AoD Review: Megazone 23 Part 1

[Chris Beveridge]

Review (http://www.animeondvd.com/reviews2/disc_reviews/3039.php)

[Nylock]

I watched this the other night for the first time ever, and I was very impressed with it. I was also very surprised at just how good it looked - the print is excellent and although there's some film damage it is very light and seems to be restricted to short sections. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

[Thanatos]

While I love MegaZone 23 Part 1, I wouldn't want to marathon the series: Part 2 is a pointless hour-long Beer and Tabacco commerical bearing no resemblence to the original, and while Part 3 is better than Part 2 (not a challenging task), it's still not as great as the original. Very much like the Matrix Trilogy, no? MegaZone 23 is sadly another one of those great, near-perfect works that should never have had sequels, since they do nothing but tarnish the glory of the original. /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif

Plus, I have to complain that the text description on the back cover spoils a great deal of the plot twists and surprises, one of the best elements of the release. Also the front cover isn't classic Mikimoto watercolors enough.

[Vicserr]

an Old Skool Classic, and even if parts 2 and 3 fizzle in comparizon, it's a worthy release and that needs wider recogntion as a classic and a trend setter.

[Thanatos]

But how can Part 1 get the recognition it deserves? /images/graemlins/depresse.gif

[Vicserr]

by ppl buying it by the trailer loads!!!! /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/stunned1.gif

Just saw the trailer for this the other night and it got my attention, I need to give this one a whirl after that good review.

[Jigen_Daisuke]

Well, I've seen all three parts a while ago, but Chris's review of it reminds me to pick up Part 1 sooner than later.

[Doom Tone]

I, for one, am convinced.
I'll be buying this, thanks for the review Chris.

[Njr Scrawl]

+ I liked the Image release, & might get this release to compare.

[Invisible Crane]

Just ordered it, along with Part 2.

Oh yeah, I have seen Part 3 (it was the Manga UK release)

[aragonvaar]

Positive on the review, very mixed emotions on the anime itself. Aside from the flashy action sequences, the animation caliber more resembles Orguss TV (the most polished early 80s series in terms of animation) than most of the later Artmic OAVS.

I didn't enjoy the heavy-handed emphasis on how "Normal!" "Normal!" and "Fun!" "Fun!" the characters' lives were, and Shogo's realistic but uniformly boneheaded behavior in the final third (from about the point Eve debriefs him) completely cured me of any residual affection for the "good guys" I might've had. I also resented the creators' seeming attempts to manipulate me into rooting for Bahamut/Eve and against BD: what, we're supposed to hate the latter because he's ruthless and military and let the former off the hook because it has a cute avatar? As for the "ending": well, it's reasonably obvious what happens to Shogo, it's something that's a logical followup to the end of the Big Fight, and it is a profoundly asinine point at which to stop the story. I'd don't think I've have commissioned a new ending for it, the way Carl Macek did when he tried to turn this into RT: The Untold Story, but I can certainly sympathize w/ the impulse. Frankly, they should've spent *maybe* half the time setting up the facade-reality, and doubled the amount of time given over to showing how the Megazone world "really" works. And the mecha, though reasonably cool, are by no means the best thing these guys have done.

I'll probably check out the sequels, if only because they sound like they're more focussed on the universe then on these idiotic characters.

Damn, I wish this had been a tv series instead. Maybe then the supporting cast would've been fleshed out enough to make this more endurable.

PS: the "Hotel rescue" is really brilliant. You have this buildup that shows how Yui's and Shogo's more sympathetic and less sympathetic impulses land them in this situation, you have a dashing, uberheroic rescue...and then you're back to the protagonists being their usual selfish selves w/ the aftermath. Cool. Too bad the whole relationship just gets derailed into whiney sentimentalism at the end of the story.

[akcoll99]

Positive vote from me. I've heard about this show for years, but this was the first chance I got to watch it. Really enjoyable story, and beautiful transfer for a show of its age. My favorite aspect of the show was the plethora of in-jokes of pop culture references. The first time through I spotted references to Lupin III, Icicle Works, Streets Of Fire, David Bowie, Dagger Of Kamui, Godzilla, Eric Clapton, and Cream Lemon (!!). The commentary track was really good and I loved the old-school trivia. I even watched it all the way through right after watching the movie, which is something never do... /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

[Thanatos]

I am wondering if Parts 2 and 3 on DVD will have more Mikimoto artwork as extras or inserts. The part 1 insert of Eve (also on the box) is nice, but there is much more Mikomoto artwork available for this series, and we need to see every single one on the DVDs. Because looking at Mikomoto artwork gives me that special feeling... down there. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

aragonvaar, since I watched all of Orguss TV a few months ago, I have to wonder if we were watching the same series. While I worship the Classic Mikomoto character designs, the animation itself was fairly bland and suffered from a truly awful amount of stock mecha recycled frames (ex: the back shot of the Emans' ship, in one episode the mechas wall jump in a canyon and in later episodes they "wall jump" in mid-air /images/graemlins/knowital.gif)

The OVA is clearly a dated product from its own time and that makes it difficult to appreciate nowdays unless you grew up in that period (like I did. AHHH!! /images/graemlins/blush000.gif ). I think the key to understanding and enjoying the characters in MegaZone 23 is recognizing they were teenagers dwellings on their emotions living in the shallow excesses of the 80s brought on by the unstoppable Japanese economy. Once you accept their "nothing's in the future, glamour is the answer" style of living and resentment of "The Man", their motivations and love for fashions now considered criminally insane become clear.