Dominion (manga)


Dominion is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. Set in the fictional city of Newport, Japan, in a future in which bacteria as well as air pollution have become so severe that people must wear gas masks when outdoors, the series follows a police squadron that uses military-style tanks.
Dominion has been adapted into three original video animation series: the first was released in 1988, the second, New Dominion Tank Police in 1993, and the third, Tank Police Team TANK S.W.A.T. 01 in 2006. The 1988 OVA is four volumes long and animated by Agent 21, the 1993 OVA is six volumes long and animated by J.C.Staff, while TANK S.W.A.T. is one volume long and was animated by DOGA Productions.
The manga was published by Hakusensha, Kodansha and later by Seishinsha. It has been published in English by Dark Horse Comics. The anime has been released in English translation in the United Kingdom and Australia by Manga Entertainment and in the United States by Central Park Media, under their U.S. Manga Corps division. The New Dominion Tank Police series was also distributed in the UK, Australia and United States by Manga Entertainment, but later expired. Maiden Japan licensed the six-episode 1993 New Dominion Tank Police OVA series for distribution in North America in 2013.

Characters

The Tank Police

;Leona Ozaki
;Al'Cu Ad Solte
;Charles Brenten
;Chaplain
;Jim E. Lovelock
;Chief

Criminals

;Buaku
;AnnaPuma and UniPuma

Others

;Greenpeace Crolis
;The Counselor

Voices

Media

Original manga

The manga was serialized in Hakusensha's Monthly ComiComi magazine in 1986 and later released under a single tankōbon in the same year. The plot of the manga is set in the future on a highly polluted Earth. Due to unbearable air quality, the people who inhabit the metropolis of New Port City are forced to wear oxygen masks when outside.
Bandit Buaku, accompanied by two android twins called the "Puma Sisters," tries to capture a top-secret government project that applies a plant's biology to a human's genome allowing for self-oxygenation. In doing so he hopes to prevent the establishment from forcibly changing the human race instead of solving the pollution issue. Captain Brenten and his squadron of Tank Police, composed of officers Leona Ozaki and Al'Cu Ad Solte among others, set out to put a stop to Buaku using their brute military force.

''Dominion: Phantom of the Audience''

An omake titled "Dominion: Phantom of the Audience" was originally published as part of a "Special Graphix Dominion" ComiComi special issue in 1988. Seishinsha collected it in a Dominion F volume with a reprint of the original manga on January 27, 1993 and in North America it was published by Dark Horse Comics on March 1, 1994. It involves a fictional sport called "Smartball" and features Leona and the rest of the Tank Police crew.

''Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise''

Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise by Masamune Shirow was originally published in the Young Manga magazine in 1992 and 1993, and one collected volume was published on February 21, 1995 by Seishinsha and in North America in March 1997 by Dark Horse Comics. It is not considered to be part of the same continuity as the original stories.
While the story revolves around Leona Ozaki and the members of the Newport Tank Police, and Conflict One contains some of the same elements as in the original stories, other aspects have been downplayed, altered, or completely removed. Originally planned for 4 Conflict series, Shirow has placed Dominion on hold while he worked on other projects. These included the various Ghost in the Shell anime and Man-Machine Interface. Conflict Two, originally planned for 1997, has yet to be published.
;New continuity
Many elements set Conflict apart from the original Dominion story. Shirow has asked people to think of Conflict as another time line altogether.
;Plot
Set in November 201X, Conflict One presents the changed Newport City. It is no longer plagued by severe pollution. The story begins with Urushi-maru the "Skyscraper Pirate" and his partner attacking the Nankaiden department store while being pursued by the Osaka Air Police. Tank Police Sergeant Leona Ozaki gets involved when she fires on Urushi-maru's plane, causing the pirate to drop his stink bombs on Nankaiden's rival Hokutenro.
While searching for Urushi-maru, Leona must deal with the selection of the next generation of police tanks, relationship issues, public backlash against the Tank Police, personal rivalries with the current members of her old traffic division, and—to her greatest displeasure—the addition to her unit of the former criminal android AnnaPuma.
;Characters
The first OVA series is a four-part prequel to the original manga, leading up to Buaku's discovery of Greenpeace. New Dominion Tank Police appears to be a direct sequel to the original manga. Leona's Bonaparte is a different color and minor differences to its body show that she had to rebuild it after the initial Bonaparte's destruction. This anime also shows the first animated incarnation of the Fuchikoma, which originally appeared in Masamune's Ghost in the Shell manga.
Tank Police Team Tank S.W.A.T. 01 takes place near the events of the Conflict arc; the pumas being members of the police department. Unlike in the manga, however, they do not appear to have to reduce their size in order to fit into the driver's section of the tanks.

Role-playing game

The Dominion Tank Police Role-Playing Game was published by Guardians of Order in 1999. It uses the Tri-Stat System.
David L. Pulver worked on this and a number of licensed, standalone games for the company.

Reception

in 500 Essential Anime Movies commented that the 1988 OVA "has some serious themes - ecological disaster and the excessive power of state - but they're delivered lightly, wrapped in a shiny package of action, slapstick, and outrageous visual puns".