History Anime / AngelCop

* BigBad: Initially Tachihara, leader of the [[DirtyCommunists Red May]] terrorist organization which wants to bring down the government. He gets captured about halfway through, after which the [[PsychicPowers Hunter]] known as [[DarkActionGirl Lucifer]] takes over, carrying out orders to kill everyone in the Special Security Force for (supposedly) aiding the terrorists. [[spoiler:Then ''both'' of them are revealed to be pawns of [[AntagonisticGovernor Governor Maisaka]], all as part of a plan to dump American toxic waste in Japan and get rich off it.]]

* LudicrousGibs: Emphasis on "[[{{Narm}} ludicrous]]".
* KnightTemplar: Lucifer is convinced that her superiors are telling the complete truth and that her targets are all terrorists who deserve to die violently.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: A few of the characters.

* {{Engrish}}: Lucifer in the original

* TheFaceless: The Jews/Americans

* FilmNoir: The dialogue draws heavily on a film noir influence

* FriendlySniper: Peace is more amicable than the super bitchy Angel, but fully capable of blowing people away if necessary.
* GenderBlenderName: Lucifer.
* GreedyJew: In the Japanese version; not so much the English version.
* {{Gorn}}: pretty much every fight scene ends up spilling copious amounts of blood and chunks.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Raiden.]]

* LudicrousGibs: Emphasis on "[[{{Narm}} ludicrous]]"
* KnightTemplar: Lucifer, definitely. Angel has shades of this.
* MadScientist

* MeaningfulName: [[Myth/HinduMythology Asura]] (subverted in that Asura turns out to be a [[DefectorFromDecadence good guy]], contrary to what his name suggests), [[Myth/NorseMythology Freya]], and [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. And Angel, obviously.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Lucifer.
* [[NinetiesAntiHero Nineties Anti-Heroine]]: Angel, '''to the extreme'''.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed

* PsychicPowers: Lucifer and Asura have [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], Lucifer has some {{telepathy}} in the form of a MindProbe, Asura also has teleportation, Freya has garden-variety {{telepathy}} and [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]].

* ThemeNaming: The vigilantes.

* TheyCalledMeMad: The mad scientist who rebuilds Raiden chortles that those who laughed at his genius will now be destroyed by it! This is one of the few times we see a non evil mad scientist spout this.
* TortureAlwaysWorks: Actually, it doesn't; the Red May leader is tortured hideously, but only breaks when he finds out that three ultra powerful psychic killers are on his tail.
* WeCanRebuildHim: Played straight with Raiden.

** Angel makes her debut by graphically blowing the brains out of a terrorist all over the wall.

Plot in a nutshell: Jewish bankers (Americans in the dub) plot to turn Japan into a nuclear waste dump.

To elaborate: TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, Japan's economy is so strong that it's linked to the global economy. This angers a communist terrorist group called "The Red May," who decides that the best way to make the world a more equitable place is to blow up as much Japanese infrastructure as possible. To combat these terrorists, a bunch of elite law enforcement officials licensed to kill are assembled. They include the titular "Angel," a buff dude called Raiden, a couple of other token stereotypes, and DaChief. Things take a turn for the bizarre when Raiden goes missing after one encounter with the terrorists, and then the terrorists themselves are being attacked and murdered by three powerful psychics called "Hunters." Raiden shows back up as a cyborg courtesy of a local friendly MadScientist, it turns out most of the government is evil, two of the Hunters join Angel and her team when they realize they're the unwitting pawns of a government conspiracy to somehow profit off of Americans dumping nuclear waste in Japanese territory.

* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Lucifer, as it turns out, is really working for the real bad guys and is just killing everyone else to eliminate an evidence trail. She's been brainwashed into thinking that she's actually doing good. Taki suggests that eventually she'll break free of her conditioning and turn against the evil old guys, Maisaka and Togawa in charge, but he's more willing to bet that Angel, Asura, and Raiden can finish her.

* DefectorFromDecadence: Asura and Freya
* DirtyCommunists: The Red May terrorist group

* KillEmAll: The only named characters who survive the movie are Angel, Taki, and maybe Asura. To say nothing of the the nameless people who got sent to the slaughterhouse.
* LadyOfWar: Lucifer, arguably.

*** Angel: The name's Angel but don't let that fool you, I can be a bitch if I want to.

* RedScare
* ShootTheShaggyDog

* {{Dubtitle}}: Since the Japanese original was deemed antisemitic and impossible to market in the west, the English sub and dub toned down the Jewish plot. Of course, anyone who knows Japanese can simply overlook the subtitles and listen to the actual dialogue and know what is actually going on in the scene. There is also the problem that even viewers who don't know Japanese can clearly hear the word "America" being said while the subtitles say something else.

** Lucifer herself kinda looks like Brigitte Nielsen.

** Lucifer: [[Film/RedSonja Brigitte Nielsen]].

* FeministFantasy: Sorta. Angel exhibits the key traits of the NinetiesAntiHero to the hilt, delivers zero {{Fanservice}} and never undergoes {{Chickification}} at the hands of a male character (well, unless you count [[spoiler:[[SociopathicHero uncharacteristically]] hesitating when forced to shoot dead her male partner whom she has developed romantic feelings for]]). The anime is somewhat unusual in just how little it acknowledges the gender of its female lead; Raiden expresses surprise when he discovers that his partner who just splattered a terrorist's brains across the wall is a woman, but otherwise Angel is essentially written identically to the typical male badass of 90's {{Cyberpunk}} anime.

* {{Expy}}: Angel looks more or less like [[Manga/GhostInTheShell the Major]]

* {{Gorn}}

* TheEighties: The whole anime didn't [[RedScare age]] [[OutdatedOutfit very]] [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld well]], but [[EightiesHair Asura]] and Raiden got the worst of it.

* FeministFantasy: Sorta. Angel exhibits the key traits of the NinetiesAntiHero to the hilt, delivers zero {{Fanservice}} and never undergoes {{Chickification}} at the hands of a male character (well, unless you count [[spoiler:[[SociopathicHero uncharacteristically]] hesitating when forced to shoot dead her male partner whom she has developed romantic feelings for]]). The anime is somewhat unusual in just how little it acknowledges the gender of its female lead; Raiden expresses surprise when he discovers that his partner who just splattered a terrorist's brains across the wall is a woman, but otherwise Angel is essentially written identically to the typical male {{Badass}} of 90's {{Cyberpunk}} anime.

* ClusterFBomb

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Hoo boy...

* {{Dubtitle}}: Since the original Japanese dub was deemed antisemitic and impossible to market in the west, the English sub and dub toned down the Jewish plot. Of course, anyone who knows Japanese can simply overlook the subtitles and listen to the actual dialogue and know what is actually going on in the scene. There is also the problem that even viewers who don't know Japanese can clearly hear the word "America" being said while the subtitles say something else.

** Hacker bears an almost uncanny resemblance to Manga/{{Golgo 13}}

* FriendlySniper: Peace is more amicable than the super-bitchy Angel, but fully capable of blowing people away if necessary.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Raiden]]

* HulkingOut: Rare female example: Lucifer goes from silky-smooth to rippling once the gloves are off.
* {{Infodump}}: An unnamed narrator explains the situation engulfing the first episode [[spoiler:and briefly explains the unshown conclusion at the end of the last episode as well]].
* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: Japan is a superpower, which is why it's frequently targeted by terrorists
* {{Jerkass}}: Angel
* {{Kill Em All}}: The only named characters who survive the movie are Angel, Taki, and maybe Asura. To say nothing of the the nameless people who got sent to the slaughterhouse.

* MeaningfulName: [[Myth/HinduMythology Asura]] (subverted in that Asura turns out to be a [[DefectorFromDecadence good guy]], contrary to what his name suggests), [[Myth/NorseMythology Freya]], [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. And Angel, obviously.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Lucifer

** Lucifer - [[Film/RedSonja Brigitte Nielsen]]
** Asura - [[Music/{{Queen}} Brian May]]
** Freya - [[Literature/{{Firestarter}} Charlie McGee]]

* PlayingWithFire: Freya's power
* PowerHair: Lucifer.

* PsychicPowers: Lucifer and Asura have [[MindOverMatter telekinesis]], Lucifer has some {{telepathy}} in the form of a MindProbe, Asura also has teleportation, Freya has garden-variety {{telepathy}} and [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]]

* ThemeNaming: The vigilantes
* TheyCalledMeMad: The mad scientist who rebuilds Raiden chortles that those who laughed at his genius will now be destroyed by it! This is one of the few times we see a non-evil mad scientist spout this.
* TortureAlwaysWorks: Actually, it doesn't; the Red May leader is tortured hideously, but only breaks when he finds out that three ultra-powerful psychic killers are on his tail.

* MeaningfulName: [[Myth/HinduMythology Asura]] (subverted in that Asura turns out to be a [[DefectorFromDecadence good guy]], contrary to what his name suggests), [[NorseMythology Freya]], [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. And Angel, obviously.

[[quoteright:343:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3423991e88c5f302e1ba4625b10c59ee.jpg]]

** Hacker bears an almost uncanny resemblance to {{Golgo 13}}

Along with other "masterpieces" such as ''Manga/{{Mad Bull 34}}'' and ''Urotsukidoji'', is it directly responsible for the widespread belief in the early 90s that [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles all anime]] was just "{{Gorn}} and Porn."

* YourHeadAsplode: Angel makes her debut by graphically blowing the brains out of a terrorist all over the wall.

!!''AngelCop'' has examples of:

* MeaningfulName: [[HinduMythology Asura]] (subverted in that Asura turns out to be a [[DefectorFromDecadence good guy]], contrary to what his name suggests), [[NorseMythology Freya]], [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. And Angel, obviously.

* FarEastAsianTerrorist: Red May as a Japanese pro-communist terrorist group.

* FeministFantasy: Sorta. Angel exhibits the key traits of the NinetiesAntiHero to the hilt, delivers zero {{Fanservice}} and never undergoes {{Chickification}} at the hands of a male character (well, unless you count [[spoiler:[[HeroicSociopath uncharacteristically]] hesitating when forced to shoot dead her male partner whom she has developed romantic feelings for]]). The anime is somewhat unusual in just how little it acknowledges the gender of its female lead; Raiden expresses surprise when he finds that his partner who just splattered a communist's brains across the wall is a woman, but otherwise Angel is essentially written identically to the typical male {{Badass}} of 90's {{Cyberpunk}} anime.

* AnimeFirst

** Hacker has an uncanny resemblance to {{Golgo13}}