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BLACK MAGIC M66

Meanwhile, intrepid and spunky freelance reporter Sybel learns that something is amiss and she heads out with hopes of getting a scoop. In true Lois Lane fashion, she goes a bit too far and the military realize she is spying on their search mission. She and her partner are arrested, but fortunately for themand unfortunately for the soldiersthey encounter the robots at just that moment. The humanoid-looking M-66s are super strong, super fast and super agile, and they can shoot lasers out of their eyes. Needless to say, the military doesn't fare all that well in the battle, though they do manage to cause one of the robots to self-destruct. Sybel uses this diversion as a chance to escape as well.

Sybel, calling upon those keen journalist instincts of hers, realizes that the remaining M-66 is targeting its creator's granddaughter, a cute little anime chick named Ferris. As the robot heads into the central city in search of Ferris, Sybel does the same, knowing that she's the girl's only chance for survival. Soon, she is engaged in a battle to the death as the unstoppable M-66 wreaks havoc in its unflappable quest to find and destroy Ferris.

Written by Masamune Shirow (GHOST IN THE SHELL, APPLESEED) and directed by Shirow and Hiroyuki Kitakubo (BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE), BLACK MAGIC M66 dates back to 1987. It's actually an OVA, not a feature, and as such runs under an hour long. It actually seems as though BLACK MAGIC was meant to become a series featuring the Sybel character, though to the best of my knowledge this never happened.

BLACK MAGIC is heavy on action and light on story and character. The lead, Sybel, never goes further than to function as an anime-Lois Lane typesans Supermanwhile the Colonel is just a cardboard cutout military commander type and Ferris serves simply as a screaming victim. Other stereotypes are also here, including the madcap inventor (Ferris' grandfather) and, obviously, the inscrutable androids.

With that said, the action is quite exciting, particularly in the final fifteen minutes or so, and the animation is decent if not on par with the feature quality anime that we're used to nowadays. Clearly, BLACK MAGIC was influenced by James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR with its unstoppable robot, but that's not a bad thing. This is straight and to-the-point anime, with none of the pretensions or lofty philosophizing that the genre sometimes falls into. Here you get to see the M-66 blow a lot of stuff up, Sybel does a gratuitous shower scene and lots more stuff explodes. You get what you ask for!

The disc features various language options. A less than superb English translation is offered in both Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround and basic stereo, while the original Japanese stereo is also available (with English subtitles). The picture and sound quality are pretty good considering that this is a fairly minor offering from some 15 years ago. Aside from character bios, which are kind of cool, the extra features here tend to follow the Manga Video pattern of Manga catalogs, Manga previews and Manga Web links.

Fans of Shirow and Kitakubo's later work might be disappointed by the relatively skimpy production values of BLACK MAGIC M66, but anime fans who would like to acquaint themselves with the filmmakers' early efforts can start right here.