History Anime / DominionTankPolice

Based on a manga series drawn by the legendary Creator/ShirowMasamune (although altered greatly from its source material,) ''Dominion Tank Police'' covers three {{OVA}} series, the first of which came out in 1988. The story is set in a future Japan filled with so much bacterial pollution that people have to wear gas masks outdoors. Policing this crime-ridden dystopia is a police squadron comprised entirely of rag-tag tank-driving misfits -- who may be an even ''greater'' threat to the civilians of the city than the criminals themselves are.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Brenten/Britain. Shirow has confirmed that his name is Brenten, because he was named after the Bren Ten, a pistol.

* AliensInCardiff: The English translations give an amusing example. The series takes place in the fictitious Japanese city of Shinhama,[[note]]Well, not entirely fictitious, because it, just like the similarly named Niihama in Masamune's big franchise, ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'', is an amalgamation of Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, where the capital of Japan was moved from Tokyo. Note that the area between Osaka and Kobe, their respective capitals, is an almost entirely built up urban area ''even now''.[[/note]] which literally translates as "New Port". Since the early American translations papered over most of the Japanese cultural references, the audience is apparently meant to think this bleak, futuristic dystopia is located in the state of Rhode Island.
** Or in Wales (not too far from Cardiff!).

* AdaptationalCurves: In the animé, Leona has much bigger knockers than in the original manga.

%%* CyberPunk
%%* DaChief

%%* {{Dystopia}}

%%* IAteWhat: Brenten’s reaction when told the liquid he just tasted was a urine sample. %%What was his reaction?

%%* NiceJobBreakingItHero

--> '''Chaplain''': Be merciful my child. Which would our Lord say is more valuable, the life of a miserable sinner or a tank.
--> '''Leona''': Well a tank of course.
--> '''Chaplain''': Right.
--> '''Chaplain''': Thanks be to God for letting thy lamb hear the true word that giveth the Tank Police the power which it needs to carry on the struggle.

--> '''Mayor''': ''[to the Chief]'' A pile of claims! You didn't catch Buaku and his gang! You call yourselves "elite" Tank Police?
--> '''Chief''': ''[to the Mayor]'' Yes, ma'am... ''[to Captain Brenton]'' A pile of claims! You didn't catch Buaku and his gang! You call yourselves "elite" Tank Police?
--> '''Captain Brenton''': ''[to the Chief]'' Yes, sir... ''[to Leona and Al]'' A pile of claims! You didn't catch Buaku and his gang! You call yourselves "elite" Tank Police?
--> '''Leona and Al''': Yes, sir...

%%* TheSmartGuy: Lovelock.

%%* TheSquadette: Leona.
%%* StartOfDarkness: Buaku in the first OVA series.

* TheUnreveal: We never find out why Mr. Big wanted those urine samples.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero

* TheSmartGuy[=/=]TheSpock: Lovelock

* TheSquadette: Leona
* StartOfDarkness: Buaku in the first OVA series.

* {{Dystopia}}

* CyberPunk
* DaChief

* ArtificialHuman: Buaku, the Puma Sisters [[spoiler: and Greenpeace]]

* BoobsOfSteel: Leona (in the anime) and the Puma Sisters. Literally in the latter case, since in addition to being well-endowed and being ridiculously strong, the Puma Sisters are [[RobotGirl androids]].

* BoobsOfSteel: Leona (in the anime) and the Puma Sisters. Literally in the latter case, since in addition to being well-endowed and being ridiculously wrong, the Puma Sisters are [[RobotGirl androids]].

* GirlInABox: [[spoiler: Greenpeace]]

* OlderThanTheyLook: Buaku is just over 80 years old, but doesn't age because he's a cyborg/artifical human. Greenpeace is the same age, though she spent most of that time in [[GirlInABox suspended animation]] yet she still looks younger than him.

* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: In the first scene, just when a grenade used during a quite insane "interrogation" mentioned above flies off-path, Leona comes through the door and gets the grenade (thankfully with the safety pin still in place) in the face, resulting in a mild case of black eye.

* BoobsOfSteel: Leona (in the anime) and the Puma Sisters.

* AliensInCardiff: The English translations give an amusing example. The series takes place in the fictitious Japanese city of Shinhama,[[note]]Well, not entirely fictitious, because it, just like the similarly named Niihama in Masamune's big franchise, Franchise/GhostInTheShell, is an amalgamation of Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, where the capital of Japan was moved from Tokyo. Note that the area between Osaka and Kobe, their respective capitals, is an almost entirely built up urban area ''even now''.[[/note]] which literally translates as "New Port". Since the early American translations papered over most of the Japanese cultural references, the audience is apparently meant to think this bleak, futuristic dystopia is located in the state of Rhode Island.

** Bonaparte can fire some interesting shells in New Dominion, including one that seems to comprise a huge glob of pink goo that can incapacitate and trap anyone it hits.
** The Mobile Weapons from New Dominion also fire "atmospheric explosives", which don't actually explode themselves, but react with shells fired by other weapons nearby causing an epic explosion. Fortunately the Tank Police are just about smart enough to hold their fire when it deploys one.
* AceCustom: Bonaparte is a one-of-a-kind design in Dominion and New Dominion. ZigZagged in that it's built from scraps from ''Brenten's'' Ace Custom "Tiger Special" after Leona wrecked it. And Averted in ''Conflict'' where it's now standard issue for the Tank Police.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: The unmanned Mobile Weapons in New Dominion can be disabled with a hit on their stabilization system. The huge truck from episode 3 has a control chip right behind the logo on the front of the cab.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: The New Dominion Tank Police series provides a more villainous example in the form of TheDragon killing himself rather than by taken in for his crimes.

** Lampshaded by Specs in New Dominion, when he compares Brenten to Film/DirtyHarry.

* EnergyWeapon: The primary weapon of the New Dominion Mobile Weapons. [[spoiler: They're a bit rubbish in the rain or under sprinklers though.]]

* MegaCorp: Dai Nippon Giken and Rockford from New Dominion

* MiniMecha: Bonaparte, natch. Also the Mobile Weapons from New Dominion, which are even smaller

* PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Averted, oh so very much averted in the New Dominion Tank Police OVA series. A criminal takes the owner of a bar hostage only for Leona to point out that if he fires, he loses his only protection and gives him until the count of ten to surrender. The criminal takes the wise option and allows his hostage to go free only to be ignored by Leona and then shot. By her tank.

* TokenMinority: The New Dominion Tank Police OVA surprisingly (for an anime) has two -- the Chaplain, a Christian, and Nam, a black guy.

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The timeframe isn't specified in Dominion, but it's implied to not be very far into the future. New Dominion pins the date down to 2016 (The second episode occurs on August 10th, 2016, the date Specs enters [[spoiler: when he records that Leona's tank police membership has been revoked]]).

* TheWorfEffect: The Chief's reaction to hearing that Brenten was taken out in the first episode of the New Dominion Tank Police, showing just how powerful the new tank the criminal of the episode was piloting.

In the grim darkness of the 21st century, civilization enters its final downward spiral. The world is ravaged by pollution and disease while armed sociopaths with military-grade weapons purport to uphold the law as they cheerfully slaughter dangerous criminals and innocent bystanders alike in creatively sadistic ways.

[[BaitAndSwitch But enough about the news.]]

* CutAndPasteTranslation:
** In the English dub, the guy interrogated in a rather insane way in the first scene confessed to several counts of murder. In the original Japanese audio track, he confessed to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil five counts of rape]].
** In the original audio track, the mayor rants about how the tank police is not better but worse than the criminals and how she would loved to have the members of tank police hung and tie the ropes around their necks herself, in the dub she would like to fire them and complains about tax raises to pay the damages and how that would hurt her chances to get re-elected.
** In the original audio track of second episode of the second OVA, Leona called the Puma Sisters "stupid whore machines", in the dub, she accused them of having murdered her friend from her time in the motorcycle police and reported the murder themselves.

* AliensInCardiff: The English translations give an amusing example. The series takes place in the fictitious Japanese city of Shinhama,[[note]]Well, not entirely fictitious, because it, just like the similarly named Niihama in Masamune's FlagshipFranchise, Franchise/GhostInTheShell, is an amalgamation of Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, where the capital of Japan was moved from Tokyo. Note that the area between Osaka and Kobe, their respective capitals, is an almost entirely built up urban area ''even now''.[[/note]] which literally translates as "New Port". Since the early American translations papered over most of the Japanese cultural references, the audience is apparently meant to think this bleak, futuristic dystopia is located in the state of Rhode Island.

* AceCustom: Bonaparte is a one-of-a-kind design in Dominion and New Dominion. ZigZagged in that it's built from scraps from ''Brenten's'' Ace Custom "Tiger Special" after Leona wrecked it.

* AlternateContinuity: [[WordOfGod Shirow]] has asked readers to think of ''Dominion: Conflict'' as another timeline than the original manga, because of several changes to the setting (such as putting the toxic smog [[PutOnABus On A Bus]]) and [[ChuckCunningHamSyndrome dropping Al]] from the story.

* AlternateContinuity: [[WordOfGod Shirow]] has asked readers to think of ''Dominion: Conflict'' as another timeline than the original manga, because of several changes to the setting (such as putting the toxic smog [[PutOnABus On A Bus]]).

%%* IAteWhat: Brenten’s reaction when told the liquid he just tasted was a urine sample. %%What reaction?