Megazone 23 (メガゾーン23, Megazōn Tsū Surī) is a three-part Japanese mecha original video animation created by Noboru Ishiguro, written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama and Emu Arii, and directed by Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai, and Shinji Aramaki. The series debuted in 1985. It was originally titled Omega Zone 23 (オメガゾーン23, Omega Zōn Tsū Surī) but the title was changed just before release.[4]
| Megazone 23 | |
 Cover to the NA/R1 Blu-Ray release from AnimeEigo for the entire OVA series. The cover shows the Garland mech. | |
| メガゾーン23 (Megazōn Tsū Surī) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Action,[1][2] mecha |
| Created by |
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| Anime film | |
| Megazone 23 | |
| Directed by | Noboru Ishiguro |
| Produced by | Toru Miura |
| Written by | Hiroyuki Hoshiyama |
| Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
| Studio | |
| Licensed by | |
| Released | March 9, 1985[3] |
| Runtime | 80 minutes |
| Anime film | |
| Megazone 23 – Part II | |
| Directed by | Ichiro Itano |
| Produced by | Toru Miura |
| Written by | Hiroyuki Hoshiyama |
| Music by | Shirō Sagisu |
| Studio |
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| Licensed by |
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| Released | May 30, 1986 |
| Runtime | 80 minutes |
| Original video animation | |
| Megazone 23 – Part III | |
| Directed by |
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| Produced by |
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| Written by | Emu Arii |
| Music by | Keishi Urata |
| Studio |
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| Licensed by |
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| Released | September 28, 1989 – December 22, 1989 |
| Runtime | 50 minutes (each) |
| Episodes | 2 |
The story follows Shougo Yahagi, a delinquent motorcyclist whose possession of a government prototype bike leads him to discover the truth about the city. Released on the VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc and VHD formats, the first part was a major commercial success in Japan upon release in 1985. It was also adapted into Robotech: The Movie (1986) in North America. The film's concept of a simulated reality has drawn comparisons to later films including Dark City (1998), The Matrix (1999) and Existenz (1999). It also inspired the video game 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (2019).
Plot
editMegazone 23's story is set in the far future of the human race, after, in the early 24th century, various environmental issues rendered Earth uninhabitable, forcing humanity to leave in several massive colony ships, the titular Megazones. The story itself follows the population of Megazone Two Three, based on 1985's Tokyo, Japan, where the population has forgotten their status as space travellers.
Part I and II
editThe first two parts occur roughly 500 years after humanity left Earth, as the government attempt to hack into the civic computer, Bahamut, for their city, in order to use the city's benevolent artificial intelligence, known as Eve, to influence the people to help them in a near-endless war against the Dezalg, advanced humans from a rival Megazone.
Thrown into this is Shogo Yahagi, after he is given ownership of a strange experimental bike by an old friend of his. Over the course of the story, he discovers how false his world is, and eventually makes contact with the EVE Program, who enlists him to assist humanity in any way he can. However, unfortunately, before he can do anything meaningful, the city's government become focused on the destruction of the Dezalg, and decide to terminate Shogo and Eve, who has fled into cyberspace. In the end, Eve manages to save Shogo and his friends, sending them in Bahamut's system core to Earth as the battling ships are destroyed by an automated lunar defense system called Adam, ending the conflict, at the price of an unknown number of people on both ships.
Part III
editThe third part occurs several centuries after this, with a hacker named Eiji Takanaka, who is scouted by a rebel group working against the teachings of a mysterious spiritual leader known as Bishop Won Dai. Sion, a high-ranking member of the rebel group, who work under the aegis of Orange Amusements, begins scouting Eiji, while also investigating a strange program called Project Heaven that the E=X Bureau, Won Dai's elite staff, are preparing. Sion manages to confront Eiji as Orange attempt to stop whatever Project Heaven is, and, badly wounded, instructs Eiji to go to the lowest point in the city, finding the real, centuries-old, EVE Tokimatsuri, who was left in suspended animation, meant to be awoken by Shogo Yahagi. She takes him to Bahamut, meeting the AI version of EVE from the previous two parts, while Sion manages to stop Orange from making the same mistake as several centuries before, using it to broadcast the E=X's master plan. In the end, Eiji and EVE confront Won Dai, and he is slain, revealing he is actually Shogo Yahagi as he dies. EVE heads to the ADAM moonbase to shut down and destroy it, while also taking out the city's computer, finally beginning the final part of the plan enacted around a millennia before, while Eiji heads off to meet with his girlfriend Ryo to begin his life anew.
Cast
editPart I
edit| Role | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Streamline Pictures (1995) | ADV Films/Industrial Smoke & Mirrors (2004) | ||
| Shougo Yahagi | Masato Kubota | Bob Bergen | Vic Mignogna |
| Yui Takanaka | Maria Kawamura | Barbara Goodson | Allison Keith |
| B.D. | Kaneto Shiozawa | Gregory Snegoff | Andy McAvin |
| EVE | Kumi Miyasato | Iona Morris | Monica Rial |
| Mai Yumekano | Mayumi Shou | Lia Sargent | Sasha Paysinger |
| Tomomi Murashita | Mina Tominaga | Edie Mirman | Hilary Haag |
| Coco | Hitoshi Takagi | Mike Reynolds | John Swasey |
| Hiroki "Morley" Mori | Yuuji Mitsuya | Kerrigan Mahan | Kurt Stoll |
| Shigeru "Chombo" Tomota | Katsumi Toriumi | Kirk Thornton | Mark Laskowski |
| Producer | Kazuyuki Sogabe | Jeff Winkless | Mike MacRae |
| Senior officer | Daisuke Gouri | Russel Case | Dan Mackey |
| Nakao | Ikuya Sawaki | Steve Kramer | Mike Vance |
| Director General | Hisashi Katsuta | Tom Wyner | Mike Kleinhenz |
| Reporter | Hiromi Yokoi | Rebecca Forstadt | Tiffany Grant |
| Staff Officer 1 | Ken Yamaguchi | David Povall | Jason Douglas |
| Staff Officer 2 | Kōichi Hashimoto | Simon Prescott | Kevin Charles |
| Sergeant | Yoshio Kawai | David Zed | James Reed Faulkner |
| Prime Minister | Kousuke Tomita | ||
| Communications officers | Nobuo Tobita | David Povall
Jeff Winkless Simon Prescott |
Matt Culpepper
Stuart Krohn |
| Woman in BD's bed | Maya Okamoto | Kelly Manison | |
| Navigator | Ichirou Itano | Steve Kramer | Stuart Krohn |
| Eigen Yumekanou | Kiyoshi Kobayashi | Michael Forest | John Tyson |
Part II
editPart III
edit| Role | Japanese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manga Entertainment/ World Wide Group (1995) | ADV Films/ Industrial Smoke & Mirrors (2004) | ||
| Narrator | Yumi Tōma | Peter Marinker | Tiffany Grant |
| Eiji Takanaka | Takeshi Kusao | Michael McGhee | Jay Hickman |
| EVE | Saki Takaoka | Annemarie Lawless | Monica Rial |
| Ryou Narahara | Hiroko Kasahara | Larissa Murray | Jessica Boone |
| Dr. Jakob Halm | Matoko Ataka | Adam Matalon | Illich Guardiola |
| Dr. Shimuka Brody | Mika Doi | Laurel Lefkow | Shelley Calene-Black |
| Lisa | Maria Kawamura | Jana Carpenter | Anita Vasquez |
| Zion | Kōichi Yamadera | Stuart Milligan | Tommy Drake |
| Bud | Nozomu Sasaki | Walter Lewis | Spike Spencer |
| Lester | Kazuki Yao | Alan Marriott | Kevin Brown |
| Drakman | Osamu Saka | William Roberts | John Swasey |
| Miki | Yuriko Fuchizaki | Julia Brahms | Michelle Maulsby |
| Akira | Mitsuo Iwata | Martin McDougall | Kevin Corn |
| Edoval | Kiyoyuki Yanada | Peter Woodward | Victor Carsrud |
| Bishop Won Dai | Kōji Nakata | Robert Glenister | Chris Patton |
| Clark | Masato Kubota | Ryan Worthington | |
| Dominique | Megumi Hayashibara | Tiffany Grant | |
Production
editMegazone 23 was conceived as a 12-episode television series set to air on Fuji TV, but it was changed to a direct-to-video project after the sponsors withdrew their support mid-production. According to Noboru Ishiguro, the end result was a "compilation movie" of already produced episodes. Megazone was not conceived as a multi-part story. As such, the original release of "Part I" lacks the subtitle that has been added to subsequent re-releases.
Original mecha designs for the OVA series were created by Shinji Aramaki, while character designs were made by Toshihiro Hirano and Haruhiko Mikimoto, who would provide Eve Tokimatsuri's character designer for all three parts. For "Part II", Yasuomi Umetsu was the character designer, and for "Part III", Hiroyuki Kitazume took over.
The original planned title was "Omega City 23," then "Vanity City" and "Omega Zone 23," but trademark issues compelled the producers to a title change. The number "23" was originally a reference to the 23 municipal wards of Tokyo. In the retroactive continuity established by Part III, the number refers to the 23rd man made city-ship, with Megazone 1 named "Big Apple." However, the title is pronounced "Megazone Two Three" as referenced by several reference books and anime magazines published during the release of the series, the Japanese Wikipedia entry,[5] and even within the series itself in "Day of Liberation."
A 2017 ad on the Japanese crowdfunding platform Campfire listed that AIC is working on a remake and a new project in the series.[6] Soon after, AIC announced that the project would be a remake of the series titled Megazone 23 SIN, and a sequel titled Megazone XI would also be in production with character designer Masahiko Komino.[7] At AnimeJapan 2019, AIC announced that only Parts I and II of the original Megazone series would be remade in the reboot series.[8] On March 25, 2023, AIC announced that development on the reboot series started under the codename "G-PROJECT" and that it is currently in its planning phase.[9]
Alternative versions
editFootage from "Part I" was combined with Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross by Carl Macek to create Robotech: The Movie in 1986.[10] The new cut reestablished Shogo's character as Mark Landry and included a new ending animated by Tatsunoko specifically for Robotech: The Movie.
Releases
editThe first part was released on the VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc and VHD formats in 1985.[11]
Megazone Part II International was released on laserdisc in Japan, which included an English-language voice cast that Carl Macek had orchestrated.[12] The consequent adaptation rewrote Shogo as "Johnny Winters" and Yui as "Sue." This creates a continuity error, as the name that appears on her bike helmet remains unchanged. The International Edition also added a narration to the exclusive alternate footage from Robotech: The Movie; the retooled scene became an introduction to Part 2.[13][14] It was not included in the out-of-print DVD Box Set, but was available as a bonus item to those who purchased all three installments individually. The International Edition was also released as a Region 2 DVD bundled with the Limited Edition of the PS3 game Megazone 23: Aoi Garland.
Macek's Streamline Pictures produced and released an unedited dubbed version of Part 1 to VHS in 1995, which was released to DVD in 1998 by Image Entertainment. Streamline also planned on releasing the other two parts, but was unable due to a dispute with distributor Orion Pictures.[15] Manga Entertainment released a dubbed version of Part 3 in the United Kingdom.[16]
In 2004, ADV Films released each installment of the series with a newly produced English dub and the original Japanese language track. The 2004 editions also contained extensive liner notes on the development of Megazone 23. ADV released a complete collection in 2007. With the closure of ADV in 2009, the series was out-of-print in the US. Megazone 23 was remastered onto Blu-ray in Japan, and released on November 27, 2015.[17]
AnimEigo launched a Kickstarter campaign for the release of the series in August 2019, similar to Bubblegum Crisis one before, and released the Megazone 23 Omega Edition Blu-ray Box in March 2021. It includes the International Edition, Streamline, and ADV English dubs, with only the Manga English dub omitted.[18]
Reception and legacy
editThe first part was a major commercial success in Japan upon release in 1985, selling over 216,000 copies in Japan, mostly to video rental stores.[11] At a price of ¥7,800,[19] the first part grossed approximately ¥1.7 billion from video sales in Japan.
The anime received a positive English-language review from Australian magazine Hyper in 1996, calling it "Excellent" and rating it 8 out of 10. The reviewer said it "is one of the more original" sci-fi anime "to have hit these shores" and that, despite "a smaller budget," the art is "beautifully designed and finished." They said it is "a black and cynical look at mankind and technology" which makes it "perfect Cyberpunk fare."[20]
Influence
editPublisher ADV has compared and found many similarities between the Megazone 23 series and The Matrix (1999),[21] but The Wachowskis have denied it was an influence during the development of the film series.[22] Megazone 23 has also drawn comparisons to the films Dark City (1998) and Existenz (1999).[23] It also heavily influenced the video game 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (2019).[24]
Video games
editCharacter and vehicles from Megazone 23 appear in Super Robot Wars D for the Game Boy Advance.[25][26]
In 2007, a video game based on the series, entitled Megazone 23: Aoi Garland, was released in Japan for the PlayStation 3.[27]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Ross, Carlos. "Megazone 23 Part I". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ "ADV Films Announces Street Date for Megazone 23 Part 1 And Other Releases". Anime News Network. April 14, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- ^ Anime-int.com (Archived 2013-06-30 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ 緊急特報!!あの「マクロス」のスタッフがオリジナルビデオアニメに挑戦「オメガゾーン23」 [Breaking News!! The staff of 'Macross' are challenging it with an original anime video 'Omega Zone 23']. My Anime (in Japanese). Tokyo, Japan: Akita Shoten: 117. October 1984.
- ^ ja:メガゾーン23
- ^ "AIC Ad: New Megazone 23, Pretty Sammy Projects in the Works". Anime News Network. February 21, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
- ^ Antonio Pineda, Raphael (July 6, 2017). "Megazone 23 SIN Remake Project Starts Crowdfunding for Promo Video". AnimeNewsNetwork. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ Antonio Pineda, Raphael (March 24, 2019). "Megazone 23 Reboot Project Only Remakes Part I and II". AnimeNewsNetwork. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- ^ 新メガゾーン２３リブートプロジェクト「G-PROJECT」始動のおしらせ. AIC Rights Co, Ltd. March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
- ^ "Macek Training". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
- ^ a b "Megazone 23 - Production History". The Memory Matrix. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
- ^ "Macek Training". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "YouTube - UPDATED! Megazone 23 Part 2 Laserdisc opening pt 1 of 2". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Megazone 23 Trilogy - Buried Treasure info". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "Streamline Pictures – Part 4 -". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ "Megazone 23 (OVA) - CrystalAcids.com". www.crystalacids.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ^ "メガゾーン23 Blu-ray Archive BOX -30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION-". 27 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2018 – via Amazon.
- ^ Woodhead, Robert J (August 18, 2019). "Megazone 23 Omega Edition". AnimEigo. Kickstarter. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ "Megazone 23 (1985) VHD back cover". Retrieved November 22, 2018.
- ^ "Megazone 23". Hyper. No. 29. March 1996. pp. 38–9.
- ^ "Megazone 23 - Retroactive Influence". A.D. Vision. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ "ONLINE CHAT - Larry & Andy Wachowski". Warner Brothers. Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
- ^ Pellitteri, Marco; Bouissou, Jean-Marie; Fratta, Gianluca Di; Martorella, Cristiano; Suvilay, Bounthavy (2010). The Dragon and the Dazzle: Models, Strategies, and Identities of Japanese Imagination : a European Perspective. Tunué. p. 607. ISBN 9788889613894.
- ^ かくして快作『十三機兵防衛圏』は生まれり──インタビュー・総括編。｢キラキラしたものを詰め込んだ」開発のヴァニラウェア神谷盛治氏らに訊く. Famitsu (in Japanese). December 11, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
- ^ スーパーロボット大戦D (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Barder, Ollie (August 31, 2018). "Garland Toy Review: The Cool Bike From 'Megazone 23' Gets An Even Cooler Toy". Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ メガゾーン23 青いガーランド (in Japanese). Compile Heart. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
