dsenger - 2017-01-18 17:49:10

I don’t know if there are a lot of animes with thought-provoking stories, incredibly deep characters that would put Evangelion to shame, and jaw-dropping action scenes. There definitely is one though, and its name is Inferno Cop. The story is about a police officer who seeks revenge for its family which was killed by the organization Southern Cross in the dangerous Jack Knife Edge Town. He will meet various characters along the way, going through emotional and action-packed adventures. Though it’s a very short series, it’s big on ambition and quality. Every anime fan should watch this masterpiece at least once, there really is nothing like it.

alfred34 - 2016-01-04 03:08:11

Inferno Cop looks like some crappy animated garbage at first sight, but believe me - these episodes just take their own damn way. It's all so weird and absurd, it becomes funny as hell. Trust me, it might not be your thing, but you need to give it at least one try!

cordell.kunze - 2015-01-02 07:06:48

A catchy title with Studio Trigger, which has many relations to Gainax, behind it. Everything seems right, however, all of those who go in blind beyond those details will be in for a surprise. Whether that surprise is a good one or not will fluctuate greatly as this is some undoubtedly niche stuff. If action is what you're looking for, or if you tolerate nothing wacky and illogical, Inferno Cop is definitely siting outside of your safe bubble. If you read that and are still intrigued, I recommend stopping now and go watch it blind (but I won't spoil, calm yourself).

Studio Trigger and a badass cover, I'd bet after that you'd only expect to hear that the main character is comprised of a single frame. When reminding youself this is an ONA, things make a bit more sense. The budget is just about nonexistent with Inferno Cop, and all of the characters generally also only have a single frame which is tilted for motion. There are some basic effects here and there, and plenty of copy-paste explosions. The backgrounds tend to be real-life pictures put through a filter, sometimes with some basic alterations. If a non-comical cool factor is what you're looking for, sadly you'll have to look elsewhere. However, the main character of Inferno Cop's single frame definitely looks cool, and I bet a swarm of people praise him.

This is in no way a serious ONA, but still the sound design wasn't too impactful. What could be heard of the music was decent, but it's possible there are some good tracks in there. The constant voices drown out the music a bit to make it hard to focus on it while also reading the subtitles, but the main theme can certainly be catchy. The sound effects did the job, but were likely ripped from freesounds.org and copy-pasted about.

The technical stuff should be known if one is cautious before entering, but once the style of Inferno Cop is known, that isn't all too relevant to its goals. Inferno Cop is an odd and random journey featuring a Ghost Rider-like character carrying the title's name. The journey basically consists of randomly generated situations and twists. The story is quickly drawn aside from seriousness, but is still one of the strongest entertainment factors here. That should be expected as Inferno Cop throws everything into their imagination keeping interest since their budget is minimal. In a way, Inferno Cop does carry out that goal fairly well.

An issue that arose for me wasn't as much that the humor was stale, but more that Inferno Cop was too long. I'm sure there are people that wish it was even longer and are a fan of the idea, but this type of humor doesn't work as well when it has restricted elements in each new addition/episode. It is blatantly clear that, solo artist, Takashi TaniGuchi was a motivator to Inferno Cop. The humor is identical, but there is a difference. While Takashi TaniGuchi had a bit more work put into some of his pieces that made them feel a bit less restricted visually, the real differing factor between his works and Inferno Cop is the originality and disconnection of each skit. The characters of the last skit are thrown out entirely and a new completely-random situation is generated. When there is a consistent factor in over a dozen pieces, things begin to drag much sooner. Inferno Cop himself isn't a bad character, but the choice of having the length go for thirteen episodes did weaken the effect.

I'm not one to dislike this type of humor and I did find some of Inferno Cop funny, but Takashi TaniGuchi does most of it better by making the humor more awkward and bizarre. Inferno Cop is too basic by not taking things to even further degrees of strange. That is another aspect of Inferno Cop that fails to make things effective. If you really want to see solid comparisons, watch "Mr. Ando of the Woods" and "Mr. Stomach". A live-action movie, "Funky Forest" also carries what seems to be much of that humor to a further degree, but I haven't seen most of it.

Inferno Cop is a bunch of shorts that carry some wild humor that doesn't connect into solid jokes. The humor is driven by the randomness and inconsistencies of basically everything about it. Someone new to this style of humor may enjoy Inferno Cop a lot, but those used to it may find it a tad bland. For those expecting anything being served through the visuals, drop those expectations immediately. This isn't a serious ONA, and Studio Trigger didn't take it seriously like-wise. In-fact, just by me reviewing this seriously I'll likely be shamed, but the truth must and has to be told. Don't watch Inferno Cop in one siting to make it drag less. Also, I recommend Takashi TaniGuchi's works more - but they won't increase your time watched since MAL won't accept them (I tried). In the end, though, it's nice to see that Studio Trigger has some unique creativity.

marks.domenico - 2014-10-05 16:22:49

I left my wife and sold my daughter in order to get enough money to buy this in blu-ray. This is a masterpiece that not that many have seen before. So good that it's the best hard on you'll ever get. As years go by and I have testicular cancer with $1.85 short from buying this blu-ray, I will have thought it was all worth it. 11/10 Best fap material in Japan. 

gay.predovic - 2014-09-26 17:33:34

Every once in a while you stumble on this gem that was lost in the abyss, overshadowed by other overrated anime that the average joe tend to watch and discuss, and you reach it before it’s lost in oblivion, and then, it changes your life drastically without a prior warning.

At a first glance, you might be inclined to think that Inferno Cop looks like Ghost Rider. Appearance wise, the resemblance is understandable, but let’s face it, Nicolas Cage can’t act, his movies suck… and you can’t, no matter the circumstances, compare his works to this unparalleled masterpiece.

An old organization that goes back to the beginning of life. Through centuries, they have been trying to take over the world, and almost succeeded; they had members in every cooperation and organization. However, they were defied by a cop who strives for justice. He would go through hell, literally, to achieve his goals and just objective. On his pursuit, he unravels the truth about the universe and life as we know it.

Inferno Cop deals with very few characters, they reoccur and reappear intermittently throughout the anime. It’s amazing how they managed to fit all these events and spectacular character development in such a short anime, and make you fall in love with every single character. They kept it short yet ample and elaborate, without leaving any important details to pass unnoticed.

The anime provides and prioritizes the shock factor, you can’t help but say WTF –in uppercase letters and lots of exclamation marks- each episode. It’s full of conspiracy and deceit, and once you begin to conceptualize the events, and think you have found the key to the ultimate truth, and that you’re smarter than whoever wrote the script, think again; a plot twist occurs. The creators of the anime refuse to hand it to you that easily. They strictly follow Van Dine’s Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories. Hence, they have to show how superior Inferno Cop is to you, the viewer.

Inferno Cop sets itself apart from your regular cliché anime by mixing lots of genres, and it worked very well for them in the end. You will sit on the edge of your seat waiting in anticipation from the intensity, and you will laugh, and it will hit you right in the feels.

The art is bizarre and avant-garde. However, it’s fluid and dynamic, and it flows quite well with the characters and the environment. They took extra care to make sure the art is consistent and the quality never drops. The OSTs are fascinating and exquisite, and fit the atmosphere of the anime while never feeling out of place. The VAs were splendid; each character felt distinctive. You can feel their anger, their happiness and their emotions pouring out of the screen and hitting you in the face.

I was in a dilemma whether to give it a 9 or a 10. I spent a long time pondering and contemplating until I decided that it really deserves a solid 10 for being the first anime I ever consider to rate, and will probably be the last; I doubt there will ever be any anime that can top it. Highly recommend; a must watch.

wyman.granville - 2014-01-22 03:59:01

Inferno Cop… there is plenty to say about this anime but we will save that for the actual review. One thing I’ll mention is that Inferno Cop is Studio Trigger’s first independently produced anime and by far their best.

Inferno Cop’s Story is flawless.

Inferno Cop follows the exploits of Inferno Cop who is the protector of justice in the corrupted Jack Knife Edge Town and his endless fight for vengeance against Southern Cross, a powerful crime syndicate. There is a lot of heartbreak and tragedy in Inferno Cop; it can compete with and be compared to Shakespearean pieces.

Story: Inferno Cop/10

The Animation is above the standards of today.

(example of animation)

It is quite amazing, Inferno Cop is unique. Unlike most of the anime of today where the characters mouths open and close when they talk Inferno Cop is different, it can’t be described accurately with words but it is refined to perfection.

Animation: Inferno Cop/10

Inferno Cop has a memorable sound.

(example of sound)

The soundtrack suits the anime. I’m not sure how to describe it but the music fits the aesthetic perfectly, you can tell that each song was made for Inferno Cop. The closing credits song is great too.

Sound: Inferno Cop/10

The Characters in Inferno Cop are one of the highlights.

(example of character)

All of the characters in this are memorable and loveable. It’d be bad if I told you everything about them so I’ll give you the gist of it with an example of some key characters.

Inferno Cop is the protagonist of Inferno Cop. He has a tragic backstory which provides reason for his acts of justice and vengeance.

Mr. Judge, he is almost as dedicated to justice as Inferno Cop but he is influenced by Southern Cross.

Mecha Cop, initially an enemy of Inferno Cop. He changes his ideals after his time with Inferno Cop.

Hellfire Boy, once a lame kid who had sucky shoes he was bullied until he met Inferno Cop. He helps Inferno Cop win a race.

Character: Inferno Cop/10

Enjoyment of Inferno Cop

Inferno Cop is an extremely enjoyable anime. It is highly rewatchable and this does not lead to detriment of the story. The character interaction is amazing. The fight scenes are intense. The storyline is wrapped up in an amazing finale.

Enjoyment: Inferno Cop/10

I did not want to spoil too much of this anime because it is something everyone should experience first-hand.

Just to summarize this review once again, Inferno Cop has a wonderful story with no plot holes. The characterization is flawless. The soundtrack is enjoyable. The animation is a whole level above the average for anime of today and it is by far one of the most enjoyable shows to watch. I would recommend that you watch Inferno Cop to form your own opinion on it.

effertz.ebba - 2013-05-22 09:19:55

Inferno Cop comes to us from Studio Trigger, the studio Mr. Gurren Lagann Imaishi set up after he got sick of things at Gainax. This is the first anime they've put out, simply as Youtube releases. My guess is this is one of those small projects a company does so they can get used to the creation process. Lots of companies do this. Release small product where success doesn't matter at all. It's just a learning process so they know how to structure the creation process internally. But, given that this comes from those crazy ex-Gainax guys, what they produced turned out to be inspired. The gist of Inferno Cop is that it’s a hilariously awful exaggeration of manly 2000 AD-esque cyberpunk cop bullshit, where the lead character is some hard-nosed brutal arm of the law in the same vein of Judge Dredd or Robocop. Inferno Cop is taking a step back from these cyberpunk police shows and realising how silly they really are. Inferno Cop drives a flaming police car. That’s totally the kind of thing you’d see in those kinds of shows, but placed in the Inferno Cop setting is where you realise how dumb it really is.Inferno Cop is entertainment satire in the same vein as Daily Lives of Highschool Boys or Detroit Metal City. It destruction of an entire genre is glorious to behold, and startling considering its complete lack of budget. It's achievements are even better when you compare it to the utter failure of every other short show from 2013. If only they had the same fantastic writing behind Inferno Cop.Final score: Inferno Cop/Inferno Cop