In typical cyberpunk fashion, Virus introduces us to the coldly futuristic metropolis of Neo Hong Kong, wherein we find the specialized police unit of STAND combating a fanged, half-melted, bio-mechanical monstrosity. Using power suits that resemble a mix of Shinesman, Bubblegum Crisis, and Gatchaman, the STAND members take out the hulking menace and conveniently introduce themselves to the viewer. The perky, huge-eyed, elastically-breasted woman in the pink armor is Erika Tinen; the long-haired, cocky ladies' man in blue is Jouichirou; the blond, unsmiling, gun–toting battle commander in tan is Macus Alexander Bogard (any relation to Terry and Andy?); and the yipping, barely post-pubescent computer girl is Mirei. Their leader is Raven, a reticent, dark-haired fellow who spends much of time talking with a holographic woman named Donna and giving the impression that he knows far more about STAND and their enemies than he's revealing.

For example, Raven seems aware that he's being watched by Serge Train, a young man from Neo Hong Kong's slumlike 13th Development Area. Motivated by some unspecified, nightmare-inducing tragedy, Serge plans to confront Raven at an exhibition of a new Variable Gear, Virus' name for a big robot. Coincidentally, the mecha is infected by a “virus” and goes berserk, providing Serge the chance to rush at Raven and stab him. Raven responds by telling his perplexed attacker, “You are loved.”

In the chaos that ensues, Serge squares off against the crazed machine and stumbles across a piece of combat armor in STAND's nearby hovercraft. Donning this red battle suit (which, by the color-coded logic of sentai shows, marks him as the group's leader), he destroys the crazed mecha-beast and collapses in exhaustion. After a visit to STAND's medical labs and a stay in its prison cells, Serge is recruited into the organization by Raven, or rather by Raven's promise of revealing Serge's past and the sources of his nightmares.

His explanations don't arrive by the end of the first volume, however. It's evident that the viruses combated by STAND are being sent by some nebulous entity known as “the Incubator,” but there's never any clue as to what it might be. Virus Buster Serge is content to hide its deeper concepts, allowing characters to refer to things such as “the brain-mapping project,” with only the vague assurance that they will become clear later in the series' thirteen episodes.

Unfortunately, there isn't much to hold viewers' attention in the meantime. The characters are flat and uninteresting, from Serge's apparently unmotivated angst to Mirei's squeaky, pointless comments. Only Erika gets a scrap of development in the fourth episode, but her appeal is undercut by her too-perky demeanor and hideous design. Per Obari's usual style, both Erika and Mirei have huge, buglike eyes and misshapen faces, while the male characters are glossy, leanly muscular, pointy-nosed, and strangely dressed. It's actually hard not to chuckle at Macus, who wears a sleeveless vest with a furred collar and a hat borrowed from Street Fighter II's M. Bison.

Grotesque as his characters can look, Obari usually comes through with some nicely animated combat. Yet Virus doesn't have much of that, as its TV budget results in a lot of stiff images and cheap backgrounds. And for those who misguidedly lust after cartoon women, there's only limited bounce from Erika. That's not entirely a negative, though, since she's as sexy as a robotic wasp with breasts. The soundtrack's also unremarkable, though Dragon Ash's opening piece has a raspy, alt-rock quality that was growing on me by the disc's end.

The English dub, from Skypilot Entertainment, is no real help. The lip-sync is off constantly, and even voice acting veterans like Jessica Calvello (Excel Saga's lead nutjob) and Angora Deb don't have the presence they should. Supporting characters sound awful, and the Japanese cast is boring throughout. Some have upbraided Manga for using a subtitled script often indistinguishable from the dubbed dialogue, but it's the least of the problems in Virus.

Though I'm unavoidably fond of cyberpunk pabulum, I can't find a reason to recommend this, considering what else is on the market. Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 is more fun, Silent Mobius has more dignity, and even Burn Up Excess handles blatant fan service and huge-eyed overkill with greater aplomb. Virus Buster Serge isn't as repulsive as some of Obari's other showcases, but it's too bland, confused, and unappealing to be much better.

D+