Wild 7

Wild 7 (ワイルド7) is a live action series based on a manga released in 1969 by creator Mikiya Mochizuki. There have also been an OVA and a spin-off anime.

The creation of the manga had been based on the condition that Japan and other non-communist countries were facing in the 1960s and 70s with the rise of militant student activists and politicians being caught and seen as corrupt with their economies recovering from the days of World War II.

Plot
In the wake of rising criminality and terrorist activities in Japan against Japanese nationals, the Japanese National Police Agency has no choice but to authorize the mobilization of a special Counter-terrorist Motorcycle unit consisting of reformed convicts, ranging from simple thugs, individuals forced into prison for simple petty trouble and former Yakuza henchmen and leaders to combat armed criminals and terrorists.

Anime
The Wild 7 OAV was merely an adaptation of the manga version. But Wild 7 Another is a sequel of 13 episodes set after the OAV. It was shown in Japan from April 27 to August 31 of 2002 before airing it in Animax for South American viewers from September 9 to November 28 of 2006.

Live Action
Despite being popular with TV viewers, it was forced to end the show after 25 episodes due to concerns of violence being shown on the Wild 7 drama.

Reception
Tony Salvaggio had said that Wild 7 was one of the best manga/anime from the 1960s and 1970s, similar to what Golgo 13 and Speed Racer had been through as they had fueled adventure to its readers and viewers. He had even pointed out that Wild 7 may have been the antithesis to the popularity of the A-Team.

However, Mike Toole of Anime Jump had said that the OVA's character designs are so horrible that the mangaka may have been responsible for it. But he later suggested that the director of the Wild 7 OVA, Kiyoshi Egami, should be held responsible for the OVA character design instead of Mikiya Mochizuki.