Megazone 23 II

I watched this movie long time ago on LD (Laser Disc, HUGE disc) during my junior high years. Although it clearly show "part 2" on the cover it didn't put me off. This movie could be seen stand-alone. The weird part is it's English dub (and I'm not in the US). I think they change Shogo Yahagi to Johny Winters. The best part is of course the song "Himitsu Kudasai" and "Lonely Sunset"(thank god they didn't dub them). A few years later I managed to get the part 1, in the form of Robotech: The Movie (yuck), and the original one in Chinese dub. However the two endings made me a little bit confused because they're different. I must admit the robotech ending is much more make sense. Later I found out in IMDb that this is the original ending (check out megazone 23, alternate version in IMDb). Now it seems that ADV is re-releasing this great movie in DVD. I wish I could get the 2004 DVD version (I hope it's in its original language this time).

I actually like Megazone 23 Part 2 for nostalgic reasons. It's the first mature anime I had ever seen way back in 1986 (not including Battle Of The Planets in the 70's). Since then I've seen hundreds with the best being Akira and Princess Mononok

Plus and Minus

Minus - Aliens could have been more interesting

Plus + The Plot - Characters - Music - Scenes

Plot: hogo has been living underground for several months, hiding from the military and police in the abandoned cities and corridors below Tokyo's surface. The police have been informed that Shogo is the person who murdered Tomomi in episode I (presumably by either the brass, B.D. or one of the other military powers). Shogo has teamed up with the motorcycle gang "Trash". He reunites with Yui (now drawn with brown hair instead of green like in episode I). Although Yui and Shogo are obviously still in love, Yui asks Shogo why he never returned to the loft (at the end of episode I). Shogo has apparently been out of contact with her for a while. As for Eve, she is still releasing music videos but they are all 'pro-war', encouraging young men to join the military. The real Eve however has survived the military's attempt at deactivating her and is now running as an independent program, constantly sending out messages through different media devices (television, radio, etc) to try and make contact with 7G Operator, namely Shogo. Shogo however, having lost the Garland, can not answer her call. The motorcycle gang have made making contact with Eve their prime mission.

My main gripe with this hard to find bit of anime is that the wrong people are the heroes. The biker gang runs around, terrorizing people and causing meyhem, and they are the heroes. The military tries to stop them and they are the villains. Also, there are some robot octopus alien things, but they never really figure in.

Some great gore and decent action segments (especially an awesome extended chase scene through the city) aside, I found this to be a piece of garbage.

If you dont mind over the top violence and lots of blood and guts this Jap Anime is A MUST HAVE! If Robotech started the Jap Anime craze, Megazone 23 is what got you hooked! Seriously if it was out on DVD I would have bought it already.