Megazone 23

Shougo Yahagi is a young motorcycle enthusiast living in a world of hot bikes, hard rock, and J-pop idols. The general populace go about their lives in peace, under the watchful eyes of a computer program in the guise of pop idol sensation Eve, unbeknownst to them. Shougo himself is mostly concerned with riding his motorcycle and picking up beautiful women like Yui Takanaka, who aspires to be a dancer.

Shougo's life suddenly changes when his friend, Shinji Nakagawa, shows him a top-secret project: the "Garland," an advanced motorcycle that can transform into a robot. Ambushed by the military, Shougo hijacks the Garland and escapes into the city. Evading the military with the help of Yui and her friends, he gradually discovers that their idyllic society is only an illusion.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yahagi, Shougo Main

Kubota, Masato Japanese

Takanaka, Yui Main

Kawamura, Maria Japanese

B.D. Main

Shiozawa, Kaneto Japanese

Takanaka, Eiji Main

Kusao, Takeshi Japanese

Yumekanou, Mai Main

Shou, Mayumi Japanese

Narahara, Ryo Main

Kasahara, Hiroko Japanese

Tokimatsuri, Eve Supporting

Miyasato, Kumi Japanese

Dump Supporting

Sakamoto, Chika Japanese

Rayna Supporting

Sakakibara, Yoshiko Japanese

Murashita, Tomomi Supporting

Tominaga, Miina Japanese

Uchiyama, Shuuji Producer

Ishiguro, Noboru Director

Itano, Ichirou Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director, Key Animation

Aramaki, Shinji Director, Original Creator

Reviews

Aug 29, 2015

Mol0ko

Recommended

The most important thing to be aware of when going into Megazone 23 is that it's in three very different parts. Each part is directed by someone different, so the quality fluctuates drastically.

The first part is outstanding. As to be expected from Noboru Ishiguro. The story has some incredible twists, the art is top notch and there's plenty of great 80s j-pop. I'd give this part a 9/10 and was really looking forward to what happened in the next episode.

So you can imagine the disappointment when in the second part, everything was entirely different. The characters do not even look remotely similar to how ... they do in part one and the conclusion feels rather lackluster in comparison to the introduction. The storytelling and art is by no means bad, but is clearly not to the same standard.

Part three has even fewer similarities; there is an entirely new cast and setting, and only has passing reference to the first two parts. This is more of a sequel than part of the same story. By this point it's really no different from any of the other sci-fi OVAs out there.

The one thing that's consistently great is the music. 80s and 90s J-pop, yes please.

In short, watch part one, but prepare to have the quality drop considerably by the time you reach the end (if you even get that far).

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Apr 25, 2023

DISKOWN

Mixed Feelings

Megazone 23 is an OVA series that can really be broken down into two parts. The first following Shougo and the second following Eiji. The first part is really well animated and has an intriguing plot line but that's about it. The narrative, while interesting, is not fully developed. The characters are not overly memorable and the pacing is erratic. In contrast the storytelling of the second part is executed much better. However the animation, while good, is not on par with the first part. Also the characters remain a weak point. Despite numerous promising concepts, Megazone 23 ... suffers from overall inconsistency, leaving much to be desired.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Oct 17, 2015

BowlingJD

Not Recommended

The only way to begin with Megazone 23 is to first realize that this will feel like watching three separate anime. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3-4 can all be taken as separate stories in the same universe. It began with director Noboru Ishiguro (Macross) doing Part 1, and then the character designers were different in each part as well as the directors.

Megazone 23 is a very original anime with a setting that will enthrall the viewer into the story, characters, and even the representation of the era it was made in. Yes, this is incredibly 80’s. Part 1 by Noboru Ishiguro is absolutely ... outstanding. There are so many similarities to the art design and music of the Macross series, and the plot development is top notch. Not surprising that this show eventually became a movie, “Robotech: The Untold Story.” Part 1 focuses on a biker name Shogo and his run-in with a top-secret government weapon called Bahamut. He learns more and more about what the government is, what they want, and how it affects not only him but everybody in the city in which he lives in. Not to mention the interaction with the cities pop sensation named “Eve” and his eventual love interest Yui. Art, music, plot; this first part to the OVA series is top notch.

Now, due to the times and certain decisions being made, a change in essentially everything to series happened going forward in parts 2,3, and 4. A change in staff, lower quality, even the way the characters are drawn all changed. For example, Yui changed from Macross style and green hair to Sue with short brown hair and a generic character design. Basically, the entire OVA series goes downhill incredibly fast. It is a complete dumpster dive after how great part 1 was. Part 3 and 4 goes even further with it being a completely different setting and time period. The same lowered quality and generic character designs are shown again. This time, even the music, which was Megazone’s last saving grace, is pretty much gone.

Sadly, the series falls way short on a setting and plot with so much potential that takes the viewer into the universe of Megazone. If only the concurrent parts after the way the series began were anything remotely similar to Part 1; Megazone 23 could have been something on the scale of a Gundam or a Macross. Unfortunately, the series as a whole is executed horribly. Watch Part 1 and pretend it was the only part made.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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