Before we get too deep into the review, you’re probably wondering about the title. What is Megazone 23? Why isn’t it explained over the course of three movies? As I learned from a commentary on the Blu-ray, the U.S. military divided up Japan into zones during their occupation after World War II. Tokyo was listed as Zone 23. Megazone 23 is just a larger Tokyo which is where the three films are located. The three movies are important because the first film was the second Original Video Animation (OVA) put out in Japan. Instead of seeing the movie in a theater or on television, people bought the film on VHS, Laserdisc and even Betamax in 1985. In a sense, Megazone 23 was a futuristic film that helped usher in the future of anime.
Shougo Yahagi is a teenager living his best life in Tokyo of the ’80s. He’s got great hair and a hot bike. He has a way with flirting with the ladies including Yui Takanaka. He’s living in prime MTV ’80s with the hair and fashions in overdrive. He’s enjoying what he’s got going, but he does want more. More in this case is a government prototype motorcycle called Garland. He finds himself riding it and discovers the bike has a lot of power. It has one amazing feature that turns Garland into a robot with Shougu inside the body. The government wants their bike back. What Shougo quickly learns is that this motorcycle isn’t even close to the biggest secret that’s being held back from him and the citizens of Tokyo. He gets inside an elevator and when the doors open, his whole world is blown away. I won’t say what he discovers since that would ruin your experience. This is a major thing so I’m not overhyping the spoiler level.
Megazone 23 was supposed to be a TV series last 12 episodes. In the midst of production, things went bad. The producers didn’t completely abandon the show. Instead they took the episodes that had been made and turned them into the Megazone 23 movie. Instead of hustling for movie space or a new TV channel, they went the OVA route. This method of going straight to the consumers proved extremely popular. The producers were able to release Megazone 23 Part II: Please Give Me Your Secrets a year later. Shougo Yahagi is still exposing the fact that his life has been a lie. He’s doing his best to survive and expose the truth to others. The third film was released in 1989 and switches things up. Shougo Yahagi is no longer the hero although he’s part of the plot. The action takes place centuries later than the first two movies. It’s almost a completely different film except it does have the connecting tissue to Shougo Yahagi and a character that I can’t reveal without ruining your enjoyment of the first two films. Megazone 23: The Complete Trilogy is a special place where the prime of the ’80s get ripped apart by science fiction nightmares.
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. This is exact aspect ratio what you would have seen if you’d imported the VHS or Laserdisc in the late ’80s. The 1080p transfer is so much better. You’ll see the details the animators painted into Tokyo of 1985. This is the resolution you wanted to see when you paid $120 to import the VHS tape. The Audio is English DTS-HD 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo. There’s also the Japanese track in DTS-HD 2.0 stereo. The subtitles are in English, German and captions for just the songs and signs that are in Japanese.
Color Art Gallery has over 40 images of character studies, the laserdisc jackets and insert posters.
Line Art Gallery has over 120 images of black and white character studies, robot breakdown, vehicle designs and weapons.
US DVD Box Trailer (1:38) has robot fighting.
US Blu-ray Trailer (1:46) shows off the new transfers. It contains sneaks of all three films.
Liner Notes by Giles Poitras is 89 text screens that give a sense of the three movies.
Megazone 23
Streamline Pictures Dub is a previous English track.
Commentary with Mecha Designer Gaku Miyao includes Hiroki Sato is in Japanese, but there are English subtitles. He’s blown away by how well drawn the cars are in the traffic scenes.
Commentary with Advance Film Crew includes Matt Greenfield, David Williams and Janice Williams who worked on the ADR. They point out that Megazone 23 is the second OVA ever made when it came out in 1985. They point out that it cost one of them over $100 to import the first film on VHS when it came out. The laserdisc was a little less expensive. They had to buy laserdisc. This is where I learned about the Megazone 23 title.
Japanese Release Trailer (2:23) opens with a song followed by motorcycle action. It’s coming to this theater.
Japanese Promo (2:16) opens with aerobic workout.
US DVD Trailer (2:53) questions if the most people are living in the perfect prison. Were the ’80s that cool?
Megazone 23 Part II
International Version Dub (96:20) is has a different voice cast and an introduction.
Japanese Release Trailer (3:03) talks about the power of love before blasting us with space battles.
US DVD Trailer (1:30) lets us know who is back. We’re getting an army of bikers.
Megazone 23 III
Manga UK Dub (104:56) is a different mix.
UK VHS Prologue (2:42) gives away the truth of Tokyo. Don’t watch this before you see the first two films.
UK VHS Trailer (1:22) welcomes you to a cyber space force.
Japanese Release Trailer (3:31) is a spoiler if you haven’t seen the first two.
Japanese Release Promo (4:33) gives
Animeigo presents Megazone 23: The Complete Trilogy. Directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Shinji Aramaki & Kenichi Yatagai. Starring the Voices of Kazuki Yao, Kumi Miyasato, Kaneto Shiozawa, Maria Kawamura, Takeshi Kusao and Hiroko Kasahara. Running Time: 272 minutes. Rating: Unrated. Release Date: November 12, 2024.
