CCVII: "Dominion: Tank Police"

Another old title, Dominion: Tank Police is another sci-fi anime that takes place in a world that would be considered unfit for humans outside. I never thought I would get to speak of this one, since it's been a long time since I've actually watched it, and saw little fanfare stemming from it. Probably the only memorable thing from there would be the catgirl characters (which oddly enough would be because of 4chan...)

Taking place in Newport, Japan, the air is severely polluted thanks to a bacteria gas. As such, people are required to wear gas masks just to get around. This gas, however, does not halt the process of crime. In opposition, there's the Tank Police squadron, which hence their name, uses tanks to get around and bust crime. Rookie Leona Ozaki is just transferring to the Tank Police from the motorcycle division, with a thrilling passion about her work. She also cares for her tank Bonaparte. Compared to the other tanks in the squad, it's a runt, but it get's the job done. Of course, there is also the super criminal Buaku and his two love dolls/partners AnnaPuma and UniPuma, the latter two sharing a mutual hate-hate relationship with Leona.

Dominion: Tank Police also has a few interesting things about the series. Being 3 OVA series, they have a specific order. Dominion: Tank Police, which was made in the Agent 21 studio and licensed by U.S. Manga Corps, precedes storywise to the original manga. This lasted for 4 episodes. The second series, New Dominion Tank Police, was made as the direct sequel to the original manga, with a pallet change for AnnaPuma and UmiPuma. This OVA lasted for 6 episodes, made in the J.C. Staff studio, and licensed by Manga Entertainment for the U.S., though that license is expired now. TANK S.W.A.T. 01 was the final animated entry of Dominion: Tank Police, set before the events of the series' Conflict arc. Conflict was made as a different storyline from the original manga, as AnnaPuma and UmiPuma are allies in this one. It was made in the DOGA Productions studio, licensing done under Kadokawa Entertainemt. Another interesting thing to know that this title was made by Masamune Shirow, who also worked on the popular Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell titles. Toni Barry voiced Leona in the dubbing of all Dominion: Tank Police titles (also the voice of Noa Izumi of the Patlabor movies), though between the titles, she was voiced by different seiyuus in the Japanese version: Hiromi Tsuru and Rei Sakuma.


Dominion: Tank Police isn't a die-hard memorable title, but it was a stepping stone for the popular Ghost in the Shell media, given what it contains. With how great the successor was, this title scores a 7 of 10 in great respect.