is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

released by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

. It was adapted into an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series in 2001.

Plot

The long war between the planet Earth and the machine men is finally over, resulting in a peace that is more a victory for the machine men than the Earth. Warius Zero lost his family in the war to the machinemen but despite this he still is a member of the Earth fleet that is now working in concert with the machine men. His ship, made up of both humans and machine men, has been given a near impossible task: capture the space pirate Captain Harlock. While Zero struggles to accomplish this task, evidence begins to surface that the peace between machine men and Earth may not be as it seems.

Characters

;Captain Warius Zero: After having his wife and child disappear in the battle between the humans and Machine men, Zero has no choice but to serve Earth's government as a Captain of second rate ships. After a run-in with the legendary Captain Harlock, Zero is given the new task of hunting down the space pirate. With his new

controversial Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite ...

crew of machine men and humans and his old ship, the , Zero sets out to complete his mission and to keep his crew from fighting. After meeting Harlock, Zero has more of an appreciation towards him and stills believes in him even after he sees him attack civilians. Later on in the series, Zero and his first officer Marina Oki grow feelings for each other and end up falling in love. ;Harlock: ;Marina Oki: ;Lady Emeraldas: ;Tochiro: ;Grenadier: ;Silviana: ;Nohara: ;Umihara: ;Ishikura: ;Rai: ;Dr. Machine: ;Battlizer: ;Yattaran: ;Axelater: ;Phase Breaker: ;Helmatier: ;Zess Voder:

References to other works

Leiji Matsumoto's other older works were referenced in this series. *First Officer Marina Oki's home has

marine snow In the deep ocean, marine snow (also known as "ocean dandruff") is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic zone to ...

, a direct reference to Leiji's 1980

television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...

"Legend of Marine Snow". *The main weapon of the Karyū is the "Saint Elmo", a reference to the 1987 Saint Elmo - Apostle of Light.

Reception

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author of ...

in ''500 Essential Anime Movies'' praised the screenplay and commented that "very few writers handle doomed heroism as well as Matsumoto". McCarthy, Helen. ''500 Essential Anime Movies: The Ultimate Guide''. — Harper Design, 2009. — P. 50. — 528 p. —

References

External links

Leiji Matsumoto page
* * {{Leiji Matsumoto 2001 anime television series debuts Adventure anime and manga Discotek Media Leiji Matsumoto Science fiction anime and manga