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Hu Tao
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Aldnoah Zero. This anime I know nothing about it. Hype. Trailers. Summary. I had seen none of them. I was completely oblivious about this anime existence. And then, one fateful day, I saw a thread discussion which has average 8 pages long about this anime in one of the anime forum (not animesuki) that I lurked at. So, from there, I’ve decide to give a try on this anime after reading the whole thread about Aldnoah Zero. Well, I am not disappointed. In this anime blew my mind so much when I marathon the series up to episode 7. I love the characters, the battles, the music, especially Mkaliez and AZPV, the art and the story execution.
For me, this anime is like Code Geass in this year. At least this is what I felt when I am watching this anime. I have long forgotten the feeling of waiting in front of my computer in the midnight (in my country, it was midnight) just for the Aldnoah Zero’s new episode out. I usually do not do this, at least in these few years after Code Geass was ended.
What I like about the Aldnoah Zero:
The main characters
Inaho is one of the reasons why I was attached to this anime because he was competent. After had been fed with many incompetent leads that tend to breakdown every 2 seconds in many anime for many years, Inaho character-type was refreshing for me, at least. Some people may think he was boring, bland and emotionless, but I have to disagree with them. Inaho has emotions. He just doesn’t express them openly. He did show them through his action. After all, actions tend to speak louder than words.
As for the Princess Assyelum, I like her because she isn’t annoying and actually aware of the whole situations. Despite of all bad things happened on her, she is always remains optimistic and eventually made a place for her in the foreign lands. She was also brave, forgiving and courageous for someone who had lived in a sheltered life. She was willing to risk her life to end the war without any hesitation; even it is walking into the war-zone.
Slaine. From the first impression, he gave me the vibe that he is some kind of force to be reckoning, or a loyal ruthless knight who slain his enemies merciless in the battlefield. How wrong was I when I learned that he was just a regular grunt of the Mar society. His devotion towards his princess was indeed admirable. At least up to episode 9 where there is the turning point for his character. He became emotional and his loyalty was wavered and he not even sure what he want in the end.
As for the side-characters, I am pretty neutral about them, except Marito. He was introduced as a veteran soldier, and every word he spoke sound like words of wisdom, at least this is what watchers felt when he appeared in episode 1. But the moment you learned more about him, he is nothing but a disappointment. Hope that he will get redeemed in the Season 2.
The mecha battles:
Usually, it was the main character was piloting the overpowered mecha to stomp his foes. But in Alnoah Zero, it was reversal. The main character and his friends were using a generic underpowered mecha to fight their foes who piloting overpowered mechas and the scary part is they actually won the skirmish, mainly thanks to the strategic elements and exploiting the weakness of the enemy’s mecha. Also, the battle music helps too. It made the whole battle or counter-attack felt epic and satisfying.
The art and animation:
Well, there is nothing much I can comment on this as I am not really an art person. I think the art and the animation quality were great and consistent. At least I know that my eye doesn’t feel like bleeding every time I am watching it.
The Story:
The story was simple. It was about a bunch of people lived in Mars declaring war on the Earth, and the Earth has to defend their home world from being invaded by those Martians, and the princess of the Mars was unlucky and stuck in the middle of the whole mess, and was currently under the shelter of the the Earthling, and desired to stop the war at all costs. Nothing is outstanding about it, and I don’t mind about it. For me, what’s matter is the execution, after all pretty much all the elements of the story telling was considered cliché in today standard.
Conclusion:
Aldnoah Zero may not perfect has some glaring issues, at least for others, but for me, I am not going to nitpicking those minor issues. In the end, I just want to get entertained and Aldnoah Zero did a good job on this.
P.S. “Adults are useless” comment, I got this a lot in the thread discussions, but I really don’t see what’s wrong with that as this happens the same in many animes too. I treated these as bonus if the adult characters can contribute in the animes, but ultimately, I am fine too if they are useless as long as I have fun watching the anime. Those are not something that worth to get agitated for.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Anime rating score: 9/10
Disclaimer: This is my opinion on this anime. If you are disagree with my points, well, keep that to your own. Also, I am looking forward for Aldnoah Zero Season 2, and I hope it will better than Season 1.
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Aldnoah.Zero (Blu-Ray release)
