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Megazone 23 SIN Remake Project Meets Crowdfunding Goal on Last Day

Anime production company AIC's crowdfunding campaign to make a promotional video for its Megazone 23 SIN project met its 10-million-yen (US$89,000) goal on Thursday, its final day. The Campfire crowdfunding campaign ended after eventually raising 11,147,000 yen (about US$99,250). The project had been at 25% of its goal four days before its deadline.

The project's staff also revealed new illustrations of a new giant version of the transforming Garland robots.

Megazone 23 SIN is the tentatively titled remake project for the Megazone 23 anime. It is a separate project from the Megazone 23 XI project, for which AIC also crowdfunded a promotional video. Both Megazone 23 SIN and Megazone 23 XI are part of the special "Anime Reboot Projects" to celebrate AIC's 35th anniversary.

The staff for the Megazone 23 SIN project hopes to green-light production on a television anime, and the staff hopes that the crowdfunded promotional video will help in preparing for that production. AIC also plans to develop the franchise into multiple media, and Megazone 23 SIN will form the foundation of that franchise.

Masahiko Komino (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) is credited as character designer for the project. Below are character images for the story's protagonist Shogo Yahagi (left) and heroine Yui Takanaka (right).

The backer rewards for the campaign include thank-you letters, a commemoration booklet, T-shirts, limited edition CDs, DVDs, an animator on the project drawing a likeness of the backer and using it as a base for a crowd character in the promotional video, an invitation to a screening and mini-concert, tote bags, the backer's name in the credits, a production materials book, an autograph and handshake of the voice actors and staff, an invitation to a voice recording session, participation in the voice recording as a walla crowd actor, an invitation to the launch party, and the opportunity to pick a location in the world to appear in the promotional video.

AIC launched the crowdfunding campaign in April for Megazone 23 XI, a brand-new anime project with a new setting and characters for the Megazone 23 franchise. Like the campaign for Megazone 23 SIN, the crowdfunding aimed to fund a five-minute video to green-light an eventual television anime. The crowdfunding campaign ended successfully on June 30, having raised 11,147,000 yen (about US$101,473). Similarly to the Megazone 23 SIN remake project, Masahiko Komino is also designing most of the characters in Megazone 23 XI.

Thanks to Gwyn Campbell for the news tip.