Cyber City Oedo - DVD

The year is 2808. The city of Oedo — formerly Tokyo, now a cybernetic megalopolis of towering arcologies, networked crime, and institutional corruption — has a problem it cannot solve through conventional law enforcement. The Cyber Police has revived the ancient practice of hōmen: employing convicted criminals to hunt their own kind. Three death-row convicts are given a choice. Sengoku is a hot-tempered maverick swordsman serving 375 years. Gogul is a mohawked hacker and cyberspace specialist serving 295 years. Benten is a beautiful, androgynous assassin serving 298 years. They can stay on the orbital prison, or they can come back down and work.

 In exchange for every mission completed, their sentences are reduced. The catch: each wears an explosive collar synced to a 24-hour check-in timer. Miss a check-in, try to remove it, or fail the mission — and the collar detonates. Each of the three OVA episodes follows a single mission assigned to one of the three agents: Sengoku vs. a terrorist takeover of the city's tallest space-scraper; Gogul vs. a vampiric cyborg serial killer haunting the city's back alleys; Benten vs. a corrupted military android whose shutdown code is buried inside a dead man's memory.

Cyber City Oedo 808 is a three-episode OVA directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri — the director of Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, Ninja Scroll, Goku: Midnight Eye, Birdy the Mighty, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust — produced by Madhouse.

Released in Japan from June 21, 1990 to October 4, 1991. Each episode is approximately 45 minutes and follows a different lead character. The UK dub produced by Manga Entertainment in 1993 — featuring a completely new rock-centric score composed by Rory McFarlane — became one of the most celebrated and quotable English dubs in anime history, with aggressively profane dialogue that significantly enhanced the cult following of the series in the English-speaking world.

The Central Park Media DVD release presents the UK Manga Entertainment dub alongside the original Japanese audio — however, note that the UK dub on this DVD uses the original Japanese soundtrack rather than Rory McFarlane's legendary UK rock score, which was available only on UK VHS until Anime Limited's 2021 UK Blu-ray restored it. Discotek Media released a remastered sub-only DVD and a standard and SteelBook Blu-ray in 2021 and 2022. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director / Character Design: Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, Ninja Scroll, Goku: Midnight Eye, Birdy the Mighty OVA, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust)
Screenplay: Akinori Endo (Legend of Crystania: Chaos Ring, Sorcerer on the Rocks, Texhnolyze additional scripts)
Studio: Madhouse (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Claymore, Kaiba, Paprika, Elfen Lied, Cyber City Oedo 808)
Music: Kazz Toyama
UK Score: Rory McFarlane (Manga Entertainment UK dub score — not on this DVD release)
Ending Theme: "You May Love (Ai Shite Iru Kamo Shirenai)" by Hidemi Miura

Japanese Cast:
- Daisuke Gori as Sengoku Shunsuke
- Shinobu Satouchi as Gogul / Rikiya Gabimaru
- Kazuhiko Inoue as Benten 

English Dub Cast (Manga Entertainment UK — London):
- Peter Marinker as Sengoku 
- Alan Marriott as Gogul
- Richard Barnes as Benten 

OVA Episode Breakdown

- Data One: Memories of the Past (~45 min) — Sengoku vs. terrorist hostage crisis in the city's tallest space-scraper
- Data Two: The Decoy (~45 min) — Gogul vs. vampiric cyborg serial killer in Oedo's back alleys
- Data Three: The Last Stand (~45 min) — Benten vs. rogue military android with classified memory

DVD Features (Central Park Media / US Manga Corps)

- All 3 Episodes — Complete OVA Series (~140 min)
- UK Manga Entertainment English Dub (with original Japanese soundtrack — McFarlane UK rock score not included)
- Japanese Audio + English Subtitles
- Central Park Media / US Manga Corps Previews
- Note: The legendary UK rock score by Rory McFarlane is NOT on this DVD — it was available only on UK VHS until Anime Limited's 2021 UK Blu-ray (Region B). Discotek Media remastered DVD and Blu-ray (2021) and SteelBook Blu-ray (2022) are the current North American editions.

Spoken Languages: English (UK Manga Entertainment dub, original Japanese score) & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: サイバーシティ OEDO 808 (Saibā Shiti Ōedo Hachi-Maru-Hachi / Cyber City Oedo 808)
Runtime: ~140 Minutes (Complete OVA, 3 Episodes)
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
DVD Release Year: 2001 (U.S. Release — Central Park Media / US Manga Corps); NuTech Digital DVD December 2, 1998; Discotek Media remastered DVD + Blu-ray March 30, 2021; Discotek SteelBook Blu-ray July 26, 2022
Original Release Date (Japan): June 21, 1990 – October 4, 1991
Publisher: Central Park Media / US Manga Corps (out of print); Discotek Media (current license holder)
Rating: 16+
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Note: UK Manga Entertainment dub is present but WITHOUT Rory McFarlane's legendary UK rock score — this DVD uses the original Japanese soundtrack under the UK dub. McFarlane score available only on UK VHS (1993–1995) and Anime Limited UK Blu-ray (2021, Region B). Yoshiaki Kawajiri at peak creative form.
Genre: Action, Cyberpunk, Science Fiction
Themes: Convict Cyber Police, Explosive Collar Countdown, Anthology Format, Kawajiri Cyberpunk Aesthetic, Cult UK Dub

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.