Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – The Desert Alca Valino Gang

Once again we are back in the wild, wonderful deserts of planet Zi, readers! Yes, this writer promised to tackle more Thundercats characters in these Spotlight! posts this year. She intends to do that, when time permits, but there are other items which need to be discussed in this section first. Zoids is one of those things, especially since the sixth series in the franchise ended recently.

I have not had time to watch more than a few episodes of Zoids Wild Zero, but so far it looks like a real love letter to fans of Chaotic Century. The only thing which I feel compelled to complain about with regard to it is the new zoids’ size. Everyone wants something new as the years pass, so the change makes some sense, especially since the story takes place on Earth rather than Zi. Still, this blogger would be lying if she didn’t say she preferred the original models from the 1980s and the 1999/2000 “reboot” of the franchise brought on by Zoids: Chaotic Century.

In this blogger’s opinion there is just something more realistic, more believable, about the older zoid models. While machines tend to be streamlined the longer man tinkers on them (witness the evolution of the computer), the newer zoids in Wild Zero just appear too clean cut. As if they were meant to be spiffy rather than something you could imagine actually riding around in.

Granted, for some of the new zoids, this design works very well. For others, it leaves a fair bit for this fan to desire. But given how poor its predecessor shows Fuzors, Genesis, and Zoids Wild were, I am not in a position to complain overmuch. I may pine a bit for “the good old days,” but that’s it. Since the original creators of Zoids: Chaotic Century and Zoids: New Century Zero came back to produce Zoids Wild Zero, all I can do is lodge a few mild whimpers and get back to being happy that my favorite franchise is back on display.

Seguing from that rather convoluted introduction, we can turn to today’s topic: the Desert Alca Valino Gang. Mentioned in many a post on Zoids: Chaotic Century, the last detailed look we had at their members was the piece on Rosso and Viola. But while these two members had more to do in the story than the men they led, this does not mean those characters are worth ignoring.

In point of fact, I wish there had been some hints as to what happened to the rest of the Desert Alca Valino Gang after the last episode where they all appeared together. Though two members reappeared following that installment (titled “The Road to the Republic”), they vanished from the narrative following the events of the episode “Prozen’s Conspiracy.” Given how little we saw of them, this blogger has always regretted the lack of time and development they got onscreen.

So, without further ado, here are the other five members of the infamous Desert Alca Valino Gang:

Bole

Bole: The youngest and newest member of the group, Bole is actually the first gang member we meet. Having captured a wild blue Guysack prior to the start of the series, the cocky and demanding boy spots Van on one of his jaunts into the desert outside the Wind Colony, whereupon he immediately decides to make his life miserable. Chasing the unarmed boy who has to be at least two or three years his junior across the sand, Bole eventually corners him atop the wreck of a Gojulas attached by time and the desert to the ruins of an old military base.

Although Bole doesn’t manage to hit Van, his shots jar the wreck loose from its moorings, causing the dead Gojulas and some of the ruins to collapse on his Guysack. Too focused on Van to save himself, Bole is knocked out by the hit and his zoid is trapped. When he awakens two older members of the gang tell him off for “getting all excited over a stupid kid,” thereby wasting his time and theirs.

Bole does not have many lines after this, and we never see him again after “The Road to the Republic.” Throughout his appearances he has the air of a teen desperately trying to prove himself a man by any means necessary. But his lack of maturity and self-assured belief that he can bulldoze his way through any obstacle only demonstrates how far he still has to go. Despite being a hotheaded fourteen-year-old, Van displays a greater understanding of responsibility and more self-possession than Bole does during his early adventures than the blue-haired kid does in these episodes.

It must be said that Bole has something of a sadistic streak as well. Whether this is just an attempt to show how macho he is or it is a real character flaw remains up for debate, since we do not see him often enough to judge for certain. But considering his gleeful torture of Zeke after the latter saves Van from him, it can be argued that the he enjoyed others’ pain more than a little too much for comfort.

Nero

(Sorry for the binoculars, but there were no other good pix available!)

Nero: The second member of the gang, Nero is a big, black haired gronk whose initial defining characteristic is irritation. When we first see him in the opening episode, he is watching Bole chase Van all over the dunes. The younger gang member’s excitement over finally having a zoid and, thereby, the opportunity to prove himself to the rest of the group does not impress the older bandit. It only aggravates him. Even after he is reminded that Bole did not receive a zoid “from the boss,” as he did, Nero says something along the lines of, “I hear ya. But that still doesn’t justify getting excited over a stupid kid.”

Conversely, Nero shows an inordinate amount of delight when he fires on the ruins in order to trap Van inside them. He also takes a step back when Zeke resurrects the Shield Liger, giving the boy the ability to fight off the bandits. This instinct to retreat turns out to be well-founded as the inexperienced teenager manages to strike Nero’s Command Wolf, disabling its combat system so that it is “too stunned” to continue the battle. Along with Bole and another gang member, Nero is all too happy to retreat when the senior member of the three suggests they get out of Dodge.

Later, Nero relishes the idea of getting back at Van for this ignominous defeat. He doesn’t get many more opportunities to speak onscreen, and the few times we see him, we have to judge his thoughts by his expression. During the finale of “The Road to the Republic,” he can be seen with a remorseful and worried look on his face as Rosso disbands the Gang to prevent their capture by the Imperial Army. It appears, therefore, that he was particularly loyal to Rosso and may have left the Imperial military out of respect for him.

Since we don’t know why he, Rosso, Viola, and other members of the Gang were pushed out of the military, this is conjecture on my part. The Gang didn’t seem to be on a crusade, as they were more than happy to jump at the chance to get back in the Empire’s good graces. More than likely Nero was simply unhappy to see his leader and friend defeated, hinting that there may have been a more complex character under the Neolithic façade the bandit kept up in front of his fellows and his enemies.

Bianco in his Command Wolf

Bianco: Bianco is the third member of the Desert Alca Valino Gang to appear onscreen. Soft-spoken, level-headed, and long-suffering, based on Rosso and Viola’s regard for him I have always suspected he was third in the chain of command. From what we see of him, it seems that Rosso and Viola trusted him to keep the other men in line when they weren’t around, as well as lead any missions they couldn’t take on themselves.

During the first episode, Bianco shows sympathy for Bole’s eagerness to throw his newfound weight around in the Guysack. While accepting Nero’s criticism of their young compatriot, he reminds the bigger man that they “don’t want [Van] blabbing about seeing them out here” to the nearest village. When Nero cheerfully seals Van in his supposed tomb, Bianco chides him for exhibiting the behavior he criticized in Bole, before asking if he’s going to help dig the kid’s Guysack out of the rubble.

Seeing Zeke punch out of the ruins with Van on his back, Bianco immediately tags him as a potentially lucrative item worth stealing. He leads Nero against Van and his Shield Liger in order to acquire Zeke, telling the other bandit off for stepping backward and letting Van “psych [him] out.” “The Shield Liger is a high performance zoid,” he reminds Nero, “there’s no way a kid like that can control it properly!”

Bianco eats his words a moment later, as his Command Wolf is damaged by a lightning fast display of Van’s latent, native piloting skills. Though he holds a grudge against the boy for this defeat, he does so without the near-giddy anticipation in his voice that Nero demonstrates, or the vitriol expressed by Bole. In “The Protectors,” he does not fare well when he tries to strike Irvine, suggesting the latter is a better Command Wolf pilot than he is despite being younger than Bianco by some years.

After Viola, Bianco seems to be the most upset that Rosso is turning himself in to the Imperial Army to protect the Gang at the end of “Road to the Republic.” This may be why he is so jovial and relaxed when he reappears in “Prozen’s Conspiracy” than when we saw him previously. He also playfully ribs his commander in the manner of a close friend, even going so far as to tease the giant redhead about his relationship with Viola over the radio. (“How’s that date you’ve been hoping for working out?”)

Following his injury in battle with the operatives sent to kill the Crown Prince the same day the Gang kidnaps him, a bandaged Bianco logically sets out the reasons why he and his fellow bandit should be left behind by Rosso and Viola. Wounded worse than anyone else in the brief conflict, his ability to disappear and/or fight is severely limited by the amount of physical damage he sustained holding back the black ops soldiers sent to murder the Prince. It’s also possible he saw this as a way to repay Rosso for taking the fall for the team back in “Road to the Republic,” but that is a guess on my part and not a confirmed part of the story.

Overall, after Rosso and Viola, I would have to say that Bianco was the most likable member of the Desert Alaca Valino Gang. He was smart, sharp, sympathetic, and above all, loyal. If there was only one bandit the writers could have brought back, even briefly, for the second season of the series I would have asked them to show us what happened to Bianco. That guy did not get nearly enough screentime, and it is a crying shame his fate is left to fan imagination.

Welda

(Which should translate as “slime.”)

Welda: The most despicable member of the Gang, Welda (pronounced “Well-Day”) was a skirt chaser and something of a pervert. He hit on almost every woman or girl he met, the exceptions being Viola and Moonbay, likely because they would have had him curled up on the floor minutes after he tried to get his hands on them. Not that Rosso would have appreciated Welda going after Viola, either. Plus, attempts by soldiers to woo women with zero interest in them and who are above them in the chain of command is generally understood to be a bad idea no matter where one goes.

A chatterbox, Welda chides Viola for telling him and his fellow bandit to speed up their zoids’ pace before her Redler stalls. Reminding her that pushing their engines too far will burn them out, he ends up trying to get a response out of the silent member of the team. When the man doesn’t answer Viola suggests Welda learn to stop talking once in a while himself, leading him to blow her off with an irritated, “Yeah, yeah.”

When they arrive at the Wind Colony, Welda is only too happy to shoot holes in the ground with his zoid’s guns and scare the villagers. He also hits on and then kidnaps Van’s older sister, Maria, mostly because he thinks she’s cute. Although the villagers try to hand Zeke over to the Gang to get Maria back, Welda “changes his mind” and recaptures her. When he and the Gang are accused of lying, he replies cheerfully, “I just couldn’t bear to say goodbye, she’s such a pretty little thing. By the way, after we get the Organoid, we’re going to burn your village to the ground!”

It’s hard to say how much of the latter statement is true. At this point in the story, Rosso and Viola might not have thought anything of razing a Republican colony just because they could. And, while Viola didn’t appreciate Welda’s obviously lascivious interest in Maria, neither did she gainsay him. Granted, Zeke didn’t give her the time, but it still doesn’t speak well of her or the rest of the Gang’s moral standing at that point in the series.

The last time we see Welda (thankfully) is in “The Road to the Republic.” He helps capture Van and Moonbay – whom he does not attempt to hit on while onscreen –and stands ready with the rest of the group to await Irvine and Fiona’s arrival with Zeke. When Fiona is captured after jogging up to untie Van and Moonbay, he straight up says she’s “going to be a real knockout someday.” His words appear to fly completely over the young girl’s head, a blessing of her naïveté if ever there was one, and he is quickly distracted from saying more when he spots a non-chalant Irvine standing beside the bound Van and Moonbay.

We do not see or hear from Welda again after this, and honestly, he is the member of the Gang I miss least. The less seen or heard from him, the better – unless we were to be treated to a scene of Moonbay leaving him curled up on the floor crying. That might be worth his reappearance all by itself. 😀

Darn, can’t find his picture. Here’s a shot of the main cast instead.

Jaro: The third biggest and tallest member of the team, Jaro is described as “the strong, silent type.” Blond and sunburned, he says little but acts as a steady presence for the team. When he does speak, the rest of the Gang listens.

Along with Welda and Viola, Jaro assaults the Wind Colony to capture Zeke. He is surprised at Van’s skill like the rest of the Gang and follows his XO when she calls for a retreat. Welda whines about it while Jaro remains stoically silent.

He helps capture Van and Moonbay in “Road to the Republic,” but has no speaking lines here. One could be forgiven for thinking him a mute, since he refuses to speak. When he does talk in “The Fog at Iselina,” it’s something of a shock.

On the run with his XO following Rosso’s capture, Jaro takes the time to find out where Van and Co. are headed. Viola is shocked to find the answer is Mount Iselina, her home, and she fills a wondering Jaro in on the inhabitants and their way of life as they break camp. When the big guy suggests carpet bombing the place to get their revenge on the travelers, Viola countermands him and says she’ll do the strategizing for the mission.

Though he questions her decision not to annihilate the village, Jaro follows her orders nonetheless. His Pteras Striker is knocked out of the air by Van during the battle, so he only reappears at the episode’s finale to watch as Viola says goodbye to her sister. That probably answered any lingering questions he had about why she didn’t want to bomb the village to oblivion, and it may also explain why he did not press her when she refused to chase after Van again.

Jaro’s stoicism tones down some in “Prozen’s Conspiracy,” as he laughs at his commander’s expense following the prison breakout. Again, he does not say much until he backs up Bianco’s assertion that the two of them have to stay behind. The angry, quiet desperation in his voice is palpable, showing that he genuinely respects and cares about his commander and XO.

Aside from Bianco, Jaro is probably one of the Gang members who needed more development, if only because he didn’t talk much. There had to be a lot going on inside his head that we never saw or heard, since he largely kept to himself. It would not have been easy to illustrate his character under those restrictions, I guess, but talented writers like Takao Kato and the rest of the crew who worked on Chaotic Century could have pulled it off if they had had more time.

Well, that concludes this post on the Desert Alca Valino Gang! The next Spotlight! post should be a roaringly good piece, if I do say so myself, but I had to get these guys described before I tackled that character. They have been in Spotlight! limbo for too long, so it was time this author released them from the waiting room of her mind.

I hope you enjoyed this article and that it inspires you to take a look at one of the best mecha anime in history. With luck, I will be able to squeeze in another post about Zoids before the year is out. Until then –

Catch you later!

The Mithril Guardian

Spotlight: Zoids – The Guysack

Well, here we are on Zi again, readers! Today’s subject is a Republican zoid, the Guysack. Before we go further, you pronounce it guy-zak, not guy-sack. I know, it is not pronounced the way it is spelled. If we were to list all the words that are pronounced in a different way than they are spelled, however, we would be here all day.

Okay, so the Guysack is obviously a scorpion-type zoid. Used by the Helic Republic’s infantry pilots, the Guysack’s cockpit is in its head. Most of these cockpits have orange canopies, but I did see one with an emerald canopy. Their traditional coloring is a sort of sandy brown, which lets these zoids blend in with the desert.

These are zoids which can burrow under and crawl through the sand dunes of Zi. Speedy and lightweight, every Guysack I have ever seen comes equipped with a gun in the end of its tail, where a real scorpion’s poisonous stinger is hidden. This is the zoid’s main weapon, but it can be outfitted with other armaments. Stinger, a mercenary character whom we will discuss in detail later on, owned a modified Guysack which came with extra guns on the tail and missile pods on the main body. I believe there might also have been some mini-guns attached near the zoid’s pincers. Despite this added ordinance, however, Stinger’s Guysack was faster than most of its brethren due to even more modifications he had made to it.

Now those pincers in the zoid’s “mouth” really aren’t useful for combat, but the Guysack’s calws are not to be messed with if you can help it. They are wicked sharp and can do quite a bit of damage, something Zeke can tell you better than anyone. I never saw the Guysack’s claws used as much as they could have been, but I am fairly sure that they can cause a reasonable amount of damage to other zoids.

Most of the time we saw Guysacks in Chaotic Century, they were used as Sleeper Zoids – or “Sleepers” for short. Sleepers are zoids run by computers which use preprogrammed tactics to decimate enemy units. They have a certain amount of cunning when they are set loose, being able to lure enemies into hard-to-escape areas where they are easily surrounded and overwhelmed by the Sleepers’ (usually superior) numbers and firepower.

Stinger’s red Guysack

While Sleepers do not have enough smarts to outthink a zoid with a pilot, the fact that there are a lot of them often makes up for their lack of intelligence. Also, Sleepers do not necessarily differentiate between transporters and enemy units. Van, Fiona, Moonbay, Zeke, and Irvine were all caught in a “Sleeper Trap” in the fifth episode of Chaotic Century, primarily because the Guysacks sensed the ammunition Moonbay was carrying had been made by the Guylos Empire. Because of that, their programming activated and they chased the gang into the ruins where they were based.

You can see how the heroes escaped this trap when you watch the episode, readers. Suffice it to say, Guysacks were not much more than cannon fodder throughout Chaotic Century. Even when they were piloted by characters that played important parts in certain episodes, they did not stick around long. Van stole Stinger’s Guysack and piloted it well, but his skill wasn’t enough to keep the mercenary from blowing it apart.

Bole was not an impressive Guysack pilot. He somehow wrangled and got control of a wild blue Guysack before the first episode of the series begins, but he never does more than shoot or ram with it. Aside from beating up Zeke, he did not show any particular talent for piloting which makes the Guysack stand out.

However, none of this makes the Guysack a weak zoid. And while it was most often shifted to Sleeper or infantry duty, we did see it put to other uses. The Guysack could be modified to serve as a construction/excavation vehicle; the claws could be removed and replaced with a scoop for digging or moving rock and dirt. It was also possible to swap the claws for individual metal detectors/sonars and other equipment meant to scan below the surface.

All in all, I would say the Guysack was a largely underutilized zoid. Despite the poor management of the zoid in this series, I have a certain respect for this “mechanical combat unit” and wouldn’t mind using one in battle. I would certainly prefer the four-legged predator style zoids, but the Guysack has a lot to recommend it. It is not a zoid I would disrespect or refuse to pilot.

To see more of the Guysack, check out Zoids: Chaotic Century at your earliest opportunity, readers. While the Guysack appeared in Fuzors (with green armor), from what I remember, Chaotic Century will be the show where you will see it in action most often.

See you on the battlefield!