Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic...

AnimEigo's very first release was the VHS version of Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic...

In the first test of a revolutionary personal battle-suit, the MADOX-01, Ace female test pilot Elle Kusomoto smashes an attacking tank force and humiliates Lt. Kilgore, Japan's most macho tank-jockey, in the process. Kilgore swears he'll get even, and he gets his chance when the prototype MADOX literally falls off the back of a truck in the middle of Tokyo. Meanwhile, the MADOX, which fell off the back of one truck, off a bridge, and into the back of another truck, has found its way into the hands of college student Koji Sujimoto. Intrigued by the MADOX, Koji makes the big mistake of fooling with it without reading the manual first, and soon finds himself locked in the suit and zooming around downtown Tokyo.

Unfortunately, the homing signal, in the now-active MADOX, transmits and results in a no-holds-barred response by Kilgore; even more unfortunately, even though Koji doesn't know how to fight, the MADOX does a pretty good job on automatic, resulting in a firefight, the likes of which, the local residents haven't seen since the last time Godzilla hit town. Concerned about the property damage being caused to some of the world's most expensive real-estate, Elle dons a second prototype MADOX and tries to find and rescue Koji before Kilgore's many minions totally trash Tokyo.

And apart from the attempts to destroy the suit (and it's driver), Koji has his own problems: if he breaks his date with his girlfriend, he will lose her forever --- and he's a tad overdressed for the occasion! Will Koji be late for his date? Or will Kilgore make him "the late Koji?" And more importantly, is it possible to eat take-out shrimp in a battlesuit? The answers to these and many other questions await you in METAL SKIN PANIC - MADOX-01.

According to the liner notes for Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic...

In case you are wondering how all those helicopters and tanks suddenly appeared in downtown Tokyo, it happens that an important Self-Defense Forces installation is located in Ichigaya, near Shinjuku. As of this writing, the Ministry of Defense is planning to move its offices there, from their current location in Roppongi.

Yokota Base, in the Okutama region west of central Tokyo, is the main U.S. military installation in Japan. With the closure of Clark Air Force Base and Subic Bay Naval Air Station in the Philippines, it is also currently the largest active U.S. military base in Eastern Asia.

The fictitious West Shinjuku NSR Building is based on a real-world counterpart, according to Aramaki Shinji: the NS Building, also in West Shinjuku. They are apparently duplicates in all significant particulars.

When Koji says that he is feeding himself "with someone else's hands," the original expression in Japanese is "nininbaori," or "two-person haori (coat)." This is the name of an old game in which two people get into the same haori and attempt to do things like feed each other, or put makeup on each other's faces. In our original release of MADOX-01 three years ago, we translated this line as "This is a coat built for two.".

Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic was AnimEigo's first release. They had a choice between Project A-ko and Metal Skin Panic and the rest, as they say, is history. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, Metal Skin Panic is a good spoof of power suit shows. There is some action and humor and, of course, there are no naughty bits. My two favorite scenes are when Koji attempts to eat take out with the suit on, after destroying the food shop and a bit later when Koji attempts to ride an elevator with the suit and the elevator objects to the weight.

I used to have the subtitled VHS version and I enjoyed this title so much that I repurchased it on DVD. As a matter of fact, I liked it so much that when I was looking for anime titles that are a bit obscure, but, still very good, to give as gifts, I chose Metal Skin Panic. I gave Madox-01: Metal Skin Panic a 4 out of 5.