By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Before The Matrix, there was Megazone 23. This Japanese original video animation was the first to suggest that people are living in an illusion. This anime is renowned for being one of the earliest influencers not only to similar films made in later years, but it hailed the silver age of anime. Macross (aka Robotech) was released around the same time. Music was a major influence in making Megazone23 just as memorable. While the sound is distinctly 80’s, so was the career of Miyasato Kumi (宮里久美) at the height of her career. She was the voice of the virtual singing idol, EVE.
Sadly, older video releases of this excellent series are out of print. Finding any copy is through either paying through the nose through eBay for a complete edition or waiting for bigger news to release. It was remastered in high definition for Bluray but is only available in Japan. Thankfully, that’s all about to change: