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| Shogo and his friend Tomomi discover a shocking secret. |
Also Released As: Megazone 23, Part 1. Basis for: Robotech: The Movie.
Original Release Date: March 9, 1985. Running Time: 81 minutes. Written by: Hiroyuki Hoshiyama. Directed by: Noboru Ishiguro. Produced by: Toru Miura.
THE PLOT:
Shogo Yahagi is a directionless young man. He works at McDonald's and spends his time zipping around Tokyo on his motorcycle. One day, he meets aspiring actress Yui Takanaka, and they strike up a relationship - much to the amusement of Yui's roommates, would-be filmmaker Tomomi and singer Mai.
Then Shogo's friend, Shinji, shows him the experimental motorcycle he is scheduled to test drive. The bike is a government prototype, and it's like nothing Shogo has seen before. But he's barely taken a glance at it before a trio of mysterious men appear, determined to take it back. Shogo gets away with the machine, but Shinji is killed.
Shogo soon discovers the motorcycle's capabilities. It has systems that can listen in on conversations through walls, as well as weapons systems and even the ability to transform into an armored robot form (of course). He resolves to find his friend's killers and avenge him.
That trail leads to a shocking discovery, one that upends everything he thought he knew...
FOREWORD - SEPARATE REVIEWS:
In addition to being a noteworthy anime title on its own merits, Megazone 23 formed the basis for 1986's Robotech: The Movie. My initial intent was to follow the same pattern of my episodic reviews: a single write-up, looking at the changes made between versions and their impact on the end product.
Then I actually watched both films and realized that this simply would not work.
Robotech's television episodes tended to be substantially the same stories as those seen in their parent series. They were Americanized, and often sanitized and simplified, but even the most changed episodes remained recognizable. Megazone 23 and Robotech: The Movie, however, are entirely different films that just happen to share a lot of the same footage.
As a result, I'm separating these into two individual reviews, with the Robotech one to follow next week. This will make it easier for me to organize my thoughts, and it should make both reviews more focused and readable.
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| Shogo with his love interest, Yui. |
CHARACTERS:
Shogo is directionless in the way of many young men, though he seems happy enough in his life. He works at McDonald's. He spends his free time running around on his motorcycle, going out with his friends and picking up girls, and... that's really about it. He's hardly the right person to take on some multilayered conspiracy, and he seems to recognize this.
Yui and her roommates are more focused on their careers. Yui is introduced rushing to an audition and fretting about being late. This takes on a toxic quality midway through, when she comes very close to sleeping with a producer in exchange for a leading role. Tomomi is the most driven and the most independent of them, making a movie entirely on spec and filtering out anything that might interfere with her work. The final roommate, Mei, gets the least to do, and she might as well be wearing a tag that reads, "Don't Open Until Part 2."
One element that I liked quite a bit: Shogo's discovery genuinely impacts him, and he spends most of the rest of the movie grappling with what it means and what (if anything) he should do. This can be frustrating, as Shogo fails to act while events reach, then pass, a crisis point. When he finally does something, his actions are impulsive and foolish. In short, he behaves like a young man of his age and station, rather than like an action hero.
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| Yui and her roommates, Tomomi and Mei. |
BACKGROUND:
Megazone 23 was released as an Original Video Animation (OVA), but that wasn't the intent. It was initially pitched as a television series, Omega City 23, but it failed to find backing. In the end, director Noboru Ishiguro and his studio, Artland, in collaboration with Artmic Co., released it as an OVA... and were probably as surprised as anyone when it ended up becoming an enormous success, sometimes credited with starting an "OVA Boom."
The story would be concluded in another OVA the following year: Megazone 23, Part 2, which was also a hit. I will not be covering Part 2 in this review series. I think it's an adequate finale, but I don't think it matches the quality of the first film; and unlike Part 1, it has no connection to Robotech. Part 3, released in 1989, is an entirely new story that's set centuries later. I haven't seen it, and reviews were noticeably more mixed for it than for the original films.
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| Three gunmen sent to recover the motorcycle. Suits, sunglasses, and even a cigarette - so you know they're evil. |
THOUGHTS:
I already knew Megazone 23's big twist before watching. It's pretty hard to avoid, as even the mention of other films inspired by this one will give the game away. If you somehow don't know the twist, please watch the film before reading any discussions of it. The reveal is extremely well executed, and I suspect would have terrific impact for anyone watching unspoiled.
The twist is far from the only reason to watch. This is a genuinely well-constructed story. The script spends a lot of time focusing on Shogo, Yui, and their friends, giving a good sense of their daily lives. The first half is mostly light in tone: plenty of humor, a visual style that emphasizes energy and vivid colors. Shogo is pursued by the men who killed his friend... but he doesn't seem all that concerned about these chases, mainly celebrating when he discovers that his motorcycle can transform into a robot.
The lightness of the first half makes the later tonal shift all the more effective. Shogo spends most of the back half of the story processing his discovery. The pace becomes slower, matching his grim mood. The story is now carried not by the likable young people, but rather by the villains, who proceed all but unchallenged until the very end. A particularly effective moment shows how society is changing via a music video. Pop star Eve sings a militaristic song on public monitors, the visuals behind her pure war propaganda.
The moment recalls one of the major themes of Super Dimension Fortress Macross, about the power of popular culture. There, it was a positive, Lynn Minmay's songs creating a bridge between societies to make peace a possibility. Here, that same power is used to entice Tokyo youth into enlisting for military service without understanding what they're enlisting for. It's worth noting that director Noboru Ishiguro, whose studio was the major force behind Megazone 23, was also heavily involved in the production of Macross.
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| B. D., the villain, shares information with Shogo. |
OVERALL:
I have one real nitpick: The story peters out a bit near the end. The final scenes seem to be principally concerned with setting the stage for Part 2, and it leaves this film ending on a weak note.
Outside of that, this is not only an influential anime title - it's a legitimately good science fiction movie. I won't say more, because I don't want to reveal any of the film's secrets. Suffice it to say that this remains well worth watching.
Overall Rating: 8/10.
Alternate Version: Robotech - The Movie (not yet reviewed)
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