Bio-Hunter Review

Hello everyone! With the Barefoot Gen movies reviewed last week, it’s time to move onto more grittier films. Today’s review is a dark & bloody film from back in the day, and one that represents the serious side of anime. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this review for Bio-Hunter.

Story/Setup
Taken from the Anime News Network’s webpage:

“Two scientists are attempting to distribute the cure for a demon virus that is affecting people all over Japan, however, things have become complicated. One of them has become infected. So begins his battle with himself, as he attempts to not only control his emerging demon side, but also to save the lives of others by wielding its great strength.”

That’s pretty much the jest of the story. Two scientists trying to stop a horrific virus, only to have one of them get infected in the process. There’s other points in this story, but they’re either not explained enough, or not explained at all. This coincides with the rumors that this was intended to be a series (How long of a series, I’m not quite sure), as the ending is left kinda up in the air about some things.

Setting
There’s nothing really out of the ordinary in Bio-Hunter’s setting. It’s just the standard urban/laboratory landscape, with nothing really standing out. The only place that’s a little interesting in the countryside the main characters go to, and even then it’s standard stuff. Considering that you have people turn into demons/monsters you’d expect something more...supernatural.

Characters
Characters in this movie are conflicting for me. On the one hand, they’re all unique. They have their own personalities, motives, and thoughts. On the other hand, Bio-Hunter doesn’t really delve into the characters much. You see some things floating on the surface, but you don’t get to understand & experience the characters. This continues to fuel the rumors of Bio-Hunter being developed as a full-fledged series.

Animation
Bio-Hunter has some rather slick animation for a 90s movie. Whereas a lot of anime films from this time tended to be rather rough, this movie has characters & monsters that move rather fluidly. Having said that, this film is rather dark in terms of lighting. Not quite as bad as Angel Cop was, but there’s plenty of scenes where it shouldn’t have been as dark as it was. Apart from that one nitpick, this movie looks nice.

Voice Acting
Voice acting is alright in Bio-Hunter. Nobody’s over the top, but neither is anybody lacking in voice work. In short, the voice acting in this movie is average. It’s not an unbearable listening experience, but at the same time you wished it was a little stronger. I should quickly mention that one of the scientists is voices by the same actor that voiced Tenchi in the Tenchi franchise. Small world, isn’t it?

Episodes & Episode Length
Bio-Hunter is a feature length OVA. Running at almost an hour in length (57 minutes to be exact), this is the kind of movie you watch on a dark night, when the lights are off, and the air is abuzz with fear. Yeah that might sound like I’m pulling something out of my ass, but I’m not wrong either.

Availability & Pricing
Bio-Hunter can be a tricky movie to find. Although I downloaded my copy, I was able to find some copies over on Amazon. As I was writing this, there are currently 6 new copies, and 12 used copies. New copies are rather expensive, as they start at close to 60 dollars. The used copies are much less expensive, starting at 13 dollars. Go for the used copies: there might be a risk that it won’t work properly, but at the same time you aren’t spending as much money.

Extras/Other
Since I downloaded this, I don’t know what the extras are.

I should point out that this movie was from the director that did Wicked City and Ninja Scroll, two classic anime films from the 90s that paved the way for modern anime to flourish (In fact, Wicked City will eventually get reviewed in the coming months). It’s very evident that Bio-Hunter is related to these two movies by the animation style, as they all have a similar look & feel.

General Impression & Rating
I wanted to like Bio-Hunter. I really did. With an interesting premise, I was drawn right into the movie. Unfortunately, just about everything else in the film was lacking (Apart from the animation). If this was supposed to be the start of a series, then it was a bad one.

Bio-Hunter gets a 5 to 6 out of 10.

See you all later this week, when we’ll be looking at a rare Cyberpunk movie. Until then, stay Otaku!


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I have some family coming up this Thursday, and they’ll be staying until Sunday. On top of that, I just recently downloaded the 4th DLC for Borderlands 2, so that’ll occupy some of my time. Because of that, my 2nd review this week might be late. Apologies!