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AnimEigo Plans Kickstarter for Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 Blu-ray Disc

AnimEigo opened a Kickstarter campaign page for its next project, a Blu-ray Disc release of the Metal Skin Panic: MADOX-01 original video anime (OVA) on Thursday. The company posted a project video for the "Unobtainium Edition" release.

The company is aiming to raise US$50,000 within 30 days. The campaign page does not list when the project will start.

AnimEigo had wanted to release the OVA in HD for years, but were unable because the company had thought suitable film assets were not available. The original print was actually at Tokyo Genzо̄shо̄.

The release will include a new HD transfer of MADOX-01 with English subtitles and an English dub, a "Weapons of MADOX-01" featurette, color and line art galleries, list of all Kickstarter backers, a six-panel insert with a poster and list of backers, and all bonus features from the 2003 DVD release.

Rewards for various backer tiers include a production art book and a set of the production check discs.

If the project reaches the second stretch goal, the company will also perform a digital restoration pass on the film, doing additional color grading, dust and scratch removal, image stabilization, camera flicker reduction and splice removal. Both the original transfer and the digital restoration will be included on the Blu-ray Disc. All additional work will be supervised by the OVA's director Shinji Amaraki.

Other stretch goals include a new commentary featuring Aramaki and a "Madox Redux," in which AnimEigo will hire Aramaki to fix any scenes with animation mistakes.

The company describes the OVA's story:

In the first test of a revolutionary personal battle-suit, the MADOX-01, Ace female test-pilot Kusomoto Elle smashes an attacking tank force and humiliates Lt. Kilgore, Japan's most-macho tank-jockey, in the process.

Kilgore swears he'll get even, and he gets his chance when the prototype MADOX literally falls off the back of a truck in the middle of Tokyo.

Meanwhile, the MADOX, which fell off the back of one truck, off a bridge, and into the back of another truck, has found its way into the hands of college student Sujimoto Kōji. Intrigued by the MADOX, Kōji makes the big mistake of fooling with it without reading the manual first, and soon finds himself locked in the suit and zooming around downtown Tokyo.

Unfortunately, the homing signal the now-active MADOX transmits results in a no-holds-barred response by Kilgore; even more unfortunately, even though Kōji doesn't know how to fight, the MADOX does a pretty good job on automatic (it's got "Full Self Driving" capability), resulting in a firefight the likes of which the local residents haven't seen since the last time Gojira hit town.

Concerned about the property damage being caused to some of the world's most expensive real-estate, Elle dons a second prototype MADOX and tries to find and rescue Kōji before Kilgore's many minions totally trash Tokyo.

And apart from the attempts to destroy the suit (and it's driver), Kōji has his own problems: if he breaks his date with his girlfriend, he will lose her forever -- and he's a tad overdressed for the occasion!

The anime premiered in December 1987. The OVA was AnimEigo's first anime release in 1990.

RetroCrush is streaming the anime.

Thanks to jlaking and J.D. Harlock for the news tip.

Source: Kickstarter