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M.D. Geist: Collector's Series (M.D. Geist: Director's Cut + M.D. Geist II: Death Force) ( M.D.ガイスト 1-2 ) Nippon Columbia/Denon, 1986/1996 U.S. Manga Corps, 1992/1996, 2002; ADV Films, 2009 Directed by Koichi Ohata (Gunbuster, Ikki Tousen) (M.D. Geist originally directed by Hayato Ikeda) Rated 16-Up for extreme violence and gore, nudity and profanity. M.D. Geist (装鬼兵MDガイスト) In the distant future, mankind has colonized other planets in the universe. While many planets lived in peace, one planet has been ravaged by decades of war. Geist, an enhanced soldier, wakes up from his cryogenic sleep to engage in another war. This time, to help the army stop the planet's central computer from activating a doomsday device. M.D. Geist II: Death Force (装鬼兵MDガイスト2) After unleashing the Death Force machines, Geist has kept himself busy by dismantling them one by one. But now he faces a formidable opponent in the form of Krauser, another enhanced soldier who has aligned himself as the only savior of mankind. An instant flop in Japan in 1986, M.D. Geist was picked up by U.S. Manga Corps in the early 1990s as the company's corporate logo. Because of their obsession with Geist, U.S. Manga Corps gave creator Koichi Ohata (Aim for the Top! Gunbuster, Genocyber) a fat paycheck to refine the OAV and produce a sequel. The results can be found in this DVD package. Cast Norio Wakamoto (Coach in Gunbuster, Chiyochichi in Azumanga Daioh) as M.D. Geist (original 1986 version) Kazuhiro Nakata (Ron in Outlaw Star, Bear in .hack//) as M.D. Geist (Director's Cut and M.D. Geist II) Fumi Hirano (Lum in Urusei Yatsura) as Vaiya (original 1986 version) Rica Matsumoto (Jim in Outlaw Star, Aoi in You're Under Arrest) as Vaiya (Director's Cut) Rica Fukami (Myung in Macross Plus, Minako/Sailor Venus in Sailor Moon) as Vaiya (M.D. Geist II) Akio Nojima (Aaron in Armored Trooper Votoms, Alexander in Eureka Seven AO) as Kurtz (original 1986 version) Unshou Ishizuka (Jet in Cowboy Bebop, Guld in Macross Plus) as Kurtz (Director's Cut) Kaneto Shiozawa (1954-2000) (Rei in Fist of the North Star, M'quve in Mobile Suit Gundam) as M.D. Krauser Story: F What story? All I see is brainless, gratuitous violence. Animation: D M.D. Geist: Director's Cut has crude, low-budget OAV animation, and the colors of the added footage do not mix with the old footage. M.D. Geist II has cleaner artwork, but suffers from, well, lack of animation. Roughly 80% of the OAV consists of just still shots. And you'd think U.S. Manga Corps would spare no expense on their corporate mascot... Soundtrack: D- Bad enough that you see bad animation in M.D. Geist. Worse is that you have to put up with some cheesy music to go with it, along with some crappy songs about the guy. I feel sorry for the great Hironobu Kageyama (Dragon Ball Z, Mazinkaiser), who recorded the theme songs. This is, by far, the worst original Japanese soundtrack for any anime. Sub vs. Dub Quite frankly, the voice acting is laughable. And I'm talking about both English and Japanese versions. DVD Extras: B Apparently, U.S. Manga Corps still worships this title. In 2002, they released the Collector's Series version of this DVD, phasing out the mediocre Image Entertainment version. With that in mind, U.S. Manga Corps went all-out by remastering the picture quality. (Wow - M.D. Geist II was done in 1996 and the quality's already deteriorating?) Also included in the two-disc set are the following features: Commentary by creators Koichi Ohata/Riku Sanjo (In Japanese) Alternate angles (using the graphic novel published by CPM Manga) Storyboards Art gallery Geist Rider Scrapbook - A look at the customized Harley Davidson bike inspired by the anime A really, really stupid music video So far, Netflix sent me disc one only. From what I've read, disc two just has more artwork from Ohata. And I have absolutely no time to view that. The Bottom Line U.S. Manga Corps needs a new corporate mascot. I'll take the Geist Rider, though. On a side note, imagine if Central Park Media decided to produce a live-action M.D. Geist movie. It would probably star Dolph Lundgren as Geist.