A cyberpunk story written by Masamune Shirow while in college. The comic was published in February 25, 1983, a year and some change before Terminator 1 was released in theaters. It's clear that Masamune's fascination with futuristic technology and bad chicks has been there since the beginning of his career. Black Magic M66 is his freshman project and it shows. The manga is only one volume long and is paced extremely fast, certain things happen in the story that isn't the most logical; but works well to move it along quickly. In its defense, it was most likely never thought to be published while it was being made. The late 70s and 80s had an absurd amount of cyberpunk anime, but Shirow's body of work is the Magnum Opus of the genre. It's worth watching just for its historical place in story telling, if nothing else.
9 Reviews
Centers around the efforts of a female journalist named Sybel to save a young girl from an out-of-control military android created by the girl's grandfather.
toqtaqiya219 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
The story is taken from a single chapter of Black Magic, the fanzine that got schoolteacher Masamune Shirow his first professional break. Black Magic M-66 offers tense action scenes including a wonderful sequence at a roadblock where the military try to stop two wandering androids. Classic Shirow touches include the layering of media references in the background on TV and radio, and the political overtones, which have been misinterpreted as a comment on the divisive border stand-off in Korea. Shirow has never directed another anime after this film, staying well clear of even his own titles. The production ended massively over budget because of his perfectionism. The design, especially the mecha, is remarkable, with excellent use of a moody color palette, and the writing is crisp and pacey. Fortunately Shirow has found a gifted director to interpret his work, particularly on Ghost In The Shell (1995), and his departure from animation has enabled him to stay at home in Kobe and turn out mega-hit comics to keep the studios busy.
"Terminator" anime is like "I adore you and I am trying to imitate you,but I can't be as Good as you"
ayabrea-pe9 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
actually if you have seen the first "Terminator" it means you know everything about "Black Magic M-66" from start to the end.it is like declaration of love,tribute to the "Terminator" movie from very talented Masamune Shirow(who is responsible for some cult comics like "Ghost in the Shell","Appleseed"and "Ghost in the Shell 2.0")you should and must see it because of him and respect it because of him,but well we also should respect...reality and say that "Black Magic M-66" is a pretty Mediocre, but still very adorable,enjoyable and unfortunately really short movie,it feels like an episode of a TV show.so what other things I like in this anime:Score,i loved Yoshihiro Katayama unique and classic 80's score which wonderfully creates sense of a Tension and suspense and finally..it's an OK anime,which I can't love because it is too short,too weak,mediocre and too non-individual and i can't hate it because it is too enjoyable,too natural(not a cheap and fake terminator clone,I mean),too unpretentious, too naive and because it is made by Masamune Shirow, with Heart :)
Hey, not bad
RogerBorg9 December 2000
Ok, so it opens with the obligatory nekkid chick shot, the plot is basically The Terminator, the characterisation, dialogue and voice talent (in the English dubbed version) are just what you'd expect from a 12th grade media project, and the facial expressions are exaggerated Japanese home market stuff (this appears to be a series pilot).
However, this is a pacy little action flick, cleanly animated at an acceptable frame rate, with plenty of scene changes and none of the tedious long pauses or pans across static backgrounds typical of more artsy anime. It just gets on with telling an exciting story without delving into muddled metaphysical ramblings or over-stylised posturing. There are a few moments of genuine tension (spoiled only by the monotonous dubbed wails of Wimpy Female Victim) and in fact some of the English dub dialogue lines are delivered with something approaching real passion, an unusual treat.
Not a film to obsess over or watch 400 times, maybe not even worth a rent, but definitely worth catching on cable.
However, this is a pacy little action flick, cleanly animated at an acceptable frame rate, with plenty of scene changes and none of the tedious long pauses or pans across static backgrounds typical of more artsy anime. It just gets on with telling an exciting story without delving into muddled metaphysical ramblings or over-stylised posturing. There are a few moments of genuine tension (spoiled only by the monotonous dubbed wails of Wimpy Female Victim) and in fact some of the English dub dialogue lines are delivered with something approaching real passion, an unusual treat.
Not a film to obsess over or watch 400 times, maybe not even worth a rent, but definitely worth catching on cable.
fast and entertaining
phanthinga25 January 2017
Black Magic M66 is a anime OVA from the 80s is sort of like a mix between The Terminator and Ghost in the Shell with a plot involved two extremely dangerous cyborg from the military get loose in the jungle after an plane accident and started to killing all the people who get in their way to hunt down the main target.Because this is a short anime so don't hope the plot explain much,it also very chessy and some time a character make very dumb choice,Beside that the hand drawing animation is fantastic,the action scene is cool and violent although it not super gory like most of 80s anime but it enough to keep you entertain through out the movie
Great little action anime - It's MaGiC
SteveRaccoon21 December 2005
This is a real gem, 50 minutes of pure joy and brain-massage, ahhhh.
In a nutshell, it's Terminator gone animated, with a cutesy cast and some great fights with the killer robots - keep your overblown plots and twists which don't make sense, this is what entertainment is all about. Military VS murder machines, what a result! If nothing else, watch this once for those few scenes - some of the best sci-fi combat I've seen on any medium.
Although it's a only a short-film, there's nothing to really go wrong and the pace is so fast that you're too busy enjoying the ride to get nitpicky.
If you like sci-fi anime, Masamune Shirow or wearing a smile then this is headed for your DVD collection.
In a nutshell, it's Terminator gone animated, with a cutesy cast and some great fights with the killer robots - keep your overblown plots and twists which don't make sense, this is what entertainment is all about. Military VS murder machines, what a result! If nothing else, watch this once for those few scenes - some of the best sci-fi combat I've seen on any medium.
Although it's a only a short-film, there's nothing to really go wrong and the pace is so fast that you're too busy enjoying the ride to get nitpicky.
If you like sci-fi anime, Masamune Shirow or wearing a smile then this is headed for your DVD collection.
Terminate my granddaughter
siderite9 August 2014
The animation of this 45 minute film is typical for Japanese anime of that era, but done really well. The attention to detail is very nice and the action scenes (humanoid military robots fighting in tandem) put to shame most of the modern animes and big budget films alike.
The plot is that of Terminator 2, basically, with the role of Arnie being taken by a feisty female reporter who needs to save a hapless girl from a killer robot. For some reason that is never revealed, the termination target is the creator's granddaughter.
I found the world in which all of this happens very chic, with very sci-fi concepts like machines routinely flying inside cities and killer robots combined with old fashioned ones like buttons to switch off robots and crappy looking vehicles. I think any anime fan would like this, even if it is not a masterpiece. The roots of a lot of the greatness of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell is apparent in this OVA.
The plot is that of Terminator 2, basically, with the role of Arnie being taken by a feisty female reporter who needs to save a hapless girl from a killer robot. For some reason that is never revealed, the termination target is the creator's granddaughter.
I found the world in which all of this happens very chic, with very sci-fi concepts like machines routinely flying inside cities and killer robots combined with old fashioned ones like buttons to switch off robots and crappy looking vehicles. I think any anime fan would like this, even if it is not a masterpiece. The roots of a lot of the greatness of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell is apparent in this OVA.
My favorite animated movie...
Lando_Hass23 March 2002
Black Magic M-66 is about two goverment robots who get released from a plane crash,and the main target is the creators's grand daughter,meaning that if they find the girl they kill her.A journalist gets caught up in the mess and now shes the one thats protecting the girl.One of the droids gets destroyed but the other on gets away.Black Magic M-66 is a great movie to watch,while it delivers a great deal of entertaiment,it suffers from one small flaw,and that flaw is that its only 48 minutes long!It has a good plot,and lots of action,and an outstanding amount of blood.The voice actors did a great job on this.Great story,good animation,and outstanding voiced actors make Black Magic M-66 a great movie to enjoy.
Shirow Masamun's version of the Terminator
wataru-725 January 2014
Black Magic M-66 is an anime based on Masamune Shirows manga of the same name, or to be more precise on the chapter Booby Trap. It was also Shirows first and last time he took a seat in the director's chair, there being so many problems behind the scenes that he refused to have anything to do with the future of the franchise. Luckily he met Mamoru Oshi and the rest is history.
The anime is clearly influenced by James Camerons the Terminator and Aliens. The story is about an seemingly indestructible cyborg on the hunt for some hapless victim. It is a fast paced, short and action packed anime that manages to hold your breath for its complete run of 50 minutes.
The animation is similar to that of Appleseed the ova which was released the following year and which was also based on a Shirow manga. The animation clearly makes it a product of its time, the late eighties early nineties, and are perhaps a notch or two better than that of Appleseed. Nevertheless if you like cyberpunk anime like Appleseed or the first Terminator movie you should give this one a try.
Notice that there are many first in the crew, like Hiroki Hayashi (Bubble Gum Crisis 2040) and Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin-Roh).
The anime is clearly influenced by James Camerons the Terminator and Aliens. The story is about an seemingly indestructible cyborg on the hunt for some hapless victim. It is a fast paced, short and action packed anime that manages to hold your breath for its complete run of 50 minutes.
The animation is similar to that of Appleseed the ova which was released the following year and which was also based on a Shirow manga. The animation clearly makes it a product of its time, the late eighties early nineties, and are perhaps a notch or two better than that of Appleseed. Nevertheless if you like cyberpunk anime like Appleseed or the first Terminator movie you should give this one a try.
Notice that there are many first in the crew, like Hiroki Hayashi (Bubble Gum Crisis 2040) and Hiroyuki Okiura (Jin-Roh).
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