Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – Rosso and Viola

Once more this blogger brings you to the burning deserts of Zi, readers! Today’s subject is not a zoid, however. No, today we are looking at two of the best characters in Zoids: Chaotic Century. These would be none other than Rosso and Viola, the bandits who became guardians of peace and justice.

If you are scratching your head over that statement, I will do my best not to spoil too much of it for you. This is a transition that should really be viewed for its full impact to have any meaning. For this reason, the discussion today will focus on the characters’ introduction and the lead up to the moment where everything changed rather than on their relationships with other cast members in the story.

All right, down to business. Rosso and Viola appear in the second episode of Chaotic Century as the leaders of the Desert Alca Valino Gang. Viola is reading their subordinates – Bianco, Nero, and Boll – the riot act for being defeated in battle by a village boy in the opening installment. The three have limped back to base following their confrontation with Van and are trying to justify their loss to the novice pilot.

Viola isn’t having any of it, but Rosso takes the three men’s story as the truth. Intrigued by their description of Zeke, he realizes that the boy has an organoid in his “posession.” So he orders Viola to take the other members of the gang to steal Zeke so they can sell him to the Imperial Army in order to “regain [their] former position. Then [they] won’t be stuck playing games out here [in the desert].”

We never learn just why Rosso, Viola, and (presumably) the rest of the group were kicked out of the Imperial Army. Their skill as pilots certainly was not an issue. Given what is said in the show, it appears that Rosso and his most loyal officers were booted from the Army for offending a political bureaucrat or somehow disobeying the top brass.

Again, this is never confirmed in the course of the series. It is all conjecture on this author’s part, based on the hints dropped the English translation of the show. Since the two bandits do not appear in the manga at all, there is no other source of information to confirm or deny this theory. (Recently, I discovered that the manga and the anime for Zoids: Chaotic Century tell two completely different stories. Though several characters are the same, others either do not appear in the anime or are unique to the manga, and vice versa. Fans thus consider the two story lines to be set in alternate universes.) The hints in the series are just mysterious enough for viewers to come up with several reasonable guesses as to why the Imperials kicked the Gang out of the army.

In order to return to the Army, Viola leads her men in an attack on the Wind Colony, Van’s home town. When the hero’s big sister, Maria, insists he and Zeke left earlier, the bandit does not believe her. She kidnaps the younger woman in order to force the villagers to hand the organoid over.

Van, understandably, is not willing to go along with this. Escaping the village, he rescues Zeke and frees his sister. In the process he defeats the bandits once again. Realizing the others were telling the truth and that Rosso was right to believe Zeke was an organoid, Viola sounds the retreat.

After this battle Van, Fiona, and Zeke leave the Wind Colony to protect the village from repeated attacks. For seven to ten episodes after this, the Desert Alca Valino Gang more or less follows the two and their new friends across the lawless countryside. Though they do not actively pursue them, they do run into each other rather frequently.

Rosso and Viola also play a role in the growing unrest between the Helic Republic and Guylos Empire. Hired to attack an Imperial battalion to trigger the Battle of Red River and renew the war between the two countries, the Gang is hung out to dry by the officer who requested their help when the skirmish fails to spark a war. Desperate to avoid prison, Rosso decides to go after Van in a last ditch effort to capture his organoid and sell Zeke to the Imperial Army. He essentially hopes to buy back his former rank and save his and his people’s skin.

The plan, of course, fails. Rosso is arrested and sent to military prison, leaving Viola bent on vengeance for her lover’s incarceration. Her own plans are derailed, however, when she finds that Van has stopped off in her old village and become friends with her baby sister. In order to prevent her younger sister, Rosa, from learning the truth about Viola, Van lies and makes himself out to be the villain. This leaves the woman who wanted to kill him deep in his debt and with a new outlook on life.

More befalls the bandits in the course of the show, but to reveal all of that would be telling. 😉 All I can say is that the two make an excellent couple. Rosso trusts Viola as his second-in-command not only because he loves her, but because she can mentally and physically keep up with him. Both bandits are also proficient at infiltration, shown when they steal into the Imperial palace to execute a kidnapping, and they are master tacticians.

The two compliment each other very well. Rosso is a good leader, able to direct his followers and Viola from behind or at the forefront of the battle. Using the nose horn on his Red Horn, he shattered the energy shield produced by Van’s Shield Liger, and his skill with the Iron Kong was amazing. While she lacks the physical and piloting power to attack an opponent directly, Viola was quite capable as the pilot of her Redler and showed her own strategic abilities in zoid combat on several occasions.

But it was when they were given command of the prototype Storm Sworders that the two really came into their own. This was more noticeable for Rosso, whose skill took an enormous leap forward. As I said in the post on the Pteranadon-type zoid, he controlled the Sworder in a manner similar to a samurai wielding his sword. Having been the pilot of an aerial zoid for far longer, it is possible that Viola was already at the height of her ability. The fact that she was easier to take down in a Storm Sworder makes this seem fairly likely, indicating that she may have had further to go to achieve complete harmony with her zoid.

To be perfectly honest, Rosso and Viola are two of the main reasons this blogger recommends Zoids: Chaotic Century so highly. Their story, which is not in the manga at all, is one of the best side arcs in the entire series. Although it got a bit sappy in a couple of places, their romance was handled well and their character growth is one of the things this author enjoys seeing every time she re-watches the show.

Normally, I would say more about their relationships with other characters in the story, but that would be going into spoiler territory for these two. Suffice it to say that Van has a greater effect on Rosso and Viola than the other way around. If they had not met and been bested by him, then neither would have become the guardians of peace and justice they were later in the show.

That’s not to say the two bandits had no effect on the hero. Without their initial, selfish desire to take Zeke, Van might have left the Wind Colony later than he did. The two were the catalyst which drove him to seek adventure beyond his home. If not for that, we never would have had a series in the first place. And later, when they become heroes in their own right, it is made clear that Van respects and counts the two as friends.

Rosso and Viola would be hard for Hollywood to cast based largely on their looks. I cannot think of any Hollywood actor who could conceivably fit the role of Rosso, though there are some actresses who could be done up to resemble Viola fairly easily. If – and that is a big if these days – a competent director, writer, cast, and crew could be found, then translating these two bandits and the rest of the characters to the silver screen would be possible. Unfortunately, though, that does not seem likely to happen.

On the bright side, if you are interested in “meeting” these two heroes, you can either buy the DVDs on Amazon or watch the show for free here. Though the first few episodes may not be impressive, if you give the series a chance it will more than reward you for your patience. But don’t take my word for it – check out Zoids: Chaotic Century see for yourself how good it actually is!

Catch you later!

The Mithril Guardian

Spotlight: Zoids – The Redler

Here we are on Zi again, readers! Today’s subject is a zoid that makes up almost ninety percent of the Guylos Empire’s air force. This zoid is the Redler.

Based on the Japanese dragon, the Redler usually seats one pilot beneath the orange or green canopy in its head. But it can be modified as a two-seater and – in a pinch – three big guys can squeeze into the cockpit behind the pilot’s seat. I know because I saw three of Viola’s male friends cram themselves in to her Redler’s cockpit while she flew it. And yeah, it looked about as comfortable as it sounds.

The Redler is dragon-type, as I stated. This is its official designation, as well as my understanding of the zoid from its appearance. Like the organoids in Chaotic Century, the Redler only has three toes on each foot or talon. Japanese dragons only have three claws on each foot; Chinese dragons have five digits and Korean dragons have four. Japanese lore holds that dragons from Japan grow extra claws when they leave the land of the rising sun. Chinese and Korean lore hold the opposite; they say their dragons lose claws when they go to Japan.

Anyway, the Redler is definitely based on the Japanese dragon. It is a lightweight zoid that usually comes equipped with bombs and missiles under is translucent wings, which extend for flight and can fold closed when the zoid lands. Some Redlers also come equipped with mini-machine guns under their “noses.”

The Redler’s only built-in weapon is its tail sword. This sword lifts up from the tail, where it fits into a hidden slot. The blade is sharp enough to do damage to Shield Liger armor. Diving at a land zoid from above and with momentum from its flight behind it, the Redler can also knock such a zoid to the ground. Along with the damage inflicted by the blade, this is usually bad news for the pilot of the ground zoid.

Most Redlers have Imperial purple armor. But the Redlers belonging to the Empire’s elite Eisenback unit are black and faster than normal Redlers. And in The Emperor’s Holiday, Rudolph is shown to have an escort of black Redlers with modified heads. These rounded heads give the Redlers a more dragon like appearance and make them look more like Redlers used for bodyguards of the Emperor, I believe. There is no given explanation in the series for why they appear different from normal Redlers, so this is conjecture on my part.

Viola’s Redler was the only one with a personalized color scheme, just like Moonbay’s Gustav was the only one that would stand out in a parking lot full of Gustavs. Why Viola’s Redler had orange and red armor is not stated; it could be that she acquired the Redler with this paint job, or she had the color changed to suit her outlaw lifestyle. Either way, hers was the most recognizable of the Redlers seen in Chaotic Century.

Some Eisenback and Imperial Redlers came with mini-machine guns placed on the sides of their heads instead of under them. These were no more powerful than the other kind. A few others came equipped with two large, long-barreled guns on their backs. These packed more of a punch than the mini-machine guns, but they were also fixed in place. Since the Redler’s fuselage is not articulated, it cannot bend very much. This would mean that the zoid would have to swing around and hold position to fire these large cannons, and that means the Redler might not be able to avoid enemy fire or an airborne opponent’s attack. A cannon of the same type with a single barrel was also available for Redler pilots and would be a drawback in combat for the same reason.

In fact, as a general rule, Redlers were the cannon fodder of aerial combat in Zoids: Chaotic Century. Van and his friends went through them like Luke Skywalker and the gang would go through Stormtroopers. While more impressive than the Republic’s Pteras Striker, the Redler was no match for a good pilot on the ground and it definitely could not compete with a Storm Sworder (but then, very few zoids can).

As you can tell, readers, the Redler did not make much of an impression on me. It is too slow for my tastes and not durable enough to take a beating in combat. Neither is the Storm Sworder, of course, but what it lacks in armor it makes up for in sheer speed. The Redler is a good zoid but it is just not my cup of tea.

However, that does not mean it cannot be your cup of tea. Until next time, readers, I will “see you on the dance floor – oops, I mean battlefield!”

 

Spotlight: Zoids – The Liger Zero

First of all, I would like to extend a humble thank you to those who have dropped by to check out the Zoids posts I have written. I started writing them because I love zoids and could find very little about them on WordPress. They are a niche series and market, and this means they are not particularly popular. But every time one of you clicks on a post about a zoid, I feel that I have connected, however briefly, with another fan of this amazing Japanese series.

Today’s zoid is not from Chaotic Century, my favorite series, but from two of the series which followed it. This zoid is the Liger Zero, the main or “hero” zoid in Zoids: New Century Zero and Zoids: Fuzors.

The Liger Zero is a cat-type zoid. With a body more streamlined than the Shield Liger’s or the Blade Liger’s, it does not immediately strike us as lion-type. Since ligers are the offspring of male lions and female tigers, it makes sense that all Ligers in the Zoids’ franchise would resemble lions. Other cat-style zoids in the stories are too different from lions for me to believe that good ol’ Liger here is anything but lion-type.

The Liger Zero’s cockpit is in his head, behind those glowing orange eyes. Liger Zero – or Liger for short, according to his pilots – is a very rare type of zoid. He is one of the few Ultimate X zoids on Zi. What is an Ultimate X? Well, according to New Century Zero, Ultimate Xs are zoids with built-in black boxes known as organoid systems. The writers chose this gimmick for their pilots instead of using an actual organoid running around by the pilot’s side to make them and their zoids more special.

This organoid system allows each Ultimate X to learn and adapt to an opponent’s moves. Once defeated, the zoid’s organoid system analyzes the battle to learn which maneuver brought it down. When an Ultimate X engages a previous foe who defeated it in a prior battle, it strikes in the opponent’s documented weak spot or retaliates with a more powerful move of its own.

This makes the Liger a very cool zoid, but it also means that the bar for the pilot he chooses does not have to be particularly high. Yes, I said the Liger Zero chooses his pilots. He has an organoid system built into his zoid core, and as my post on the organoids of Chaotic Century pointed out, organoids can choose their “owners.” The Liger works on the same principle; he is not dumb – as in mute – as most other zoids are.

New Century Zero, as I stated in the post Ready, Fight!, revolved around battles between prizefighters that were largely mediocre. Only a few characters in the show actually had the potential to become champion fighters, and they were held back by their lack of real competition. In my opinion, the pilot for the Liger Zero in this series was not one of these potential champions. Bit Cloud was funny and perceptive, but he did not have the fiber necessary to become a star pilot in the true sense of the term. Most of his success, I would say, is due entirely to the Liger’s ability to learn and make up counterattacks on his own.

In the course of New Century Zero, the Liger Zero’s white armor could be removed and three other armors put on in its place. The picture below gives you an idea of what these armors look like:

All four of these armors had specific uses. The first armor was the white “basic unit” plating. This had no weapons except for a double barrel gun set between the Liger’s forelegs. Though Bit added a sniper rifle to the Liger’s back while he was “wearing” this armor in the second episode of the series, the weapon was later removed. The Liger’s greatest asset while wearing the “basic unit” armor was his Strike Laser Claw attack. When Bit gave the word as the Liger charged forward, the zoid’s forepaws would begin to glow with bright yellow energy.

Once within striking range of another zoid, the Liger would leap and pull back one of his paws – left or right, it did not matter which. Both paws were charged with energy, but the Liger could only strike with one paw at a time. In this way he – and all other Ligers – resembles a real lion. Lions can only raise and strike with one forepaw at a time. They cannot use both in a lion-to-lion battle, perhaps not even while hunting. They can only strike with one forepaw.

The Strike Laser Claw, as I said in the post about the Shadow Fox, can easily cut through the “skin” of lightly armored zoids. Zoids with moderately thick armor can be taken down by this attack as well and, though it will not finish larger zoids with thick armor, the Strike Laser Claw attack will still do noticeable damage that can lower their combat ability. Bit ended several of his initial battles by using the Strike Laser Claw maneuver to finish off an opponent. This was the beginning of the Blitz Team’s winning streak.

The next armor, also from New Century Zero, was the Jaeger armor. This armor was blue with white highlights and it was very aerodynamic. Light though it was, it could take a decent amount of damage in close quarters fighting, mostly because the zoids it was designed to fight were lightly armored as well.

The Jaeger armor’s primary purpose was to boost the Liger’s speed. This it achieved flawlessly, allowing the Liger to keep pace with Jack Cisco’s Lightning Saix. While Bit used the Jaeger armor on other opponents from time to time, its main purpose was to even the fight when the Blitz Team was scheduled to do battle with Cisco and his Lightning Team. The Jaeger armor did not come equipped with any weapons save the boosters on its back. When the Liger wore that armor, he was the weapon.

The third armor for the Liger Zero was the Schneider armor. Orange with blue and white highlights, the Schneider armor came equipped with seven blue blades. Two were attached to the Liger’s sides and would fold up on his back, like a Blade Liger’s blades. Bit did not usually rely on these; his main attack when he put the Liger in the Schneider armor was the Buster Slash.

The Buster Slash was accomplished by the Liger extending five blue swords from his “mane.” These would flip forward to surround his head. One blade flipped down from the Liger’s forehead while four others would fold forward from his “cheeks.” These, like the blades on the Liger’s back, would charge with energy as the Liger ran toward his opponent. One hit with this maneuver was generally all Bit and the Liger needed to bring down a competitor.

The Schneider’s Buster Slash feature was a very powerful attack. Only a couple of zoids and their pilots were ever able to defeat it, and because of the Liger’s “black box,” their victories were short-lived. Bit and the Liger would eventually overcome a number of these defeats by using the “Seven Blade Attack.” Lowering the five forward blades, the Liger would then lower and extend the two swords on his back. These he would point forward from his sides, as a Blade Liger does when he is “shooting from the hip.”

This would allow the energy flowing through all seven blades to merge into a crackling, shield-like sphere of blue energy covering the front half of the Liger’s body. If the blades did not defeat an opponent, then the overwhelming energy produced by the seven charged swords would. Though Bit rarely used the Seven Blade Attack – and I doubt his true piloting ability – I have to admit this Attack was a beautiful thing to watch. It caused massive damage to opposing zoids and ended the battle with finality. The Schneider armor did not come equipped with any guns, just as the Jaeger did not. Aside from their built in weapons, the Liger could still use the Strike Laser Claw while “wearing” the Schneider or the Jaeger armor.

The fourth armor more than makes up for these armors’ lack of firepower, not to mention the “basic unit” armor’s small chest cannon. The fourth armor, known as the Panzer unit, was camouflage green and loaded down with guns. Lena must have envied Bit for this armor; he never had to reload it, so Dr. Torres was never pestered by anyone but his daughter for more ammunition and artillery. Bit was quite satisfied with what the Panzer already had.

The Panzer armor came equipped with two Hybrid cannons, each of which had two muzzles. These were mounted along the Liger’s sides and reached from his shoulders almost to his hips. The recoil on these cannons was so great that the Liger would go skidding backward several hundred feet after firing them. Meanwhile, missiles of every stripe and size that could possibly be inserted within the armor lay in wait for Bit to fire off his “Mega Bomb” attack.

When Bit fired the “Mega Bomb,” these missiles streaked out of hidden compartments throughout the armor. Using this attack, the Liger could destroy multiple targets at once, or almost obliterate a single opponent in one fell swoop. For gun and ammunition enthusiasts, the Panzer was the cream of the Liger’s crop of alternate armors.

Despite the power of the Panzer armor, Bit rarely used it. Because it held such arsenal, the armor was very heavy. It severely limited the Liger’s mobility. Combine this with the immense power the armor had to draw from the Liger for it to function, and it meant that the Panzer armor would make the Liger’s systems overheat to a dangerous degree. If Bit did not jettison the armor a few minutes after using it, he could very well kill the Liger.

And so, after using the Panzer armor in combat, Bit would have to jettison the Liger’s fourth skin on the battlefield. Heat shimmers would rise from the Liger as he stretched and shook off the sense of confinement. This was no big deal if the Liger had just dealt the final blow to his challenger. But if he had not done this, then he and Bit would be left completely vulnerable to attack. Without his armors the Liger Zero is literally naked; stripped bare with no defenses except his Strike Laser Claw. And even that may not work without a set of armor on his chassis. So while the Panzer was a great asset, using it carried too many risks most of the time. This was Bit’s reason for holding the armor in reserve after refusing to use it for most of the series.

The next two alternate modes the Liger Zero possessed were used in the Zoids: Fuzors series. I did not particularly enjoy Fuzors for the simple reason that it involved more meaningless prize fights with characters that had little talent for actual combat. Plus, the series ended mid-way through here in the States, and so I never saw the show from beginning to end.

I was also somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of separate Zoids fusing together. It felt a little too much like they were taking a cue from Transformers, where two Autobots or Decepticons could combine into one fighter. The organoids fusing with a larger zoid never bothered me; maybe because they did not change the zoid’s outward appearance on most occasions. But actual zoids in Chaotic Century and New Century Zero had never combined into one “combat unit” previously. I cannot say precisely why, but the concept never did sit well with me.

This is why I do not remember much about the two alternate modes of the Liger Zero in Fuzors. The first alternate mode was the Liger Zero Phoenix. A zoid which had never been seen before and which was something of a legend, the Phoenix was a wild zoid who did not usually mingle with the tame or piloted zoids.

Liger Zero Phoenix

Despite this, she eventually decided to partner with the Liger Zero and his pilot RD. That is correct, I said she. Throughout the series the Phoenix was referred to time and again as “she”, the first combat zoid ever to be declared female. The Liger Zero was always spoken of in the male sense, as were several other zoids in Chaotic Century. While the organoid Specula was called “it” a number of times in that series, I personally considered her to be female. The Phoenix’s gender was therefore not terribly surprising or upsetting for me.

I do not remember too much of the Liger Zero Phoenix’s capabilities in battle. I think the combined power of the two zoids allowed the Liger some limited flight capabilities and I believe it super-charged his Strike Laser Claw attack. There was also a lot of fire in the arena when RD had Liger Zero and the Phoenix combine into one; she was the bird of fire, after all. I think she may have added some flames to the results of the Strike Laser Claw attack.

This partnership did not end well. In one battle, RD got in over his head and the Phoenix was destroyed. At least, her zoid form was. You know the old legend about how the phoenix is reborn from the ashes, right? Well, after Phoenix’s death, RD went into an emotional tailspin. On his journey to find meaning in his life after getting his partner killed, he met a young, dark-skinned, dark-haired girl named Venus. She was a bright, chirpy little thing who was wise beyond her years and had feathers in her hair.

She also had the ability to commune with zoids, something RD discovered when he woke up to find her conversing one-sidedly with the Liger. (Liger’s growls do not translate into English, readers.) With Venus’ help, RD found a new Fuzor partner for the Liger, the Jet Falcon. The two combined into the Liger Zero Falcon and were a pretty impressive team – by Fuzors’ standards. I am not up to speed on their capabilities, but they were not to be sneezed at, from what I recall. And the Jet Falcon was referred to in the male sense, in case you were curious.

RD and Venus parted ways after this, but when they did he noticed that one of the feather’s the girl wore had fallen on the ground near his feet. Picking it up, RD was surprised to find it looked like a phoenix feather.

Liger Zero Falcon

This is as much proof as we ever get that Venus was in fact a reborn Phoenix, but in human form. I cannot say the idea is terribly unappealing; it was one of the few things I liked about Fuzors. After all, the legends never say whether the phoenix is reborn as a phoenix, and the Japanese writers obviously decided to have some fun with this assumption on the part of viewers. It was a very innovative story device, in my opinion. Color me impressed.

Well, readers, this is all the info I have on the Liger Zero. If you want to know more, check out Zoids: New Century Zero and/or Zoids: Fuzors. If you would rather skip watching the series, try the Wikipedia files on them instead. Neither of these series were my favorite show, and I must admit that I rank Fuzors even lower than New Century. But this is not the fault of the zoids, and they are always worth watching, even when their pilots are not.

So, in the spirit of the Zoidian desert, readers, I will “see you on the battlefield!”

Spotlight: Zoids – The Storm Sworder

I have never seen a swan in flight, readers. I have seen swans, but I have never watched them fly. I have no idea if they are poetry in motion while in flight; they are beautiful “baubles” on a lake. I only know that the ones I have seen are gorgeous creatures, and I wish I could see some again.

Why do I bring up swans? Check out the video below before you read on:

Beautiful, aren’t they?

These magnificent zoids are Storm Sworders. The fastest aerial zoids on Zi, the Storm Sworders were developed by the Helic Republic during the last days of their war with the Guylos Empire. Lightweight and able to reach Mach 3.2, Storm Sworders are the equivalent of American fighter jets. They are poetry in motion during flight – and during combat.

Storm Sworders come in two varieties: the white, “older” model Storm Sworder was the first type built. Lightly armored so that it can reach Mach 3.2 and keep together at that speed, these Storm Sworders are nimble Pteranadon-type fighters. They are single-pilot zoids with a back seat, making Storm Sworders capable of carrying two people. In a pinch, four rather small people can fit in the cockpit, which is behind the Sworder’s orange eyes.

Storm Sworders come equipped with missiles attached to their wings. These can be fired off like jet fighter missiles to strike down enemies ahead of or around them. Faster than anything else that flies, the Storm Sworder can outmaneuver every other aerial zoid in seconds. They can twist and turn, tumble and rise far faster than any other air zoid.

For close combat, Storm Sworders have a pair of blades or “swords” in their wings. (You didn’t think they were called “Storm Sworders” just because it was a cool name, did you?) Extended and charged with energy, these swords will cut through other zoids like a knife through butter. Most other air zoids have no prayer of avoiding a Sworder’s blades; they are simply too slow to dodge them.

Storm Sworders are also equipped with mini-machine guns behind the claws on their wings. The claws flip down to lie flat against the wing, the gun barrels pop out, and budda-budda-BOOM! ‘Nother enemy down! In addition to these weapons, Storm Sworders have something called “sword missiles.” These are long, thin blades which can be fired from the forehead area of the Sworder, as well as from the “wrists” of the zoid’s wings. Most pilots do not use these missiles in battle.

The zoids also have a blade, or sword, hidden in the “crest” on their foreheads. This flips up and is charged with energy to cut through an enemy the same way as the “wing swords.” All this makes the Storm Sworder one giant rapier, which can be piloted through the sky – to deadly effect!

The second variation of the Storm Sworder is the Triple S. Short for Storm Sworder Stealth-type, the Triple S is painted black and has the ability to remain undetected by radar. Otherwise, it is the same as the white, “older” Storm Sworders – just more sneaky. Of course, a Triple S that is “painted” by the enemy so radar can pick it up is in big trouble. But if you are not prepared for a Triple S to show up, you will not have the chance to “paint” it to see it on your radar.

A pilot for the Storm Sworder has to learn to manage the intense speed at which the zoid travels. Mach 3.2 is fast, readers! It is “tough on the body,” and a pilot incapable of taking the stress is not going to last beyond his first flight. This is also true for the zoid’s agility and nimbleness. Though such maneuvers cannot be executed at Mach 3.2, the zoids will still be carrying momentum from traveling at that speed when they get into a dogfight. The pilot has to be able to withstand the force of travelling at Mach 3.2 and be able to handle the zoid when it drops down to its lower speeds. Otherwise, the pilot’s a deader.

Rosso and Viola, characters from Zoids: Chaotic Century, are the best Storm Sworder pilots I have ever seen. (Actually, they are the only capable Storm Sworder pilots I have ever seen.) Of the two, Rosso is the better pilot. This is an interesting twist on the story, because Viola was the one who initially piloted flying zoids.

Rosso’s great skill with his Storm Sworder seems to come from his special attunement to the zoid. He lectured one pilot – twice – about the need to “guide your zoid with your spirit, pal! With your spirit!”

Almost every main character in Chaotic Century has a special bond with their zoid, the way Western cowboys bond with their specific or favorite horses. Rosso is one of the characters whose bond with his “mechanical combat unit” is the most noticeable and poignant. Rosso is tall, muscular, and would give Robin Hood’s friend Little John a run for his money. Yet he pilots the swan-like Storm Sworder flawlessly, as a samurai would wield a katana.

I wish I could take piloting lessons from this guy, readers. I really do!

The Storm Sworder is the pièce de résistance of aerial combat zoids. This is definitely a zoid I wish I had, for the simple fact that I would love to fly that high and that fast!

May the wind be at your backs, readers!

The Mithril Guardian