クラッシャージョウ Eternal Perfect Box (VPLV-70714, VAP, April 21, 1990) collects all three Crusher Joe screen adaptations: the 1983 theatrical film on three CLV sides and both OVAs — 氷結監獄の罠 (1989) and 最終兵器アッシュ (1990) — each occupying one side of a shared disc. Three hundred and twelve minutes across five sides. Issued as a 完全予約限定版 — complete pre-order limited edition, not standard retail stock. The box exterior carries a new illustration by 葦原良和, the four team members mid-run against a red-lit explosion field.
The companion booklet opens with a commemorative conversation between 安彦良和 (Yasuhiko Yoshikazu) and 高千穂遙 (Takachiho Haruka) — the franchise's character designer and original novelist — commissioned specifically for this release. Subsequent sections document each production separately: character and mecha design sheets for the film, a Cosmic Adventure segment covering the full villain roster, and a 滝沢敏文 (Takizawa Toshifumi) director interview structured per OVA with its own settei pages. Also in the box: an exclusive Yasuhiko watercolor of Joe and Alfin in gold and gray washes, signed Y.A.S., and two mini-poster reproductions from the 1983 theatrical release.
Takachiho Haruka began the Crusher Joe novels in 1977 — a crew of freelance mercenaries, Crushers, who take contracts across the solar system. The books were illustrated by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, then in the thick of his Gundam years at Sunrise. The 1983 theatrical film, produced by Sunrise, was Yasuhiko's first feature directorial credit. The OVAs, released 1989–1990 under Takizawa Toshifumi, completed the screen franchise. By April 1990 there was nothing left to make. The box assembled everything.
The Box
The back cover presents the catalog number VPLV-70714 against a pure star-field — no character art, no episode stills. The specs appear in a single-line block at the bottom: CLV 標準, 312 min, Color, NTSC, ©1990.2. Cover illustration credited to 葦原良和. The format declaration CLV 標準 applies across all three discs. The theatrical film occupies Sides 1, 2, and 3; both OVAs share a double-sided disc, OVA1 on Side 1, OVA2 on Side 2.
Box back cover — VPLV-70714, CLV, 312min, ©1990.2 VAP Inc. Tokyo, Japan. Cover illustration credit: 葦原良和.
OVA1 disc jacket front — クラッシャージョウ「氷結監獄の罠」(Trap of the Freeze Prison), 1989. Joe and Alfin foregrounded against a crystalline green threat. VAP.
OVA2 disc jacket front — クラッシャージョウ「最終兵器アッシュ」(The Ultimate Weapon Ash), 1990. Darker palette; the full crew against a brown rocky landscape. VAP.
OVA discs gatefold interior spread — synopsis and production stills for both OVAs side by side. Left: Trap of the Freeze Prison; right: The Ultimate Weapon Ash. Chapter track listings beneath each.
The Theatrical Film
The 1983 theatrical film — produced by Nippon Sunrise, distributed by Toho — runs across three CLV sides. Side 1 covers the prologue through the opening theme 「Bloodbath Highway」 into the first act. Side 2 continues the main feature. Side 3 carries only the closing: the ending theme 「地獄（NEVER END）」and credits. The film jacket illustration shows Joe and Alfin mid-action, with Ricky and Talos in the background — a different commission from the box exterior, carried from the film's original 1989 single-disc LD release.
Theatrical film disc jacket front — クラッシャージョウ (1983, dir. Yasuhiko Yoshikazu). The crew in action; Joe and Alfin fore. VAP. Cover illustration signed Y.A.S. at lower right.
Theatrical film gatefold interior spread — synopsis section titled COSMIC ADVENTURE CRUSHER JOE. Production stills, story overview, and full staff and cast credits. Blue-field design with white type.
Theatrical film disc jacket — alternate illustration: the Crusher One spacecraft launching over a lit city at night, gas giant rising in the upper background. Cover illustration by 葦原良和. VAP.
The Ship Jacket
One of the film disc jackets dispenses with character art entirely: the Crusher One ship rising from a night-lit city, two moons visible, the title in red type at the top. An illustration that treats the spacecraft as the primary subject. Both theatrical disc jackets are included alongside the two 1983 theatrical mini-posters — reproductions of the original cinema flyers, captioned 安彦良和第一回監督作品 / 宇宙が熱い！ (Yasuhiko Yoshikazu's First Feature / Space Is Hot).
Exclusive illustration by 安彦良和 (Yasuhiko Yoshikazu), signed Y.A.S. — Joe and Alfin in watercolor, gold and gray washes on a warm ground. Commissioned for the Eternal Perfect Box and not reproduced in any subsequent release.
Companion booklet opening spread — 「クラッシャージョウ」LD BOX記念対談: commemorative conversation between 安彦良和 (left) and 高千穂遙 (right), with production photographs of both. Text fills three columns across two pages.
LD BOX記念対談
The booklet's first section is a conversation between the two architects of the franchise — novelist 高千穂遙 and character designer 安彦良和 — that did not previously exist in print. The interview covers the novel origins, the development of the character designs, the transition from page illustration to screen character, and the gap between the 1983 film and the 1989 OVA revival. The conversation occupies the first section of a booklet that runs through the complete design documentation for all three productions.
Booklet spread — CRUSHER JOE character design section. Line drawings: Joe, Alfin, Ricky, Talos in full orthographic views; the Crusher One spacecraft schematic at right. Production notes and character descriptions in caption blocks.
Booklet spread — CONVERSATION TO CRUSHER JOE: secondary character line drawings, villain orthographics, and vehicle reference sheets. Production stills inset.
Booklet spread — mecha and ship design section: Crusher One detailed views, antagonist ship orthographics, vehicle schematics. Line drawings attributed to the theatrical film's mechanical design team.
スペシャルデザイン
The theatrical film section closes with a スペシャルデザイン (Special Design) spread documenting the villain roster and faction hardware — the secondary cast that the gatefold synopsis leaves unnamed. Antagonist character orthographics, flagships, and support vehicles are each captioned with design notes. The section registers the film as an ensemble piece rather than a two-character story.
Booklet spread — スペシャルデザイン: villain and secondary-character design sheets for the theatrical film. Antagonist character orthographics, flagship schematics, and support vehicle line drawings with caption blocks.
Booklet spread — オリジナルビデオアニメ監督単独インタビュー: director 滝沢敏文 (Takizawa Toshifumi) solo interview with production photograph. Character design reference sheets for Joe and Alfin in the OVA redesigns at right.
Booklet spread — TRAP OF THE FREEZE PRISON settei section: OVA1-exclusive character orthographics for Ricky, Talos, and antagonist cast; full-figure line drawings with costume and proportion notes.
The OVA Documentation
Each OVA receives its own booklet section with a dedicated Takizawa interview and full settei pages for that episode's exclusive characters and vehicles. OVA1 (氷結監獄の罠) covers a cryogenic prison break, expanding Ricky and Talos's screen roles beyond their film appearances. OVA2 (最終兵器アッシュ) introduced a new antagonist configuration requiring its own design set. Both sections are production documentation — not promotional material but the actual model-sheet extracts used during animation.
Booklet spread — THE ULTIMATE WEAPON ASH settei section, page 1: villain character orthographics, antagonist ship schematics, and key support vehicle line drawings. The OVA2 antagonist set is larger than OVA1's.
最終兵器アッシュ
The second OVA was released the same month as the LD Box — April 1990 — making VPLV-70714 the first home video format to carry the title. Its settei section is the more extensive of the two OVA documentation packages: the new villain roster required a larger character set, and the climactic hardware introduced a mecha configuration not present in the earlier films.
Booklet spread — THE ULTIMATE WEAPON ASH settei section, page 2: additional antagonist character sheets, secondary mecha orthographics, and production notes. The largest single settei section in the booklet.
Box inner back panel — complete chapter and track listing for all three discs, followed by LD Box staff credits. Release date: 1990年4月21日. Production: VAP / Sunrise Originals / Sunrise. Cover illustration: 葦原良和.
Theatrical mini-poster reproduction (variant 1) — 安彦良和第一回監督作品 / クラッシャーJoe / 宇宙が熱い！ Original 1983 cinema flyer. Included loose in the box.
Theatrical mini-poster reproduction (variant 2) — alternate layout of the 1983 theatrical flyer. Different composition; same tagline. Two poster reproductions total in the box.
The second OVA, 最終兵器アッシュ, was released the same month as the Eternal Perfect Box — April 1990. VPLV-70714 is the first home video format to carry it.
The box assembles the complete Crusher Joe screen franchise in the sequence it was made: the theatrical film, then OVA1, then OVA2. The chapter listing confirms this order. The companion booklet follows the same sequence — Yasuhiko and Takachiho conversation first, then the film's design documentation, then each OVA in turn with its own director interview and settei section.
The exclusive Yasuhiko watercolor breaks the sequence. It sits outside the documentation structure — not attached to any specific production, not labeled, just Joe and Alfin in gold and gray, signed Y.A.S. The box contains it the way a book might contain a pressed flower: something the assembler included because it belonged there, without needing to explain why.
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