Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Hero Mask: Complete Collection (2018/2019)

“Hero Mask” is a fantastic, futuristic police action/drama series that will captivate you from beginning to end! I highly recommend this anime series!

Purchase this Anime on Blu-ray on Amazon

TITLE: Hero Mask: Complete Collection

ONA RELEASE: 2018-2019

DURATION: Episodes 1-24 (600 minutes)

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9 HD Widescreen), English and Japanese 2.0 DTS-HD MA, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Sentai Filmworks

RATED: TV 14 VD

Release Date: April 27, 2021

Directed by Aoki Hiroyasu

Series Composition by Aoki Hiroyasu

Music by Kato Hisaki

Character Design by Katagiri Takahisa

Art Director: Nakamura Takashi, Sonoda Yuki

Anime Production: Pierrot

Featuring the following voice talent:

Kase Yasuyuki/Chris Patton as James Blood

Kaneda Akio as Professor Gary Evans

Goto Atsushi as Douglas Coates

Komatsu Fuminori/Adam Gibbs as Theo Lowe

Shibuya Haruka as Monica Campbell

Junpei Morita as Lennox Gallagher

Takano Kentaro/Blake Shepard as Edmond Chandler

Uchiyama Kouki/Andrew Love as Harry Creighton

Hoshino Mitsuaki as William Hurst

Fukami Rica as Julia Hurst

Hoshino Takanori as Alan Wyatt

Sugo Takayuki/John Gremillion as Steven Martland

Miyadera Tomoko/Christine Auten as Anna Winehouse

Shimura Tomoyuki/Joe Daniels as Fred Faraday

Shimamura Yu/Hilary Haag as Tina Hurst

Karasuma Yūichi/Scott Gibbs as Grimm

Fujii Yukiyo/Taylor Fono as Eve Palmer

Kaida Yuko/Luci Christian as Sarah Sinclair

Aoyama Yutaka/Jay Hickman as Geffrey Connor

Nakano Yutaka/Mark X Laskowski as Richard Burner

Are a series of bombings and the murder of a high-ranking government official linked to the actions of the huge international pharmaceutical company LIVE? Ordered to investigate, Detective James Blood of the Special Service of Crime quickly discovers far more than just a conspiracy. There’s a new technology on the street: masks as thin as paper that completely alter the appearance of the wearer’s face while also granting amazing strength and agility… at the cost of years off their users’ lives!

Together with assistant attorney/murder witness Sarah Sinclair, Blood must unearth the secrets behind the masks and their connection to LIVE’s mysterious founder. But the clock is ticking down and James and Sarah may already be living on borrowed time. Because when the ultimate disguise powers the ultimate human killing machines, death can be lurking anywhere in Hero Mask!

In December 2018, the first season of the original series “Hero Mask” began, and a second season debuted in August 2019. And would later air on television from July to December 2020.

Written and directed by Aoki Hiroyasu and featuring anime production from Studio Pierrot for Netflix, “Hero Mask” has been released on Blu-ray courtesy of Sentai Filmworks.

“Hero Mask” revolves around officers of the elite “Special Service of Crime” (SSC), a divisioon within the Capital Police Department. And one of their top officers, happens to be a hot-headed officer named James Blood who tends to bend the rules.

One day, assistant attorney Sarah Sinclair, a subordinate of Crown Prosecutor Monica Campbell, were to meetup to celebrate Monica’s birthday. Monica is also close to SSC Detective Lennox Gallagher and Detective Inspector James Blood.

While Monica and Sarah is to meet and are just several feet away from each other, Monica collapses and dies.

At Monica’s funeral, Sarah tells Gallagher and James Blood that she feels that Monica didn’t die from natural causes but felt she may have been murdered due to her investigation on the LIVE Corporation.

This leads to an investigation as James and Sarah work together to uncover Monica’s death, but things start to become complicated when a criminal who has been dead has suddenly come alive and it is learned that other escaped prisoners who were thought as dead, are showing up thanks to masks that gives them superhuman abilities.

“Hero Mask” has become a series that I have been hooked on right after watching the first episode.

The series is broken down to two arcs with the first arc focused on James Blood and members of the SSC investigates the return of criminals who are supposed to be dead, but have been revived with mask technology and have been given superhuman powers.

And also focusing on Sarah Gallagher, an assistant attorney who will do whatever she can to find Monica’s killer(s) and to find out what information she had on LIVE Corporation, and why they may have wanted her killed.

The second arc features James Blood trying to protect Tina Herst, an important girl which the LIVE Corporation and others are trying to get to for some reason.

In some ways, each episode kind of reminded me of the American drama series “24”, a continuing drama series but featuring the a special police unit trying to work on a huge case involving major corporate corruption. Granted, the series is set in the future but every character plays an important part.

From SSC hacker/technical specialist Edmond “Eddie” Chandler, ex-SSC detective Harry Creighton, Anna Winehouse, CEO of the drug company Ecohes and many more.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the series, but I will say that it’s an addictive, action-packed anime series from beginning to end.

The animation is fantastic, as to be expected from Studio Proteus and the voice acting for both Japanese and English soundtracks are well-done. There are no special features with this anime release.

And personally, wouldn’t mind seeing more stories involving the SSC!

Overall, “Hero Mask” is a fantastic, futuristic police action/drama series that will captivate you from beginning to end! I highly recommend this anime series!

Purchase this Anime on Blu-ray on Amazon

More from my site