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is the fourth anime installment of the
Zoids , or simply , is a Japanese science fiction media franchise created by Tomy that feature giant robots (or "mecha") called "Zoids". A Zoid is essentially a large mechanical animal, with designs being based on animals; including dinosaurs, insect ...
franchise. It tells the story of Ruuji Familon, a young boy who finds a Liger-type Zoid during a salvage mission. Initially, the village is attacked by Bio-Raptor Bio-Zoids, and later a Bio-Megaraptor. After the village generator is destroyed in combat, Ruuji takes the Murasame Liger Zoid and leaves the village alongside Ra-Kan and Rei Mii to find a generator mechanic or the village will be destroyed. Through his journey Ruuji learns he must fight against Digald. It aired on
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
from April 2005 to March 2006. In July 2006, the series was announced to appear as a part of
Toonami Jetstream Toonami Jetstream was an ad-supported online broadband streaming service and a remake of Toonami's previous video streaming service Toonami Reactor provided by Cartoon Network and Viz Media. It hosted various Toonami hits and had music videos, ...
, an online internet streaming project featuring current Toonami shows and all-new titles.
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
has indeed licensed the show as of August 2007,
/sup>. However, Toonami Jetstream was removed from the internet shortly after the Toonami television block was removed, so it is unknown if Zoids: Genesis will ever get a North American release, online or otherwise. It has been shown, however, in several markets of South East Asia with local English dubbing on Cartoon Network Saturday mornings..


Series background

Much like '' Zoids: Fuzors'', ''Genesis'' still takes place on Planet Zi, and also seems to share no connection to the previous series. The show takes a more
post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...
setting, following a cataclysmic environmental/geological event known as "Gods' Fury" that has destroyed much of the civilizations on Zi and devastated the planet. Many of Zi's survivors have created new civilizations with the use of giant structures called "Generators" that are scattered around the planet. However, out of the ashes of "Gods' Fury", the technology of the Zoids still existed and are constantly excavated for human use. The show returns to the more adventurous and war-themed styles reminiscent of '' Zoids: Chaotic Century''. It focuses on a boy named Ruuji who lives in a small seaside village called Miroodo and eventually becomes the pilot of the Murasame Liger after excavating it from the ocean.


Plot

Generations ago on planet Zi, at the height of human development, Zoids were used in an epic war that eventually led to the destruction of the world. So devastated was the world that the planet was barely habitable for humanity and nature. The catastrophe was named "Gods' Fury" and was considered a supernatural event by locals who believed the world was punished because of humanity's foolishness. Using one of their most powerful and largest Zoids, the surviving people of this conflict rode on Gildragons for safety and shelter. While one group returned to the earth and founded Iron Rock City, another group built a floating city in the heavens called Sky City. The people there rebuilt their society and eventually began researching ways to restore the planet. After many years of research, they planned to use their advanced bio-mechanical technology to restore the world in order to eventually re-inhabit the land their ancestors almost destroyed; as they lived in their advanced city, they became hubris, comfortable where they are and no longer desired to return. Although not returning, the technology they developed was implemented upon the planet, which utilized to what the surviving locals refer as generators. It has unique capabilities to maintain energy and growth for machinery and life in the surrounding area. Eventually, Sky City would encounter energy depletion and scouted Zi with their own secret agents. As other agents monitored the growth and progress of the humans that survived "Gods' Fury," others approached people to make special arrangements. The council of Sky City chose a city called Digu and traded off advanced technology for Reggel (universal energy resource, like oil, from their generators). Their arrangement not only involved treaties, but also sending a Sky citizen to be adopted as part of the agreement. The King of Digu would accept Jiin as his son and Digu has since invested resources and developed their own technologies to form their own army, the Digald Army. Eventually, Digald would mass-produce their own special units, Bio-Zoids (a nigh-indestructible unit in combat, only weakness is weapons made of Zi-alloy and damage inside its mouth), with the aid of technology provided by Iron Rock. The Bio Zoids were made in rapid numbers and gradually started conquering neighboring villages, towns, and cities that had generators to help produce more energy for Digald's energy consumption. They used special stones that could detect a human's ability to pilot a Bio-Zoid and drafted them into Digald forces, never to see their friends and family again. Though known and feared throughout the continent, people couldn't do much to defend themselves as their Zoids were no match against the formidable armor of the Bio-Zoids and they couldn't survive without having a generator; people either surrendered or were destroyed. The story of ''Zoids Genesis'' actually begins around here, as Lord Ra-Kan (heir to the Kira Kingdom) roams the world with Princess Mii (niece to Ra-Kan) after his kingdom has fallen to Digald. Though his kingdom had fallen, Kira's survivors rebuilt a new city called Zuuri in a new secret location far from Digald's influence. Young Ruuji Familon was working with his father to help recover Zoids from the bottom of the ocean in their village, Miroodo. While Mii and Ra-Kan was within the local area, so was Major Zairin (a top commander of Digald). Zairin would discover that Miroodo had a small generator for Digald forces to claim; his troops arrived and attacked Miroodo. Ruuji could never activate a Zoid, but the situation was dire and he jumped into the just-excavated Murasame Liger (that utilizes a Zi-alloy katana). This Zoid answered to Ruuji's call and activated to aid him against the Bio-Raptors attacking his village. Ra-Kan and Mii joined Ruuji in their fight against Digald. Eventually, a battle between Zairin and Ruuji lead to the accidental damage to Miroodo's generator. With the generator damaged, this led to the fear of Miroodo's destruction (as all settlements depended on them); Ra-Kan agreed to aid Ruuji in finding a generator mechanic. This quest for finding a generator repairman would lead Ruuji to befriend Kotona (formally trained assassin of Iron Rock), Garaga (former anti-Digald rebel leader), Ron (Sky City spy agent), and Seijuurou (former Zoid champion and Ruuji's combat teacher; dying from cancer). In between Ruuji's quest, they discovered Murasame Liger had the ability to evolt (change combat forms) into Hayate Liger (high-speed combat form) and it played a pivotal role in their survival. Eventually though, Ruuji and his Liger would play a larger role in things to come. Through their adventures, Ruuji was unable to find a person capable of repairing the generator; his travels made him realize even if the generator could be fixed, Digald's expansion will eventually rule everything including Miroodo; Ruuji suggested to Ra-Kan to fight against Digald and eventually Ra-Kan agreed that Digald's expansion couldn't continue. With the resources and forces of Zuuri, Ra-Kan began organizing a counter-offense army. They invited many resistance groups to their cause, but only a few had interest in joining them as there was strong fear and reluctance to confront the Digald Army; with the eventual successes of the ''Digald Suppression Army'', their reputation garnered the attention of many and their forces eventually grew in numbers. Ron had always been concerned about Jiin's activities and secretly utilized his advanced resources to help Ruuji and Ra-Kan; the team was eventually introduced to Sky City (where Seijuurou was cured of his condition) in hopes to convince the council to provide aid in their cause. Unfortunately, the council was not moved to assist as they felt the troubles below don't concern them nor thought of Jiin as a serious threat against their superior technologies; that would be proven terribly wrong. In Sky City's hubris, Jiin betrayed his own people and launched Bio-Raptor Guis on an aerial assault against Sky City and sank the citadel; many of its citizens survived and found refuge in Zuuri, but they had difficulty adapting to primitive life and forced to recognize their conceit. It was only then the Sky City elders revealed their original intent to the rebellion: they intended Jiin to take over Digald to have an Earth-based vassal force for military might as well as long term reggel supply. Unfortunately, Jiin's ambition was too great and they were betrayed by their overconfidence in controlling him, leading to their demise. With Sky City destroyed, there was no real power left to oppose him, except for the resistance forces, which he considered as a mere nuisance. Meanwhile, Jiin's power and influence grew within Digu. After the death of their king, Jiin declared himself emperor and eventually a god to Digald. His new policies were not only more
draconian Draconian is an adjective meaning "of great severity", that derives from Draco, an Athenian law scribe under whom small offenses had heavy punishments ( Draconian laws). Draconian may also refer to: * Draconian (band), a death/doom metal band fro ...
, but it alienated many of the officers under Jiin. However, it was not an issue to Jiin, since he is able to extract human souls into the bodies of Bio-Zoid droid pilots; he tripled his forces without the need for human pilots. Zairin was obsessed with defeating Ruuji until he discovered the shocking truth of their bolstered forces, it snapped him out of his obsession and caused him to defect. Eventually, word had spread within Digald forces about their pilots were extracted human souls, many of Digald Forces defected to the Digald Suppression Army. After long hard battles against Digald Forces, it was an unusual alliance when most of the human officers of Digald defected to the anti-Digald army. Ruuji felt their anti-Digald army title was no longer appropriate and renamed themselves the ''Jiin Suppression Army''. A large final battle was waged against Jiin in his Bio-Tyranno. After a very difficult fight, Ruuji destroyed Jiin with Mugen Liger (evolt form after Hayate Liger) and ended the conflict to restore peace to the lands. After the battle, it was discovered that Murasame Liger had unique regeneration technologies that can help revive Miroodo's generator; Ruuji returned to his village and helped restore life back to his hometown.


Characters

* Ruuji Familon * Ra-Kan * Rei-Mii * Kotona Elegance * Thunder Galaga * Ron Mangan * Seijuurou * Tize * Hou * Paruburo * Dinga * Hakku * Danbul * Gaball * Kanpyuu * Zantsu * Bon Tigger * Zairin * Jiin * Felme * Georg * Souta/Gin * Whips De Zaltz * Muteki-Dan * Rinna Elegance


Zoids

Despite the disaster a thousand years ago, Zoids are still in use by the nations and cities of planet Zi. The main difference between other series is the use of a substance called ''Regel''. Originating from a series of tree-like generators that help maintain the planet's ecosystem, Regel is an orange, sap-like fluid which Zoids depend on. Because of the sheer size and intake volume needed, it is possible that Zoids use it for maintenance functions, like lubricant oil, rather than as an energy source; it may also be used in this way to prevent Zoids from spreading too far away from human control.


Protagonist Zoids

The seven Zoids used by the protagonists are all armed with a metal Zi weapon, capable of disintegrating Digald armor. Because of their inferior numbers, they are occasionally overwhelmed by greater forces. The seven Zoids are; *Murasame Liger: Ruuji's
Liger The liger is a hybrid offspring of a male lion (''Panthera leo'') and a female tiger (''Panthera tigris''). The liger has parents in the same genus but of different species. The liger is distinct from the similar hybrid called the tigon, and ...
-type Zoid *Sword Wolf: Ra-Kan's
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
-type Zoid. *Lance Stag: Rei Mii's
moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
-type Zoid. *Rainbow Jerk: A
peafowl Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are refe ...
-type aerial Zoid piloted by Kotona Elegance. *Deadly Kong: A large
gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
-type Zoid piloted by Garaga. *Bambu Lion: A
panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white animal coat, coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is ...
-type Zoid piloted by Ron. *Soul Tiger: A Zoid that resembles the Rayse Tiger, except that it's white and the "energy lines" are red instead of green. It has four large claws on each paw and is very fast. Piloted by Seijuurou.


Digald Zoids

The militaristic nation of Digald has been steadily expanding across planet Zi, meeting little opposition. Occupied cities have their populations used as forced labor or Zoid pilots. The key to their success has been a silver-plating over their Zoids, which is immune to beam-weaponry. However, it is extremely vulnerable to high temperatures, or the effect of weapons made from a substance called metal Zi. Upon contact with either of these, the silver-coating melts and evaporates, and the internal crimson structure disintegrates, leaving only bleached white skeletons. Zoids piloted by higher-ranking officers have gold claws or spikes that can block metal Zi weapons, though these are rare. The pilots, unlike most Zoids, remain suspended in a dark cockpit, and wear bulky suits with connecting wires to control their Zoids. Most are controlled using humanoid drones with rotary, three-eyed helmets, later revealed to be the drained consciousness of occupied peoples encased in robotic forms. Later model commander-type Bio-zoids such as the Bio-Volcano and presumably the Bio-Kentro have armor made of crystal that are completely resistant to Metal Zi weapons.


Episode list


Theme songs

;Opening # "夜鷹の夢" (Yotaka no Yume, ''Nighthawk's Dream'') by
Do As Infinity Do As Infinity is a Japanese pop and Rock music, rock band that formed in 1999 with three members: vocalist Tomiko Van, guitarist Ryo Owatari, and guitarist and composer Dai Nagao. The band's name is sometimes abbreviated as DAI, alluding to the ...
;Endings # "Real Love" by PARADISE GO!!GO!! # "ありのままでLovin'U (Arino Mamade Lovin'U)" by Shizuka Ito (Kotona) & Kimiko Koyama (Re Mii) (First Airing ep. 29) # "握りしめたその手に (Nigirishimeta sono Te ni)" by Shizuka Ito (Kotona) & Kimiko Koyama (Re Mii) (First Airing ep. 44)


Notes

*There is doubt whether or not the series actually takes place on Zi. Both the "Generators" and the Zoid fuel "Reggel" (a red, viscous liquid that occurs naturally) have never appeared in any previous ''Zoids'' material, however since the planetary catastrophe, the make-up of Planet Zi is now completely different, mostly due to the seeding of the "Generators" throughout the planet. Additionally, a map on the back of the limited Lanstag model depicts a continent that does not match any of Zi's four continents at all. There was a planetary catastrophe of extreme magnitude, the continents would have taken new forms, everything about Planet Zi changed. However, the intro does state that the Zoids live on Planet Zi. All other zoids series have taken place on Planet Zi in chronological order, with Zoids Genesis taking place far after Zoids: Fuzors. During the Zoids: Genesis series, the fact is revealed that a far more advanced way-of-life existed on their planet. Zoids: Fuzors is the only zoids series to have featured an advanced civilization, which occurs before Zoids: Genesis. With a planetary catastrophe of such magnitude, causing the surviving populace across the entire planet to return to the stone age, even the name of said homeworld can become forgotten with time. *What is notable about the Zoids featured in the said intro is that all of them are Zoids from the previous series,
Zoids Fuzors is an anime series, linked to the Zoids toy line of the same name. It is the third Zoids series, following '' Zoids: New Century Zero'' in order of production. The series is 26 episodes long, however, the show had an unsuccessful U.S. broadcas ...
. Some of the identifiable ones are as follows: **Scissor Storm **König Wolf MkII **Gorhecks **Dispelow **Energy Liger **Gojulas Giga **Godos **Styluarmor **Gairyuki **Storm Sworder **Seismosaurus **Berserk Führer (Fury) **Evo Flyer **Guysak **Blade Liger **Liger Zero


Game appearances

Zoids: Genesis first appearance in video games is in '' Zoids Saga DS: Legend of Arcadia'' for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. Zoids Genesis also featured extensively in Zoids:Full Metal Crash (released October 27, 2005) for Nintendo Gamecube. Murasame Liger and Deadly Kong are playable Zoids. Ruuji Familon, Rei Mii, Thunder Garaga and Zairin are available as selectable/playable pilots. The series was included in the
Super Robot Wars ''Super Robot Wars'', known in Japan as is a series of tactical role-playing video games produced by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Banpresto. Starting out as a spinoff of the ''Compati Hero'' series, the main feature of the franchise is ...
game ''Super Robot Wars K'', also for the Nintendo DS. This came as a surprise to many ''SRW'' fans given that the video game franchise is developed by merchandising rival
Namco Bandai is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...
;
Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...
(a Namco Bandai subsidiary) was involved in the other series owned by Takara-Tomy that have been featured in ''SRW''. ZOIDS Genesis made its return to ''SRW'' and was featured along with ZOIDS: Chaotic Century in ''Super Robot Wars: Operation Extend''


External links


Official Zoids Genesis homepage
* {{Zoids Japanese children's animated action television series Japanese children's animated adventure television series Japanese children's animated science fiction television series Adventure anime and manga Mecha anime and manga Viz Media anime
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
TV Tokyo original programming Television shows based on Takara Tomy toys