thor123

Quite a long while ago, I read the manga Ichi the Killer. Not much of it really stuck with me, except for the abundance of ultra-violent scenes and other messed up stuff. There were also some very memorable characters, most of all the main character: a messed-up crybaby who is also a psychopathic killer. And this OVA is basically his origin story.

So yeah, if you didn’t expect this yet: the OVA is full of violence as well, plus some highly disturbing sexual content, bullying, animal abuse and other stuff to mask the rather unimpressive plot, which honestly doesn’t do much extra to explain how Ichi became a killer. Characters remain largely unexplored, except for Ichi, who is just unlikeable.

Sound

The techno beats didn’t feel like they fit the atmosphere imo. It should also be noted that I watched the dub, and the voice acting on that version is atrocious.

Visuals

Ugly is the main term for the visuals. Both intended (in the gorey scenes, ugly would fit well) and unintended (ugly character designs, bad animation, jerking movements…)

Overall

It’s probably okay if you’re really into Ichi the Killer (either live action or manga), or if you really want something violent. But currently there is definitely a lot of anime with the same target group and higher production values.