Golgo 13 Part 1 (Volume 1) contains the first 13 episodes on 2 discs. The show revolves around a hitman named Bruce Togo ( a complete Badass by the way ) and the jobs that he has accepted usually from sleazy business men or corrupted politicians .

I actually watched this one with the English dub and found it to be OK. It is not bad by any means but some of the dialogue comes off as very cheesy and hammy. Although this does add to the fun making it feel an 80s action film. The Japanese dub is included for those who like to watched their anime subbed.

The animation and designs are pretty good, it has a very dark seedy look to it. The way the violence is portrayed is one of the elements which makes this show enjoyable. Terms of violence while not extremely gory it doe's have some graphic stuff in it; like when you see people getting shot in the head. There are also some sex scenes and nudity both of the male and female kind  most of it is female nudity. This also adds to it feeling like an 80s action film. However I did think that some episodes overdid the sex scenes.

(Rest of review is after the jump)

One thing that really stood out with me was it's suspenseful atmosphere that builds up from the start of the episode leaving you guessing till the very end. Most of the time the build up actually pays off leaving you feeling very sasistfied.  I know I had one of those WHOA! NO WAY! feelings while watching this.

The show is also very over the top when it comes to the action. Not in a shonen kind of over the top but more like a mixture of John Woo meets Mcguyver plus some James Bond mixed in for some good measure.

The biggest problem this show has is that it is episodic. Which means for the people who are looking for a story that will last several episodes will have to look elsewhere. I didn't mind this for the most part but I would of loved to have seen some episodes last at least 2 parts to flesh it out a bit more.

Another problem I have is that they tend to repeat the same 3 kinds of story formats, Assassin, Rival Assassin , or Interrogation. While it is repetitive they do tend to fold out in different ways, but again it will put off some people.

The music used in Golgo 13 is quite catchy. I especially love the little jingle that pops up in the middle of each episode during the eye catches. It also sets the tone of the dark gloomy look of the show.

Out of all the 13 episodes I have seen I only thought one of them was a bit weak. The other 12 episodes were great but nothing amazing.

There are some special features but not many. You just get the standard on what you will find on most anime DVDs which are clean openings and endings (The intro and outro without the credits over them.) as well as some trailers for other anime releases.

Overall I really quite enjoyed this one. Also a good show to watch when the friends are around. I recommend it. Looking forward to the second volume.  

Title: Golgo 13 Part 1

Genre: Anime/Animated, Action

Running Time: 320 minutes (13 episodes)

Distributor: Siren Visual

Rating: M15+ (Animated Violence, Sex Scenes, Nudity and Infrequent Coarse Language.)

Price: $49.95

Recommended: Yes