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Black Magic M-66 Director: Shirow Masamune Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Academy Ratio Format: Color, Animated, Dolby Audience Rating: Unrated Running Time: 60 minutes Studio: Palm Pictures/Manga Video Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2001-10-30 Buy from Amazon |
 "The Anime version of 'The Terminator'"Okay, the film may be too short but I don't think that it hurts it at all. It's a very well paced and action packed 45 minutes of video and the climax is jaw dropping tense.  "excellent video"this was a great movie a lot of action it was great you just have 2 see it for yourself i though it would't be goo but when i watched it i was impressed.  "Don't waste your money"I don't know why the other reviewers gave this title four stars, but they are completely out of their heads. This disc has so many things mounting against it, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Black Magic M-66 is really for those who are a fan of the old school anime, stuff that came out of the 80s. This title is animated in that style, and was produced in 1987. The movie itself isn't very long, only about 45 minutes. The plot is basically just this: army chases renegade robots, journalist chases army while chasing after a story. Everyone is running in all sorts of directions, and after watching it, you really wonder why you wasted an hour of your life. Basically if you are into slight nudity, lots of explosions and violence you may enjoy this film for the sheer cheese. Now on to the video. It's supposedly remastered. Remastered? Does sharpening something so much that immobile objects and people's clothes look like they are jumping off the characters classify as remastered? Colors are bright but they are way oversaturated, and depending on your setup they may bleed. And for the love of a higher power, stay away from the English dub. It is absolutely horrible. The actors made me cringe in their efforts at being army men, and all the women had very squeaky voices. The supposed 5.1 English track is just louder conversations, and louder background noises. It had no apparent virtual effects around the sound stage at all.  "An anime classic Shirow OAV series"I remember reading Masamune Shirow's manga "ORION" many, many years ago and I just had to find any anime based on his work. Well, the first video I watched by Shirow was "Black Magic M66" and now it's released on DVD. Watching this anime brought back a lot of memories because it is the first Shirow anime to be on DVD. The plot is almost like the movie "Terminator" in a way but it's simple. Military going after two killer robots who have been implanted with the wrong chip by the scientists to go after the head scientist's daughter. Have no fear, Sybel - the non-fearing reporter and her partner is there. The anime is definitely 80's and somehow you think of "Dirty Pair" or other anime popular during that time. As for the DVD, the original anime I purchased was from US Renditions and now with Manga Entertainment you get a chance to watch it in English via Digital 5.1. During the anime, I kept backtracking to compare the original Japanese 2.0 sound to the Digital 5.1. You will hear some engine revs but not as much explosive sounds that I would expect via 5.1. Sometimes at some areas I felt that the 2.0 sound was almost similar to the 5.1. Also, Manga Entertainment has been known for their good English dub work. But this time, the dub work sounds similar to the dub work of other anime companies during that time...cheesy. As for special features, there is a character bio and cool promotions for Manga Entertainment and other cool DVD's from Palm Entertainment. There is no series after "Black Magic M66", it's only a one-episode anime OAV. You really have to be a big fan of Masamune Shirow to buy this anime. At 48 minutes, this OAV may be too short for some and too expensive for some. All in all, a good anime to pass over time. A definite rental! "Classic action!"It is the future (I think). Two powerful M-66 robots have escaped from their prison and are on the rampage. and they have one thing one their mind: destroy Dr. Matthew's grandaughter, Ferris! If you've read the story description right, you'll understand that "Black Magic M-66" is not the most cerebral anime ever made. But it has no need for that. Instead it suceeds.... Art and animation are pretty decent. The character designs hold true to Masamune Shirow's manga drawings. The frame rates are excellent. The M-66's have spidery-like moments that look very cool. However, the backgrounds are not very detailed, and at times are ugly. At one point, someone attempts to animate the background, with horrible results. What makes this movie so good is that it has delightful tension. No one can resist it. It rival's "Alien" and "Jurasic park" in this way. In one scene, Sybel and Ferris are in the same elevator as the M-66. Sybel has a special device that works as a magnet against the M-66, but the M-66 is relentless. That scene is just painful, tension-wise. The final verdict is if you like Masamune Shirow and want a fantastic action flick, look no further. "Black Magic M-66" is a classic piece of action anime. |
