Dominion
Product brand
UnclaimedDominion is a Japanese science-fiction manga franchise by Masamune Shirow about a militarized police unit operating in a polluted future city.
Last updated October 29, 2026
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Overview
Dominion is a Japanese science-fiction manga created, written, and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The series combines police procedural fiction, military hardware, cyberpunk technology, ecological anxiety, broad comedy, and anthropomorphic or artificial characters. Its central setting is Newport City, a fictional Japanese metropolis in a future where severe air pollution and biological contamination have made outdoor life dangerous. Residents commonly need gas masks or oxygen equipment, while the authorities respond to urban crime with unusually heavy military-style policing. The main protagonists belong to the Newport City Tank Police, a specialized police formation equipped with armored vehicles. The principal character is Leona Ozaki, an enthusiastic officer whose attachment to her personal tank, Bonaparte, is nearly as intense as her commitment to police work. She works alongside Al'Cu Ad Solte, a technically capable and comparatively calm partner, under the command of the forceful Charles Brenten. Other recurring members include the analytical scientist and tank commander Jim E. Lovelock, commonly associated with the nickname Specs, and the unit's frequently exasperated chief. Their operations deliberately blur the boundaries between ordinary law enforcement and mechanized warfare, producing both action sequences and satire about police power, collateral damage, bureaucracy, and technological escalation. Shirow's original manga first appeared in 1985 and was serialized in Hakusensha's Monthly ComiComi before being collected in 1986. Its principal conflict concerns the criminal Buaku and the Puma Sisters, AnnaPuma and UniPuma, who attempt to obtain or exploit a secret biological project connected with self-oxygenation. The plot uses the environmental crisis not merely as background but as a political and scientific problem: the possibility of adapting humans to polluted air raises questions about whether society should change people biologically or address the conditions causing the crisis. The manga also includes the android Puma Sisters, whose origins as commercial love dolls contrast with their later criminal identities and physical capabilities. Dominion developed beyond its initial manga form through supplementary stories and multiple animated releases. A short work known as Phantom of the Audience expanded the setting through a fictional sport, while Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise presented an alternate continuity with a more formalized police organization, clearer skies, a larger Tank Police structure, and mass-produced Bonaparte Mark 9 vehicles. The planned continuation of that continuity has not been completed according to the available reference material. The franchise's best-known screen adaptation is the four-episode Dominion Tank Police original video animation series released in 1988–1989. New Dominion Tank Police followed in 1993–1994 as a six-episode continuation, and Tank S.W.A.T. 01 appeared in 2006 as a one-episode production. These adaptations introduced the property to international home-video audiences. English-language editions and distributions were associated with Dark Horse Comics, Manga Entertainment, Central Park Media's U.S. Manga Corps division, and later Maiden Japan for the 1993 OVA in North America. Dominion's lasting identity rests on the combination of detailed mechanical design, irreverent police satire, environmental dystopia, and Shirow's recurring interest in the relationship between humans, machines, and social institutions.
History
Dominion originated as a science-fiction manga by Masamune Shirow. Its first chapter appeared in 1985, followed by serialization in Hakusensha's Monthly ComiComi and a collected volume in 1986. The fictional Newport City is defined by an environmental catastrophe: air pollution and biological contamination have become sufficiently severe that people require masks or oxygen equipment outdoors. Against this setting, Shirow places the Tank Police, a police unit using armored vehicles and military tactics to confront crime. The original story follows Leona Ozaki and her colleagues as they pursue Buaku, a criminal whose activities are connected to a secret biological project. The project concerns the use of plant biology to enable human self-oxygenation, making it both a possible solution to the pollution crisis and a potential instrument of coercive human modification. Buaku is accompanied by AnnaPuma and UniPuma, android sisters originally created as commercial love dolls who develop independent identities and become criminals. The contrast between their manufactured purpose and their later agency is one of the franchise's recurring examples of the unstable boundary between person and machine. The manga's police ensemble includes Leona's partner Al'Cu Ad Solte, squad leader Charles Brenten, scientific specialist Jim E. Lovelock, the tank pilot Chaplain, and a stressed police chief. The series treats its law-enforcement premise satirically. The Tank Police are effective but reckless, and their preference for armored force creates civilian danger and institutional friction. Humor, exaggerated weaponry, and detailed vehicle design coexist with darker subjects such as pollution, genetic intervention, artificial life, and the militarization of public order. Dominion expanded through side material. Phantom of the Audience was published as an additional short story and later collected with the original material. Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise was serialized in the early 1990s and collected in 1995. Shirow regarded Conflict as a separate timeline rather than a straightforward continuation. That version depicts a less polluted Newport City and a more conventional police department with traffic, investigation, forensic, data-processing, and internal-affairs divisions. The Tank Police are larger and more formally integrated, while the Bonaparte becomes a standardized Kenbitsu Heavy Industries Mark 9 urban combat vehicle rather than Leona's unique machine. A planned second Conflict volume has not been published in the available account. The property became especially visible through animation. Dominion Tank Police, a four-part OVA released in 1988–1989, served as a prequel to the original manga's central events. New Dominion Tank Police, a six-episode production released in 1993–1994, functioned as a sequel and continued the Tank Police premise. Tank S.W.A.T. 01, released in 2006, added a later one-episode animated installment. The anime was licensed, translated, or distributed in English-speaking markets by companies including Manga Entertainment, Central Park Media under its U.S. Manga Corps label, and Maiden Japan. Dark Horse Comics published English translations of the manga and related material. Dominion remains identified primarily with Shirow's original manga concept and its OVA adaptations. Its cultural profile comes from the distinctive mixture of armored police action, environmental dystopia, android characters, eroticized mechanical design, and comic exaggeration rather than from a conventional consumer brand or corporate identity.
- 2006
Tank S.W.A.T. 01 released
[1]A one-episode animated production added another entry to the franchise.
- 1995
Dominion Conflict One collected
[1]The alternate-continuity Conflict One material was collected by Seishinsha.
- 1993
New Dominion Tank Police produced
[1]The six-episode animated continuation entered release.
- 1988
Dominion Tank Police OVA begins
[1]The first four-episode animated adaptation was released.
- 1986
First collected manga volume released
[1]The initial Dominion manga material was collected in book form.
- 1985
First Dominion chapter published
[1]Masamune Shirow's manga began publication in Japan.
Products and positioning
A mechanically detailed, comedic cyberpunk police franchise that uses armored law enforcement, artificial beings, and ecological collapse to explore technology, authority, and urban disorder.
Manga · 1985
Dominion
The original manga created by Masamune Shirow follows the Newport City Tank Police in a future affected by extreme pollution. Its plot combines mechanized police action with questions about biological adaptation, artificial beings, public safety, and the social consequences of environmental collapse.
Manga short story · 1988
Phantom of the Audience
A supplementary Dominion story centered on the fictional sport Smartball. It revisits Leona and other members of the Tank Police in a lighter side narrative and was later collected and translated for the North American market.
Alternate-continuity manga · 1992
Dominion Conflict One: No More Noise
Conflict One presents a different timeline in which Newport City is no longer dominated by poisonous smog. The Tank Police are a larger, more formal organization, and standardized Bonaparte Mark 9 vehicles replace Leona's uniquely customized tank. The story follows Leona through a new police conflict involving the Skyscraper Pirate.
Original video animation · 1988
Dominion Tank Police
The first animated Dominion production is a four-episode OVA released in 1988–1989. It functions as a prequel to the original manga and adapts the Tank Police's confrontations with Buaku and the events surrounding the Greenpeace project.
Original video animation · 1993
New Dominion Tank Police
This six-episode OVA series, released in 1993–1994, follows the original animated storyline. It was distributed in English-speaking territories and later received a North American license from Maiden Japan.
Original video animation · 2006
Tank S.W.A.T. 01
Tank S.W.A.T. 01 is a one-episode animated production released in 2006. It represents the latest animated entry identified in the available reference material.
Controversies
2021
American Thinker apologizes to Dominion
American Thinker said it had published false claims accusing Dominion of conspiring to steal the November 2020 election. The publication acknowledged that the statements had no basis in fact and apologized to Dominion and its employees for the harm caused.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Virginia State Corporation Commission holds hearing on Dominion merger[5]
The Virginia State Corporation Commission held a hearing on a Dominion merger, and the hearing drew a large crowd, according to WJLA.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Dominion sues Rudy Giuliani for alleged election-related false claims[4]
Dominion filed a $1.3 billion damages lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani, alleging that he deceived people into believing Dominion had stolen votes and fixed the election. The company said it was suing to set the record straight and stand up for itself, its employees, and the electoral process.
American Thinker apologizes to Dominion[2]
American Thinker said it had published false claims accusing Dominion of conspiring to steal the November 2020 election, acknowledged the statements had no basis in fact, and apologized to Dominion and its employees for the harm caused.
Reported
Dominion sues Sidney Powell for defamation[3]
Dominion sued lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation over her claims that Dominion was involved in a voter-fraud scheme. Dominion sought $1.3 billion in compensatory and punitive damages and alleged that the claims caused financial harm and prompted threats against the company.
Reported
Dominion workers begin a province-wide strike[6]
More than 1,400 Dominion workers across Newfoundland and Labrador began a strike after rejecting the latest contract offer from parent company Loblaw. The article says the strike began at 10:01 p.m. Saturday night.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Reported
Dominion proposes sale of substantially all its assets[7]
Dominion proposed selling substantially all of its assets through a court-supervised process, with an entity managed by Washington acting as the stalking-horse bidder. The proposed sale was subject to definitive documentation, court approval and other conditions.
Reported
WPP AUNZ acquires Dominion[8]
WPP AUNZ acquired New Zealand martech company Dominion and said it would merge the business into AKQA Auckland.
Sources8 sources
- 1Dominion (manga)en.wikipedia.org
- 2American Thinker apologizes to Dominionfreerepublic.com
- 3American Thinker apologizes to Dominiontalkingpointsmemo.com
- 4American Thinker apologizes to Dominiondailymail.com
- 5弗吉尼亚州公司委员会就Dominion合并举行听证会news.google.com
- 6Dominion员工在纽芬兰与拉布拉多省开始罢工cbc.ca
- 7Dominion拟出售几乎全部资产diamondworld.net
- 8WPP AUNZ 收购 Dominionmumbrella.com.au
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