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.

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 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.

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.