One of my favorite weird properties of the past is going to get some new attention with the original Megazone 23 OVA. AnimEigo brought it out as a Kickstarter that got underway in 2019 and earlier this year they’ve confirmed that this release is going out of print with only a few copies left between their distributor and what they have in house.
Now, AnimEigo has solicited for a new Blu-ray release that will arrive on November 12th, 2024. It’ll be priced at $39.95 and you can see the artwork for it below.
Originally released in 1985, it was directed by Noboru Ishiguro based on the screenplay by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama based on the original story by Ishiguro and Shinji Aramaki Haruhiko Mikimoto and Toshiro Hirano worked on the characters.
The Japanese cast includes Kumi Miyasato as Eve Tokimatsuri, Masato Kubota as Shogo Yahagi, Kaneto Shiozawa as BD, Maria Kawamura as Yui Takanaka, Mayumi Shō as Mai Yumekanoh, and Miina Tominaga as Tomomi Murashita.
2015 saw the release in Japan of the Megazone 23 30th Anniversary Edition Box Set which worked off a 4K telecine from the negatives. The Japanese edition brought out the complete series across four Blu-ray discs and included the promotional video, pilot film and the original theatrical notices for it. A 64-page booklet was released as well.
The series originally saw release in North America from ADV Films back in the summer of 2004 when it was released on DVD.
The series was part of our Upgrade This campaign last summer. It was also part of our Ten Best Anime of 1985.
Plot concept: 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. Everything turns inside out once Shogo gets his hands on a itop 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.
