Product Details

• Actors: Masato Kubota, Maria Kawamura, Mîna Tominaga, Mayumi Shô, Kaneto Shiozawa
• Format: Animated, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 10, 1999
• Run Time: 81 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305473129
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,325 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Megazone 23, Part 1" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Originally released in 1985, Megazone 23 (a.k.a. The Robotech Movie) was one of the earliest anime features. Daredevil biker Shogo Yahagi is always getting into scrapes and asking his friends to bail him out. He's drawn into a deadly governmental cover-up when he borrows the Garland, a top-secret motorcycle that turns into a battle robot. Pursued by B.D., the evil mastermind of the conspiracy, Shogo learns that the Earth was destroyed 500 years ago: humanity has actually been living in an enormous spaceship, Megazone 23, run by the supercomputer Bahamoud. The characters behave improbably, at best. In the midst of these life-and-death intrigues, Shogo finds the time to begin a romance with Yui and to appear with her in an amateur film. He waits until B.D. is about crack a vital computer code to go to bed with Yui--and talk about the developing crisis. Megazone 23 was the first installment of a three-part series, and it ends on a real cliffhanger. The artists were clearly learning their craft when they made the film: the motorcycle chases lack the skillful cutting and dramatic camera angles that would characterize later features. Unrated, but cartoon violence and sex are unsuitable for children. --Charles Solomon

Product Description

The ultimate virtual reality trip! The world literally unravels for a group of Tokyo teens as they attempt to discover the truth surrounding the death of one of their friends in "Mega Zone 23 Part 1." Everything turns inside out once Shogo gets his hands on a top secret power bike and is hunted by the authorities. When Shogo turns to his friends for help, they discover a complex web of dark, political intrigue and shocking government cover-ups.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Streamline finally subtitled, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Megazone 23, Part 1 (DVD)

Its cool that Streamline has finally produced something with subtitled and in its original japanese language, as well as the dubbed version. The plot seems rushed but is otherwise a great anime vid to watch.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Megazone 23: Back With A Vengeance...!!!, June 18, 2004

By 

stryper "stryper" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Megazone 23 - Part 1 (DVD)

Well, I just bought, and watched, my copy of this CLASSIC "Japanamation" (which, for those to young to remember the 80's, is what we use to call "Anime" back in the 80's) OVA (which stands for, Original Video Animation, which meant anything that was animated to go straight to video, and not for play on Japanese TV, as most anime was made for, and you thought that you weren't gonna learn anything, by reading this review... lol) MEGAZONE 23, and am QUITE relieved that the new English dub for this new release, isn't ANYWHERE as BAD, as the past reviewers have said that it was.

Sure, most fans of this title, have grown up with the older Streamline Pictures, English dub, which is a nice dub, except for the fact that the three main girls in the story, all sound like sophisticated ladies, and NOT the young adults that they are actually suppose to be, where as in this new version, the dubbing team has opted for voices that closer mirror the attitudes of the young ladies, which is also nice (my suggestion is that you try and acquire BOTH versions of this anime, so that you can decide for yourself as to which dub you prefer).

Another plus, is the audio commentary (which you should definitely listen to AFTER watching the show if you are new to this title, as there be spoilers afoot, me lads :) which, although, tends to spend more then half of it's time, with the three speakers reminiscing about their old Laser Disc anime collections, does get into some pretty funny good natured kidding about the show itself (i.e. how room items seem to change from scene to scene) and some interesting anecdotal tidbits about the show as well.

The story is shear 80?s, sci-fi-mecha-transformation-actioner, and if you like Macross (or Robotech, as it is widely known here) then you?ll LOVE this, as it?s BIGGER and BADDER, with a nice story.

One thing to take into consideration when watching this though, is he fact that this is part 1 of a 3 part story (actually, really only a 2 part story, as the next part, part 2, really ends the story, where as part 3 is more of an add on to try and cash in on the Akira phenomenon, and, although it has it?s merit, is pretty much a different story) and so, doesn?t have a proper ending, as such, leaving the door WAY open for part 2. So, keep this in mind, as ALL questions WILL be nicely answered, in part 2.

All in all, a nice job was done on this title, and is definitely worth the mula (and for the novice animer out there, this is a title NOT to be missed, trust me ;)

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The movie that made me a anime fan., August 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Megazone 23, Part 1 (DVD)

I first saw this movie in 1985. I just fell in love with anime after that. It's full of action, intrigue, and drama. Awesome battle scenes with transforming mechs. The story line is incredibly complex. If you like anime you should definately get this classic.