Ask John: How Much Megazone 23 is Available in English?

Question:
I once saw a dubbed copy of Megazone 23 part II. I have never seen a copy since. Is it available in English? Also was Megazone 23 part III ever released in English?

Answer:
An English dubbed version of Megazone 23 part 2 does exist, but it has never been officially released in America. The OAV was originally released in Japan in 1986. Shortly thereafter an English language version was produced. I’ve heard both that the English language adaptation was produced by Harmony Gold, and that the dub was produced in Australia, by the same studio that produced the “international” version of the Macross movie. In either case, the English language Megazone 23 movie was created as a teaching aid for Japanese speakers learning English. The spoken dialogue was dubbed into English, and the main character names Shogo Yahagi and Yui Takanaka were changed to “Johnny Winters” and “Suzi.” But the music, including all of Eve Tokimatsuri’s vocal songs, were left in Japanese.

The English dubbed version of Megazone 23 Part 2 was also 12 minutes longer than the original Japanese language version. In 1986 Harmony Gold commissioned Artmic/AIC studios to produce a new ending to the first Megazone 23 movie that would be used as the ending to the American Robotech movie. (The American Robotech movie was a heavily edited version of Megazone 23 incorporating footage from Superdimensional Calvary Southern Cross and an original ending). The Robotech movie bombed in American test screenings and was summarily buried forever in the Cannon Films vaults. Artmic revived the 12 minutes of original animation they’d created and tacked it onto the beginning of the English dubbed Megazone 23 Part 2 as an odd, incongruous dialogue-free prologue.

Oddly enough, the original Megazone 23 was dubbed and released domestically by Streamline Pictures. It’s currently available on a bilingual DVD from Image Entertainment. Megazone 23 Part 2 was dubbed into English, but never officially released outside of Japan. Megazone 23 Part 3 was dubbed into English and released in the UK by Manga Video, but was never released in America.