M.D. Geist - Restored Edition/装鬼兵M.D.ガイスト ～復元版～

This unofficial version of M.D. Geist aims to offer the most complete and the most 'correct' viewing experience of this title.

The original 1986 release of M.D. Geist was the first feature to be directed by mechanical designer Koichi Ohata when he was 23 years old. Ohata was an industry novice at this time and his inexperience in manning such a project is evident in the finished release. Director credit was ultimately given to Hayato Ikeda who had some seniority on the production. The title attained popularity and later cult status in America several years later. This success peaked with US distributor Central Park Media funding a sequel and a re-edited "Director's Cut" of the original to refresh interest and to make a characteristically 80s production less of a juxtaposition with how the sequel was from a different decade altogether.

The Director's Cut uses an entirely new audio track as well as different music cues and newly-animated sequences either run alongside existing footage or replace certain sequences entirely. Digital edits are used to correct physical mistakes that were effectively preserved in the original. As a result, this created an entirely new version of M.D. Geist with a notably different tone. The 1986 edition was only released on VHS and Laserdisc and has not resurfaced officially since. The goal of this version is to accomplish everything the 1996 version set out to do in the context of the 1986 original by maintaining the original audio and repurposing the new footage. To successfully build these two versions into one, this full work has been built from the ground up as both versions are very different.

For consistency, and in order to avoid the mire of various quality DVD rips that aren't from highly satisfactory masters, all of the 1986 footage has been sourced from the so-far-best-quality Laserdisc rip available. The 1996 footage has been altered and 'filtered' slightly to contrast less with footage created ten years earlier. This version also uses entirely new edits to better remove errors that were either overseen during the production of the 1996 edition or could not have been removed at the time due to technical limitations. Some errors remain simply because they are irreparable or because no better alternative is available. Some liberties have been taken with audio as well; to make sure the 1996 footage matches the 1986 material in tone and atmosphere, sound effects have been selected and inserted to create new audio. Finally, official material such as the M.D. Geist Complete Works book and US graphic novel have been referenced to provide some more exposition and expand the title's backstory. In essence, this is a best-of-both-worlds package that should hopefully be the most cohesive and most exciting version of M.D. Geist for old and new watchers alike. It expands the scope of the OVA while keeping it in its original context as an 1986 anime video title.

Every measure has been taken to ensure all staff who worked on both versions of the production have been included in this edit's credit sequence, as this was quite a laborious task though some names have inadvertently been left out due to time. Enjoy.