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: 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 Pteras Striker

Once more we return to the desert sands of Zi, readers! In all the hustle and bustle this year, I almost forgot to fulfill a promise I made in 2018. That pledge was to discuss the merits of the Pteras Striker, a Republican airborne zoid that was mentioned in the post about Moonbay. Luckily, this blogger realized in time that she had neglected this duty, a turn of events she intends to change right…. Now!

The Pteras Striker – Pteras is pronounced like “terrace,” just so you know – is one of the most familiar air zoids in the Republican air corps. A blocky Pterasaur-ish type bio-machine, its color scheme is usually blue and grey. The only other colors seem to be blue and yellow or grey and silver. There do not appear to be many variations in the paints used for this mechanical combat unit’s armor.

It is worth noting that the silver Pterases (pronounced like “terraces”) are faster than the average model. Why this is, yours truly cannot say. It may be that silver Pterases are equipped with booster packs or have lighter armor, allowing them to go faster. No explanation is offered within the series, so either guess may be accurate. This is mere conjecture on this author’s part, as she attempts to fill in the blanks left by the English translation of the show.

At first glance, it looks as though there is no way for Pteras Strikers to fly. Their wings are full of holes, after all. Doesn’t that negate the ability to soar? When this blogger asked that same question as a child, her father provided the explanation. Pterases fly by virtue of the electric current that flows through their wings. Although I no longer remember for certain, my father may have mentioned a type of real-life plane that operates on the same principle.

So if anyone knows about an aircraft that can do this, please mention it in the comments! This blogger would dearly love to know for certain if her memory has held up over the years. (Plus, if there is an existing plane that flies via this method, it just has to be cool! :D)

In terms of combat capabilities, the Pteras is…not this writer’s favorite zoid. The Pteras has light armor and is far slower than most of its competition, though it can be quick in close quarters or with the right pilot. While only the Raynos – a zoid from the sequel series Zoids: New Century Zero – could outclass the Storm Sworder directly in terms of speed, the Pteras seems unequal to the task of facing even an ordinary Redler in combat. The fact that we never saw these two air zoids clash during the series did not help the Pteras’ image.

Neither did the mechanical combat unit’s myriad crashes. The Pteras Strikers in both Zoids: Chaotic Century and New Century Zero were basically cannon fodder for heroes and enemies alike. There are many, many scenes in both series of one or more Pterases being shot down and tumbling out of the sky. Jamie Hermos, the pilot of a Pteras in New Century Zero, was the only character who ever seemed distressed by the loss of his zoid. Other pilots who, admittedly, used Pterases far less frequently and were less attached to them, often shrugged their loss off.

Besides their relatively thin armor, Pterases usually have two types of weaponry: light armaments and heavy artillery. One could argue silver Pterases maintained a nice middle-ground in the weaponry department, but the fact is that their weapons tended to be relatively light as well. Still, silver Pterases did have the better end of the armament stick, in this author’s opinion.

A basic Pteras model comes equipped with two missiles on its back and a mini-machine gun on the right side of its mouth. And when I say mini, I mean mini. The gun barrel is probably only a little wider than a man’s hand with all fingers spread.

The bullets fired from this gun are enough to seriously bother ground-based zoids and bring them up short, but they do not seem capable of causing major damage to their four-legged targets. New Century and Chaotic Century show the mini machine gun’s bullets as mere pinpricks that make a ground zoid’s armor bounce uncomfortably. So while annoying and potentially deadly (at least to the pilot), only prolonged exposure to the bullets would inflict definite harm on an opposing bio-machine.

With regard to the missiles, while they could deliver a substantially higher payload, there were only two of them. That would significantly reduce the Pteras pilot’s ability to fight off numerous opponents if he has to escape a battle, or if he is facing a better-armored zoid. It was not an especially encouraging armament for a mechanical combat unit sent into an active (or even an inactive) war zone. Given the Republic’s lack of wealth to procure materials, however, it made quite a bit of sense in context of the series.

Of course, “sense” does not mean “helpful.” In order to make the Pteras useful on the battlefield, Republican technicians and scientists added higher powered cannons to the wings of the Pteras Striker. These weapons packed more punch than the missiles on the zoid’s back and enabled it to carry more ammunition. Smaller arms that were still bigger than the Pteras’ “mouth cannon” were set alongside these larger guns, giving the zoid enough firepower to act as legitimate air support.

Naturally, though, this added weaponry put quite a bit of extra drag on the Pteras Striker. While nimble enough, the zoid was already inferior to most of its competition in the speed department. So throwing more guns on it only made it slower, meaning it became a more appealing and an easier target for Imperial forces. Again, not something that is particularly helpful in a war.

Silver Pterases, in contrast, came equipped with large machine guns on their wings. These were light enough not to interfere with the zoid’s mobility at the same time they provided it with significant firepower. Combined with their greater speed, these items made silver Pterases preferable to the basic models and their more heavily armed counterparts. Due to the lack of Republican resources, though, these zoids were not seen much during the war in the first season of Chaotic Century. For some reason, they never even had an appearance in New Century Zero. At least, this blogger does not recall seeing the silver Pteras in action during that show’s run.

Given these limitations, it makes sense that the Pteras would more regularly be used as a recon zoid. Replacing the missiles on their backs with a radar dish for greater range, the Pteras could provide the military with detailed reconnaissance. Even though this made the zoid even more vulnerable to attack, it was a pretty good idea – especially for the cash-strapped Republic.

Clearly, this blogger does not prefer the Pteras Striker as a combat zoid. It is a pretty mechanical combat unit, in its own way, but it would certainly be one of the last bio-machines I would choose to pilot in a fight. The only times this writer would take it out would be for a Sunday flight or if she was desperate. Or if the zoid was slated for dismemberment and cruel experimentation, but we will discuss that subject another time.

I hope you enjoyed this look at the Pteras Striker, readers. This will be my final Zoids post of 2019; there will be more next year, but since we are coming up on the Christmas season no more such posts shall be forthcoming this month. I have a couple of different articles planned, but you will have to wait and see what those will contain. 😉 Until next time –

See you on the battlefield, readers!

The Mithril Guardian

Spotlight: Zoids – The Helcat

Welcome back to the deserts of Zi, readers! Now you know that I have returned in truth, for only the Mithril Guardian could afflict her long-suffering followers with another post about an obscure mecha anime. Rejoice, for you are not following a hacked blog..!

Okay, enough with the hyperbolic preamble. I have seen a lot more Zoids posts here at WordPress, which tells me that the franchise has returned to public knowledge. So, although I am not a fan, it appears thanks are owed by this blogger to the writers who came up with the latest Zoids series. Kudos, Zoids: Wild. You brought interest back to our favorite planet in the far reaches of the Milky Way. The story is not what this author would consider entertaining, but at least it succeeded in renewing curiosity about the larger world of this mecha anime. I can be happy about that. 🙂

Today’s zoid is from the Guylos Empire. Known as the Helcat, this panther-style mechanical combat unit is “the ultimate stealth zoid.” The cockpit, naturally, is situated in the zoid’s head. The green band that wraps around its “face,” where its mouth should be, is the visible part of the canopy. Once inside, the electrical imaging device in the cockpit will activate, giving the pilot a green tinged one-hundred-eighty degree view of the field.

A typical Helcat’s armaments belie its deadly potential. Normally, the Helcat’s only weapons are a small, double-barreled cannon on its back and a mini gun of some kind between its forelegs. There are is another, lighter type of gun attached to each of its shoulders and hips occasionally, but too many more weapons would weigh the zoid down and increase its noise output. With light armor, weapons, and speed, the Helcat is a combat unit that can fire quickly before ducking back into the shadows to escape larger zoids.

The zoid has other assets, though, and they are like no other. Equipped with a cloaking device known as an optical stealth unit, the Helcat can easily blend in with its surroundings. The zoid can also erase most of its own footprints and reduce its heat signature significantly. It also has muffled joints which make it hard to track by sound.

Combined with its cloak of invisibility, these devices make the Helcat almost undetectable. The muzzle flashes from its cannon do not give away its position reliably, since the pilot can move across the battlefield with relative impunity due to being largely invisible to the naked eye. And since Hel Cats are always deployed in groups, there are often several muzzle flashes appearing across the combat zone. Choosing one and hitting it is nearly impossible for an opposing pilot, even when he chances to spot the Cat’s outline against the background scenery.

This is one zoid that can give the best of pilots a hard time. Unless the Helcat’s cloaking device shorts out, or the opposing pilot sees the zoid’s outline against the terrain and keeps it in sight long enough to attack, it is impossible to track and hit this mechanical panther. If the Empire or a particular pilot enjoys the elements of surprise and bewilderment, this is the zoid for them.

Of course, the Helcats do have their vulnerabilities. Aside from the potential malfunctions with the optical stealth unit, a pilot in Zoids: Chaotic Century developed a handy technique to deal with the Cat. By using a computer to track the acoustic signals – i.e. the sounds Helcats cannot help but make, even with their muffled joints – he was able to pinpoint the position of every Cat on the field.

Also, the Cat’s speed and agility do not protect it from larger, faster zoids’ head on charges or higher caliber weapons. The Helcat is designed to bewilder and surprise an enemy, not beat it in a competition of speed and skill. There is a reason they are often deployed in large numbers, after all; a battalion of cloaked Helcats stands a much better chance of taking down opponent(s) than a single or small group does. Unless their target is totally unprepared, has no military training, or a zoid with even lighter armor, the Helcat will not stand a chance against him in a direct confrontation.

Still, despite these restrictions, the Helcat is an extremely versatile zoid. For a pilot who fights by relying on deception by fooling his target’s eyes, this Imperial mechanical combat unit is his best choice, bar none. Though eclipsed by the Shadow Fox in New Century Zero and rendered unimpressive by the technology in Zoids: Fuzors, in Chaotic Century no other stealth unit on Zi can compete with the Helcat.

That’s not to say that the Helcat is indefatigable. While Chaotic Century gave the zoid one of its best showings, it didn’t provide viewers with a demonstration of what the Helcat could really do. Most Helcats arrived on the scene only to be dispatched relatively quickly, which is a shame. I would like to see what a Helcat was truly capable of in the right hands.

Teevrol and his pilot, Niccolo

Usually, the Helcat is painted red and black, the preferred colors of the Imperial Army. There have been other color choices, however. One Helcat in Chaotic Century was a white/grey/powder blue named Teevrol, who could move about on his own, though he was too attached to his young pilot to leave him. In Zoids: Fuzors, a black Helcat appeared, but it was defeated quickly in both episodes where it showed up.

All in all, the Helcat is not a zoid to shun. With its optical stealth unit, muffled joints, and ease at avoiding detection, it really is the cream of the stealth zoid crop. And while it never got to show its true colors on screen, it is still a mechanical combat unit I would sincerely like to pilot.

Besides, who can say no to such a cool Cat? 😀

See you on the battlefield, readers!

The Mithril Guardian

Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – Moonbay

Here we again return, readers, to the burning deserts of the planet Zi! Although there will be more Zoids posts coming out next year, this will be the final one until 2019. I wanted to cover the main cast for the show before the year was out, so it seemed best to shift my earlier plans around in order to give Moonbay her dues today. There will be more and different Spotlight! articles forthcoming in January, however, so don’t think I have forgotten any of my promises! 😉

That being explained, let’s stop beating around the bush and get to business. First encountered by Van and Fiona in the episode “Sleeper Trap,” Moonbay serves as the mother figure of their group during the first half of the season. In this way she is a little like Star Wars Rebels’ Hera Syndulla. But where Hera is relaxed and laid back, Moonbay is feisty, fiery, and more than willing to tell off her hotheaded young charge, Van Flyheight.

Sharp-tongued and flirty, Moonbay has a good head for business and brooks no nonsense she herself does not commit. Though she can strike viewers as a bit greedy in her business dealings, the reality is that Moonbay is not a mercenary. Because she loves to travel and wants to preserve her independence, she needs to acquire a respectable influx of cash whenever she can get it. After all, it isn’t easy maintaining a zoid or buying supplies that will last over the course of long distance trips.

This is especially true after she hooks up with Van, Fiona, and Irvine, whom you can read about here, here, and here. Once she joins their party, Moonbay has three other mouths to feed and two extra zoids to maintain. Since the distances between villages and cities are rather long, that means more food has to be bought so the gang doesn’t run out of chow in the middle of nowhere.

The episode “Moonbay’s Waltz” demonstrates clearly that Moonbay is not the mercenary she first appears to be. In the course of this episode, Moonbay runs into an old sweetheart, a millionaire known only as McMan. McMan reveals he previously asked Moonbay to marry him, inviting her to a ball to introduce her to his family, but she never showed. Moonbay eventually admits that she ran away because she believed they were so different that a marriage between them would not work.

Thus one can see that the reason Moonbay is always looking for a big score isn’t because she loves money. She could have had more than enough if she had married McMan. The reason she is always bargaining for extra cash or, sometimes, swindling money from someone is so that she can support her footloose lifestyle. Being a carefree “transporter of the wasteland” is what she wants to do, and she will do whatever she must to ensure that she can keep going in this profession. Now that I think about it, she and Lando Calrissian would probably get along very well, not to mention have bucket loads of fun together.

In terms of fighting skill, Moonbay is actually pretty good at hand-to-hand combat. She does not do it often and, in a straight up physical competition, she would lose to a man in a few seconds. But when push comes to shove, she can and will fight. In the episode “Jump! Zeke!”, she took a Republican soldier by surprise, disarmed him, and held his arms pinned to his sides. Since he was about a head and a half to two heads taller than she was, not to mention broader, it is unlikely that Moonbay could have kept him prisoner for very long.

But as she proved in the next scene, she only had to hold him for a few seconds. What she lacks in terms of physical fighting power Moonbay more than makes up for in her wits. Keeping the soldier’s arms pinned to his sides, she managed to broker a deal to help the Republican Army defeat an incursion attempt by the Imperial Army in the following installment, “The Battle of Red River.” The deal paid well at the same time it got her, Van, Fiona, and Irvine out of trouble for blowing up a Republican sleeper trap. Using her business sense, wits, and the element of surprise, Moonbay hauled the entire gang out of a nasty bit of legal trouble.

These particular skills extend to her piloting abilities as well. Moonbay’s primary zoid throughout the series is her fuschia Gustav which, though it has thick armor, is not much of a fighter. Moonbay was only able to install one set of twin cannons beneath an armor joint between two of the shell’s plates. Though Irvine once told her she should install more weapons on it, Moonbay pointed out that the zoid would be too heavy to travel if she did that. So she sacrificed greater firepower for mobility.

As she proved, however, the Gustav can do plenty of damage when no one sees it coming. Using the zoid’s thick armor and hidden cannons, Moonbay could achieve a variety of attacks in combat. These ranged from bowling over two-legged opponents to firing two precise and incapacitating shots into an enemy zoid, disabling it at once. There were other occasions when Moonbay used the Gustav as a shield to protect herself and others from deadly explosions or shots as well.

Moonbay also became an excellent Pteras pilot. (More on that zoid next year – I promise!) She literally learned that skill on the fly, but proved to be a quick enough study that she and her passengers survived the experience. Due to her transporter skills, she also mastered the enormous Ultrasaurus later on in the series. A huge zoid that was basically a walking city/military base, once she was in the cockpit Moonbay grabbed the controls and didn’t let go. Despite constant reminders, she loudly and publicly proclaimed the zoid was “her” Ultrasaurus. Since she was the one piloting it ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, no one could really argue with her on that one.

Moonbay in her “Legendary Fireball” attire.

Though it was only revealed in the standalone episode “Phantom,” Moonbay also had a “need for speed.” She was once a champion racer known as the Legendary Fireball. Eventually, she quit the racing circuit for some unknown reason, only to return to the track briefly in “Phantom.” Due to a mistake during the race she lost the competition and, as far as I know, that was the last time she raced.

When it comes to relationships, in the first half of Chaotic Century Moonbay is definitely the mother figure for the younger members of the gang. This is most apparent in her relationship with Van; as noted previously, she will happily tell him off when he misbehaves or does something foolish. Occasionally she adds force to her lessons, punching, elbowing, or shoving Van around to get her point across. The reason for this is because she is trying to drive home the point that he has to “look after [him]self,” as there will come a time when no one else can or will take care of him.

Although their relationship is fraught with these kinds of confrontations early on, the fact is that the two do care about each other a great deal. Moonbay is not one to wear her heart on her sleeve, but she does admit that Van is “a pretty good kid,” and that she admires his determination to succeed no matter what. Even when he is older and more able to manage his own affairs, Moonbay still appears to consider him “her boy.”

This may have been shown best when she interposed her Gustav between Van’s downed Blade Liger and Raven’s resurrected Geno Saurer. Despite the fact that this resulted in a grave wound for her zoid, Moonbay didn’t regret the sacrifice when Van apologized in the next episode. While her reassurances didn’t alleviate his guilt, the fact that Moonbay blew off the severe damage showed she considered it a small price to pay for protecting him.

Her relationship with Fiona was less motherly and more sisterly. During the first half of the series the younger girl’s naïveté meant that she had to be watched over and protected more than a normal girl her age. When not “flying RIO” with Van in combat she remained with Moonbay, who took her under her wing. Slowly, through her time spent with the older girl, Fiona became assertive, gaining a decisiveness she had not demonstrated beforehand. Although she never became as feisty or fierce as Moonbay, the older woman did help instill in Fiona a strength of will that aided her later in life.

Moonbay also helped the girl relearn her way around zoids. As the go-to mechanic in the gang, both Van and Irvine relied on Moonbay to keep their zoids healthy. This was due not only to the fact that she was a good engineer, but because she knew a technique that would help zoids to “self-recover” faster than normal. Fiona often helped her on these occasions, giving her the opportunity to become Van’s personal mechanic later on. This skill also allowed her to aid scientists in upgrading his Blade Liger when she was older, which impressed Moonbay a great deal.

Another area in which the two were connected was in the way they worried over their men. As Fiona grew, she worried about Van more frequently because he began facing stronger and more deadly opponents. Knowing worry was useless, despite the fact that she often engaged in it herself, Moonbay did her best to support Fiona and help her relax before every big battle. The two were really close, shown by the fact that the only one Moonbay worried about more than Van was Fiona. If the younger girl was kidnapped or put in danger, Moonbay was instantly on the alert. Though she wasn’t much of a physical fighter, she would do her best to go after and rescue Fiona, no matter the danger to herself.

Finally, with regard to Irvine, Moonbay sincerely respected and liked the mercenary. Throughout the series they flirted with and teased each other; their behavior was so natural that sometimes a viewer could almost swear they were married. Being somewhat older than Irvine, she had more experience in certain matters than he did – namely the management of funds and the foresight necessary to finance a group that included herself, two growing kids, and one eighteen year old man who was used to living and fighting on his own. Where Irvine acted as the voice of combat experience during the first half of the series, Moonbay maintained the group’s social order and discipline. She made sure everyone ate on time, slept on time, and kept a tight rein on the way money was spent.

This meant that the two rarely argued or interfered with the other’s role in managing the kids, especially Van. When Irvine told Van off for wallowing in self-pity or blaming everyone except himself for a mistake, Moonbay held her peace and let him do it, recognizing he was more effective in this area than she was. But when it came time to let the boy alone to think things through or to tell him the hard truth about how the world worked, then the mercenary would let Moonbay do the talking since she was the one who had more experience in such matters than he did.

None of this is to say that their relationship was without its rough patches. Irvine had to repeatedly tell Moonbay to jettison her cargo of Imperial ammunition in “Sleeper Trap,” since her pride in never failing to deliver goods to an employer was putting them all at risk. In turn, she had to verbally slap him upside the head after his Command Wolf was wrecked by Raven later on in the series.

These instances of violent disagreement were rare and brief. Moonbay and Irvine made a good pair, shown by the fact that together they “raised” Van and Fiona right. To be perfectly honest, I’ve always suspected that they married after the series ended; they clearly cared about one another a great deal. During battles where Irvine was thrown around or injured, Moonbay often shouted his name, the way that Fiona would cry out if Van was injured. And while the mercenary often stated that Moonbay could “take care of herself” and was “pretty good in dangerous situations,” he didn’t appreciate it when she was threatened.

A future romantic relationship between the two is conjecture on my part, though, since the series leaves their relationship openended from start to finish. But while the writers may not have intended for them to be more than friends, I prefer to think Moonbay and Irvine became a couple at some point. She certainly couldn’t get away with saying she and he were “too different” to make a good match – not after everything they had been through together!

The more I write about these characters, the less I am able to think of actors, actresses, and directors who could ably bring them to the silver screen. It’s more than likely that an attempt to put them in a live action film would fail completely. They’re perfect the way they are.

If a competent, respectful group of creators could be found to make a solid, beautiful film (series) out of the show, then I might be more hopeful. But as things stand I am much happier to have the anime than a film (series).

Which reminds me: if you want to see this great show yourselves, readers, it is available in its entirety on Amazon.com. For those of you who want to test the show out before laying down hard-earned cash for it, check out the English dub of Zoids: Chaotic Century here at www.watchcartoononline.com. Don’t quit if you find the first two episodes a bit draggy and boring; wait until you reach “Sleeper Trap,” “Jump! Zeke!,” and “The Battle of Red River” before you make a decision. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. 😉

‘Til next time, readers:

“See you on the battlefield!”

Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – Irvine

Here we are in the desert sands of Zi once more, readers! This will be the last Zoids post I do for a while; I plan on writing at least a couple more before the year is out, since I want to make good on my promise from this review of Chaotic Century. The main thing is that the ball is rolling on this project, and that means I should be able to keep it moving forward.

So without further ado, let’s turn to today’s Spotlight! Here we focus on the mercenary Irvine, whom we first meet when Van and Fiona become lost in a sandstorm while searching for supplies. Seconds after coming face-to-face with the Irvine’s Command Wolf, Fiona and Van take an automatic step back out of surprise.

For Fiona, this is a bad move, since she ends up in a quicksand whirlpool and is nearly sucked under the dunes. Without a moment’s hesitation, Irvine pops the canopy on his Wolf and fires out a cable which he holds anchored, allowing Fiona to climb to safety. He then makes dinner for the two as night falls, listening to Van’s open, friendly prattle but saying little about himself in return.

Later, we find that Irvine wants to acquire an organoid so he can increase his fighting ability and strength. Setting his sights on Zeke, his first attempt at capturing Van’s friend ends in a two-on-one draw; this forces Irvine to retreat to fight another day. In the next two episodes he reappears, first as an unlikely (and disagreeable) ally in “The Protectors,” then again as a potential antagonist who becomes a fellow fighter in “Sleeper Trap.” He finally joins Van, Fiona, and Moonbay as a permanent member of the cast in the eighth episode.

While it appears that it is circumstances alone force Irvine into the position of collaborator for Van, these are not the only reason why he begins traveling with the boy. Despite his reluctance to admit it, he likes the kid. This is made clearest by his early kindess to Van and Fiona. It is totally unnecessary, after all; Irvine didn’t need to help them when he ran into them in the sandstorm. But he chose to do so, showing that he is not a villain at heart.

In terms of personality, Irvine begins the series as the voice of experience and temperance in battle. A sniper and an expert in all forms of stealth, he prefers saving his energy and using sleight-of-hand maneuvers to defeat the many enemies who go after him and his friends. Since he has hired himself out as an expendable target for some time, Irvine is well aware of what it takes to survive, and he does his best to drive this point home to Van and the others during the early installments of the series. His attitude during this time is often reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s “spaghetti Western” characters; Irvine is just too cool to blow his lid or charge off half-cocked.

But that’s in the first part of the series. From about the middle of season one onward, Irvine starts to show some of the traits viewers expect out of Star Wars’ Han Solo. In the second season these qualities become more pronounced, all but smothering his resemblance to Clint Eastwood. During the second season Irvine will rush into battle recklessly or cockily, something he often chided Van for at the beginning of the show.

This change in attitude could be due to the fact that Van quickly surpasses Irvine in skill, but it is hard to say for sure. It is possible that, once the boy no longer needs his enthusiasm checked, Irvine feels better about giving his own “wild side” more rein. This tends to cost him, as seen when Irvine banks on being faster than Raven’s new zoid which is large, heavy, and bulky. As he learns too late, this does not limit Raven’s speed at all. During the resulting fight, Irvine is injured badly while his Command Wolf is physically killed.

If he had held back this defeat might have been prevented, though it is likely that the Wolf would have been seized and destroyed regardless. Either way, Irvine’s foolhardy rush at Raven shows that he does have a tendency to leap before he looks, just as Han does. It seems he kept this facet of his personality under better control when he was responsible for protecting and giving preliminary combat training to Van. Upon the other’s graduation to full-fledged pilot, however, he seems to have felt he could relax his own guard and show off a bit more than was necessary – or safe – for him.

This leads us, neatly enough, into a discussion of his piloting skills. Clearly, when they first meet, Irvine is Van’s superior in combat, meaning he can defeat the boy easily. As time passes and the boy’s skill grows, though, he begins to outshine Irvine during the battles where they fight together against a common foe. While the mercenary’s piloting abilities continue to develop as the series progresses, they never again exceed his friend’s level of prowess. A born sharpshooter, Irvine’s talents are accented and sharpened when he becomes the pilot and owner of the Empire’s prototype Lightning Saix. Combining his accuracy with the zoid’s speed gives him a distinct advantage in combat that he does not hesitate to use.

In terms of his relationships within the series, Irvine quickly becomes attached to Van in an older brotherly fashion. Though he states at first that he is only traveling with the boy and his friends in order to steal Zeke, this is a thinly veiled excuse he uses to keep the others from pestering him. The simple fact is that Van’s innate goodness reawakens Irvine’s own desire to be the best person he can become. Eventually, Irvine drops all pretense of staying on just to find an opportunity to take Zeke. He stays because he knows that Van “is a pretty good kid” who is going to, somehow, someway, make a difference in the world. And that’s an adventure the older man doesn’t want to miss out on.

Now, you may remember that in my post about Fiona that there was some mention of nostalgia being a factor in Irvine’s relationship with her. This is because, as revealed in the episode “Run, Wolf!” that he is not an only child. He had a younger sister named Helena, but she died of a fever when they were both young. “Run, Wolf!” shows that Irvine never really got over this loss. It also hints that losing his sister may have been one of the driving factors in his decision to become a zoid pilot: he wanted to become stronger in order to prevent as many such losses in the future as it is humanly possible to do.

This leads me to the conclusion that Irvine’s near-instant attachment to Fiona comes from the fact that she reminds him, to some degree, of his baby sister. His protective, caring, and gentle attitude toward her, along with his unwillingness to hurt her or see her be hurt (even when he is playing the bad guy) implies this is true. Their relationship does not change when Fiona becomes an adult. Although he may raise his voice when speaking to her, Irvine never says or does anything which could be seen as the slightest bit harmful to Fiona.

Another aspect of their relationship is shown here as well; when Fiona reaches adulthood in the second half of Century, she demonstrates that she still possesses a certain power over the mercenary. This is made blatantly clear in “The Black Lightning,” when Fiona begs Irvine to let another character attempt to save his Command Wolf. Though he clenches his fist in frustration, pain, and anger, Irvine does not – he will not – allow himselt threaten or hurt Fiona. She still knows exactly which buttons to push to make him listen to reason and to her, but she does not over-rely on this ability. Neither, it should be noted, does she abuse her power over him, something she could definitely accomplish if she chose to try it.

Finally, we come to Irvine’s relationship with Moonbay. Having met her prior to the beginning of Chaotic Century, it is hinted that the two had a fairly memorable encounter. What it was is anyone’s guess, though, since the two only make brief allusions to this meeting in “Sleeper Trap.” After this show, it is never mentioned again. But while the two do a regular amount of good-natured, half-serious flirting during the series, I think it unlikely their first meeting was of a romantic nature.

This goes for their relationship overall; the writers for the show leave the question of mutual attraction between Irvine and Moonbay openended from beginning to end. Whether they were, are, or will become a couple is a question that is never answered. It is up to the individual viewer to decide, at the end of the series, whether they go their separate ways or tie the knot and stay together for the rest of their lives. (Because I am a romantic sap, I subscribe to the latter theory – although I could imagine them not marrying. That image is disappointing, though, so I don’t dwell on it much.)

While the two butt heads on occasion, for the most part they each act as Van and Fiona’s surrogate parents for the first half of the series. They also show a good bit of concern for each other and are able to talk candidly about their fears for/pride in the two kids they take on as pupils or surrogate children. Throughout the show they remain completely honest and upfront with one another – even when saying something the other does not want to hear.

No description of Irvine’s character would be comprehensive if it did not mention how he felt about zoids. Up until the episode “Deploy the ZG!”, Irvine seems to consider most zoids as nothing more than tools or weapons of war. The possible exception during this period might be his Command Wolf; as I said before (somewhere), the relationship between a pilot and his zoid is reminiscent of the bond between a cowboy and his horse. Where everyone else sees just another mechanical animal/stallion, the pilot/cowboy sees his best friend.

This means that Irvine’s attitude toward zoids in general and his Command Wolf in particular undergoes a drastic change in “Deploy the ZG!”. Having snuck into the Republican base at Mount Osa in order to steal some equipment to do battle with Raven, Irvine discovers the base’s last, best weapon against the Imperial Army. This is a Gojulas – the “ZG” from the title – which the soldiers within Mt. Osa managed to cobble together in a last ditch effort to prevent the Imperials from taking over their capital city.

Now, the Republic did have other Gojulases in their arsenal. But since these zoids are fearsome, hard-to-overcome tanks, it appears that most were kept in the Republic’s capital as the ultimate, final means of defense for the Republic’s citizens. There were very few Gojulases on the front lines of the war at the beginning of the series.

So Irvine, who had never seen a Gojulas up close and personal, was awestruck when he stumbled on the one stored in the Mt. Osa base. That is where Colonel Kruger (more about him another day – I promise!) found Irvine and scolded him for losing his last battle with Raven. Immediately, the younger mercenary rounded on the man, but Kruger managed to calm him down by comparing his current attitude with the look of awe and excitement he had shown when he “first laid eyes on the Gojulas.” Kruger went on to give a memorable speech about zoids, which I have paraphrased and reused in my previous posts on this series because it explains the wonder of these mechanical animals so well.

Although his meeting with Kruger was brief, Irvine clearly took the old man’s words to heart, and revered him as a valuable teacher and fighter in later episodes. From “Deploy the ZG!” onward, the mercenary never again considers zoids to be mere machines. Instead he learns to see them the way that Van does. And after this episode, Irvine became as protective of his Command Wolf and his Lightning Saix as Han was of the Millennium Falcon.

If you get the chance, check out Irvine and the rest of the gang by either picking up the series on DVD through Amazon, or swing by www.watchcartoonsonline.com to learn all about zoids yourselves, because now I must keep my promise and “see you on the battlefield” another day.

Until then, “Catch ya later!” 😉

Spotlight: Zoids – The Dark/Red Horn

Rosso and his Red Horn

And we are back with another post about a zoid, readers! Technically, we will be discussing two different “mechanical combat units” today. They are both the same “species” and probably count as the same zoid, just with different color schemes. Visually, that appears to be the only substantial distinction between them.

Today’s subjects are the Styraccosaurus-type Dark Horns and Red Horns. Used by the Imperial Army, Dark Horns and Red Horns are the zoids piloted by anyone holding the rank of Lieutenant on up. They are not infantry creatures; you get to use them only when you move up in the ranks.

The cockpits for both zoids are in their heads, under those glowing green eyes. They can be outfitted with almost any type of arsenal, from machine guns to missile launchers to the trademark three-barrel cannon on their backs. They also have smaller guns attached to their chins, shoulders, and hips, along with radar equipment.

View the video below to see them in action, readers:

While not exactly fixed weapons, Dark Horns and Red Horns weigh a lot and are therefore relatively slow when compared to other zoids. The fact that they are so low to the ground doesn’t help, either. Nevertheless, Harry Champ from Zoids: New Century Zero was able to reduce his Dark Horn’s turning radius and increase its speed with boosters he had installed in the zoid’s hips. But those were eventually fried because he over relied on them during his battle with the Blitz Team. That’s really not surprising, since the guy had more money than brains and generally couldn’t find his way in out of the rain unless you pointed him in the right direction.

But it did prove that the Dark Horn and the Red Horn can have their speed increased. Most pilots do not go in for such drastic modifications, probably because they can’t afford them. We never saw this device used by the Imperial Army, which means the boosters either were not available in this time period on Zi, or they were too expensive to be bought and installed en masse. Either explanation works.

The only time I ever saw a Dark Horn piloted well was in Chaotic Century. In the episode “Raven,” Van’s old nemesis gets his hands on a Dark Horn and uses it effectively against our hero and his friend, a Lieutenant in the Imperial Army (more about him later). Raven was able to catch a Dibison’s chin on the Dark Horn’s nose horn and, using the other zoid’s momentum and weight, roll it onto its side. He was also able to make the Dark Horn leap over Van’s Blade Liger while the other was running toward him. So the Dark Horn it capable of quite a lot. Most pilots, however, are utterly incapable of getting such amazing results from it.

We didn’t see too many Imperial Red Horns during Chaotic Century’s run. The one I remember best is the Red Horn Rosso piloted before upgrading to an Iron Kong. Rosso achieved his full potential as a pilot in a Storm Sworder, although he piloted his Iron Kong with special skill. In contrast to that, his ability with the Red Horn is nothing to write home about….

…Except for the fact that it hints at his growing talent. While we don’t see Rosso do much more than shoot and charge in his Red Horn, it is never implied that he is a lightweight in combat. Looking at the picture of him below, you would think that was obvious; Rosso is not a shrimp by any stretch of the imagination. But that doesn’t mean he was, is, or will be a good pilot. “Size matters not” in the cockpit of a zoid; as long as you can reach the controls and work the pedals, you can pilot the zoid you are sitting in.

Rosso’s Red Horn had thick armor, especially on its nose. He was able to deflect the twin shots from a Shield Liger’s back cannon with it. The maneuver didn’t require him to do anything but turn the zoid’s head, and it didn’t so much as scratch the Red Horn’s paint. Under his control, the Red Horn was also able to break through a Shield Liger’s shield with a blow from its nose horn. After Raven, he is the only pilot I could point to as being exemplary in the command of such a “mechanical combat unit.”

The last time I can recall hearing about a Red Horn was in Zoids: Fuzors. It appeared briefly during an arena battle, and its nose horn had been modified to act like Liger Zero’s Strike Laser Claw Attack. When activated, the forward part of the nose horn would glow yellow, charged with energy so it could slice through an enemy zoid’s armor. It seems like a rather ridiculous modification to me; the Red Horn’s and Dark Horn’s best assets have always been in the tip of the nose horn in my opinion. Having the front part of the horn slice through an enemy isn’t overkill so much as it is… Stupid.

All in all, Dark Horns and Red Horns were pretty effective tanks. Slow though they were, they could deliver in terms of fire and ramming power. Again, predator-style zoids are more my thing, but I don’t recall thinking Dark Horns and Red Horns were silly “mechanical combat units” to take into combat. They could be deadly when used properly, and their arsenal was never anything to scoff at, readers.

Well, that’s it for now. I have one more Zoids post coming up, and then we will all take a break before I do any more. You won’t see those zoids posts for a while, but they will be comin’ round the mountain, don’t you worry.

Catch ya later!

Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – Fiona Elisi Linnet

Yep, here is another Spotlight! post about a character from Zoids: Chaotic Century, readers! If I seem to be on a Zoids kick at the moment, the fact is that I want to get as many of my promised character and zoids posts done this year as possible. I’ve been falling behind, so there is some catch up to be done here. That begins today with this post, which focuses on Fiona Elisi Linnet, heroine of Zoids: Chaotic Century and love interest for its hero, Van Flyheight.

Fiona appears at the end of the first episode of Chaotic Century, “The Boy From Planet Zi.” Van finds her in the same room where he discovers Zeke. Thinking her pod contains another zoid, he is somewhat startled to find there is a blonde girl roughly his own age inside instead. Hilarity ensues as he brings her back to his home, the Wind Colony, in his new Shield Liger.

It quickly becomes apparent to both Van and the audience that this girl has amnesia – a very severe case of it. She doesn’t understand several common turns of phrase which Van uses, and she apparently has no idea what a name is, since she appears unable to identify herself every time he asks for her name. It also appears that she thought Van meant her instead of him, since he tells her at one point, “Watch my lips – it’s Van.”

Finally, she blurts out “Fiona” in response to his renewed request for her name, then follows it up with “Van” as she prepares to ask him another question. For a moment, our hero is almost apoplectic: “Look, I know my name is Van –”

Then it dawns on him that she said “Fiona” first, and he asks if that is her name.

“Who’s Fiona?” she asks, and Van states that she said the name first. “Really?” she says, sounding perfectly innocent and curious. “Does that mean I’m called Fiona?”

For the first five episodes, this is how their relationship goes, with Fiona asking questions that have answers which are blatantly obvious to everyone but her. It is funny but also sad – and, as we see later, dangerous. Because Fiona knows so little, her naïveté is extreme. At one point, she goes to free her captive friends, declaring her purpose loudly as she trots past one of the bandits holding them prisoner. Yes, she was that naïve. (Oh, by the way, you are going to love what she does with salt, readers. 😉 )

Over time, Fiona loses this blithe innocence, though she remains decidedly pure in mind and soul. She also develops an affinity for computers and science (at least, all the sciences relating to the maintenance and well-being of zoids). It becomes apparent early on that she and Zeke share some kind of connection; you may have noticed that Fiona’s eyes are not a normal color. They are the same fuschia as Zeke’s, which is an early implication that she has a special bond with the organoid.

In fact, Fiona is not human, but a member of a near-human species native to Zi that vanished long ago. Known as Ancient Zoidians, Fiona’s people were the ones who developed/built the zoids everyone on the planet uses. But Fiona does not remember this until halfway through the first season of the show. Even then, she doesn’t recall enough of her past to figure this out herself. It is a friend of hers who points out that she seems to fit the descriptions of these early denizens of Zi.

If Van is the main selling point of the series, then Fiona is a close second. While she rarely takes the controls of a zoid and never goes into combat unless she is acting as Van’s copilot, she does have mettle and will fight – albeit in a manner that is “girly” – when she is threatened. To be honest, I would say that fighting was not her greatest strength anyway. Viewers don’t remember Fiona because she kicks butt; we remember her for her generosity, kindness, purity, and goodness.

When it comes to her relationships in the show, Fiona’s innocence is what has the biggest effect on people. Where Van spurs others to be good with his determination and resolve to do what is right, Fiona brings out the gentleness and kindness in others with her innocence. Like Zeke, she is possessed of an inherent sincerity that makes good people automatically react to her with kindness. Where others might have mistreated her in order to “break her in” to the “real world,” Van and his friends instead work to protect her. And this is despite the fact that her initial simplicity often annoys them or makes their lives more difficult.

Her relationship with Zeke shows that she considers the organoid something of a twin brother, but in a different way than Van regards him. Fiona and Zeke are psychically tied together by a special rapport native to their two species, and so their personalities are very similar. The differences between them are mild, and mostly boil down to the fact that Zeke is more willing to enter combat – solo or otherwise – than Fiona is. When they combine their extrasensory abilities, the two can increase not only their own powers, but Van’s and his zoid’s as well.

The proof that Fiona’s greatest power is her innocence actually shows first in the episode “Memory,” where the two meet the mercenary Irvine. While lost in a sandstorm with Van, she accidently steps into a whirlpool of quicksand that nearly swallows her up. Having appeared out of the storm as if by magic, Irvine acts swiftly to save Fiona from being dragged under the sand. However, this kindness on his part appears to be temporary when he later holds her hostage in the same episode, thinking doing so will convince Van to hand Zeke over to him. Zeke dispels this illusion fairly quickly.

Despite these less than noble actions on his part, it is shown that Irvine is not immune to Fiona’s purity. When she puts him on the spot in the following show – “The Protectors” – Irvine has to admit that not only does he not dislike her and Van, he actually has a soft spot for them.

I have to say, her friendship with Irvine was one of the best things in the series. It becomes obvious from “The Protectors” onward that she has the cool mercenary wrapped around her little finger. Irvine shows by small gestures and a few words that he really cares about Fiona. While there may be a bit of nostalgia on his end in this relationship (more on that in his post), it is made clear that he would throw himself in harm’s way without a second thought if Fiona were ever put in serious danger. In fact, from something I read about the manga for Chaotic Century, when a female bandit gave a veiled threat to Fiona, Irvine pulled his gun on her and stated she would be dead if she tried it. If that isn’t a sign of intense devotion to another person – and in a non-romantic relationship at that – then I do not know what is.

Moonbay and Fiona’s friendship is a mixture of mother/daughter closeness and sisterly camaraderie. For the first dozen episodes, Fiona mostly follows Moonbay’s lead, as the savvy woman takes her under her wing. When not copiloting with Van, Fiona can often be seen as Moonbay’s shadow. She trails after her around the colonies and cities they visit, watches her repair the zoids, or helps her make dinner/break camp.

Fiona intervenes in Moonbay’s business dealings even less than Van does; she only shows anger at the older woman’s more mercenary tendencies once that I can recall. And while it may look like Moonbay treats Fiona as a pet or a servant early on, the reality is far different. She genuinely cares for the younger girl and wants to protect her. If anything, this may be the reason why Van and Irvine often leave her in Moonbay’s care; they can protect Fiona from outside threats, but they can’t teach her what it means to be a woman. Moonbay can, and she settles into the role of mother/older sister for Fiona with admirable ease.

It is also likely that her ability to repair/maintain zoids is what fostered Fiona’s own aptitude in these areas. Although she had another mentor in this field later on, following Moonbay around as she saw to the boys’ zoids probably reignited Fiona’s latent capabilities in mending or upgrading the living machines. It is one of the talents Moonbay is most pleased to see Fiona exercising later on in the series.

Now we come to the most important relationship Fiona has in Chaotic Century. It is evident almost from the beginning of the series that she quickly comes to care for Van as more than a friend. She worries about him when she must stand aside to watch him fight, often murmuring his name during a confrontation or shouting it when she sees him get hurt. Where this would seem to be “softness” in a heroine in other stories, it is befitting of Fiona, who is gentleness itself.

More to the point, despite preferring to stay out of zoid combat when she is alone, Fiona shows no qualms about “flying RIO” with Van in his Ligers. Considering the danger to him in the cockpit, it takes nerve to sit behind him when he is in a battle. This shows that Fiona is not a coward or afraid of conflict; on her own, however, she does not seem to feel she has the ability to bring out the full potential of a zoid in combat. She would rather watch Van’s back during a battle than fight solo in her own zoid.

As stated in the post about Van, he and Fiona develop a psychic tie during the series. Fiona obviously initiated this link, since she is telepathic/empathetic. But it seems likely that, if Van hadn’t been open to such a connection, their bond would never have formed at all.

This tie between the two is only activated in a noticeable manner when Fiona is specifically calling to Van or searching for him. On his own, Van cannot sense her as she can sense him, or call to her in a directly telepathic manner. In addition, if Van is hurt and lost somewhere far away from Fiona, she cannot pinpoint his location with perfect accuracy. Not until she gets closer to his position, at least. The less distance there is between them, the better her ability to locate him, generally speaking.

Should a film company get their hands on the rights to Zoids: Chaotic Century, I can see them trying to make Fiona more of a kick butt superwoman than a “stand and wait” heroine. I can also see almost any actress cast in her role demanding this change, too. This would be more of a tragedy than any changes made to Van’s personality, readers; Fiona is not strong because she can fight. She is strong in her innocence and the power it gives her to bring forth the goodness in others.

Having seen other female characters in following Zoids series that are more “kick butt” than “stand and wait” heroines, I can say with all honesty that I prefer Fiona to Rei Mii, Danbul, Lena Toros, and even Naomi Fluegel. Naomi was a pretty good combat pilot – not as good as Genesis’ Danbul or Rei Mii – but she wasn’t bad either. In the end, though, Fiona is superior to all of them because of her innate goodness and purity. She wins the argument hands down and is the unchallenged queen of Zoids heroines.

If any filmmakers change Fiona Elisi Linnet to make her more of a Femi Nazi character, I will be livid. You will never get me into a theater to watch a Zoids film (series) which makes Fiona less than the heroine she is in the anime, readers. So if the rights to Chaotic Century are in the hands of Hollywood (or its Japanese equivalent), watch your step, people. There is nothing more worrisome in your line of work than angry fans.

Well, that concludes this character post, readers. If you want to see Fiona Elisi Linnet and Van Flyheight in action, check out Zoids: Chaotic Century either at www.watchcartoonsonline.com (I finally have a free web address to give you!), or order the DVDs on Amazon.

See you on the battlefield!

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!

Spotlight – Zoids: Chaotic Century – Van Flyheight

Last year I promised that I would begin doing Spotlight! posts about the characters from my favorite Zoids series, along with articles about the “mechanical combat units” themselves. Today, I am making good on that promise; here we will discuss the hero of Zoids: Chaotic Century – Van Flyheight.

Van is fourteen at the start of the TV series (the translators in Canada mistakenly have another character in the show say he is seventeen). Raised in the farming town of Wind Colony, Van’s father died five years before the series begins. Imperial soldiers came to the Republican colony when Major Dan Flyheight and a group of Republican soldiers were nearby. The commander of the Imperial division threatened to burn the village to the ground, but Dan Flyheight and his white Command Wolf, Zeke, took the entire unit down single-handedly.

So at the beginning of the show, Van is being raised by his older sister, Maria, in the Wind Colony. Every chance he gets, he sneaks away from her to explore the ruins of nearby military bases. Judging by their appearance, these bases long predate the current war in the show. Van does this to seek adventure and scrounge for scraps of salvage, despite his sister’s constant warnings that this is dangerous – not to mention her insistence that he do his chores.

Van Flyheight

But come on, what fourteen year old boy who wants to be the greatest zoid pilot ever is going to listen when his big sister tells him to do boring chores? As the village priest tells her, “You can’t stop the boy from wanting to find a zoid of his own.” And that means she cannot stop him from running off to the desert.

Open, energetic, and easily excited (or offended), Van once again escapes his sister to go exploring in the first episode of Chaotic Century: “The Boy From Planet Zi”. But he gets more than he bargained for when a bandit named Bole begins chasing him in a newly acquired blue Guysack (scorpion-type Republican zoid – more on that another day).

Van escapes Bole by the skin of his teeth, hiding in the ruins. Then Bole’s compatriots/babysitters, Bianco and Nero, come to dig their young charge out of the rubble. Before they do that, they shoot at the ruins to trap Van inside so he cannot go running off to tell the villagers he saw them. That would bring the Republican Army down on the Desert Alca Valino Gang, and none of them want official trouble.

Inside the ruins, Van notices a heretofore hidden door which is now askew. He goes down the path to find a secret room with two green stasis pods inside. Accidentally opening the first, he encounters and befriends Zeke.

Van Flyheight and his organoid, Zeke

More information about their first meeting can be found here and here, readers, if you want to start watching the series. Even all these years later, I absolutely love this show, and Van is a big reason why.

Despite the fact that he starts out reckless, hotheaded, and callow, Van quickly wins a viewer’s affection with his willingness to pick himself up and dust himself off. His kind, selfless nature make up for his naïveté and impulsive behavior. Over time he matures into a stronger boy, eventually becoming a great young man you still want to cheer on.

While it seems like mere luck that Van lives long enough to become the “greatest zoid pilot ever,” there is actually a lot of raw talent backing him up. Van has the potential to be a great pilot right from the start; he is perceptive, inventive, and quick-thinking. All he needs to learn at the beginning of his career as a pilot is how to put that together with his fighting skills instead of charging blindly into a battle.

It must be said that no one viewing the show would love zoids very well without Van Flyheight. A boy “with a strong fascination with zoids,” Van loves the mechanical animals almost as much as he loves those who are related to him or who are his friends. The entire reason he and Raven, his archnemesis through most of the show’s run, begin their feud is because the latter takes pleasure in brutally destroying zoids.

Raven vs. Van Flyheight

And when I say brutal, readers, I mean brutal. Van rightly calls Raven’s attacks evil, but we would not really notice how evil they were if not for our hero’s instinctive reaction to Raven’s fighting style. This brings another characteristic of his to light; much like Captain America/Steve Rogers, Van has a heightened sense of right and wrong. He may not be able to explain how he knows the difference between good and evil on occasion, but when he sees some wrong being committed – no matter how small it may be – he instantly recognizes it and acts to correct the transgression.

Of course, some will ask how I can say this, given Van’s penchant for sneaking away from his sister and disobeying her. First, it is important to remember that I did not say Van was a saint. I said he was good – about as good as Captain America, though he may be a few bars lower on the scale. Besides, avoiding chores does not make anyone a criminal-in-training; it certainly seems that Van was obedient most of the time. And who knows where we would be if he had not snuck out to play in the desert every once in a while? Zi would be worse off if he had stayed home, I can assure you!

This exemplary standard of goodness in Van has a profound effect on those he meets. They are impressed, either immediately or over time, by his innate goodness, his determination, and his no-quit attitude. We see this most in the first adult friends he makes outside Wind Colony: Irvine and Moonbay.

Irvine

Irvine and Van meet in the episode “Memory.” A wandering mercenary who fights or “protects” for money, he is in the area when Van and Fiona get lost in a sandstorm. On the hunt for an organoid to increase his power and strength, Irvine decides to try and steal Zeke from Van. You would think this would make them enemies and, for a while, they certainly are not friends.

But Irvine is not yet so far down the Dark Path that he is immune to Van’s inborn decency. Before you know it, he is traveling along with Van, Zeke, Fiona, and Moonbay. Though he says several times he is just waiting to find an opportunity to steal Zeke, it quickly becomes apparent this is no truer than Han’s statement in A New Hope when he says he is only interested in the money. Van’s goodness awakens and enhances Irvine’s, bringing it to the fore and making him a better person. The two eventually become brothers – not just in the sense of being fellow pilots of high skill, but in the fact that they watch out for, care about, and protect each other.

Moonbay fills the role of mother for Van in the beginning, a little like Hera Syndulla does for the crew in Star Wars Rebels. But where Hera is calm, cool, and very hard to ruffle, Moonbay can and will raise her voice in fury when someone ticks her off. Like Irvine, she has also become jaded by “real life” and she has a mercenary streak. More than once we see her wheeling and dealing on the side to earn more money than others think she needs. Van only directly confronts her once during one of these deals when she almost pulls a genuine swindle, telling her that he “can’t explain it using big fancy words but… [he] sure know[s] the difference between right and wrong!”

Moonbay

In reality, Moonbay is not much of a mercenary. She just loves traveling, which means that she needs enough money to support herself – not to mention the rest of the gang while they are roving along with her. As a disciplinarian, she is able to get more and better results out of Van than Maria for the simple reason that she is not his older sister. She treats him like the kid he is and tells him off when he deserves it – sometimes with a punch, if she feels he has earned one. At the same time, Van’s goodness keeps Moonbay honest and makes her strive to be better, even if she won’t necessarily admit that out loud.

Zeke remains Van’s best friend and fellow combatant throughout the series. The two are devoted to each other, almost like twin brothers (as opposed to the older brother/younger brother relationship Van and Irvine share). Much like Van, Zeke seems to be possessed of an inherent gentleness and goodness. Where others might have beaten this out of him, Van’s natural kindness enhances Zeke’s and keeps him innocent.

Van and Fiona

Finally, we come to the relationship Van has with Fiona Elisi (Alicia?) Linnet, the Ancient Zoidian girl he finds in the same ruins where Zeke is hidden. When Fiona is released from her stasis pod, she initially has no memory of who she is or where she came from. She cannot remember her real name (Elisi Linnet), only the name “Fiona.” Despite being irritated by her constant questions in the first two episodes, Van immediately works to help Fiona, taking her to his village so she can be safe.

While they start out as friends, over the course of the show the two obviously fall in love. Though we only see them kiss once (when Fiona has to talk to Van via a psychic image and/or hologram), the rapport between the two is not that of a brother and sister or of two friends traveling together. It is most definitely romantic, and in the best kind of way. This is made blatantly clear in episodes such as “A Voice from Afar” and “New Liger,” where Van can hear Fiona’s voice in his mind. The two early on show signs of developing a romantic bond, which seems to be the basis for the psychic tie that arises between them.

But the relationship which has the most profound impact on Van’s character is one we never see. This is his bond with his father, Major Dan Flyheight. Though we never watch them interact on screen, Van’s dedication to becoming “the greatest zoid pilot ever” is due entirely to his admiration of, and his love for, his deceased father.

Dan Flyheight

We only see Dan Flyheight once in a flashback in the episode “The Distant Stars.” However, that brief glimpse shows us where Van gets not only his piloting skills, but also his kindness, gentleness, and strong sense of right and wrong. Dan’s last words – his last thoughts – are for the two children he will leave behind, showing that the strength of Van’s love for his family and friends was learned at his father’s knee. He even names his best friend Zeke after his father’s zoid. In a world where the power of the father is laughed off and derided as unnecessary, Van proves the exact opposite with his fond remembrance of the father he lost too early.

The plot for Zoids: Chaotic Century is the joys and travails not only of a boy becoming a man, but of a page becoming a knight. Van is needed now more than ever for viewers, boys and girls both. Girls will learn what really makes a man by watching this series, while at the same time boys learn the virtues which will be their guides and friends throughout their lives.

If, as is possible, someone intends to make a film (or a series of them) about Zoids: Chaotic Century, they HAVE to get Van Flyheight right. If they do not do that, then the movie(s) they make will be worthless, or very close to it. Along with Captain America, Aragorn, Optimus Prime, and Sir Galahad, the one character in the universe who you CANNOT mess with is Van Flyheight, readers.

But you do not need to take my word for it; just visit the posts I have about the show to see what will be lost if Van is not brought to life properly. Or, better yet, hunt down Zoids: Chaotic Century’s eleven DVDs on www.amazon.com and watch the show yourselves. If you hate it, I will be surprised. If you love it – welcome to Zi, readers! We’re happy to have you on the battlefield!

Catch ya later! 😉