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Megazone 23




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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1818
Location: アメリカ
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 2:27 am Reply with quote
Of course I can look at the Encyclopedia's ratings, but I'd like more detailed opinions about Megazone 23. Is it any good? My initial impression of it just by seeing the pictures and reading the descriptions on the DVD cases, it seems to have a dark Bubblegum Crisis-like feel to it. And I think I recalled seeing some overtly sexual situations in a trailer for it. There isn't a lot of that is there?
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Advent_Nebula



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 932
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 1:59 pm Reply with quote
It is pretty sexual, but to anyone that likes the Robotech/Macross univurse this is one to check out because it takes place after The New Generation Saga.
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Rook



Joined: 25 Jan 2005
Posts: 10
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 9:24 pm Reply with quote
Are you sure Magazone 23 has anything to do with Macross, even Robotech?

I could, obviously, be wrong. But I've never heard of the connection.

I have only watched part of the first DVD volume of MZ23, but it's alright so far. I don't think I've watched enough to get a feel for how its going to pan out. I have seen it said on many a forum that it was one of the biggest anime-inspirations for the Watchowski brothers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:48 pm Reply with quote
We had a thread on Megazone 23 several months ago. Just do a forum search. The thread topic is also Megazone 23.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1818
Location: アメリカ
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:42 pm Reply with quote
Rook wrote:
Are you sure Magazone 23 has anything to do with Macross, even Robotech?

I could, obviously, be wrong. But I've never heard of the connection.


I find it interesting that Macross is so readily associated with Robotech, whereas none of the other components are. From what I've read, Harmony Gold released Megazone 23 as some kind of Robotech OVA. It was called "The Sentinels" or something like that. I think I saw it in the Encyclopedia. In any case, I don't care much about any anime's connection to Robotech.

Randall Miyashiro wrote:
We had a thread on Megazone 23 several months ago. Just do a forum search. The thread topic is also Megazone 23.


I took a look at that thread, but it doesn't really give me the kind of information that I'm looking for. The first post being more like "Who else out there is a Megazone 23 fan?" rather than starting any real discussion about the OVA.
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darkhunter



Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2992
Location: Los Angelas
PostPosted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:52 pm Reply with quote
Okay, Megazone 23, way back in the 80's

In the future, a massive computer create an imaginary world, tricking mankind into belieing all is well.

Shogo Yahagi is a street racer who knows this. Does he keep living in the dream world or is he going to find the truth?

Sound kind of like the Matrix
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Guilhem



Joined: 14 Jun 2004
Posts: 181
PostPosted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:01 am Reply with quote
one3rd wrote:
Rook wrote:
Are you sure Magazone 23 has anything to do with Macross, even Robotech?

I could, obviously, be wrong. But I've never heard of the connection.


I find it interesting that Macross is so readily associated with Robotech, whereas none of the other components are. From what I've read, Harmony Gold released Megazone 23 as some kind of Robotech OVA. It was called "The Sentinels" or something like that. I think I saw it in the Encyclopedia. In any case, I don't care much about any anime's connection to Robotech.

I believe the Robotech movie in question is in fact 'Robotech: the Untold Story' made partly with footages from Macross: DYRL?, the SDC Southern Cross TV serie and Megazone23. It was so much crappy that even HG denies its existence now...

That is the only link between Robotech and Megazone23 afaik: in any case, it is NOT the sequel of the Robotech: The New Generation chapter anyway Cool
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beelzebozo



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 308
Location: Aurora, Colorado
PostPosted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:38 am Reply with quote
Megazone 23 is it's own franchise, with three parts (though the third part has an "a" & "b"). Each has very different character designs and the only consistant factor is the singer, Eve. The first one was definitely not without it's own mistakes (watch for projector reels moving in the wrong directions), but interesting more for it's story, which was fairly original in 1985.

I'll confirm the information about "Robotech the Movie", having seen it 23 times to create an MST3K for NDK. Crying or Very sad The "movie" uses scenes from Megazone 23 & New Generation. Most people who've seen Robotech can even identify the single episode they used. There was some original animation added by Harmony Gold to the story since the original Megazone 23 1 didn't end on a high note. No DYRL footage was in it.

Of the sins of the butcher job they did to create Robotech the Movie include:

- Stretching a 1 minute dance scene into a 3 minute musical number by repeating the same scenes over and over.

- Changing Shogo & Yui's first meeting into a meeting of friends where Becky is mad at Mark for not picking her up on time.

- The city is no longer floating in space, but rather on Earth. Most space scenes are removed and a pivotal space scene is explained as being in a "space simulator".

- While Yui was partners with Shogo on fighting the conspiracy, Becky never seemed to figure out why all these strange things were happening to Mark.

- BD in MZ23 was a subordinate to other military leaders. BD Andrews was clone of the head of the area military in Robotech the Movie.

- In MZ23, Yui was reluctantly willing to sleep her way to get her dancing gig. In Robotech, Becky was almost raped by an sleazy manager.

- Removing the initial discovery of the underground city, all but a millisecond of the love scene, Shogo hanging out with his friends, and mixing up the order of the remaining film.

If I remember right, the movie was only shown in Dallas and was laughed out of the theaters. There are some bootlegs floating around from a British VHS release, but no offical release in the US. Ironically, the original music (by 3 Dog Night) was included on the Robotech collection CD. So now you, too, can "All Go Underground"

"Well, Co. Andrews or whatever your name is, I've got a message from Todd and Kelly........DDDDIIIIIEEEEE!!!!!"
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Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4555
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:47 pm Reply with quote
darkhunter wrote:

Sound kind of like the Matrix


Yes, but stories about the everyday world not being what it appears tp be go all of the way back to Plato's Analogy of the Cave, and there have been sci-fi stories with similar themes that predate both productions.

Ghost in the Shell was a legitimate influence on the Matrix, though not as big an influence as some anime fans make it out to be (more style than anything), but the Wachowski's have specifically denied seeing Megazone 23 prior to the film, and it's an OVA that's very obscure compared to Ghost in the Shell and Akira, so I have no reason to doubt them.
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one3rd



Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1818
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:50 pm Reply with quote
I hoped that this thread would have less Robotech and more subjectivity.
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beelzebozo



Joined: 11 Jun 2004
Posts: 308
Location: Aurora, Colorado
PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 6:34 pm Reply with quote
one3rd wrote:
I hoped that this thread would have less Robotech and more subjectivity.


The original Megazone 23 is a decent OAV by itself. Much better when taken concert with the other 2. The character designs are standard mid-80's, as is the technology. The best comparison is probably Macross Plus, with the hot-head main character, new technology and a virtual idol singer.

Definitely pushed the boundaries of the "new" (at the time) OAV market with an extended love scene. This "world is a lie" idea was fresh to most people at the time.

Not a bad show. It's good to know your roots.
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Randall Miyashiro



Joined: 12 Jun 2003
Posts: 2451
Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park
PostPosted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 8:25 pm Reply with quote
We laughed throughout Robotech the movie when it aired in San Jose in 1991. There is one seen where Tomomi is looking through some of her film footage and say something like "this film hasn't even been edited yet" which sent a flood of laughter through the theater. The scenes from Southern Cross do not fit into the story at all, and involve an attack on a base which reminded me of the old Death Star sequence from Star Wars. I can't really recall too much more since it was 14 years ago during the middle of Animecon.
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