Megazone 23 Part II "Please Give Me Your Secret"

Megazone returns.

On 1986's Megazone 23 Part II we return to see Shogo Yahagi as the main character, this time meeting some new friends and teaming up with Eve for the final time. Part II was originally released in 1986 in Japan but it was not until 1994 that it was released in the USA.

So, where does the sequel pick up?

Shogo has been living underground for several months, hiding from the military and police in the abandoned cities and corridors below Tokyo's surface. The police have been informed that Shogo is the person who murdered Tomomi in episode I (presumably by either the brass, B.D. or one of the other military powers). Shogo has teamed up with the motorcycle gang "Trash". He reunites with Yui (now drawn with brown hair instead of green like in episode I). Although Yui and Shogo are obviously still in love, Yui asks Shogo why he never returned to the loft (at the end of episode I). Shogo has apparently been out of contact with her for a while. As for Eve, she is still releasing music videos but they are all 'pro-war', encouraging young men to join the military. The real Eve however has survived the military's attempt at deactivating her and is now running as an independent program, constantly sending out messages through different media devices (television, radio, etc.) to try and make contact with 7G Operator, namely Shogo. Shogo however, having lost the Garland, can not answer her call. The motorcycle gang have made making contact with Eve their prime mission.

In space, B.D.'s military is still fighting a losing battle with the second human spaceship (the "Dezalg" an unknown enemy with space ships that resemble those seen in The Matrix trilogy and to make matters worse, they are very similar to The Haydonites in Robotech The Shadow Chronicles), which uses an octopus-like penetrating weapon to destroy the human fleet including their newest and strongest Battleship. As the fighting goes on, B.D. searches for Shogo as well as the 'Ghost Eve', trying to locate where her independent program is located. B.D. believes once he finds Shogo he will be able to track down Eve and deactivate her properly. B.D. lures Shogo with another Garland proto-type weapon, planning to capture him. However, with the help of the gang Shogo is able to escape the trap with the Garland intact. However, despite getting rid of a tracking device on it, Shogo is unaware of a second tracking device on the machine. Once back at the base Shogo answers Eve's call for Operator 7G. Eve tells him how she was able to isolate herself as an independent program and survive the military's attempt at erasing her. She reveals however that the military is closing in on her location and that Shogo needs to come to where she is. She reveals she is located right in the middle of Bahamut, the central computer running the Megazone spaceship. The gang all agree to go to Eve. Meanwhile however, B.D. has the military surround their base.

Back to action!

The majestic Garland.

Realizing they're ambushed, the gang split up with one group defending the base, another group acting as a decoy and a third with Shogo heading for one of the shafts in Tokyo leading to the lower floors of the Megazone. During the chase many of the gang members are killed or badly hurt. Shogo, Yui and 4 other gang members, Cindy, Lightning, Dumpi and Garam. Garam and Dumpi are hurt once they finally reach the heart of the Megazone and Lightning stays back inside Shogo's Garland, acting as a decoy while Cindy, Shogo and Yui carry on to the Bahamut. Yui however, is badly hurt in the escape. Once they reach the Bahamut, Cindy stays outside, waiting for the others while Shogo escorts the injured Yui to Eve's chamber. When Eve identifies Shogo she opens for them to enter. Yui is getting worse, but once they reach the inner chamber Eve assures Shogo that she can heal Yui and Shogo places her on a table which is sealed.

Eve proceeds to talk with Shogo, asking him questions about himself as the scenery around them changes to scenes of a cafe, a beach, an observatory, a field and a park. At first Shogo is angry, saying he came here to talk to Eve, not watch a show but he slowly relaxing, thinking that maybe she's testing him. With her questioning Shogo reveals he didn't join the military when they asked because he didn't agree with their methods of "Sweep away little things for the sake of big things". When Eve asks Shogo if he's in love with Yui, he first responds saying "I like her" but then goes on to say that he thought he always wanted to be near her and protect her, so he thinks he's starting to love her. Eve also asks him what he thinks it means to be an adult. Shogo at first gets angry again, saying how adults are people who back-stab each other and do horrible things to each other, and that he wanted to be an adult like he used to see in the movies and TV as a kid.

Shogo & Yui learn about kamasutra. Wow, in these 80's girls had no bush!

Eve in return tells him once again how the Earth was destroyed 500 years ago, but now reveals the whole story. She tells him that when this happened, the U.N. set up the Earth Preservation Laws, which meant evacuating the Earth's population for 500 years. After this time the program left on Earth, ADAM, will receive Eve's report on the humans of the Megazone and determine whether they should be allowed back on Earth or if they'd make the same mistakes in the past. Eve also reveals that the time is now, and she's awaiting ADAM's response. As Eve explains this, the ADAM program activates. Shogo asks Eve what ADAM's decision is regarding the human race but Eve says she doesn't know due to the military crippling her and she does not have the authority to access ADAM'S information because of this. Shogo replies that he doesn't think the human race is good enough to warrant continuing, but at the very least he was able to meet Eve thanks to his friends. Eve tells him not to give up hope until the very end and that she will do whatever she can. Shogo leaves the inner chamber as Eve disappears and activates an unknown program, causing the room to shift.

Once outside Bahamut, Shogo reunites with Cindy. Soon afterwards, Lightning arrives in the badly damaged Garland, carrying the injured Dumpi and Garam. B.D. arrives in his own Garland, apparently ready to capture Shogo, however, ADAM activates his program and the whole Megazone starts to shift. In Tokyo, a mass evacuation is called, police and military focusing on trying to get as many people into shelters and escape ships. Seeing this, B.D. tells Shogo that there's no point in fighting now and that the time where he had to do what he felt was right is over. He wishes Shogo and his friends good luck as he enters his Garland and leaves, saying he doubts they'll meet again. He and his men leave the Megazone in their Garlands and disappear into space.

Motorcycle gang Trash.

EVE returns with new songs.

ADAM turns out to be the Earth's defense weapon, which is the whole of the moon. As the Dezlag ship gets nearer to the moon it's enveloped with red energy and is slowly torn apart. As the Megazone looms closer, a hologram appears in front of Shogo and his friends, saying "EVE: Final Defense Program". As the Megazone gets closer to the moon the outer layer of the ship and the city are completely destroyed. As Megazone 23 disintegrates, Eve sings a mournful dirge for the people who die aboard the ship.

As the Megazone is completely destroyed, Bahamut detaches from the crumbling ship, revealing to be an escape pod of sorts, and blasts away. After a while, Shogo and his friends comment on how it was now silent and that they were most likely going to die. At this moment however, a door opens and Yui steps out, completely healed of her wounds. The reunited group notice light coming from a door and follow it until the reach a hole in the ceiling, revealing a blue sky. As they step out it's revealed the Core of the Megazone has landed on Earth, which is once again green. It turns out the rest of the gang that had been injured while fighting in the city have also made it and with all reunited on the revived Earth, the episode ends to one of Eve's songs.

Yui's got a new boob job.

Even her girlfriends like it!

Megazone 23 Part II is notable in abandoning the traditional anime style for more realistic looking characters, probably the inspiration for future Animé such as the blockbuster Akira,  in addition, it contains more (if not most) explicit scenes of violence and sex than its predecessor & successors. The show also shows strong reference to cigarettes &; beer consumption.

Overall, a correct sequel that finally explains whatever is to become of the human population imprisoned in the Megazone 23 space fortress. Character development is not as deep as in the prequel but it is good enough to make you like the new characters and understand the evolution of older characters (specially Shogo & Yui) The ending of the film which is left open as in the original film, has a more graphic way of telling the viewer "the right people have returned to Earth, now it is their mission to rebuild society from scratch" The confusing part is knowing that there is a third film that in a way seems to ignore what happened in the first two entries of the saga, but it is up to you to decide if that is right or wrong.

Here's the main song for the OVA: