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Buried Treasure - Megazone 23 Trilogy


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Descent123





PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 1:57 am Reply with quote
I didn't like the art changes from OVA 1 to OVA 2, but I found the second OVA to be my favorite. I like how the main character is not a fan of adults and I found the action to be better in the second OVA than the first.

I might have to import the Megazone OVA 2 English LD for the dub. Laughing
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:04 am Reply with quote
Quote:
and many are saying the entire system on which the world market was thought to have worked has fallen.


Well, a system only works, if enough people follow the rules. That's the inherent flaw in capitalism-that it assumes the market will make up for the greed and stupidity of the individual. [For example, Al Kahn.]

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I've had numerous occasions to become involved with such powers, and inevitably I'd backed away slowly when nobody could explain to my satisfaction how the system worked.


What? Some producer wanted to do a live-action version of Utena in the style of that live-action DiC version of Sailor Moon? Wink

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Indeed, the late 20s of one's life seems to be, by many accounts, the time when people realize how few respectable people there really are.


I had to learn that in my late teens. Crying or Very sad

Quote:
that the vast majority of things people spend their lives on (building institutions, accumulating fortunes, wielding control) are, in the grand scheme of things, fleeting and pointless. It's a terrible thing to realize.


Did I mention that, when my college came calling me back for a donation last year, I asked for my tuition money back, because my five years of "education" couldn't even net me one year of work?

Quote:
As the baby boomer generation forgot the value of peace and love, and the religious right forgot what Jesus would do and both ultimately stood for nothing other than personal gain, our cynicism was eventually proven accurate.


Christ, a black guy is now leader of the country, and I'm still
cynical, because he only won because the economy crapped out-not because of his skills, education, or work experience. And yet most employers are still playing that "But what can you do for us at this company?" bs with me.

Quote:
Shogo wears what is possibly the only animated Sex Wax jacket in history. (Those things were EVERYWHERE during the 80s!)


I dig the Silverhawks pinball machine myself. Wink

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They all smoke name-brand cigarettes and drink Bud or Heineken seductively, obsessively, as if they were in a commercial for them.


I was thinking of one of those "before it sucked" MTV music documentaries.

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Kazuki Yao lends Shogo his brash, youthful energy


I'll admit part of why I like the OVA is cus of the Kuwabara seiyuu. He's my favorite character.

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But the care of other people and the fostering of human relationships was not what our society has been focused on during my life time.


Especially in L.A.

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As fate would have it, what's happening now is starting to mirror what happened in Megazone: the false world is crumbling, a lot of people aren't going to make it, and it's going to be really really bad for a little while. But if we can survive, and I think we will, we get a do-over. And it's hard not to be optimistic about that.


True, especially since I failed before I even started.

Quote:
Japanese producer Idol Co., Ltd. asked Harmony Gold to make an English version of Part 2 (which they subtitled back into Japanese for laserdisc release as "The International Version"). This version is all American fans got their hands on for years.


Is that the same as the Manga U.K. version?

Quote:
There's a third Megazone OAV, produced a few years later with an entirely new cast and crew. It's not without its charm (most of it musical), but is more of a spinoff than a direct sequel. It's also really dumb, and was so poorly managed as a project that several scenes are missing in-between animation and have only stuttering keyframes. ADV gets my kudos for releasing it, but ultimately I like to forget that one even exists.


Kind of surprised they haven't tried to do a fourth one, what with all those Matrix comparisons, and all...I don't dislike the third OVA, but it drags at times. And it probably would have a better reputation, if it didn't crib material from Phantasy Star.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:33 am Reply with quote
Did this influence Bubblegum Crisis at all, or did they both draw from the same types of inspiration?
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GATSU



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 15279
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:35 am Reply with quote
BGC was influenced by Blade Runner. But it had the same mech designer from Megazone 1.
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daikon6



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 2:38 am Reply with quote
Okay, I'm old and I own Megazone 23 and have watched it many, many times and yes, it looks terrible NOW but THEN it was very much, um, avant garde I guess?
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14746
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:22 am Reply with quote
The one thing I recall from long ago is the explict sex at the end of the first one. Or is that a spoiler? Laughing
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Zipper



Joined: 11 Dec 2008
Posts: 133
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 3:28 am Reply with quote
I love me some Megazone 23. OVA 2 was my favorite. OVA 3 was very odd, but at the end of the day I liked it as well, though it was my least favorite part. This would have worked well as a TV series. Shame that never happened. I remember a couple years ago there was talk of a TV series being produced (I would have preferred it be done in the 80s but would have taken an 00s series) but it never came into fruition.
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JELEINEN



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 253
Location: Iowa
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 4:41 am Reply with quote
Yes!! Megazone 23 part 2 is what got me into anime. A friend of mine had gotten a bootleg copy from a friend of his of the Carl Macek dub of the show. I watched that thing over and over again. I later got a fansub copy through Kodocha (still have it in addition to the ADV released DVD). I'm getting nostalgic thinking back to watching it late at night in the dorm parlor (I was a poor college student who didn't own a TV or VCR).

Personally, I think EVE saved the wrong guy. BD was the better man and had the right idea. Shogo was just a selfish prick spoiler[(the fact that he turns out to be the villain of part 3 is the only thing I liked about that one)]. In my mind BD managed to get away with whatever survivors he could in the end.

My friends and I had a joke that once Shogo and the Trash gang landed on Earth, the human race only last three more days because they killed each other while going through nicotine withdrawal.
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AkiraKaneda



Joined: 01 Jul 2002
Posts: 61
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 7:46 am Reply with quote
Megazone 23 Part 2 still remains the worst totally watchable anime film in my collection. There are plenty of films with better plots that are a nightmare to sit through. There is no plot to the first hour of this movie, really, just smoking and drinking and a modicum of sex. But it is visually arresting enough to make it worth the time; there really hasn't ever been anything else that looked quite like this.
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Renaisance Otaku



Joined: 15 Jan 2004
Posts: 469
Location: Modesto, CA
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 8:44 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed all three parts quite a bit, though three was the worse. I think I liked one the best. Particularly the artstyle. Not that the new style didn't work in two. It did so quite well. Though it was so different that it was hard to connect the original characters a bit. Particularly when Yui cuts her hair. Since it wasn't even the same color, let alobe style, it sort of lacked some of the impact.

Still, a great series. Though the commentary ADV included for one was dreadful. Right down to the rampant mispronunciation of Mospeada. It had some interesting points, but one can't really care much when they go so far as to make fun of a character's death scene if memory serves.
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The Human Spider



Joined: 19 Jan 2007
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:02 am Reply with quote
I didn't know Sex Wax was for real--even though surfing is big where I live I don't know anything about it myself. I remember Members Only jackets as being the most trendy jacket brand in the 80s. The thing that got me totally into the first two MEGAZONES was how authentically they captured the whole 80s feel: the hair, the leotards, the dancing, the music the whole dystopian MAD MAX/BLADE RUNNER-esque sci-fi vibe just screamed This Is The 80s! Definately two of the best classic OVAs. I didn't like the third one as much; compared to the first two it didn't seem to have much personality.
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Anime World Order



Joined: 05 May 2006
Posts: 389
Location: Florida
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 9:56 am Reply with quote
If you're interested in learning more about Megazone 23, specifically Part One, I recommend you listen to an interview we conducted with its director, Noboru Ishiguro. We certainly didn't get to ask him even a fraction of the questions we had for him, but much of it pertained to Megazone 23 Part One on account that it was among the first anime OAVs to be created. I remain hopeful that the proposed Megazone 23 television series will still end up getting made after all these years. Did that PS3 game for Megazone 23 come out after all?

There is debate among fans about which is better: Part One or Part Two. I personally like Part One, but if you resonate with the whole 80s punk scene, then Part Two is definitely the way to go. None of the repeated dub attempts for any of these really grabbed me (I kinda wish I had that goofy Part II dub), but someone at ADV deserves credit for realizing that since nobody in the world was going to care about Megazone 23 The Third they could use the line "I'm the BEST Hard-On player! I beat it EVERY TIME!" and nobody would blink an eye. On that note: is there anywhere online one can view the ADV-produced trailers for Megazone 23? Word has it that they did them in this intentionally kitschy 80s style, but none of my ADV discs seem to include those.


Last edited by Anime World Order on Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:50 am; edited 1 time in total
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Captain Crotchspike



Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 355
Location: Phoenix, AZ
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:23 am Reply with quote
I love both the first and second OVAs, although I'm more of a part one guy. I should probably set aside the time to go more in-depth about it at some point, but for now, I would encourage everyone reading this who hasn't seen the Megazone 23 OVAs to just go out and get it. It's so easy and cheap to get these days that if it even mildly sounds of interest, you should go for it.
Anime World Order wrote:
Did that PS3 game for Megazone 23 come out after all?

It did, it's just that nobody really talks about it. The last I remember hearing of it was a Famitsu (or some such magazine) review where it's apparently said that the story is interesting, but the gameplay isn't, and eyebrows are raised over why the game is on the PS3 in the first place (if you ever see screenshots of this, you'll see why - it's not the kind of game that needed so much horsepower).

As I recall, the plot was basically a continuation from Part 1 that ignores Part 2 and takes place in "2004" (or sometime around then), the Megazone having gone on for years with business as usual. Shogo never resurfaced. The player takes the role of the son of Yui and Shogo, apparently conceived during Part 1's delightful little sex scene, and pilots a Garland that looks just like the original, but is painted blue. Thus the title, Megazone 23: Blue Garland.

I don't know if anyone else tried to go more in-depth since then, I kind of forgot about the thing.
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Teriyaki Terrier



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 5689
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 11:55 am Reply with quote
The 80's sure made some interesting anime, but I'll probably pass this series up as well. Granted, the animation isn't as bad as I thought as it would be. Coruption can happen almost anywhere now and days, but sometimes will get noticed and eventually removed. Unless the issue is really large or has other circumstances, news about these types of events often isn't published.
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cool3865



Joined: 31 Aug 2006
Posts: 770
Location: Austin, TX
PostPosted: Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:43 pm Reply with quote
ah another good ol' 80's anime that i remember watching, now after reading this i wish i could forget about it.
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