Megazone 23 - A Comprehensive Website?

[Ginrai]

Years and years ago I had a Megazone 23 website but I let it die and have been planning to bring it back for some time. I've been collecting tons of Megazone 23 stuff (you may remember my post about Megazone 23 Literature a while back), so I finally built a new site, bought a domain and have been scanning and posting away.

The site is: http://www.megazonetwothree.com

Now much of what's here so far is place holder. I scanned a bunch of books but I just put up thumbnails. I will eventually link to little information pages with big scans of both front and back and an explanation of what's inside them. I've also just tossed up Yamato's promo pics of the Garland toys and haven't taken any pictures of my own yet, and I will do that.

For the Megazone OVAs I'm going to include sections on characters (with lots of scans), mecha (also with lots of scans) and plot, and I will be linking to reviews I've done of Megazone videos on Destroy All Podcasts. I will also review the two games Megazone appeared in (Super Robot Wars Destiny for GBA and Megazone 23: Blue Garland for PlayStation 3) and have a bunch of screen captures and such to go with those as well.

I also want to try to get comprehensive with all the different versions of the OVAs released, but I definitely do not have complete information there. If anyone can provide more info there, that would be awesome. I know of so far:

* Megazone 23 Part 1

Victor VHS (Japanese)

Streamline/Orion VHS (American)

Victor LD (Japanese)

Victor DVD (Japanese)

Streamline/Image DVD (American)

ADV DVD (American)

ADV DVD w/ Art Box (American)

* Megazone 23 Part 2

Victor VHS (Japanese)

Victor LD (Japanese)

Harmony Gold? Overseas Edition (International)

Victor DVD

ADV DVD (American)

* Megazone 23 III

Victor VHS Episode 1 (Japanese)

Victor VHS Episode 2 (Japanese)

Victor LD Episode 1 (Japanese)

Victor LD Episode 2 (Japanese)

ADV DVD (American)

* Megazone 23 Complete Collection

ADV Version 1 DVD (American)

ADV Version 2 DVD (American)

Am I missing anything?

Also I don't pay much attention to anime music and I know there are a ton of records and casette tapes and CDs for Megazone. Does anyone know about that stuff?

I also don't pay much attention to model kits. Does anyone know about them?

[RavenHawk]

I have two completely different US releases of Megazone 23 on DVD. One is part of that collection, the other came out a good few years before that and was just a single standalone disc.

I also have a couple Megazone books that I picked up off of eBay. I'll see if you have those on your site already.

BTW, how is that GBA game? Worth getting, just for the Garland appearance?

Also, have you looked at this site? Some cool info.

http://www.mahq.net/mecha/megazone23/megazone23.htm

EDIT:

Just looked at your site. You do have the two DVD editions and all the books that I have on there already.

Here's something you may not be aware of. The Bubblegum Crisis RPG, among a lot of unused ARTMIC designs there, had a Highway Star with a transformation HIGHLY similar to the Garland.

Edited May 24, 2009 by RavenHawk

[RavenHawk]

Pics of what I mentioned above:

EDIT:

Adding this as an edit, so I don't fill up this thread with my replies. Since you have Robotech: Art 3 shown because of the Megazone references, you may want to include the Anime Bikes book that has a couple pages of Megazone in it. You can see the cover in my avatar (has a new version of the Garland drawn by Shinji Aramaki next to a new version of the MOSPEADA).

Edited May 24, 2009 by RavenHawk

[Ginrai]

BTW, how is that GBA game? Worth getting, just for the Garland appearance?

Super Robot Wars D is pretty fun if you like strategy games, but the Garland is not one of the robots you can pick from the beginning of the game. You have to play it some and unlock it (and pick the right pathway), so it's worth it if you already like this kind of game, and have a walkthrough! You can muddle through the story to get to the fighting without help just fine, but you will probably have trouble getting to Shogo without one.

Oddly, the story covers Megazone 23 Part 2, but it uses the Part 1 designs.

Also, have you looked at this site? Some cool info.

http://www.mahq.net/mecha/megazone23/megazone23.htm

Yeah, I've definitely been to MAHQ before and while it has some decent stuff, I want to have lots of big pictures. If I have a complaint about MAHQ, it's that it has very few pictures of each individual robot and the pictures are not very high quality. Being a Megazone 23 dedicated site will also let me get into much greater detail of course!

Just looked at your site. You do have the two DVD editions and all the books that I have on there already.

Here's something you may not be aware of. The Bubblegum Crisis RPG, among a lot of unused ARTMIC designs there, had a Highway Star with a transformation HIGHLY similar to the Garland.

Wow, that is pretty cool. The bike mode really resembles the EX Garland from Megazone 23 III. Cool! I wouldn't put it on the site since it's not really Megazone, but I love all that Kakinuma stuff. There are some really interesting unused mecha designs for Megazone. It was originally intended to be a TV show so there's a lot of preproduction art that was never used.

[Sdf Prime]

You have a nice site there Ginrai, I had no idea there were so may Meagazone 23 books.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Way to go, Ginrai. I'll bookmark it as soon as the site is done.

So, the only way to have the alternate ending for Robotech the Movie in DVD is getting the International Edition of the Blue Garland Game?

[Ginrai]

You have a nice site there Ginrai, I had no idea there were so may Meagazone 23 books.

Haha, neither did I until I started buying them!

[Ginrai]

Way to go, Ginrai. I'll bookmark it as soon as the site is done.

So, the only way to have the alternate ending for Robotech the Movie in DVD is getting the International Edition of the Blue Garland Game?

As far as I know that's the only way. I don't think it came out in any of the regular Japanese DVD sets but if someone else wants to correct me, I'd love to be wrong!

Edited May 25, 2009 by Ginrai

[Sdf Prime]

Haha, neither did I until I started buying them!

I don't really see Megazone 23 products around all that much other than the DVDs. Are you going to do reviews on the books and other Megazone 23 products?

[Ginrai]

I don't really see Megazone 23 products around all that much other than the DVDs. Are you going to do reviews on the books and other Megazone 23 products?

Of course!

[Ginrai]

Updated the site with some additional books and I actually started reviewing books too. Let me know if you like the format I came up with for reviewing the art books!

[Sdf Prime]

Updated the site with some additional books and I actually started reviewing books too. Let me know if you like the format I came up with for reviewing the art books!

I do like your format for reviewing the books. I have wondered what the contents of the My Time Mikimoto art book were ( He' one of my favorite artists ) and thanks to you now I do. It was also nice to see you put all of the other series artwork that appears in the book also.

I think at least one of his other art books has some megazone 23 art.

Edited May 26, 2009 by Sdf Prime

[Ginrai]

I do like your format for reviewing the books. I have wondered what the contents of the My Time Mikimoto art book were ( He' one of my favorite artists ) and thanks to you now I do. It was also nice to see you put all of the other series artwork that appears in the book also.

Cool, glad that's working! I didn't recognize everything in the Mikimoto book. There was some fantasy stuff I have no idea the source of.

I think at least one of his other art books has some megazone 23 art.

Hmm, okay. Well, if you find out what the book's called, please let me know! Like I said, I want to be comprehensive.

[Sdf Prime]

Hmm, okay. Well, if you find out what the book's called, please let me know! Like I said, I want to be comprehensive.

Of the two Mikimoto artbooks that I have the book Movement has around 23 pages for Megazone 23. I think a good portion of them are of EVE ( but I could be wrong) and I think the cover for Best Hit Series: Megazone 23 Graffiti is in there also.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Hey, Ginrai. Since you're the Megazone guru now, can you recomend me a good MZ artbook? I'm not interested in tracking back all the rare MZ printed stuff, I'd rather get a good, not too hard to find, volume that gathers all the essential graphic material, such as characters, mecha, backgrounds, etc. Thanks, dood.

[RavenHawk]

What can you tell us about the book that comes with the limited edition of the PS3 game? I've considered getting the game just for the book, but can't find any info on size, page count, or content.

Thanks.

EDIT:

I'm also curious about the "Maneuver Book"

Edited May 26, 2009 by RavenHawk

[Ginrai]

Hey, Ginrai. Since you're the Megazone guru now, can you recomend me a good MZ artbook? I'm not interested in tracking back all the rare MZ printed stuff, I'd rather get a good, not too hard to find, volume that gathers all the essential graphic material, such as characters, mecha, backgrounds, etc. Thanks, dood.

You want the B-Club Special: Megazone 23. http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3007/thum...ecialmegazo.png Definitely my favorite and has just about everything. The Artmic Design Works book is cool too and has a lot of the same stuff, but the Megazone 23 B-Club Special just has more Megazone in it. All the line art you can shake a stick at. The Entertainment Bibles have some great stuff too, but it's the same stuff in the B-Club and Artmic Design Works and printed tiny and it's got less than either. The B-Club Special may be sort of hard to track and the Artmic Design Works book is still pretty good, but those should be your top priority.

[Ginrai]

Of the two Mikimoto artbooks that I have the book Movement has around 23 pages for Megazone 23. I think a good portion of them are of EVE ( but I could be wrong) and I think the cover for Best Hit Series: Megazone 23 Graffiti is in there also.

Hmm, cool, I will try to track that one down. I'm always wary of buying one of the character designer's books for fear it will be like one page on what I am looking for and a hundred pages on crap I don't care about.

[Ginrai]

What can you tell us about the book that comes with the limited edition of the PS3 game? I've considered getting the game just for the book, but can't find any info on size, page count, or content.

Thanks.

I dunno, I don't have the limited edition yet. A friend is going to Tokyo this summer so I'm sending him on a quest. I guess I could buy it online but I'm trying to get it cheaper! From what I've heard it's just a strategy guide though, and not an art book. I'll let you know when I get a copy!

I'm also curious about the "Maneuver Book"

This I can tell you about! It's mostly line art that also appears in the old books. There's nothing in there that's not in the B-Club Special Megazone 23/Artmic Design Works except it has art for the PS3 game in it, which is sort of neat, but it's only a couple of pages on it and the rest is pretty much recycled stuff. I guess it's good to see it back in print but it's not really that useful to me personally. Again, gotta go with the B-Club Special.

[RavenHawk]

I dunno, I don't have the limited edition yet. A friend is going to Tokyo this summer so I'm sending him on a quest. I guess I could buy it online but I'm trying to get it cheaper! From what I've heard it's just a strategy guide though, and not an art book. I'll let you know when I get a copy!

This I can tell you about! It's mostly line art that also appears in the old books. There's nothing in there that's not in the B-Club Special Megazone 23/Artmic Design Works except it has art for the PS3 game in it, which is sort of neat, but it's only a couple of pages on it and the rest is pretty much recycled stuff. I guess it's good to see it back in print but it's not really that useful to me personally. Again, gotta go with the B-Club Special.

Thanks

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Thanks, Man

[mondamoto]

I have some stuff I download off of 4chan it mostly about the recent shelved Megazone TV remake. It is called festival times.

It contains some interviews and Mecha designs for the TV show.

Let me know I can post them to the forum if you like

Mond

[Ginrai]

I have some stuff I download off of 4chan it mostly about the recent shelved Megazone TV remake. It is called festival times.

It contains some interviews and Mecha designs for the TV show.

Let me know I can post them to the forum if you like

Mond

Yeah, that would be awesome! Hook me up!

[RavenHawk]

I have some stuff I download off of 4chan it mostly about the recent shelved Megazone TV remake. It is called festival times.

It contains some interviews and Mecha designs for the TV show.

Let me know I can post them to the forum if you like

Mond

I'd love to see that too.

[Sdf Prime]

Hmm, cool, I will try to track that one down. I'm always wary of buying one of the character designer's books for fear it will be like one page on what I am looking for and a hundred pages on crap I don't care about.

If my memory serves me correctly Movement also contains Macross art that I think is mostly from DYRL,Orguss and some black & white illustrations that I assume are for some novels. I got my copy off of ebay so keep an eye out there and it will probably pop up at some point.

[mondamoto]

Here are the images.

I apologize if this is the wrong way to do it. Let me know and I will correct it.

Enjoy

Mond

PS does anyone know if this is available anywhere "Lark Mechanical Manual Vol. 2: Official Art of Megazone 23 Part 2"

I own the 1st one but would love to get this one either scanned or a hard copy

*Update*

Bad news I was asked to remove the images but the good news is they hope to have it available in the US so please be so kind and purchase it when it is available I know I will

Edited May 29, 2009 by mondamoto

[RavenHawk]

Here are the images.

I apologize if this is the wrong way to do it. Let me know and I will correct it.

Enjoy

Mond

PS does anyone know if this is available anywhere "Lark Mechanical Manual Vol. 2: Official Art of Megazone 23 Part 2"

I own the 1st one but would love to get this one either scanned or a hard copy

WOW!!!

Thank you SO MUCH for posting all of that, and going to all of that work. LOVE IT!

My favorites are:

- The sketches for alternate covers for the Animation Bikes book. The book itself has some alternate covers in it, but not those.

- The Hargun toy prototype

- CROSS LINE GARLAND

- GARLAND 1+1

- SPORTS GARLAND

- MANEUVER SLAVE A-TYPE

Does anyone have any additional information about that new Megazone 23? This is the first I've heard of/seen it.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Never seen those designs before. Thanks a lot for posting them. I have my gripes with some of the designs but I feel sad this series was never produced. I like how they tweaked the "intakes" detail in the redesigned Garland, but the overall bike looks pretty boring: the illo on page 26 gives me the feeling that the main character just stole his gandpa's brand new Goldwing. It lacks the aggressiveness of the original IMO. The wheeled feet aren't a big improvement either. Nevertheless I hope a new series gets done eventually.

I just noticed something funny: The illustration on page 11 (is it mikimoto's?) shows all the things I thought Yamato got wrong on its toy: The flat shape of the front tires, the arms sticking out too much to the sides and the rear too high up. You'd say that the artist used the Yamato Garland as reference.

[RavenHawk]

The Cross Line one looks like it would be at home in TF: ROTF (or Rideback).

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

The Cross Line reminds me this bike.

[Ginrai]

PS does anyone know if this is available anywhere "Lark Mechanical Manual Vol. 2: Official Art of Megazone 23 Part 2"

I own the 1st one but would love to get this one either scanned or a hard copy

I own a hard copy of the book but I haven't scanned any of it.

[Ginrai]

This is pretty interesting stuff but I think the Cross Line Garland is an ugly piece of crap. Some of the robots are kind of neat though, but not that one. In the AWO interview with Ishiguro he said they delayed the Megazone TV show because they didn't want to conflict with Macross Frontier. I guess this is confirmation that it's never going to happen, sadly.

[Lonely Soldier Boy]

Maybe they're just pushing it back. If that's the case, I hope they revise the main mecha, AND the character design. Me, I'd wish some other team took over and start it all over from scratch.

[Ginrai]

Maybe they're just pushing it back. If that's the case, I hope they revise the main mecha, AND the character design. Me, I'd wish some other team took over and start it all over from scratch.

Well it does say "Lost Possibility" in big letters. I took that to mean the show's not happening. Then again, that could be more like "rejected designs".

[Sdf Prime]

I had no idea there was going to be a Megazone 23 tv series. I wonder if it was going to connected o the original OVA or a remake of some sort?