Goku Midnight Eye (1989) User Reviews

Great little guilty pleasure

[Speechless · 8/10 · 4 April 2001]

Yoshiaki Kawajiri is so fun. You see, there are a lot of stereotypes about anime, labeling the genre as a shallow excuse to animate women being violated and blood spurting in every direction. Those stereotypes developed largely in response to the films of Yoshiaki Kawajiri. And if you can appreciate his movies for what they are, you'll have a blast watching them.

Goku: Midnight Eye is no different. It's an hour-long OVA set in a futuristic city where a sort of female peacock monster is causing police officers to kill themselves. Then it becomes sort of a dark superhero story when the lead character gets a bionic eye and a metal staff that can change to any length (he rams it through people and uses it to vault himself around like the old monk in Ninja Scroll). This is all handled in typical Kawajiri fashion, with well-designed monsters, gore, a cynical hero, frequently nude women, and a hissably evil supervillain.

If nothing else, the movie is a great little guilty pleasure, designed to make you wish you could do all the cool things that Goku does. Have fun with it, and be sure to watch it after midnight.

A lonely guy who fights the crime

[Rafaga · 7/10 · 11 April 2000]

Very few people who know about anime know about this particular OVA (Original Video Animation), and I do not know why, because it is really good. The story and the animation are like `Eight Man After'.

Gokuu is the classic anime hero, he is a lonely guy, who has super powers and fights the crime. The story is very simple, very good and easy to follow. So, if you want to relax and try with Japanise animation you can start with this OVA.

I also recommend you `Eight Man After', `Space Adventure Cobra', and `Golgo 13'.

underrated mini anime series of the 80s

[phanthinga · 9/10 · 27 January 2017]

So Goku:Midnight eye is an anime mini series directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri one again a great anime series that not many people ever heard of it.The anime itself is a mix between his early work Wicked City and Batman.The series following a man named Goku, a former police detective turned private investigating strange and bizarre criminal case in a futuristic Tokyo,a place where anybody can be a half human half robot.After losing his left eye in a case Goku find out someone had replaced his left eye with a computer terminal that can control computers all over the world with a staff that can changing shape and shoot laser beam.This is a very awesome anime series with a interesting plot,good hand drawing animation and a badass main character.I find myself very enjoy this short anime series but the problem is it too short,many thing has not yet been discovered like what is the main reason behind the man that give Goku his left eye and the staff.It such a shame because this is just a two episode anime mini series

a great addition to Kawajiri's list of good animes

[brutalmuscle · 11 July 2001]

*contains minor spoilers*

I happened to see this one night on a movie channel. I'm glad that I did or else I would have missed out on a great anime! I was already a fan of Kawajiri so I knew that I would be happy about this. Goku Midnight Eye contained the usual Kawajiri spectacular action and violence. But unfortunately, it had the use of misogyny that Kawajiri is known for. But it was actually lighter compared to other works of Kawajiri(Ninja Scroll and Wicked City for example). That's not to say that his films are bad. This was just an all around cool anime. It's about a private investigator who is given powers by an unknown character to fight crime in the futre. The animation was well done and lacked those ridiculous character designs found in most anime(another cliche included in Kawajiri animes). I recommend this film to Kawajiri fans in particular, anime fans, or anyone who enjoys good fun and science fiction.

PS. If you liked this anime I recommend Ninja Scroll and Wicked City!

I could never find this title at Suncoast *sigh*

[FriendGod · 9/10 · 22 July 2018]

Fast paced , great action, descent writing, cool Hard Boiled plot and a main protagonist with an eye for everything...Except fashion. Great old school Blue Anime. I loved it!

The Best Bad Anime Ever?

[DonaldDooD · 5/10 · 22 July 2014]

Some fans out there like to believe that anime is some higher art form, superior to the kiddy cartoons or Hollywood blockbusters in the states. As someone who is on constant lookout for new anime, I can confirm that's not the case. Plenty of anime play overused, immature tropes, and have little value beyond an occasional good time. Nor are older anime necessarily better than newer ones. Many new shows solely focus on being cute and "sexy"...but many 80s/90s examples are shallow, violent, crudely sexual, stereotypical pieces of trash. Yoshiaki Kawajiri is a master of this craft, director of such "classy" films as Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku, and Ninja Scroll.

Goku Midnight Eye and its sequel show no more ambition. Once again we find ourselves in a dark, futuristic Tokyo. There may be no demons, but shady figures and their cybernetic henchmen rule from their skyscrapers. The action is violent, the characters are flat, and women only exist to be saved and provide fan service.

Yet GME is so outrageous, its attempts to be dark, thrilling, and mature are hilarious.

Peacock women? Swan-based WMDs? A Chinese man rollerskating down a glass building? What!? GME plays to absolutely every stereotype of the time, then goes the extra mile. If you're with friends, there is plenty to riff on, and never dead air. Bloodshed is never far away, and you won't go 5 minutes without being shocked at what's happening

In addition to its amazing camp, GME dodges banality because of Goku's powers. The abilities of his eye give him an endless plethora of options, to the point where its difficult to tell what he'll do next. With x-ray vision, access to the world's databases, control over most electronic equipment, and a surprisingly deadly staff, Goku is a unique hero in the bargain bin. He could honestly be in a great anime if anyone took him seriously. As is, he adds some spice to a generic plot.

I can only go so far before you need to experience the OVAs yourself. When you're in the mood, call some friends over for Bad Movie Night. Its everything wrong with the bad sci-fi anime of the time, and everything right for commentary.

One more thing - don't forget to listen to the English dub. Not only is it equally bad, but freaking Steven Blum, lead voice actor in Cowboy Bebop and The Big O, plays Goku!

An underrated anime gem

[kevin_robbins · 9/10 · 25 March 2023]

Midnight Eye: Gokû (1989) is a two episode series that my daughter and I recently watched together on Prime. The storyline takes place in a futuristic society and follows a former detective turned private investigator. There has been a rash of police officers who have committed suicide. He follows the clues to a weapons dealer who has created some new technology that may be responsible for the suicides. After barely escaping being attacked by the weapons dealer, the PI is implanted with technology that allows him to see things with X-ray vision and tap into technology systems. He will use this new power to solve this and future cases...

This picture is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll) and has an absolutely amazing storyline, great soundtrack, interesting characters and takes place in a fascinating universe. I adored the animation which is classic 80s and a lot of fun. The suicide sequences were intense and the club scenes were excellent. They use a nice mix of nudity and technology to create cool characters like the motorcycle lady. The bugs in the first episode and the sewer dragon robots in the second episode were so good and the action scenes have nice gore and unpredictable elements. There's some nice twists in the storylines and the villains are over the top and worthwhile adversaries for our hero.

Overall, this is an underrated anime gem that I'd consider an absolute must see. I would score this an 8.5/10 and strongly recommend it.

An Honest Review

[generationofswine · 1/10 · 22 February 2020]

OK, what, a dude that wears a suit and tie and no shirt, a stripper that is part motorcycle, an implant, and a story that doesn't make any sense at all.

Bionic eyes and anime nudity.

Yeah, I can't say that I enjoyed this.

Caught this by chance, and all the better...

[queitus · 29 December 2001]

Funny that I too caught this film by chance on a movie channel(cinemax I think)one late late summer night in 2001. Perhaps we saw the same showing...

This film is just like that: spur of the moment, definitely watch it at night, and anime buffs, probably won't like this. I watch anime now and then and this one is particularly interesting because of its "in the dark" atmosphere... you learn what's going on along with the characters, and that makes it all the more fun. A sense of mischief almost broods in the scenes of our antihero darting around the city. What Goku does with his bestowed powers is what some of us might do had be also been given such a gift.

Though short, this film is very unique. I've yet to see an anima quite like it, with such a down to earth and sort of "in your face" story-telling feel. Usually we get the ol' Macross and Gundam style, which leaves you as a watcher of wars and conflicts that are incredibly larger than your own. Goku however has in him a bit of us, of our mischief that we don't let out and which gives us great pleasure when it's shown. If you liked this I recommend Vampire Hunter D.