An innocent young man, Ikuroo, has a parasite known as Baoh implanted in his brain by an evil organization, Doress. The parasite makes him nearly immortal and gives him the ability to transform into a really powerful beastie when he's in trouble.
Doress intends to use him in some sort of ploy for financial success, world domination, or something along those lines, but when they're transporting him on a train, a young psychic girl, Sumire (who's being held by the organization due to her abilities), sets him free and the two escape together.
Of course, Dr. Kasuminome is the mad scientist behind the whole Baoh thing, and he isn't about to let his test subject get away and he has considerable resources (including some superpowered lackeys, as well as a small army) at his disposal.
(Source: AnimeDB)
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Comentários
Skadi
If you like your anime complete with exploding heads, melting flesh, dismemberment, and blood spilled by the liter, then look no further. BAOH is a visual orgasm of blood and violence. Of course if you also want an interesting story and characters that don’t look like they were stolen from other movies and stereotypes then you should probably not waste your time with this piece of crap. Our story starts with a young girl Sumire being chased through a train by the henchmen of an evil organization we later learn is called Doress. Apparently this group kidnaps and uses people with various supernaturaland mystic powers and also experiments on people, turning them into super powered monsters for military applications. Sumire stumbles on one of their experiments and during her escape, the man called Baoh escapes along with her. His real name is Ikuroo, and together they run from the Doress organization as they send out various assassins to kill them.
It could be an interesting story but it isn’t. The plot is never adequately presented, providing only the scantest amount of back-story in between the sequences of gore. The blood and violence level is completely over the top. Unless you just love heads being exploded or bodies being cleaved and dismembered then you’re in heaven. But that’s all there is to the action. The action scenes just aren’t that interesting or exciting. Baoh seemingly comes up with a new ability whenever he needs it (conveniently named and displayed on the screen as if I cared to know) and he never uses the same one more than once. The climactic battle at the end is really...anti-climatic.
The characters are boring and uninspired. Sumire and Ikuroo are given brief backgrounds but nothing that is even remotely interesting. The drama over Ikuroo being consumed by the monster he transforms into is poorly developed and might have been of interest to me. The various villains are really where this show fails miserably. Besides all of them being silly, they all look and feel like rip-offs from other sources. There’s a cyborg soldier who looks like the Terminator but most amusingly at the end is the ridiculous clichéd Native American, Walken. He has a big "W" on his belt buckle in case you forget his name.
Artwork and animation is also extremely substandard. The character designs are not that good and look extremely dated or like knockoffs of other movies. Sumire is the only exception and I kind of liked the way she looked. Most of the detail went into animating gore and melting faces and other body parts. Even this isn’t that good. The musical score is typical 80s electric disco and is almost comical to listen too.
In the end BAOH is an experience that should be missed by all but the most hardcore fans of gore anime. Unless you are just really feeling nostalgic for 80s anime or thought Power Rangers was good programming, I can’t recommend this title. If you want to torture yourself with something crappy watch something that at least looks good.
ViskMusic
Hello, Visk here and today I will be clearing up this misconception about how this masterpiece has been misrepresented in the other reviews here. I love Baoh. I truly do. The world seems to also. I've been told that this OVA was the basis for how alchemy worked in the critically acclaimed series FMA. I've also been told that it was also the inspiration for the T800 Robot in Terminator. In many ways this OVA is superior to the aforementioned titles but due to its short run time and lack of exposure critics nitpick just because they are worried someone else will see through their cleverruse that I've seen through. I will now tell you the truth the others are to scared to tell you. Sure it is flawed but this is a real gem compared to the shit that comes out every season nowadays.
(Note: The same Mango Farmer that made Jojo wrote the source material for this.)
[PART 1: THE STORY]
There was once a parasite, no not the maxim one, and this said parasite was named Baoh. The parasite infects our main character's love interest. Said love interest gains the ability to become blue and that entitles gaining the ability to be baller like a Smurf or the "I'm Blue" guys. The evil people are jealous of his baller status and loli girlfriend so they set out to kill him. That is what you get at the start of this riveting story. I personally think this one of the most engaging and relatable stories I've ever had the pleasure of viewing. There is literally no way this could have gone in any other way than sheer perfection. I was told by a friend that the production of this show was done in a five year long orgy that only ended because the decade was about to end.
[PART 2: THE ART & ANIMATION]
For something that came out in 1989 it looks brilliant but the problem comes in when all your amazing characters are dwarfed by Col. Dordo. There just was not enough screen time for this glorious hunk of man and machine. Stan Lee also agrees with as Cyborg is pretty much a wannabe of the power that Dordo holds. Marvel makes Cyborg's enemies laughably weak compared to man that Dordo faces. He takes on the last Indian on Earth while Cyborg fights some skinny bitch boys who die in one hit. To our knowledge Baoh is invincible. Now, you are wondering why I rated it so high but the reason for that is that Dordo made it worth the money and the fights were as smooth as Bruce Willis's bald head. With that out of the way I will now continue onto the next segment.
[PART 3: CHARACTERS]
This show suffers from the fact that Dordo wasn't the main character. The world spoke and now we know that the only true flaw this show has is that there isn't more Dordo. It is a paradox because of the fact that Dordo exists the characters are instantly a 10/10 but the fact that he isn't the main character warrants this section a 0/10; so to be fair to the show I will give the characters a 2/10. Better luck next time Pierrot.
I will end this with an overwhelming recommendation that you should watch it and then tell 5 friends to watch and repeat and repeat and repeat etc. This saved anime way before your French Killers and your Attacking Titans ever tried to. You will not regret giving this 46 minute masterpiece a shot. The end has to be one of the most memorable I have seen in any piece of media.
Visk here and I'm signing out.
I hope you enjoy the show.
AshitaNoJonas
Only a few minutes into this OVA and there is already a scene where dogs are brutally murdered... yup this is without a doubt a story written by Hirohiko Araki! If you're a fan of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, you may already know Baoh from JJBA Allstar Battle, because he was a DLC character in this game. The plot is pretty straightforward and without many twists: this anime is about a young man who has the so-called Baoh parasite in his body. This allows him to transform into some sort of monster that looks like it's straight from Thundercats. He escapes from a facility and meets agirl with physic powers on his way. They encounter a lot of bad guys that Baoh has to slaughter and in end, he fights a strong enemy, so they bring some shounen elements into the mix too.
This OVA is pretty gory, so if you like to see a monster killing people and melting their faces, then Baoh Raihouska might be for you. Like I said the plot isn't really all that special and since this anime is only 47 minutes long, there isn't much character development. The action was good and the art style was nice to look at (it doesn't really resemble JoJo's Bizarre Adventure though). Some things bothered me though: the girl's physic power really didn't add anything to the plot at all. Why did she even have a special power in the first place? It felt really random. Also, the ending was kind of weird too. Overall Baoh Raihousha is no masterpiece, but for what it is, it's definately pretty enjoyable.
JizzyBizzy
I'm not sure about lightning but genius can definitely strike twice! This fantastic short story comes from Hirohiko Araki, the creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, my all-time favourite manga/anime series, so naturally I had super high expectations going into this, which were lowered due to the 6.12 rating and the other reviews making fun of it. Was it anything like JoJo? Absolutely not. Did it deliver in terms of the initial high expectations? Absolutely yes. Don't trust the mediocre rating! Baoh is an extremely entertaining short film. Since it is above 45 minutes it's technically long enough to be considered feature length, and well, it gives youeverything that a sci-fi thriller you would see in theaters even today would give you, but only in a fraction of the time which for me makes this far superior to 90% sci-fi movies.
Story: 8/10
The story is the typical tale of a secret government/organisation scientist creating an ultimate weapon that ultimately kills him and endangers the world, however it is brilliantly executed here. It makes me think that this was in a way Akira, before the Akira movie was even released (the Baoh manga is from 1984) Baoh's tragedy is that Ikuro, a 17-year-old teenager who was experimented on and had a parasite placed in him, must confront and control his demons and use his superhuman abilities, that he can tap into with the parasite, to stop the hitmen sent after him. The scientist and his organisation will stop at nothing to capture him, even endangering the lives of the innocent by setting a gas station on fire or capturing and torturing a nine year old girl who was with him. The ending sequence is also great however I won't spoil it.
Art: 8/10
Given that this was made in the 80's I was not expecting anything jaw-dropping, but kind of got it in the end. True, the animation is quite choppy at times by today's standards, but "art" encapsulates more than just the fluidity of animation. For it's time it's relatively smooth anyways. The firey effects, the violence, the people's faces melting from Baoh's ability, the visual effects when it comes to the destruction of walls and buildings, though - amazing! This movie was not afraid to get graphic with it's gore and they animated it well. That is to be expected of Hirohiko Araki, since he likes to make even mundane injuries look really gory, which strangely appeals to me. As a result, all the fighting scenes looks great and are constantly tense, also due to the fact that Ikuro is vulnerable when he is in his human state.
Characters: 8/10
There aren't too many characters in this anime as it is only 48 minutes long, but the main two, Ikuro and Sumire were quite nice and wholesome. Sumire was cute, and Ikuro's struggle of taming Baoh and escaping from the mercenaries sent at them, while protecting her, was what made him so very likeable. I was very attached to these characters and even felt sad for them multiple times during the movie. Also, the hitmen were cool as you would expect from hitmen in a badass action anime, plus the last one had extremely cool abilities.
Enjoyment: 10/10
You won't believe what a blast I had watching this. First off, I'm usually not the biggest fan of old shows or movies since they are usually very slow-paced, however Baoh was not like that. I already explained how Baoh achives what most sci-fy moves do but only a fraction of the time, cramming as many sci-fi thriller tropes as possible in a short amount of time while still remaining original in its execution. I also already spoke about how entertaining the gore and destruction effects are. However, most importantly this movie flew right past me along with the time I spent watching it. At some point during the film I moved my cursor to see roughly where I am and I was at the 35 minute mark. I could swear I had been watching this for only about 10 minutes maximum. The truth is I was so sucked in that it felt like it past by too quickly for me to notice how much time had truly pased. I can definitely see myself rewatching this soon, even though I rarely rewatch anime.
The only major criticism I have for this is that it cuts off a LOT of content from the original manga. Really, it's an adaptation of the beginning, hook, and end of it, while leaving the three chapters in the middle completely.
thatsuperheroguy
Now this is a great OVA and does not disappoint. You may recognise some similarities to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. That's because this was Araki's first to use his signature gore (the guy who made JoJo). Starting at a confusing beginning, everything is soon explained. Although not much is revealed about the main character's characteristics. It is great for a short story. The battles are unlike anything I've seen from a superhero anime. When this ended, I was left wanting more. There isn't much else I can say about this other then to watch it. It's great for all sorts of fans, it's got a Superhero, Gory fights, Horror, ScienceFiction, Cyborgs and Espers.
This OVA is incredible for something of it's time.
KousakaK
This anime has a lot of flaws, and I mean A LOT, but somehow, I can't get myself do dislike it. In my quest for 80's and 90's GAR anime I stumpled upon this great short OVA, and since I like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, I thought I might like this. I was right. The story itself is very eh. The way it's being told is very rushed, which is to be expected from a 50-ish minute OVA, but it was still entertaining to me, though not that good. The art was, in my opinion, probably the best part of this. It was in short terms, pretty damngood. Very Araki-styled.
The characters are sort of bland and generic, but still lovable. Don't expect to be very connected emotionally to any of them, they're mostly just fun to watch.
Even though it has it's flaws. Baoh the Visitor was so fun to watch. Really a sort of guilty pleasure anime. I really enjoyed this, but because of it's clear flaws, I can't give it a higher score than 7/10.
Coolest_Girl
Story 6/10 Ikuro Hashiwaza was turned into a weapon by the Doress Laboratory. He escapes with Sumire, a girl who possesses psychic abilities. Join them as they try to escape the clutches of the Doress Laboratory. Man, this story had many things going for it. It just...fell flat. I wanted to see more. I really don't know how to describe it. Art 7/10 I had animation issues here. Like, in some scenes, when they talked, their "mouth movement" weren't in sync. I mean, it is a 80s anime, so I can understand why there was some issues, but it still bothered me nonetheless (I guess you can say itreally bothered me).
Sound 6/10
The music choice isn't all great. I-I just don't know what to say.
Character 6/10
The only characters we pretty much get development are Ikuro and Sumire. Their interactions are great, but then when it comes to the villains, it's so one-dimensional. Like, I wanted them to explore Dorress's past more. Like, why are they doing this? What are their motives for creating a weapon? It really wasn't made clear. I wish they explored more of that.
Enjoyment 6/10
I honestly cannot say this was a good experience, but I can't say it was the worse either. I mean, the action is cool and it had something going when it came to the story, I just think it didn't quite came together well.
Overall 6/10
Personally, I wouldn't recommend this anime. But, if you're curious to know what it's about and all of that, then give it a try. If you only care about action, then you won't mind this.
Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts on this review and any feedback you may have for me. Until next time!
MoonSpider
I've been doing a deep dive into Araki's other works, since I've really taken to "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" as one of my favorite series. I've read a number of his other manga, and since my personal tastes don't often go into the action/SciFi/Psychic powers/Government Conspiracies kind of stories, I would say I would have preferred other lesser-known manga of his to either continue or be adapted into OVA like this, such as "Cool Shock BT" and "Gorgeous Irene". Plus, as I read Baoh's manga beforehand, I can't help but feel that there were impactful scenes that didn't make the cut into this short OVA. Some extradetails behind the fate of Ikuro's parents, and an entire section where Ikuro and Sumire are taken in by a kind elderly couple. Sadly some of my favorite scenes, from an already very short manga.
That being said, being what it is, it's hard to not recommend it. There are certainly people who enjoy this genre of action more than I do, and it's so short and leaves you with little reason not to give it a try. The main character is powerful, intimidating, and the story is the type of gorey you would expect from the "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure" mangaka. It's a very "you get what you came for" SciFi experiment 80s/90s anime feeling, and for something less than an hour long I can't really ask for more.
FAKEANIMEGIRL
(Check out my profile for a link to my site containing more up-to-date reviews and bonus media!) Oh yeah. This. This is a thing I watched. What the fuck is it, right? It's actually a Hirohiko Araki adaptation of a manga before he wrote JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The OVA is about 45 minutes and the manga itself spans a multi-generational, genre-hopping, epic two volumes so I assume the OVA is full and faithful. With that in mind, we have reason to be disappointed here. There is little of the eccentric creativity or style to remind you of anything Araki. The only reason you'd have to expecthe was involved is that dogs are beat and shot in the first five minutes.
In Baoh, a teenager after an accident is turned into a bio-weapon by a secret organization. Another captive of the organization, a little girl with psychic powers, inadvertently frees the guy as she tries to escape. It turns out a parasite inside of Ikurou gives him the ability to turn into a primal creature uncannily similar to Beast from X-Men that has super strength, sharp claws, and can generate electricity. Ikurou and Sumire escape together and are on the lam from the Doress organization, and soon have to take the fight to them.
Baoh is a barren story and setting. It feels like the foundation for something that should've grown more extravagant and detailed, like a pilot manga. Whether this was one or not, even the basic concept doesn't feel fresh. Transforming bio-weapon mutant is a cliche in and of itself, and Baoh's standard abilities never grow to anything beyond what they seem at a glance. The action scenes, of which there are many, lack the pieces necessary to make compelling set pieces or combat. Baoh dispatches all of his rivals with total ease and almost purely brute force, allowing for that B-movie kind of violent 90s OVA with a ton of exploding heads and gore. Even when it comes to being weird and unnecessarily violent, the appeal of a lot of these pulp OVAs, Baoh is fairly tame and the exploding head trick is about all it has to show. The antagonists have no goal other than to bury their Baoh experiment and use it to gain world influence, and certain characters having psychic abilities is never explained or related to the Baoh project in any way. This little girl has visions she can use to foresee events, and that's all there is to it. We know nothing about our heroes other than they don't want to be captured by Doress, which is completely expected.
Production values are fine. It looks better than your average series, but not by much. I noticed some reused head shots and still backgrounds which are the kind of thing I normally hope to not see in an OVA (or anywhere), but motion is fluid and I didn't spot any obvious low frame rates. Background music is a lot of that completely stock squeal "tense" ambiance and electro rock 'n roll when Baoh goes on the attack. In conclusion, I don't think there's any reason to recommend this. It doesn't conform to people's expectations of Araki, the violence isn't that extreme even if you're a "gorehound", and it doesn't have much of that camp appeal due to how straightforward and natural of a story it is.
juniornff
English: First of all, yes, it's from the creator of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Personally I decided to see Baoh on the basis that he was the creator of Jojo's, I did not really want it, but although if his start is a little loose, the movie I finish liking quite a bit. Story: The story begins and does not tell you what is happening, later you discover why things are wrong, but the story is not the most interesting of the film, but I would have wished it to explain itself more. Art / Animation: The film is 89, so I can not demand much, okay, it is notedthat they strived to keep Araki's drawing style as much as possible, which until the arrival of David Productions did not fit so well .
Sound: Every time I started an action scene I sounded to the music that sounded in the ancient fighting arches, it was not bad, it gave a touch of emotion to the scene, otherwise I miss it a little, serious average The right word. Except Ending, that was fine.
Characters: The characters are the worst of the movie, each and every one is flat, not that this bad and that damages the movie, but I would have liked more immersion of the characters, but it is only a movie and does not want to waste time In the characters to show more action.
Enjoy: The film is quite enjoyable, it is very entertaining, I do not remember having comedy scenes, it is ok, since although they could, the story does not give much comedy, personally I say I liked it more than I should since I know Jojo's beforehand, but I have to say that even if you do not know Jojo's you might like it, my advice is to see Jojo's (David Production versions) and then see Baoh.
Overall: Baoh is a good movie, not well known, but worth seeing, and more if you're a fan of Araki's works, and even if you're not giving this movie a chance it will not hurt you. If I give it an 8/10 even though in the other points none exceeded 7 points, it is because even with everything I have I like and I get excited with every fight, which has not happened much, that 8 more than anything It is by myself, if I were serious I would be a 7.
PS: It has its touch GORE and there is a character that reminds me of Hokuto No Ken, if you do not know Araki is a fan of that series. Baoh is one of Araki's early works before Jojo's, and yet the series is good and it shows that even before Jojo's was a great writer.
Español:
Primero que todo, si, es del creador de Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
Personalmente decidí ver Baoh a base de que era del creador de Jojo's, no le tenia muchas ganas, pero aunque su inicio es algo flojo, la película me termino gustando bastante.
Historia: La historia empieza y no te dice que esta pasando, tiempo después descubres el por que de las cosas, esta mal hecho, pero la historia no es lo mas interesante de la película, pero hubiera deseado que se explicara mas a si misma.
Arte/Animación: La película es del 89, así que no le puedo exigir mucho, esta bien, se nota que se esforzaron por mantener lo mas posible el estilo de dibujo de Araki, lo cual hasta la llegada de David Productions no quedaba tan bien.
Sonido: Cada vez que empezaba una escena de accion me sonaba a la música que sonaba en los árcades de lucha antiguos, no esta mal, la daba un toque de emoción a la escena, por lo demás lo pase un poco por alto, promedio seria la palabra adecuada. Excepto el Ending, eso estaba bien.
Personajes: Los personajes son lo peor de la Película, todos y cada uno son planos, no es que este mal y que eso dañe la película, pero me hubiera gustado mas inmersión de los personajes, pero es solo una película y no quiere perder tiempo en los personajes para así mostrar mas acción.
Disfrute: La película se disfruta bastante, es muy entretenida, no recuerdo que tenga escenas de comedia, esta bien, ya que aunque podrían, la historia no da para mucha comedia, en lo personal digo que me gusto mas de lo que debería ya que de antemano conozco a Jojo's, pero he de decir que aun si no conoces a Jojo's tal vez te guste, mi consejo es que veas Jojo's (las versiones de David Production) y que después veas Baoh.
En general: Baoh es una buena película, no muy conocida, pero vale la pena ver, y mas si eres fan de los trabajos de Araki, y aun si no lo eres darle una oportunidad a esta película no te hará daño. Si le doy un 8/10 aun cuando en los demás puntos ninguno supero los 7 puntos, es por que aun con todo lo que tiene me gusto y me emocione con cada pelea, lo que hace mucho no pasaba, eso 8 mas que cualquier cosa es por mi mismo, si fuera enserio seria un 7.
PD: Tiene su toque GORE y hay un personaje que me recuerda a Hokuto No Ken, si no lo sabes Araki es fan de esa serie. Baoh es uno de los primeros trabajos de Araki antes de Jojo's, y aun asi la serie es buena y se nota que aun antes de Jojo's ya era un gran escritor.
Sidewinder51
Rate:5 English Dubbed genres:scifi., action *note:'_' is intended to not give out spoilers Story Bland and simple. An experiment that rises up when the chance presents itself. Story has some logic failures. Such as if the ____ works on brain eventually it will run out of brain. So how can you say a prolonged life? ArtNicely drawn. Animations are done well. Art is different then what the cover picture shows(depending which picture you are looking at here). Works well with the story.
Sound
Subtitles don't work well with English dubbed. The actors either use different words or the time is off. Better off keeping the subtitles off. Some, i would say about 1 percent of the spoken language is muffled. Which means makes sure to use the subtitles when needed to figure out what was said.
Character
Is mostly driven on the main male character. As for the main female character her bio is moderate. For example her origin is iffy.
Enjoyment
Mad scientist lovers would likely like this.
UberSenpai
So, I read the baoh manga a couple months before watching this, and overall, I found it kinda average. Nothing really special, but I certainly wouldn't call it bad. I decided to forget about and, until I found this. And... I'm a bit disappointed. Baoh is still really awesome, and I'd say if there's any reason to watch this, It'd be to just watch him be awesome. But it was also really short. I mean, the manga was pretty short too, but the ova just cut so much out, the whole thing went by too quickly. I'd give it a higher score if I gotto see more of Baoh, but I'd say just read the manga if you're interested.
Voivodian
This OVA brilliantly carries across one of Araki's earlier works into animated form and proves that he always had the talent for creating truly memorable battle encounters. Much of the escaped bioweapon falling into a teenagers hands premise reminds me of Guyver but BAOH is so much more concise in its pacing and spectacular in its action. (Not to put Guyver down or anything, also some awesome anime there). Baoh's action sequences have this sheer intensity punctuated by flamboyant and merciless special moves, with a single well calculated strike decisively winning an encounter in an instant. Exactly like a certain other BIZARRE anime. The art isquite pretty and character designs even better; a strange thing to say about an anime where people's faces get melted or cleanly bisected but it truly is. I'd put it in the same grade as Windaria (obviously far more greenery there though) and Venus wars.
Great pre-Jojo wackiness with production values on the upper spectrum of anime OVAs. Must watch for all JoBros and MANime lovers.
Nothing-Nowhere
Felt compelled to write a review after watching this. What an underrated gem this short ova is. I highly recommend this for fans of jojo's, fans of ultra violence, and fans of 80s anime art style. The story is cohesive and interesting, the art is clean and the animation is fluid. There isn't enough time to really get attached to any characters, but there are no annoying or bad characters so theirs that. Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit as a fan of 80s anime. As of right now there is a high quality version of this ova on youtube, definitely go check itout.
NoahRules
TL;DR only watch BAOH if you want an action-packed 80s anime with little focus on story/characters. BAOH is one of Araki's first ever works and it shows. it's clear that Araki was still getting the hand of writing stories and characters but at the same time, you can tell Araki really knew how to make a good action scene, hell I'd say that some action scenes here are better than some in JoJo given how the action scenes in BAOH are a lot more fast-paced and flashy. I'd recommend the anime over the manga, the anime does skip some scenes which would be a problem but like Isaid the story isn't really what you should be looking for in this anime.
Despite everything I've said I think BAOH has a good concept, sure the idea of the main character having a parasite that he can't fully control has been done before, but I'd like to see modern Araki try something with that concept, or Araki should let another author try and write a revival/continuation for BAOH, like what he did with Cool Shock Old B.T
LadyStardust97
I will start this review off with a simple statement: You should only watch Baoh if you're interested in other things. Its influence on other media, its place in Araki's career, its standing as an adaptation of an existing manga... Curiosity about these are all valid reasons to dive into it, but it's not a work that stands on its own; it veers between its various identity crises without really landing on anything concrete. It gets watered down even more in the jump to OVA format, and only brief flashes of Araki's unique flair are present. A key issue with the presentation of the story is that itmoves quite fast, hitting all its 'necessary beats' in a mechanical fashion with little attention paid to depth or mood. A story that 1:1 works in manga is not going to work if adapted with no consideration for the change in media- Baoh is a huge victim of this. The story feels rushed, meandering, and more like just "things happening". There's no room for emotional investment and it brings very little to the table.
That said, the saving grace of the OVA is its art- it's incredibly well animated and smooth. My partner referred to it as we watched as 'a stereotypical over-produced 80s OVA' and he was right. This has tons of money poured into tons of detail and barely ever lets up on quality. The cinematography, sfx, and fight choreography are all incredible. It's very technically beautiful and stunning to look at.
The music on the other hand is very stereotypically 80s in a way that I think many may find dated/unpalatable, though I tend to like 80s action scores; it's not anything special, though.
As I mentioned in the story section, the writing in this is cardboard flat and the characters suffer majorly as a result. They feel like desk lamps having plot points thrown at them. Sumire (the female lead) also, in my opinion, suffers majorly from being what I can charitably describe only as a 'classic loli', which is definitely not a coincidence; this was 1987, knees deep in the 80s lolicon boom, after all. Some people may like that...... I definitely did not, and I found the romantic aspect between a ten year old and seventeen year old extremely unnerving and repulsive. There's almost nothing to write about Ikuro, either, really, besides that he's a guy and he does things. I couldn't describe a personality for him if I tried. There's also a weird racist bit about a Native American villain that's hard to describe as anything but some sort of bizarre fetishization. I suppose if you don't care about racial issues that that part might float by unnoticed but it's still... not good, writing-wise.
Overall this made for a very midtier evening watch and I have difficulty recommending it outside of that capacity. It's nothing to write home about and your time is better spent on better things.
Kamezuki
“Baoh Raihousha” is an over-the-top, silly gore-fest that is surprisingly watchable and better than expected. This one-episode OVA is about a guy named Ikuro who was kidnapped by a secret organization and implanted with a parasite that causes him to have superhuman abilities. He escapes the organization with Sumire, a young psychic girl (and her pet squirrel) who is also being held by them. The organization sends all sorts of people out to kill Ikuro, including an assassin, an army, an android and a telekinetic Native American. The greater part of this OVA consists of Ikuro graphically killing his and Sumire’s assailants using his newly-acquiredpowers.
The whole thing is over the top, but it does have a cohesive, if somewhat unoriginal, story with a distinct beginning, middle and end. However, the way the plot plays out is not without significant issues. For instance, sometimes the villains are about to finish Ikuro off, but conveniently pause long enough for him to get away or to kill them. There are some confusing parts, such as a scene in which one of the antagonists just starts killing his allies. Also, Ikuro hardly speaks, so I felt like it was hard to relate to him since we don’t know what he’s thinking or feeling. Needless to say, the 46-minute runtime does not offer much opportunity for character development, but the protagonists are still likable. The voice cast is decent for the most part, although I thought that the person voicing Sumire sounded a little too mature for a 9-year-old. The dialogue is okay, but nothing spectacular, and it feels redundant at times. The OVA has an open ending, but it’s conclusive and satisfying enough.
Regarding other technical aspects, the animation is fluid, and the character designs look good. The background music is generic synth stuff that isn’t memorable. The ending theme is okay, but it doesn’t leave much of an impression.
As for objectionable content, the gore in this OVA is prevalent, but not realistic enough to be off-putting. There are lots of melting heads and eyeballs popping out of skulls, for instance. Rather than being gross, it just looks silly. Other than the gore and violence, there isn’t much that could be objectionable, except there is a scene in which a dog dies.
Overall, “Baoh” has a lot of flaws, but its violent cheesiness combined with its decently structured plot and nice animation make this OVA an enjoyable watch.
VampireLord1024
I sort of liked this anime, well I should say that it was an OVA, which it was almost like a movie when it first came on. I'll probably have to spoil a little bit of this OVA, because the main character has this alien thing inside of him & he gets these powers & such. He ends up protecting this one girl & her pet, whatever in the world it was. There was a lot of blood & gore within this 48 minute OVA, so if that's not your thing, then I wouldn't watch this, but if you like action. sci-fi or supernatural anime,then I would say give this a try.
