic 80s anime energy—shapeshifters, casual ultraviolence, and visual imagination that ignores the laws of physics. Stylish and truly unhinged.

But The plot is thin scaffolding for spectacle. If you need narrative coherence, this will frustrate you.

Akira1988

The film that legitimized anime globally. Cyberpunk Tokyo, telekinetic power, apocalyptic scope, and animation so detailed it redefined what hand-drawn could do. Essential viewing.

But The middle sags slightly and the ending is deliberately oblique. Pacing can feel glacial after the first act.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Violence Jack: Harem Bomber

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Barefoot Gen1983

Both deploy animation to show violence and suffering in ways live-action could never render. Both refuse to look away. But where Violence Jack luxuriates in the surreal and baroque, Barefoot Gen uses animation's power to witness devastation with unflinching precision.

An animated film about a boy surviving Hiroshima's bombing. Horrifyingly matter-of-fact. The animation is deceptively simple, but the horror comes from watching a child navigate real historical atrocity without sentimentality. A completely different register of violence—not cartoonish but documentary.

But Genuinely traumatic to watch. Not entertainment in any comfortable sense. Some scenes of starvation and loss will stay with you for the wrong reasons.

Vampire Hunter D1985

A 70-minute OVA that nails gothic atmosphere in a post-human wasteland. Gorgeous, eerie, genuinely unsettling in places. Perfect if you want horror and style without camp.

But Very slow and quiet. Long stretches without dialogue or action. The pacing won't suit anyone craving momentum.

Cyber City Oedo 8081990

Three 50-minute episodes of cyberpunk noir so stylish it could make you weep. Each story is self-contained, gorgeously animated, deeply atmospheric. Pure aesthetic.

But Deliberately anti-narrative. The stories resolve mechanically. If you want emotional payoff rather than mood, skip it.

Record of Ragnarok2021

Gods and famous humans battle to the death across history. Audaciously silly and visually spectacular. Captures some of that same manic, over-the-top energy Violence Jack has.

But CGI animation is inconsistent and sometimes distracting. The repetitive battle format gets stale by season's end.

Berserk1997

Medieval dark fantasy with animation that captures genuine dread and body horror. Psychologically intense in ways most anime isn't brave enough to attempt. Uncompromising.

But The TV series ends on a cliffhanger. Several episodes have pacing problems. The manga is better—the anime is the compromise.

Devilman Crybaby2018

A visceral reboot of Devilman that treats transgression as its native language. Chaotic, sex-drenched, genuinely distressing. Modern anime willing to be ugly in service of something real.

But Self-consciously provocative in ways that can feel performative. If shock tactics without deeper purpose annoy you, this will exhaust you.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome1985

Both are wasteland sagas where visual excess and mythic violence matter more than narrative clarity. Both feel like dreams of destruction rather than explorations of it. Mad Max is the live-action template Violence Jack follows, but with sanity and budget.

Live-action post-apocalypse with Tina Turner and an aesthetic so strange it feels alien. Operatic, mythic, visually baroque—the wasteland as fever dream. A predecessor in every way but animation.

But The second half abandons the tone of the first. Some will find it too stylized, not gritty enough. The plot falls apart if you think about it.