In this article, I bring all about Zillion, which is obviously not all because there is so much good stuff about this hugely successful anime from the 80s whose story even sort of merges with that of our beloved Sega Master System console.
Zillion, whose full name would be Akai Kōdan Zillion, originally aired from April 12, 1987 to December 13, 1987 on Nippon Television in Japan. Written by Tsunehisa Ito and produced by Tatsunoko Production, the series ended up going to various other media, such as games, comics, sticker books, OVAs, toys and more. It’s also an important and nostalgic piece of entertainment for me.
The plot
In 2387, Maris—a flourishing human colony dubbed a second Earth—faces annihilation from the Noza, a fierce alien race led by Empress Admis and the cunning Baron Ricks, aiming to wipe out humans for their empire. The Noza’s superior speed, training, and tech crush humanity until a mysterious entity delivers three “Zillion Weapon System” pistols, which are incredibly powered and can destroy noza warriors way easier than with conventional weaponry.
Teens JJ, Champ, and Apple, chosen for their unique skills, form the White Nuts (known as the White Knights in the English version) task force under Commander Gord. Despite Zillion‘s light tone and frequent humorous situations, there are battles with surprising depth level in several occasions, such as JJ’s heated rivalry with Ricks, Champ’s old treacherous friend and Apple’s daring raids.
Visual and style
Despite being an already old work, Zillion has a vibrant 80s animation that blends well with neon-lit Maris cityscapes, while the menacing Noza designs, faceless alien killers with sleek armor, contrasts with the White Nuts’ colorful gear.
The Zillion pistols where initially inspired by Sega’s Light Phaser, much likely an incredible marketing campaign with a level of creativity that rivals Chex Quest’s. Then, probably due to copyright bullshit, they got their designs changed, what was explained in the anime to match Champ’s sharpshooting, Apple’s prowess, and JJ’s chaotic and intrepid battle style.
There is also a lot of other cool details, such as the transforming Tricharger tricycles, the big plane from where the White Nuts are deployed in battle, the mascot robots Bongo and Opa-Opa (another nod to Sega, this one to Fantasy Zone) and JJ playing Master System in at least one episode (yes, another nod to Sega). The soundtrack also deserves attention, by Jun Irie, with my favorite tune being Pure Stone, which is present in the SMS’s adaptations and is the BGM of the anime’s intro:
Cultural impact
A Sega-Tatsunoko-NTV collaboration to boost the Master System against Nintendo’s Famicom, Zillion aired in 30 countries, winning Japan’s 1987 best animation award, with JJ and Apple as top characters. In Brazil, Tec Toy’s Zillion Laser Tag toy and a stellar dub on the TV show—featuring Carlos Laranjeira, Eduardo Camarão, and Neuza Maria Faro as the White Nuts—made it a sensation on Globo’s Xou da Xuxa in 1988, despite jumbled episode order.
Two Master System platformers, Zillion and Zillion II: The Tri Formation, with the first defying expectations with puzzle-heavy and metroidvania gameplay, while the second one is more action-oriented, boosting console sales.
The interesting line of toys, a Brazil-exclusive sticker album, rare U.S. comics (published by Eternity Comics), and the Burning Night J-pop OVA cemented its global reach, though a copyright spat cut its run from 52 to 31 episodes, and still seems to be great kurbash they put on the anime to this day…
Intro
Back to the intro, I think it is worthwhile to add it here, since it’s not only pleasant, with that damn good track, but also transmits the whole atmosphere of Zillion: a lighthearted anime with lovely characters, a good deal of heroism, and room for layered undertones without ever becoming pretentiously boring. This is the 1st intro, by the way:
Legacy
Zillion is indeed a work with excellent theme, soundtrack, characters, and other aspects. The plot is good too, despite some typical genre inconsistencies that we only notice as we get older. In anyway, the anime not only endures due to its heroism-soaked battles, layered villains, and characters like the lovably lazy, womanizing JJ, who shines in clutch moments. The derived products also play a major role in this matter, such as the Master System games remaining cult classics and relics like the 1993 U.S. comics being collector’s gold. We can’t dismiss the anime’s blend of humor, drama, and sci-fi that also influenced later hits of the genre.
The bottom line is that this thing is so good that in the right hands it would be still thriving, if not as an anime, maybe as a video game series or in some other form of media. I’d also guess that we didn’t get more Zillion stuff because Sega and Tatsunoko are incredibly dumb and greedy, and the intellectual “property” is in some sort of copyright hell. But that’s just a guess.
For me, like I said, this franchise is very special. I not only have fond memories of watching the anime when it aired here in Brazil, but I had the sticker book (almost finished it) and remember it being quite awesome, stimulating me to draw the characters and make my own Zillion stories. Added to that, Zillion II: The Tri Formation was probably the first cartridge I ever swapped with a friend in school, and I loved it so much. By the way, the dude even looked like JJ a bit back then.
All right. Now it’s up to you. Get Zillion somehow and (re)watch it, play the Zillion games on your Master System (or emulator) and then share your favorite White Nuts memories in the comments to keep one of the greatest gems from the 80s alive.
Cheers!
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Overview
- Channel(s): Gaming Room
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