'Megazone 23' has so much potential to be the classic anime it touts itself as but unfortunately falls short of the mark. 'Megazone' was originally released in 1985 and certainly has the animation style of the mid 80's. It was released on DVD in 1999 and that's the format I'm reviewing. DVD normally makes a movie, especially animation, better with more vibrant colors and crisp lines, but this is not the case in 'Megazone'.
It appears as though they just transferred the master into digital just like if you dubbed any VHS into DVD. You'd think you were watching the VHS version of this anime if you didn't know any better. The only benefit of having this anime on DVD is getting both the English dubbed and subtitled in one package. That's still a great deal since I got my DVD for $15 and the VHS for either dubbed or subtitled would cost at least that much.
I'd rate this anime PG-13 for its adult content, profanity, nudity and violence. Plus the story is rather complex that I'm sure most kids wouldn't understand. The main character is a teenager, Shogo, who accidentally acquires a top-secret government test motorcycle called the Garland. Not only is the Garland a motorcycle but also transforms into an assault mech. Shogo attempts to expose this power bike which only gets him into further trouble as he uncovers a huge government conspiracy.
Shogo discovers that the world he and his friends live in is really a fake environment modeled after the 20th Century. The reality is that they are all living on a huge spaceship controlled by a mega-computer called Bahamood, 500 years past the 20th century. Still with me? This discovery leads to all sorts of encounters with the government who are trying to get the Garland power bike back so they can overthrow the mega-computer and control of the spaceship because another huge spaceship is on a collision course with them.
I admire the makers for creating such a lofty concept back in 1985. Too bad they didn't compose more fitting soundtrack music. The music, although not bad, is stuck in the 80's with its happy-go-lucky melodies. Most of the time the music doesn't contrast well with the serious nature of the plot. In 'Megazone' there is a computer character called Eve that is a pop star and the music she sings is rather good but not used often enough.
The biggest disappointing aspect is that this is only Part 1 and it ends without conclusion. Part 2 does not exist so you'll never know how it all ends. You'll definitely be left hanging after viewing this one. I understand that this is supposed to be a classic and it has plenty of characters and action in its 81 minutes, but I can only recommend this to hardcore anime fans and not for the casual anime fan or those just interesting in seeing a good anime feature. It's ok for anime but not great. There's plenty of other great anime out there to choose from, unfortunately, this isn't one of them. So I'm going to give it 3 stars but thumbs down.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.