My Cultural Diet

There’s a whole genre of YouTube videos that showcase mechanical designs from classic ’80s and ’90s anime like Patlabor and Ghost in the Shell. If you go down that particular rabbit hole, you’ll inevitably see some clips from Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01, a little-known action comedy about a hapless mechanic who comes into possession of an advanced military mech (as you do), and proceeds to wreak havoc throughout Tokyo as he tries to reunite with his girlfriend. Not surprisingly, the story here is pretty goofy, but no less nostalgic for those of us who came of age watching fansubs and VHS bootlegs. Not surprisingly, the main attraction here is the mechanical design work, courtesy of Kimitoshi Yamane and Shinji Aramaki (who also directed the film). It’s obvious that most of the budget is used in the opening scenes, where the military mech is put through its paces. If that’s not your bag, then Aramaki’s film won’t have much interest for you. For the rest of us, Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 contains some delights even though it’s a bit on the slight side.

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