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BioHunter (Special Edition) Director: Yuzo Sato Number of Items: 1 Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Running Time: 60 minutes Studio: Urban Vision Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-01-30 Buy from Amazon

From Amazon.com Popular horror director Yoshisaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) served as head writer on this 1995 feature. Komada and Koshigaya are scientists--and Bio Hunters, agents who battle the Demon Virus that causes humans to mutate into weird monsters. Komada has contracted the virus, but something in his immune system enables him to control his transformations. When Komada rescues Sayaka Murakami, the granddaughter of a famed psychic, from a gang of thugs, he unwittingly pits the Bio Hunters against the powerful politician Seijuro Tabe. The partners discover that Tabe is actually the horrible monster that's been roaming Tokyo, killing young women and eating their livers. He's no longer human, but a corpse possessed by the devil. The final battle pits Komada in his monster form against the tentacles and fanged jaws of the possessed Tabe, although Koshigaya administers the coup de grâce. A well-directed, violent entertainment, Bio Hunter suffers from a disjointed story: the link between Tabe's possession and the Demon Virus is never established. The ending suggests that the film may have been intended as a pilot, as Koshigaya declares the Bio Hunters' dedication to the ongoing battle against the Virus. Bio Hunter is not for viewers with weak stomachs. Not rated; suitable only for ages 18 and up for nudity, sex, violence, cannibalism, grotesque imagery, and violence against women. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 25 Average rating: 3.5 "Pass this up" This is easily one of the worst shows I have seen. With only 45mins to work with there is no character development and the monster designs and fight scenes are nothing special. The final battle is contrived and nothing is resolved. I'm a die-hard fan of anime and it was actually painful to watch this. I reget getting it. With all the good stuff out there pass this one up and get something else. "Liver: What Nine out of Ten Demons Prefer" What could be worse than contracting a virus that threatens to overtake you and make you consume human flesh, spreading at random for a seemingly an unknown reason? Try having to hunt the beasts that are infected while being infected yourself, keeping the virus in check (to some degree) while using it as a weapon to both detect the beasts and to destroy them as well. That's the reasoning behind the Bio Hunters, Komada and Koshigaya, and the Demon virus that seems to be working its way through the streets of Tokyo; most notably resulting in a series of brutal attacks on young women of the city and the subsequent ingestion of their internal organs. Still, that's before the oddities of love, emotion, politics, and divination enter the already clustered field. Although in the really short department (45 minutes isn't something I normally approve of), Bio Hunter more than makes up for this fact with portions of intrigue - and the occasional person that happens across the mind of Yoshisaki Kawajiri. His stamp is more than apparent here, too, with the horror of the story delivering and the pace of the piece moving pretty quickly, showing the viewer that it is the lack of padding and not content that keeps the length minimal. Combine this with quality animation, a plot that drips blood, nudity, violence, some nice scenery dripping blood and violence, and a story that is worth keeping pace with and you have a "special something" that everyone should at least look into. "A BAD ANIME" I can say that this a bad anime. the animation quality is average and the story is dull from start to finish.There isnt any heat or excitement and it doent have a real ending. "One of my favorites" Its been awhile since I have been impressed with an anime storyline. Usually its the visuals that have grab me first. Biohunter did both. I was really impressed with the storyline, the visuals, and how well everything just flowed and above all kept my attention. I really like the idea of one of the creators being torn between his human self and his dark other half and how it was in his nature to try and save his friends from the "virus". Is there a Biohunter 2?? "Really good." When I bought this anime, I thought that is would be good but not excellent. After I finished watching it, I realized that this was one of the better animes that I have watched in a while. The only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars is that it was only like an hour long and it would have been a lot better if they spread this anme out into 2 hours instead. I hope that they come out wth a sequel!