ALDNOAH ZERO

[MILKAUTICO]

Aldnoah.Zero (アルドノア・ゼロ Arudonoa Zero) is an upcoming anime television series produced by Nitroplus and animated by A-1 Pictures and TROYCA. The anime is scheduled to air from July 2014. It will be directed by Ei Aoki and written by Gen Urobuchi, who previously collaborated on the Fate/Zero anime.The main cast was announced by Ei Aoki at AnimeJapan on March 22, 2014.

[MILKAUTICO]

More pics!!!!

Staff:

Director: Ei Aoki
Story Concept: Gen Urobuchi
Series Composition: Katsuhiko Takayama (Ga-Rei-Zero, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai)
Character Design Concept: Takako Shimura (Wandering Son)
Character Design: Masako Matsumoto
Mecha Design: I-IV and Kenji Teraoka (Ghost in the Shell: stand Alone Complex, Gundam 00)
Music: Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Kill La Kill, Gundam Unicorn)

Cast:

Inaho Kaizuka - Natsuki Hanae
Slaine Troyard - Kensho Ono
Asseylum Vers Allushia - Sora Amamiya

[Old_Nash]

Please. no more moe female character, or agressive fan-service...

[MILKAUTICO]

Please. no more moe female character, or agressive fan-service...

I agree, but It is what it is.... apparently all about this new trend . They left behind the old anime-mecha . I really miss old mechas

[EXO]

Looks interesting... Gonna check it out!

[MechTech]

Giant robots still never get old! Even if unlikely little kids pilot them - MT

[VF5SS]

I really miss old mecha too.

[Knight26]

Looks interesting, but what is the justification behind the mecha? I love giant mecha, true, but I hate when there is no justification for it beyond, hey that's cool.

[BeyondTheGrave]

anyone watch?

[MILKAUTICO]

anyone watch?

Yes, and this quite interesting, now in Chapter 3 and each time it gets better. I hope continues to mature into something better.

[daBlah!]

Just finished watching the episodes and certainly has me interested to see how the next episode progresses...

[Mechapilot77]

mechs look cool if a bit generic. although i'm not really digging the art/style of he way they draw the characters...its very children's anime look...yet the mecha is very "real robot" aesthetic. kind of a clash. i was thinking of signing up for crunchyroll anyway..seems like its available there.

[frothymug]

I watched the first episode about a week ago and I was impressed. The production values appear to be top-notch and the story has some potential to be a great story of the struggle of humanity. I just haven't had the chance to continue watching; trying to get through some other series before jumping into this one.

[Marzan]

It's been pretty good so far. I like stories where the enemy has the superior technology and weaponry and the protagonists have to compensate with tactics and numbers. Aldnoah has exactly that. The mecha have a nice weighty feel to them which has been missing from other similar series in the past years.

The only thing I'm not too crazy about is the MC. He seems a bit too cool and in control of things considering his age, but well , this is anime and if they're not 'young', they don't sell.

[frothymug]

I agree about the MC, but it doesn't bother me all too much. Just as long as he doesn't turn out to be completely OP *cough-the-irregular-at-magic-high-school-cough*. Conversely, I don't like that the enemy is so ridiculously advanced. I like to see that other friendly forces are putting a dent into the enemy, but are just outclassed and/or outnumbered to the point where it doesn't seem so hopeless and futile to fight.

I just watched ep. 2 and I was yelling at the friendly mechs to fire their grenades at the feet of that enemy mecha... at least you might be able to obscure his vision and make a getaway, but no...

So far, it's been easy to predict what is really going on. This isn't just some response to an assassination, it's just a subterfuge to subjugate humanity.

[Mr March]

I am getting the sense that something a little different is being done with the show. Not sure if it's enough to make the show all that interesting and it's populated with a few common tropes. I got a real "Mass Effect" vibe from the way those orbital colonies fell upon Earth. The overwhelming superiority of the enemy forces is pretty standard technique in mecha anime to evoke tension in the audience, even though as an adult viewer we understand that such a ridiculous disparity would mean the war would be short indeed. However, I'm willing to stick with it for a while and see what happens with the story and characters.

I do like the animation style and the animation quality is really good. The mechanical designs do seem a little too similar to recent Gundam/Full Metal Panic styles. The way a lot of modern mechanical design in anime is very homogenous really makes one appreciate the unique style of the Macross Frontier valkyries

[MILKAUTICO]

KG-6 Sleipnir

Height: 13.5m
Main pilot: Kaizuka Inaho
The previous gen model. Now used for military training in high schools.

KG-7 Areion

Height: 13.5m
Main pilot: Kaizuka Yuki & Marito Kouichiro
Latest model to be mass produced and used by UFE.

Aldnoah.Zero Plastic Model Planned!!!

http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-25699.html

[Marzan]

I have to say that I really dig the combat sequences (minus the 'epic' music). They're well thought out and choreographed. Now if they only give the MC some background story so we can understand why he's so darn smart and talented.

[chyll2]

currently liking this series, it is so far, opposite of most of the mecha wherein, protagonist pilot uses an OP machine to kill grunts easily regardless of the pilot's skill set. Then later on he will face the enemy's ace and either the protagonist wins or survives it. (currently, argevollen is already dropped due to the following reason)

So far so good, I am not currently bothered why our hero is so calm and collected even when his friends are dying or in danger. As for the mecha design, I think they look generic but at least they look more realistic.

[Mr March]

Nice pics. THere's just enough creativity in the designs (and especially the colors) to enjoy the mecha. I'm gonna stick with this for now. See how it goes.

[MILKAUTICO]

The bad guys, for now....

Nilokeras

Height: 18m
Trillram's personal Kataphrakt. Equipped with special barrier

Argyre

Height: 16.5m

Mars Knight, Vlad's personnel Kataphrakt. Equipped with beam saber (does not have the barrier, and its armor seems susceptible to normal gun fire)

[Marzan]

The ultra smooth Inaho keeps kicking Martian butt with minimum fuss. It was actually really cool how he took care of the Argyre, but I really need some background on why the 14 year old Inaho is smarter than every soldier on the planet.

[frothymug]

Again, back to my original (petty) complaint: I would like it better if the regular soldiers were halfway competent and could manage to put a dent into the enemy's forces. But they are always shown as bumbling, inept, cowardly cannon fodder who just stand there in fear while the enemy blows right through them. The only thing they can do is just wildly shoot at the other guy until they are finally put out of their misery.

Not trying to detract from the story, but this has always been one of my biggest pet peeves about any movie, anime, cartoon, or TV show. A halfway-decent counter-example: Chronicles of Riddick... We all know how badass Richard B Riddick is. When the Necromongers invaded Helion Prime, the local military put up a fight, as the should. They even show a couple of examples when their air defense managed to down one of the Necros' invasion ships. There was even that street fight scene where they managed to destroy a squad of Necros soldiers, only to be taken out by a last-second desperation attack by the final soldier. The Necromongers were just too many and too well-disciplined for the defenders, so they quickly fell. But still... I can respect the little things like that in a movie or whatever.

Back to Aldnoah Zero, though... I'm eagerly awaiting the next episodes week by week. I would still like to see some emotion from Inaho. That, and some form of flaw(s) in his character are what are keeping this show from becoming a 10/10. All of the other characters are colorful, varied, and apparently normal.

[MILKAUTICO]

[VF-Zer0S]

Started this show last week and it looks amazing

[Old_Nash]

Where they find the metal for all these mechs?

[Beltane70]

Where they find the metal for all these mechs?

They're not that big. The one on the right is only 22m tall. The two on the left were made on Earth, while the bigger three were produced on Mars.

[Marzan]

This show should change it's name to *Slaine Can't Catch a Break'

[frothymug]

I'm recommending this show to pretty much anyone who watches anime. Even my gf is now interested in catching up to me so we can watch each new episode together.

[BeyondTheGrave]

After watching the last two episodes....

SLAINE IS THE STUPIDEST CHARACTER IN THIS ENTIRE SERIES. HE'S RIGHT UP THERE(imo) WITH HATHAWAY NOA.

[Scream Man]

Well.... that was an unexpected ending. I'll try season 2, but a lot of my favorite characters no longer seem to be with us so..... not sure.

[Marzan]

After watching the last two episodes....

SLAINE IS THE STUPIDEST CHARACTER IN THIS ENTIRE SERIES. HE'S RIGHT UP THERE(imo) WITH HATHAWAY NOA.

When he saved Saazbaum I facepalmed. I actually said out loud. "He's going to regret that" I just didn't know how much he would.

Aldnoah is a good series, but it gets let down by the poor characterizations. Slaine (better left unsaid), the Princess a Lacus Clyne clone and Inaho...well...I always though that at one point we'd get a big reveal on why he is the way he is, but nope. Nothing. Little or no backstory or character development. The only character that had any background to him besides Saazbaum, was Lieutenant Marito, but for some reason he simply stopped figuring in the later chapters. I thought he was going to be more important.

I'll definitely catch the second cour, because I'm very curious about how they are going to move on from here (internet is rife with rumors of timeskip), but I do hope they flesh out whatever characters there are present more.

[chyll2]

Slaine is so stupid, I can't even find a good reason why he decided to save Saazbaum. Maybe he got on the heat of the moment since every Terran is firing at him?

Anyway, since the aldnoah drive activated for him. I guess Vers royal family will surely end and maybe it will start with Slaine?

[technoblue]

I think the time skip rumors are nonsense. It doesn't fit with how the show has been setting us up time and time again. To go down that road would almost be too cheap. Up until the last episode, I thought Slaine was being characterized as tragic. Now I think the writer's intention may be different...

A number of characters seem to have a failing, each progressively more psychological.

• Inaho is the stereotypical genius with little to no social grace. The Sheldon Cooper or Sherlock Holmes of this show. He does not read people effectively outside of tactical situations (doing so might have allowed him to identify Slaine and Rayet early on, for example).
• Marito's condition was given to us. We are told that he is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and we even get to see why. I don't think that will be a throw away characterization. We've seen how impotent this struggle has made him this season. I think Lieutenant Marito still has an opportunity to be something more in season 2, but that's just IMO.
• Slaine is suffering from Stockholm syndrome. That's the only explanation for his response to Saazbaum at the end of the last episode. If and when Slaine regains his better senses, he is going to crash hard. I wonder if the writers want to make him a villain?

Edited September 22, 2014 by technoblue

[A_Man_and_a_Woman?!]

So wait... there is going to be a season two???

Someone posted in another thread that the series suffered from being a truncated version of the manga. I thoroughly enjoyed it because I am starving for a good anime with mechs in it. The last one I gave a go was Captain Earth and it lost me after 5 episodes- I can't get passed how ridiculous the villains are.

I'm glad there is going to be a season two because that was a holy-crap finale for me!

And Slaine bugs me in the same way that Armin (AoT) bugs me so I'm sure he has a bunch of emo American fans because blond hair...