The Professional: Golgo 13 (Special Agent Edition) [1983] [DVD]

Golgo 13 is an assassin who can complete any assignment, and only needs one bullet for the kill. However, after he kills the son of a wealthy businessman, he becomes the hunted rather than the hunter.

The story layout for the professional is incredibly simple...but that's one of the movies strngth's as it just sucks you in and gives you a 90 minute action packed rollercoaster ride and then leaves you feeling satisfied with the ending.
Very little is known about Golgo 13 alias Duke Togo. His real identity is a secret. However, it is obvious that this character is as badass as they come. He's basically like the anime version of James Bond with his excellent skill, his knack for getting the women, and his need for fast cars and big guns.
The artwork is clearly dated as this movie was made 1983 but it still has a certain attractiveness towards it, such as the use of mood creating neon lighting. Furthermore, some of the fight scenes are surprisingly smooth and slick, and the car chase is fantastic for it's time, which is pretty impressive as some of the older animes suffered with quite static and boring action scenes. However there is one dodgy piece of CGI in this anime which I must admit looks a bit silly, (think, CGI in 1983).
In my opinion, this movie is well deserving of it's 18 certificate as there is some quite a few scenes of nudity and buckets of blood throughout.
On the musical side of things, Golgo 13s retro soundtrack is as cheesy as they come, but thats what makes it awesome. From the retro music to the dodgy CGI this movie is pretty cheesy, but its a movie that captures the feel and the spirit of the 80's perfectly, and creates a nostagic feel.
Overall, Golgo 13 wont leave you with a huge lasting impression, but it is really enjoyable while it lasts. If you need a break from all those philosophical and complicated animes then The Professional could be the one for you.

You see that facial expression Mr Golgo 13 has on the box? Well, I hope you like it because he wears it for the whole movie. Yep, even during the plentiful offerings of sexy shenannigans, Mr Golgo 13 looks like he would prefer to be elsewhere, like maybe arranging his sunglasses in order for light resistance or something.

Despite the fact that us students would gladly take the sex over the sunglasses collection, Golgo 13 offers an excellent action packed romp with some of the most creative disco lighting I've ever seen in an animated feature. There's a car chase about half way through that must have took a detour through a really huge 1980s dance club or something because I saw flashing lights that day in colours I didn't even know existed.

Nevertheless, Mr Golgo 13 does like his action, because he gets plenty of it. I'm assuming he likes it anyway; his bored expression doesn't change but he just keeps on a-punchin'.

Whether he's piloting a motorboat with his feet or shooting through the window at what was intended to be a helicopter but due to the miracle of 80s computer animation ends up looking like a green, er, thing constructed by a child given energy drink followed by Play Doh, Mr Golgo 13 delivers some action packed fun. Not to mention those Gold and Silver characters at the end who appear to be able to live forever unless they are brutally mutilated in unspeakable ways. Bullets? What harm could they do?

There's also a plot twist which pops up right at the end which is a genuinely good one. The film leads you to believe that the nature of the plot twist is slightly different to that of the one it ended up being. Or something. Damn, I have being spoiler-free.

Let's not forget the excllent soundtrack of course, which sounds like the composer had been forced to listen to the entire discography of The Human League and then asked to compose a film soundtrack on a cheap synthesizer.

So, from the sex scene set in front of a screen displaying the most surreal light patterns imaginable, to the man whose death is labelled as an 'accident' despite having a bullet hole in his face, Mr Golgo 13 delivers. I recommend to everyone who likes sex and guns.

No need to add except that the picture shown is on amazon is different and the edition is called "Special Agent Edition" and it is 2 DVD set. So enjoy!!