Megazone 23

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	Noboru Ishiguro (Parts I–II) Shinji Aramaki (Part III)
Anime film
Megazone 23
Directed by	Noboru Ishiguro
Produced by	Toru Miura
Written by	Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Music by	Shirō Sagisu
Studio	Artland Artmic
Licensed by	NA: Streamline Pictures ADV Films AnimEigo
Released	March 9, 1985[3]
Runtime	80 minutes
Anime film
Megazone 23 Part II: Please Give Me Your Secret
Directed by	Ichiro Itano
Produced by	Toru Miura
Written by	Hiroyuki Hoshiyama
Music by	Shirō Sagisu
Studio	Artmic Artland AIC
Licensed by	NA: ADV Films AnimEigo
Released	May 30, 1986
Runtime	80 minutes
Original video animation
Megazone 23 Part III
Directed by	Shinji Aramaki Kenichi Yatagai
Produced by	Toru Miura Isamu Senda
Written by	Emu Arii
Music by	Keishi Urata
Studio	AIC Artmic
Licensed by	NA: ADV Films AnimEigo UK: Manga Entertainment
Released	September 28, 1989 – December 22, 1989
Runtime	50 minutes (each)
Episodes	2

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]

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

Megazone 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

The 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

The 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

Part I

Part I cast

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

Part II cast

Role	Japanese	English
		International edition (1987)	ADV Films/ Industrial Smoke & Mirrors (2004)
Shougo Yahagi	Kazuki Yao	Johnny Winters	Vic Mignogna
		Kerrigan Mahan
Yui Takanaka	Maria Kawamura	Suzy	Allison Keith
		Barbara Goodson
B.D.	Kaneto Shiozawa	Michael McConnohie	Andy McAvin
EVE	Kumi Miyasato	Diane Michelle	Monica Rial
Lightning	Shigeru Chiba	Tom Wyner	Jason Douglas
Lt. Yuuichirou Shiratori	Show Hayami	Lt. Richard Armstrong	John Gremillion
		Gregory Snegoff
Cindy	Akari Hibino	Melora Harte	Tiffany Grant
Rena	Yoshiko Sakakibara	Suzy London	Kelly Manison
Rakko	Tomohiro Nishimura	Rocky	Greg Ayres
		Bill Capizzi
Dump	Chika Sakamoto	Arlene Banas	Christine Auten
Garam	Kazuhiko Inoue	Gary	Chris Patton
		Sam Fontana
Guts	Kōzō Shioya	Jeff Winkless	George Manley
Jace	Issei Futamata	J.C.	Tad Hathaway
		Jeff Winkless
Eigen Yumekanou	Banjō Ginga	Richland	John Tyson
		Michael Forest
Air Grane FX-101 Admiral	Kazuo Oka	Theodore Lehmann	Phil Ross
Nakao	Kōichi Hashimoto	Nichols	Mike Vance
		Steve Kramer
Woodsman leader	Takurou Kitagawa	Tom Wyner	Gene Tognacci

Part III

Part III cast

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

Megazone 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

Footage 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 specifically for Robotech: The Movie.

Releases

The 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

The 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

Publisher 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

Character 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

References

1. Ross, Carlos. "Megazone 23 Part I". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
2. "ADV Films Announces Street Date for Megazone 23 Part 1 And Other Releases". Anime News Network. April 14, 2004. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
3. Anime-int.com (Archived 2013-06-30 at the Wayback Machine)
4. 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.
5. ja:メガゾーン23
6. "AIC Ad: New Megazone 23, Pretty Sammy Projects in the Works". Anime News Network. February 21, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
7. Antonio Pineda, Raphael (July 6, 2017). "Megazone 23 SIN Remake Project Starts Crowdfunding for Promo Video". AnimeNewsNetwork. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
8. Antonio Pineda, Raphael (March 24, 2019). "Megazone 23 Reboot Project Only Remakes Part I and II". AnimeNewsNetwork. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
9. 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.
10. "Macek Training". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
11. "Megazone 23 - Production History". The Memory Matrix. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
12. "Macek Training". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
13. "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.
14. "Megazone 23 Trilogy - Buried Treasure info". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
15. "Streamline Pictures – Part 4 -". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
16. "Megazone 23 (OVA) - CrystalAcids.com". www.crystalacids.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
17. "メガゾーン23 Blu-ray Archive BOX -30th ANNIVERSARY EDITION-". 27 November 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2018 – via Amazon.
18. Woodhead, Robert J (August 18, 2019). "Megazone 23 Omega Edition". AnimEigo. Kickstarter. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
19. "Megazone 23 (1985) VHD back cover". Retrieved November 22, 2018.
20. "Megazone 23". Hyper. No. 29. March 1996. pp. 38–9.
21. "Megazone 23 - Retroactive Influence". A.D. Vision. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
22. "ONLINE CHAT - Larry & Andy Wachowski". Warner Brothers. Archived from the original on 2008-05-07. Retrieved 2010-03-20.
23. 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.
24. 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.
25. スーパーロボット大戦D (in Japanese). Famitsu. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
26. Barder, Ollie (August 31, 2018). "Garland Toy Review: The Cool Bike From 'Megazone 23' Gets An Even Cooler Toy". Forbes. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
27. メガゾーン23 青いガーランド (in Japanese). Compile Heart. Retrieved April 10, 2023.

External links

• Megazone 23 (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Megazone 23 at IMDb
• AnimeOnDVD review of the series
• Timeline from the Eve Shrine
• Megazone 23 on MAHQ
• Part II International Edition intro clips (Originally from Robotech: The Movie)