Originally released in Japan by Only Hearts’ Mint House label comes a trio of undercover agents fighting for justice: the Midnight Strike Force. Led by Kaidoh Ochi and backed by a mysterious “Lady Mother”, the cult of Charisma has been up to no good as it uses its connections to shuffle recently-dead and dying patients into its lab for experiments. Yuka, Sakura, and Miharu have been called in to go undercover as nurses to find out why bodies are disappearing and the cult of Charisma next door to the hospital is an obvious suspect. Featuring character designs by Masaki Yamada (Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040, Lingeries, Dark Shell, Appleseed) comes Midnight Strike Force from Anime 18.Â
Stats
DVD: Midnight Strike Force
Release Date: 4/4/2006
Release Studio: Central Park Media / Anime 18
ADR Production: Handheld Post
MSRP: $29.99
Audio:Â English 2.0Â DD, Japanese 2.0 DD
Subtitles: English, Signs-Only
Episodes: 2
Runtime: 50mins
Extras: Art Gallery, Midnight Strike Force Trailer, Anime Artform, Anime 18 Trailers
Notes: Review is based on a Screener copy of the final product. Preview audio clips are available.
The Lady Mother of Charisma is sealed within a life-support chamber to keep her ancient body alive. Connected to the Charisma organization’s computers, Lady Mother is able to control all data within the facility and project a virtual version of herself to interact with her son, Kaidoh Ochi, and the other cult members trying to keep her alive. While the cult’s Dr. Maruki attempts to develop proto-machine technology to revive dead tissue, Kaidoh oversees the operations of the cult and the procuring of fresh bodies for experimentation. The constant failure of the the experimental proto-machines causing bodies to turn into insane tentacle monsters has eaten up most of Lady Mother’s remaining time to live before her body completely disintegrates.
This is where our three lovely ladies step in. (Cue the Charlie’s Angels music.) Each girl has a special ability which is key to each mission they take on. Yuka is an expert in combat, Sakura can create shikigami, and Miharu is the brainy computer-hacker. Infiltrating the hospital, Kirku General, as nurses, the girls are quick to be interested in checking out the large cult complex next door over their drab hospital assignment. Meanwhile, Charisma is inducting yet another member into their upper ranks with Lady Mother guiding the process. Having lived since the Heian era (roughly 800 to 1200 A.D.), Rikurei Ochi (Lady Mother) has been blessed with special powers and extending life is just one of the many gifts she can offer. With the real possibility of losing his true mother, Kaidoh is determined to get Dr. Maruki whatever he needs to save her.
Back at the hospital, Miharu has some fun with the last patient of her rounds by trading favors in the sixty-nine position. Afterwards, it’s all business as Miharu tries to crack through the hospital’s database. Dr. Maruki catches her in the act, but a phone call interrupts him from using a taser on the little spy. The girls discover that a separate database is kept concerning patients with no living relatives, and quite a few have been brought to Kirku from other hospitals. The stock piling of these patients is very suspicious and the list includes the sweet and innocent girl Shiori whom the girls just met earlier that day. That evening, Yuka takes a look around the hospital during her rounds and runs across three women who are nude except for a red hooded wrap. Yuka puts up a valiant effort, but is knocked out by gas.
Sakura and Miharu wonder where Yuka is while the cult members from Charisma restrain the Angel in a secret chamber. The female cult members begin to devour Yuka’s body as they get her wet and horny for their approaching master. Kaidoh Ochi enters the room and each of the inactive female members come to serve his every need. They pull out and suck on his cock, they flip over Yuka to be fucked doggy stye, and then they use their hands to lift and lower Ochi’s body for his thrusting into Yuka’s pussy. Sakura and Miharu search for Yuka, but they are too late in saving her from being completely raped by the cult leader. Pissed off, the girls know exactly which doctor they need to pump some information out of. However, Kaidoh sets a trap and Sakura is captured during her interrogation of Dr. Maruki.
Midnight Strike Force is Charlie’s Angels as a hentai and can be a fairly fun romp because of this. The girls fight off female cult members, tentacle monsters, and the Ochi family, trying to bring down the corrupt cult’s body-stealing operations. The character designs really stand out thanks to Masaki Yamada, and the animation rarely dips into subpar levels. The Japanese cast isn’t bad with our three Angels being fun to listen to as they switch from serious agent to sexy minx. The English production from Handheld Post can’t carry the same praise, having a so-so cast. The script has been completely thrown out the window and mostly stands as a parody to what the plot really is. It could be amusing if the jokes weren’t so lame and predictable. Beyond the somewhat-tolerable acting of the three leading ladies, the English dub completely falls apart with the supporting characters.
Midnight Strike Force packs some good fun and action as we see the girls take on Lady Mother’s Charisma cult. The ending leaves open the possibility of a future title, but overall the series closes very well right here. The only show-related extra is an Art Gallery slideshow featuring color character designs and artwork. The video is clean and the subtitles are error-free as is typical of Anime 18’s newer titles. Midnight Strike Force has some great character designs, a fun plot, and just enough sex mixed in with the action to not be dull on either front. It’s worth signing up for an adventure with these three ladies if you have the time.