Akai Koudan Zillion & The Acquisition of a Grail

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Congrats, it looks like it's in good shape and nothing seems to be missing.  Do take care with those flexible links to the helmet, they are prone to stress marks.  The front arm that attaches to the front wheel may need some coaxing to get it the way it should look in ATV mode.

[RavenHawk]

23 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Congrats, it looks like it's in good shape and nothing seems to be missing.  Do take care with those flexible links to the helmet, they are prone to stress marks.  The front arm that attaches to the front wheel may need some coaxing to get it the way it should look in ATV mode.

Thanks.

It seems in great shape, with all of the joints very tight, no scuffs or other marks.

Everything seems here. JJ's shoulder pads, pistol, holster, HUD/headband, a little red disc (not sure where that goes yet), even the face mask that clips into the helmet and the little blue thruster cones that go in the robot feet.

The front swingarm for the wheel, on the other hand, is a huge pain. Just floppy all over.

Really surprised by the size of this thing. It's more like a Yamato Garland.

[JetJockey]

On 8/23/2018 at 8:18 PM, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Considering my early negativity and the production of this new BD set, let me say:

Don't hold your breath for Arcadia or Sentinel to make Zillion toys. I think Zillion is just too obscure a series to warrant a dedicated set of toys. 

Attached is an image from Forbes.  I think it was art from the Japanese set made a few years ago. I would love a bigger, high quality print of it.

That's cool artwork. I remember posting somewhere about wanting to get some of the artbooks. I wish I could find my old drawing for the base I drew when I was a kid. It was from the early part of the Master System game where you go to recharge.

[RavenHawk]

15 hours ago, JetJockey said:

That's cool artwork. I remember posting somewhere about wanting to get some of the artbooks. I wish I could find my old drawing for the base I drew when I was a kid. It was from the early part of the Master System game where you go to recharge.

If anyone on here has any of the artbooks, I'd love to hear about what is contained in each (in particular, I'm interested in ones with concept artwork on the mecha). There are a few books floating around online, but not much of anything for info or previews on what's inside.

[JetJockey]

4 hours ago, RavenHawk said:

If anyone on here has any of the artbooks, I'd love to hear about what is contained in each (in particular, I'm interested in ones with concept artwork on the mecha). There are a few books floating around online, but not much of anything for info or previews on what's inside.

I started a topic a while back about the Creations artbooks for various anime series. I have the Zillion Creations 2 book which is just Burning Night I believe. I have to get it out of storage. There is a Zillion Creations 1 book that I have to get. I've only seen it a few times on auction sites.

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I reckon the first Zillion Creations book contained this image of a "Hyper-Charger":

I found it on this site.  I know the address says Harmony Gold Japan, but it does have some other Zillion lineart that I haven't seen before.

 

[RavenHawk]

5 hours ago, JetJockey said:

I started a topic a while back about the Creations artbooks for various anime series. I have the Zillion Creations 2 book which is just Burning Night I believe. I have to get it out of storage. There is a Zillion Creations 1 book that I have to get. I've only seen it a few times on auction sites.

 

Those pictures are from book 1, right?

[RavenHawk]

18 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

I reckon the first Zillion Creations book contained this image of a "Hyper-Charger":

I found it on this site.  I know the address says Harmony Gold Japan, but it does have some other Zillion lineart that I haven't seen before.

 

That's the site where I came across the fact that CMs had been planning a Tri-Charger.

Very cool illustration of the Hyper-Charger, by the way. I wonder if it was an early design, or meant to be a line extension down the road?

[JetJockey]

4 hours ago, RavenHawk said:

Those pictures are from book 1, right?

Looking at that second picture I think I named it incorrectly as it's a thin foldout compared to the book. But I think I found those images in the same auction. Or either when I was doing some searches for Zillions Creations and Movic. I need to look at the other Zillion images I have saved.

[RavenHawk]

9 minutes ago, JetJockey said:

Looking at that second picture I think I named it incorrectly as it's a thin foldout compared to the book. But I think I found those images in the same auction. Or either when I was doing some searches for Zillions Creations and Movic. I need to look at the other Zillion images I have saved.

Did a quick look online to see if I could find Book 1 for you. It looks like the first picture is the cover of book 1, and the second is from a catalog Sega put out that year (1987?) of their new products.

[JetJockey]

1 hour ago, RavenHawk said:

Did a quick look online to see if I could find Book 1 for you. It looks like the first picture is the cover of book 1, and the second is from a catalog Sega put out that year (1987?) of their new products.

The first image is definitely Creations 1. I don't know why I got Creations 2 first. Probably because that was all Nikaku Animart had at the time and I recognized the Zillion characters. I know I have a few posters and pencil boards that I got from them. I used to check the Yahoo Japan auctions for Zillion items more frequently but I just look for cels these days. I want to make sure I get the books in high quality condition. There are a few magazines with Apple on the cover that I want to get as well. Perhaps I'll check Zillion items monthly or so to see if that Sega catalog turns up again. Thanks for the info.

Edited September 8, 2018 by JetJockey

[RavenHawk]

Since my "new" Yamato Army Color Garland just came in, I thought I'd post some pics to compare the size of the Zillion Tri-Charger to the Arcadia and Yamato Garlands.

You really don't appreciate how big this toy is until you have it in hand.

 

 

 

 

(Sorry, too lazy to put the figure in in Armolator mode, and always nervous about those helmet connections; also forgot to extend the fists)

 

For a 30 year old toy, it really holds up pretty decently.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I bet something as big as the average Figma toy would look right at home sitting on the Tricharger.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Valkyrie Hunter D

[Keith]

Anyone else pre-order the blu-ray set?

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

4 hours ago, Keith said:

Anyone else pre-order the blu-ray set?

Yep-the killer packaging definitely helped me go in that direction.

[Keith]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Yep-the killer packaging definitely helped me go in that direction.

I just can't believe it's finally coming out (mine is on the way).

[RavenHawk]

Mine shipped from Best Buy on Thursday.

I think it's stopping for coffee at every post office on the way, because it is still scheduled to arrive on release day, Tuesday.

[RavenHawk]

On 10/5/2018 at 6:34 PM, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

I bet something as big as the average Figma toy would look right at home sitting on the Tricharger.

I don't have any Figma figures, but I'd say that Sentinel Ray is just a little too big. Maybe with some patience, if I posed him a bit more and tilted the control panel forward, it wouldn't look as bad.

 

 

[RavenHawk]

Binged the first Blu-ray disc last night. Loving it.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Ray looks good hopping on that ATV!

My BD set should be arriving soon, I'm hoping the subtitles are just as good as the ones on the fansubs I stowed away a couple of years ago.

[danth]

4 hours ago, RavenHawk said:

Binged the first Blu-ray disc last night. Loving it.

 

1 hour ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Ray looks good hopping on that ATV!

My BD set should be arriving soon, I'm hoping the subtitles are just as good as the ones on the fansubs I stowed away a couple of years ago.

Got mine last night but haven't started it. Glad to hear it's enjoyable! I'm always afraid I'll watch one of these old shows and find out it's not great. I'll probably slog through it regardless. 

[RavenHawk]

2 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Ray looks good hopping on that ATV!

My BD set should be arriving soon, I'm hoping the subtitles are just as good as the ones on the fansubs I stowed away a couple of years ago.

No issues with the subtitles that I can tell. They're at least as good as what I remember seeing before.

 

12 minutes ago, danth said:

 

Got mine last night but haven't started it. Glad to hear it's enjoyable! I'm always afraid I'll watch one of these old shows and find out it's not great. I'll probably slog through it regardless. 

Honestly, when I watched it before (primarily on YouTube), I didn't like it that much and found the first couple episodes tough to sit through. My draw to the show really was just the vehicle designs.

This time around, whether it's watching it on my TV, the better quality of everything, or better subs, I'm enjoying it a ton. Plus, some of those shots that the animation team really took their time on shading (likely because many of them were meant to be reused in multiple episodes with different backgrounds) look gorgeous in that old school anime way.

[RavenHawk]

Just finished the series on Blu-ray and enjoyed it thoroughly. More humor than I was expecting, but it was nice to see at the end that they didn't gloss over all of the nameless deaths since episode 1. Picture quality and translations seemed good throughout.

I'm really glad they included the OVA with the set. If they hadn't, I would've been tempted to seek it out separately, and then would have been thoroughly disappointed once I got it.

Edited October 15, 2018 by RavenHawk
Typos

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

It's been a while since I finished the series, but I do remember thinking that it didn't end the way I expected, which was great.  Baron Ricks is a cool looking antagonist, BTW.

[JetJockey]

On 10/14/2018 at 9:50 PM, RavenHawk said:

Just finished the series on Blu-ray and enjoyed it thoroughly. More humor than I was expecting, but it was nice to see at the end that they didn't gloss over all of the nameless deaths since episode 1. Picture quality and translations seemed good throughout.

I'm really glad they included the OVA with the set. If they hadn't, I would've been tempted to seek it out separately, and then would have been thoroughly disappointed once I got it.

You don't like the OVA? I'm pretty sure I saw the OVA first. And then I saw not even the first episode of Zillion but whatever was on the second or third VHS tape release. The comic shop I went to didn't have the first tape and I just purchased the only one in stock. I think I still have that tape. I know one of the episodes involved a forest ambush. Also I think Apple at the pool or during some kind of workout right before they have to report for a mission.

 

I think like many I knew of Zillion from the old Sega Master System games. And speaking of games and Zillion, The Happy Console Gamer mentioned it in his last pick up episode. So I guess he'll have a review of the new Blu-ray and some of the games and items soon.

Edited October 18, 2018 by JetJockey

[RavenHawk]

4 hours ago, JetJockey said:

You don't like the OVA? I'm pretty sure I saw the OVA first. And then I saw not even the first episode of Zillion but whatever was on the second or third VHS tape release. The comic shop I went to didn't have the first tape and I just purchased the only one in stock. I think I still have that tape. I know one of the episodes involved a forest ambush. Also I think Apple at the pool or during some kind of workout right before they have to report for a mission.

 

It's not that I didn't like the OVA, it's just that it was disappointing after watching the whole series.

I thoroughly enjoy steampunk and post-apocalyptic stories (not sure where they OVA fits best there, probably more of the latter), but it just didn't feel like Zillion. The characters had the same names, some (but not all) of the character traits, but that was it. I think it was perfectly decent on its own, and was a nice fun thing for fans of Zillion to see after the series ended.

However, knowing nothing about it before I watched it, I expected it to be more of something like what Love, Live, Alive was to MOSPEADA, and thus was disappointed.

[JetJockey]

On 10/18/2018 at 9:49 PM, RavenHawk said:

It's not that I didn't like the OVA, it's just that it was disappointing after watching the whole series.

I thoroughly enjoy steampunk and post-apocalyptic stories (not sure where they OVA fits best there, probably more of the latter), but it just didn't feel like Zillion. The characters had the same names, some (but not all) of the character traits, but that was it. I think it was perfectly decent on its own, and was a nice fun thing for fans of Zillion to see after the series ended.

However, knowing nothing about it before I watched it, I expected it to be more of something like what Love, Live, Alive was to MOSPEADA, and thus was disappointed.

I need to see the whole series. Perhaps the OVA will be odd as I have no clue where it fits it. But I'm almost certain I saw it first before the normal episodes. It was different compared to what I thought I would see from the videogame. I think I had a few posters and pencil boards at the time too. I'll watch it during the holidays most likely.

[RavenHawk]

40 minutes ago, JetJockey said:

I need to see the whole series. Perhaps the OVA will be odd as I have no clue where it fits it. But I'm almost certain I saw it first before the normal episodes. It was different compared to what I thought I would see from the videogame. I think I had a few posters and pencil boards at the time too. I'll watch it during the holidays most likely.

The OVA really has nothing to do with the series. If you're familiar with Elseworlds stories from DC, then it's basically one of those.

The regular series was set on a futuristic, clean, human colony on another planet. The OVA is, as you know, more of a western post apocalyptic time of setting. Characters have the same names as in the series, but only the humans look the same. Everyone in the band in the OVA is human in the main series, plus the mayor, but their personalities are similar but not the same. Every other significant character in the OVA is Noza (alien) in the series.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

It's been years since I saw Burning Night, but I always thought that it took place after the entire series, with all the planet's survivors living in the semi-ruins that resulted from the war between humans and the Noza.  Didn't the Noza end up nuking the whole planet?

[RavenHawk]

Just now, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

It's been years since I saw Burning Night, but I always thought that it took place after the entire series, with all the planet's survivors living in the semi-ruins that resulted from the war between humans and the Noza.  Didn't the Noza end up nuking the whole planet?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't, though that's what I was expecting when it first started.

 

*** SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE OVA AND THE SERIES ***

The Noza queen and her 3 "kids" are all alive in it, whereas they died in the series. They're also human. Ditto for the Baron. The White Nuts also don't seem to be familiar with guns, and the mayor and others don't seem like they have any memories of who anyone is.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

I'll have to watch it again, maybe this new translation will shed some light.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

On 9/7/2018 at 2:27 PM, JetJockey said:

I started a topic a while back about the Creations artbooks for various anime series. I have the Zillion Creations 2 book which is just Burning Night I believe. I have to get it out of storage. There is a Zillion Creations 1 book that I have to get. I've only seen it a few times on auction sites.

Just a heads up, I saw the first Creations book on eBay. It has a option to make an offer as well.

[JetJockey]

I still have that Creations book on my list. I was going to go after a bunch of Zillion books and magazines around the same time. There are a few Apple covers that I want.

[RavenHawk]

Perhaps the quest for the grail has not yet been completed?

https://order.mandarake.co.jp/order/detailPage/item?itemCode=1027715584

 

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Oh it's completed, for me anyways.  

Sega did make a whole line of mini toys for Zillion, and that Noza mech is part of that line along with a Tricharger and even a Ridingceptor.  They look kinda junky though.