areaseven Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 Z.O.E. 2167: Idolo Sunrise/VAP, 2001 ADV Films, 2002 Directed by Tetsuya Watanabe (Z.O.E. Dolores,i, The Big O) Rated 15+ for graphic violence, mature situations and strong language. The year is 2167. Mankind has expanded its population to Mars. The human population on that planet (otherwise known as "Martians"), however, have long been oppressed by the Earth government. Martian ace pilot Radium Lavans has been selected to pilot the planet's top-secret Orbital Frame codenamed "Idolo," which is powered by a mysterious material called "Metatron." Radium slowly adjusts to Idolo's control systems, but the Metatron seemingly causes a psychological effect on him. Story: B- Z.O.E. Idolo is your typical sci-fi story focusing on oppression at the hands of a ruling Earth government. It also tries hard to deliver a solid storyline, but at 55 minutes in length, everything seems rushed, from the character development to the overall plot. Hopefully, the sequel Z.O.E. Dolores,i, shows improvement over this OAV. Animation: B The animation starts out pretty good, but halfway through the OAV, the quality fluctuates dramatically. The battle scenes are well-choreographed, but the artwork needs some improvement. The design of Idolo is rather questionable, especially with the penile-shaped cockpit located on the crotch. Character designs by Madoka Hirayama and Kumi Horii (The Big O). Mechanical designs by Tsutomu Miyazawa (The Big O) and Tsutomu Suzuki (The Big O, Kishin Corps). Soundtrack: B+ Z.O.E. Idolo has a decent orchestral score by Hikaru Nanase (Galaxy Angel, Pita Ten), along with a remarkable ending theme, "Kiss Me Sunlight" by Heart of Air. Sub vs. Dub Z.O.E. Idolo features Takehito Koyasu (Il Palazzo in Excel Saga, Gamlin in Macross 7) as Radium, Houko Kuwashima (Quon in RahXephon, Kirika in NOIR) as Dolores, Chiharu Tezuka as Viola, and Rumi Ochiai as Melissa. I'm not gonna bother with the English dub. Extras: A- This DVD is loaded with production sketches and interviews with director Tetsuya Watanabe, character designers Madoka Hirayama and Kumi Horii, and mechanical designer Tsutomu Miyazawa. The Bottom Line While potentially good, Z.O.E. Idolo needs improvement in character depth and could use some touch-ups in the animation. Still, it's worth checking out. Reference Anime News Network Quote
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 i own this one, and overall its not bad. i never did pick up any of the Dolores sets, though. Quote
Effect Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 I thought this was pretty good. I like how it explained Viola somewhat but at the same time it didn't really focus on her. A nice lead up to the first game. Quote
David Hingtgen Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 (edited) I liked this a lot. And since it was only like $18 when it came out, a good value for an OVA. Anyways--Dolores is TOTALLY different. Yes, same world/era and some characters, but tone/idea is WAY off. Like FFX-2 and FFX. But, even more so. I mainly got Dolores because I like chick-mechs. But you've got to REALLY like chick-mechs to like Dolores. Dolores is like a very long, humorous, hi-jink filled version of Idolo. Though it does explain even more background. *MINOR* SPOILER ALERT FOR DOLORES ... ... ... ... ... ...... ... .... you'll see anubis ... ...... ...... ... ... ... ... And thus, while Idolo sets up the first ZOE game, Dolores sets up ZOE 2. Edited November 16, 2003 by David Hingtgen Quote
Valkyrie Nut Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 I own both the ZOE games. Are these animes a worthy addition to go along with them? Quote
Isamu Atreides 86 Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 I'm Still waiting for Ken from ZOE 2 to come out in an OAV... Quote
Stampeed Valkyrie Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 All in all I would agree with areaseven on this review, because by itself ZOE Idolo is ok. Since I have both ZOE games and ZOE Dolores they all really pan the storyline out quite nicely. Idolo starts it, and the first PS2 game picks up right where Idolo ends. Then I believe Dolores comes next and sometime during Dolores the 2nd ZOE game comes into play and ZOE 2 finishes the storyline. Rob Quote
David Hingtgen Posted November 16, 2003 Posted November 16, 2003 I really like Idolo's music. If you like ZOE, definitely get Idolo. Decent battles, good music, good story. (Hey, a "B" in anything from areaseven is pretty high praise) Quote
Stampeed Valkyrie Posted November 17, 2003 Posted November 17, 2003 I would have to say that ZOE Dolores is similar to how Macross 7 was laid out. At first it was like eh... then towards the middle/end it really starts to pick up IMHO. Rob Quote
Hikuro Posted November 17, 2003 Posted November 17, 2003 I got it shortly after it's release, I thought Idolo met a very well with my expectations as a prequal to the ZOE history. It also fills up the gaps at the end of the ZOE game, and also the origins of the the Orbital Frame...it also helped boost up my level of cofidence in the Second Runner. Quote
areaseven Posted December 22, 2003 Author Posted December 22, 2003 Zone of the Enders: Dolores,i KCE Japan/Sunrise/AT-X/VAP, 2001 ADV Films, 2002-2003 Directed by Tetsuya Watanabe Rated 15+ for graphic violence, slight nudity, mature situations and strong language. James Links is a 49-year-old space trucker anxious to return to Earth and reunite with his estranged children Leon and Noel. While transporting some goods to Earth, he stumbles upon "Dolores," a highly-advanced Orbital Frame with an A.I. of unknown origin. The situation gets more complicated when inspectors aboard his ship are murdered and James is wanted for the crime. Making matters worse is that Leon and Noel are also wanted by the authorities simply because they are James' children. Now as fugitives running from the law, James, Leon and Noel must go by any means necessary to make sure Dolores does not fall into the wrong hands, as she holds the key to the whereabouts of James' wife, Dr. Rachel Links. Story: A- Here's something you don't see in anime - a middle-aged drunk in a lead role. And here's something you didn't expect in the Z.O.E series - comedy. The Z.O.E Idolo OAV had a lot of potential to be a great anime, but was limited by its short running time, meager production and shallow character development. Z.O.E. Dolores,i outperforms its predecessor with a more interesting storyline and cast of characters. Dolores practically steals the show with her "school girl" personality. Animation: D+ I really hate to say this, but despite a cool opening sequence, the overall animation sucks. It's so bad, it makes Armored Trooper VOTOMS look like Gasaraki. And I'm not really fond of transsexual mecha. Soundtrack: B+ Legendary anime vocalist Hironobu Kageyama (Mazinkaiser, Heat Guy J) and his old band Lazy deliver the hard-edged opening theme "Zone of the Enders." Hikaru Nanase's (Gravion, Super GALS!) BGM is pretty average. Sub vs. Dub Z.O.E Dolores,i features Tessho Genda (D in Project A-Ko, Sanders in Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team) as James, Mitsuru Miyamoto (Roger in The Big O, Itsuki in RahXephon) as Leon, Narumi Hidaka (Allenby in Mobile Fighter G-Gundam, Kei in Getter Robo Armageddon) as Noel, Houko Kuwashima (Quon in RahXephon, Kirika in NOIR) as Dolores (somewhat reprising her role from the OAV), and Yoshiko Sakakibara (Sylia in Bubblegum Crisis, Integra in Hellsing) reprising her role as Rachel. Surprisingly, ADV's English dub doesn't sound bad. Featured voices include Travis Dean as James, David Stokey (Go in Getter Robo Armageddon) as Leon, and Katie Gillette (Mary in Final Fantasy: Unlimited) as Noel. Reprising their roles are Boni Hester (Ri Kohran in Sakura Wars) as Dolores, and Lana Lesley (Ibuki in Dai-Guard) as Rachel. DVD Extras: A- Disc 1 features a behind-the-scenes look at the original audio recording of the series, as well as interviews with Mitsuru Miyamoto and Narumi Hidaka. The Bottom Line Despite shoddy animation, Z.O.E Dolores beats the Idolo OAV in terms of story and replay value. Reference Anime News Network Quote
electric indigo Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 Excuse the thread necromancy, but this seemed like an appropriate place to post the photos of my recently finished Idolo garage kit. More pics in this Flickr album Quote
CoryHolmes Posted January 26, 2011 Posted January 26, 2011 While I enjoyed both games, I still can't quite get over the cockpit placement in the designs. Yeesh... Quote
BeyondTheGrave Posted January 30, 2011 Posted January 30, 2011 (edited) Zone of the Enders: Dolores,i KCE Japan/Sunrise/AT-X/VAP, 2001 ADV Films, 2002-2003 Directed by Tetsuya Watanabe Rated 15+ for graphic violence, slight nudity, mature situations and strong language. *snip* The Bottom Line Despite shoddy animation, Z.O.E Dolores beats the Idolo OAV in terms of story and replay value. Reference Anime News Network I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. That was one of the most painful series I've ever watched. My brother who borrowed the first few discs (own complete set and movie) actually called me and asked how does this end. I think the comedy and how James kept ranting about how a father should be made the series painful. ugh.. this is painful to think about. edit: Garage kit FTW! Edited January 30, 2011 by BeyondTheGrave Quote
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