646f9e108c A freelance reporter discovers that two killer androids are running loose and have a little girl for a kill target. A freelance reporter stumbles on a desperate military operation. An army chopper has crashed and its cargo has been activated. Now there are two killer androids running loose in the wilderness and have the daughter of their inventortheir target. Can the army stop them or can the reporter reach the little girl before the droids do? 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 misinterpreteda 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. 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.<br/><br/>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&#39;s granddaughter.<br/><br/>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&#39;s Ghost in the Shell is apparent in this OVA.
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