Metal Skin Panic: Madox 01 Movie Review By Rashad Moore
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After a top secret weapon fall out of the hands of the military officials, an unwitting young teenager named Koji stumbles upon Madox 01, a highly formidable battle mecha that is capable of taking out entire tanks in seconds. Against what should have been his better judgment, Koji decides to try out the mecha suit himself and becomes literally stuck inside it. Still without any knowledge about the suit, Koji attempts to see his girlfriend, even with the suit still on him. But also at the same time everyone is scrambling to capture Madox-01, even it means killing the thief in the process. Especially Kilgore, who wants Madox-01 resting in a thousand pieces! Will Koji ever escape the suit and his enemies and make it to his girlfriend in time all while dodging the assault of Kilgore?

Sounds like a great idea for a comedy, huh? Too bad "Metal Skin Panic: Madox-01" comes off as neither a comedy, but a lifeless and forgettable mecha anime.  It starts out with quite a novel idea, but it suffers from one real identity crisis. It doesn't know wheter it wants to be funny or a serious action anime. While it wasn't too serious, I wasn't laughing through one scene either. The main character isn't very smart. (I mean, we all knew it was military property and not just scrap!) But if he was, that would've made

the anime boring wouldn't it? We watch as the hero gets himself into one bind after the next, but everything is very uninspired. The action scenes had to be taken from every 80's mecha anime that came before it. The character designs were simplistic and uneffective as well and the mechanical designs seemed to have been taken from every other anime wev'e seen. The character

development is very weak as well, and it lacked any strong character motivations. (Except maybe for the psychotic villain, Kilgore, who wants Madox-01 destroyed along with anyone who gets in his way.) But still it made Madox-01 all the more predictable. Also, as with so many other anime the ending was very unsatisfying. (But there is a short live-action special on real tanks after the end credits, which does absolutely nothing to help the anime.)

The only highlight of the animation came from the Madox-01 itself, which animates extremely well and make everything else in the anime look like an episode of South Park. Other than that the animation was weak. Not to mention the character designs weren't very original. (Koji's girlfriend kinda reminds me of Lynn Minmay from Macross. Maybe that was intentional in some unusual way.) The music is terribly unoriginal as well, with standard 80's action music that isn't meant to sound good, but to just be there for no good reason.

I first heard of this anime when viewing a short clip. (When Koji becomes trapped in the suit. It had to be the only memorable part of the movie.) I was fooled into expecting Madox-01as an action-comedy. (Which lacked both action and comedy.) This may provide some short 30-minute entertainment for mecha freaks, but if you came out of this movie like I did, I suggest finding a copy of Katsuhiro Otomo's "Roujin-Z." (Everything Madox-01 should've been.)

Available from Animeigo/Manga Entertainment. Image shown is not created by atek studios.   Review by Rashad Moore. Mar 00.