Black Magic M-66 DVD

When a military transport helicopter goes down in a remote forest, the crash is quickly sealed off by Special Ops forces — because the cargo was two fully armed M-66 battle androids, prototype killing machines with the lethal efficiency of a Terminator and the face of a department store mannequin. Freelance journalist Sybel intercepts the military's scrambled transmissions and races to the scene looking for a scoop. What she finds instead is a race against time — one of the M-66 units has escaped into the city, locked onto a kill target: Ferris, the teenage granddaughter of the android's own creator, who carelessly loaded a dummy test program before transport. With the army failing at every turn, it falls to Sybel alone to find Ferris and keep her alive against an enemy that doesn't stop, doesn't reason, and doesn't feel pain.

Black Magic M-66 is a lean, mean, and breathlessly paced cyberpunk OVA that predates Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed as the first animated adaptation of a Masamune Shirow work. Co-directed by Shirow himself alongside Hiroyuki Kitakubo, the film draws obvious inspiration from The Terminator — though Shirow's original manga actually predates the Cameron film — and channels it into a tight 48-minute thrill ride driven by a refreshingly capable and resourceful heroine. Produced by AIC and distributed by Bandai Visual, this is a foundational piece of the late-80s OVA boom and an essential entry point into Shirow's legendary cyberpunk universe. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo & Masamune Shirow
Original Manga: Masamune Shirow (Ghost in the Shell, Appleseed)
Studio: AIC (Anime International Company)
Distributor (Japan): Bandai Visual

Cast:
- Yoshiko Sakakibara as Sybel
- Chisa Yokoyama as Ferris
- Ichiro Nagai as Dr. Matthews
- Norio Wakamoto as Roger
- Shinji Ogawa as Major Arthur
- Yu Mizushima as Leakey

DVD Features

- Manga Entertainment Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ブラックマジック M-66 (Burakku Majikku M-66)
Runtime: ~48 Minutes (OVA)
Director: Hiroyuki Kitakubo & Masamune Shirow
DVD Release Year: 2001 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): June 28, 1987
Publisher: Manga Entertainment
Rating: Unrated (Suitable for Ages 16+)
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Cyberpunk, Sci-Fi, Action
Themes: Killer Androids, Military Conspiracy, Cyberpunk, Survival, Rogue Technology

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.