a 1990-1991 cyberpunk original video animation. It was directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri. Set in the year 2808 in the city of Oedo (Tokyo),it tells the story of three criminals who are enlisted into fighting crime in exchange for reduced sentences. They are Sengoku, an anti-social maverick, Gogol, a mohawk wearing hacker, and Benten, an androgynous bishōnen.To combat computerised crime more effectively, the Cyber Police unit of the future Japanese city of Oedo has restarted the feudal practice of hōmen (放免), employing hardened criminals with a history of hi-tech offences and other crimes such as murder as officers themselves. Three such criminals are Sengoku, Gogol and Benten who are serving their 300-or-more year sentences in an orbital penitentiary. For duty served, each criminal will receive a reduction in their prison time. Desperate to get away from the boredom and monotony of jail life, they half-heartedly agree to the deal. They answer to police chief Hasegawa who keeps them in check thanks to an explosive collar that each criminal wears around his neck. Hasegawa can blow this collar remotely and it will also explode if they fail to complete their missions within an allocated time period. Each one is also armed with a jitte (the traditional weapon and symbol of authority of the ancient Edo Police), although they also have access to more powerful weaponry. Although there are no specifics to what kind of society the series is based in, it is presented as very high-tech but with a rather dystopian feel. In the first episode for example, a man under pressure confesses to a murder (which he did commit) and which is responsible for the present crisis. This is enough for Hasegawa to order Sengoku to kill the man there and then without so much as a trial. When Sengoku fails to do so his sentence is increased. There are three episodes, each one serving to focus more on the personal exploits of one of the three-man team. The UK release had different titles for these epi