Metal Skin Panic Madox-01 (1987) (V)

Director:

Shinji Aramaki

Writer:

Shinji Aramaki (story)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Anime | Futuristic

Cast

John Stefaniuk	...	Onose (Dub) (voice)
Michael McGhee	...	Koji (Dub) (voice)
Shaun O'Rourke	...	Harou (Dub) voice
Ellen Seltz	...	Kusumoto Ellie (Dub) (voice) (as Ellen Lee)
Peter Woodward	...	L.T Kjilgore (voice)
Marc Smith	...	Senior Officer (Dub) (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yôko Asagami	...	Kusumoto Ellie
Pierre Brulatour	...	SDF Officer (voice: English version) (as Pierre Brulator)
Rick Forrester	...	Military Guy (voice)
Nathan Gray	...	Soldier (voice: English version)
Zach Hanner	...	First Lt. Kilgore (voice: English version)
Arihiro Hase	...	Onose Haruo
Masashi Hirose	...	U.S. Army General
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Ellie's Superior
Satoru Inagaki	...	Command Room Operator
Mac Ingram	...	Obnoxious Driver (voice: English version) (as Mac Ingrahm)
Yuriko Ishida	...	Nagura Shiori
Chris Jarman	...	Ellie's Pilot (voice: English version)
Yûko Kakegawa	...	Reckless Driver A
Masayuki Katô	...	Commanding Officer
Yasunori Matsumoto	...	Sugimoto Kôji (voice)
Connie Nelson	...	Nagura Shiori (voice: English version)
Kazuo Oka	...	High Official
Steve Rassin	...	Obnoxious Driver 2 (voice: English version)
Jane Sampson	...	Overstressed Elevator (voice: English version)
Hiroyuki Satô	...	Reckless Driver B
Bill Sellers	...	Ellie's Superior (voice: English version)
Kôzô Shioya	...	Director of Okawasaki
Gray Sibley	...	Mr. Sunglasses (voice: English version)
Scott Simpson	...	Sugimoto Kouji (voice: English version)
Kazuyuki Sogabe	...	1st Lt. Kilgore
Melissa Stanley	...	Quicky-Mart Girl (voice: English version) (as Melissa Stanley)
Steve Vernon	...	Mr. Okawasaki (voice: English version)
Robert Wailes	...	Technician (voice: English version)
Bob Wilde	...	Chopper Pilot (voice: English version) (as Bobby Wilde)
Hiroko Yamaguchi	...	Female Store Clerk

Runtime:

USA:48 min

Country:

Japan

Color:

Color

Company:

Pony Canyon

Trivia:

The helicopter which delivers Ellie and Unit 0 to track down Kouji has the name "Rodger Young" stenciled across it. This is a reference to the troop transport Rodger Young in Robert Heinlein's novel "Starship Troopers", widely considered to be the definitive work on powered combat armor. (The movie Starship Troopers (1997) also features the Rodger Young, but Madox 01 predates that film by a decade.)

Movie Connections:

References Apocalypse Now (1979)

Briefly nice, but immediately forgettable mecha-fest.

This sure looks very 80's-style by now. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, and there are some elements to like in Madox-01, but unfortunately there are a number of flaws as well that just make it fall in the average category.

For starters, the video seems to have trouble deciding whether it wants to be serious or silly. The box will probably promise non-stop hilarity, which is really just a lie. Anyone expecting an all-out comedy will be badly disappointed. There are one or two chucklesome moments in the film, but they're pretty mild. As such, the only real "joke" is that a highly powerful military mecha ends up in the hands of an average joe, and he gets stuck at the commands of the machine despite himself. Granted, such a set-up has ample opportunity for comical moments, but very little of that actually happens, apart from a bit of fumbling around with the mech. It's more light-hearted than some other mecha films, but it's not of a purely comical nature such as Urusei Yatsura or the Tenchi Muyo series, for example.

Instead, it's mainly light action fluff, with a good deal of explosions, chaos, and millitary devices. The story is actually not as daft as it sounds, and works pretty well. Alas, this being just a short 45-minute OAV, it never delivers -quite- enough to really satisfy the viewer. The battle at the end is quite intense, but otherwise, this is rather thin on the ground in the action department as well as in the comedy department.

In an action romp, it doesn't matter that the characters are rather flat. And one-sided as though they may be here, they're still enjoyable to watch. It's just a shame that they don't get to do -quite- enough exciting things to give this film any kind of impact. Also, the mecha somehow seemed rather bland in design. The idea was probably to make them look more like realistic warfare engines, but it doesn't quite work. The Madox lacks any kind of spunk to it's design, it could just as well be one of those police mechs from Bubblegum Crisis. Oh sure, it's supposedly the most advanced combat tool ever made, but then again, don't they say that about each and every mecha in a Japanese film?

So, while it has a certain charm (and the music's nice), Madox-01 is pretty much entirely disposeable. There certainly is not enough in here for you to go out and buy the tape at full price, but it makes a nice rent if you want an odd hour's worth of light blasting action. But after watching it once, there's nothing more to remember about it. You might as well forget you've ever watched it.