[US DVD] Megazone 23 Complete Collection (2009 Edition)

[Chris Beveridge]

Review by Chris Beveridge

Mania Grade: B+
* Audio Rating: B+
* Video Rating: B
* Packaging Rating: C+
* Menus Rating: B
* Extras Rating: B
* Age Rating: 16 and Up
* Region: 1 - North America
* Released By: ADV Films
* MSRP: 29.98
* Running time: 255
* Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
* Disc Resolution: 480i/p
* Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
* Series: Megazone 23

In Summary:
Megazone 23 is old school anime at its height. This is from the time before the animators and studios had to be concerned with things like copyrights and overly protective owners, so you have all sorts of very detailed items from mid 80's Japan, from the cola cans down to the McDonald's menu. There is so much in this show that references other shows and gives nods to the big guys at the time that the more anime you watch the more you get. This is even more true now that the US studios are going back and getting more 80's anime, so things some of us are seeing for the time now only help shows like this even more. Megazone 23 fits the bill of 80's science fiction anime with its heroic leads, lots of women and plenty of equipment that really makes no sense in how it would actually work, but it's filled with lots of style and energy of a group of animators and storytellers who were doing something very new at the time. This is a very fun and raw energetic series that I love returning to and taking in again and again, especially since there’s always some nice new little thing that I discover each time, be it a nuance of story or something in the background animation.