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The story has followed the adventures of James Links, an interstellar trucker who has come into possession of Dolores, an orbital frame with a mind of her own. James however has been accused of murder, has brought his kids into the whole mess, and the family has been trying to get to Mars to find James’ wife who has been presumed dead. Volume four finally brings the Links’ family to their Martian destination, but don’t think that’s the end of things. In fact, believe it or not, the adventure is still just getting started. The first problem that the family encounters is making planet fall. The family wants to avoid brining undo attention to themselves and that’s never easy, especially with Dolores with them. Once on Mars though, there’s more fun in store for them including a Martian liberation group and another group of LEV pilots that’s determined to retrieve Dolores. Having the family finally on Mars introduces some new, and more interesting elements into the story. We’ve seen them slightly in some of the early episodes, and even in the OVA as well, but many of the mechanics and differences of the Mars environment as opposed to Earth are presented in grand fashion. I’m certain there is some scientific accuracy behind some of them, and many of them are someone’s best guess as well. There aren’t only pulled from the latest issues of Discovery though, there are some elements that are similar to what we saw years ago in Total Recall. “You got what you wanted, now give the people air.” There’s also a new character, or so it seems, introduced as well. Through the past three episodes, we’ve seen several minor characters come and go, but it seems like this time, we may definitely have someone new on board. Rebecca, a young LEV pilot (shades of Evangelion) shows up on the scene, and she’s got as much attitude as James, and then some. Her goal is to retrieve Dolores, whom she knows as Isis, but not only is Dolores not too keen on the idea of leaving “uncle” but she is quite argumentative on what her name is. The result is a humorous scene between man and machine regarding her official name. Rebecca though has other ideas, and places Dolores in a precarious situation, putting James’ life on the line if she doesn’t come quietly. You know how Dolores feels about “uncle” though, and she’ll do anything to protect him. Too bad for Rebecca that Dolores isn’t fully repaired, and now she’s forced to have to stay with James until Dolores is up to par, or so it would seem. The family is also split apart, and although these episodes don’t show a lot of what the ramifications may be, it can only lead to a more interesting plot line. Z.O.E also has the usual blend of strange mecha humor, coming from Dolores as usual. We get to see her “cry” as well, which isn’t meant to be sad, but is funny. One of the best bits is her attempting to recover after taking the full force of a LEV explosion. What you get is a dizzy and disoriented Dolores who can barely manage to get a coherent sentence out, punctuating it with “meow” quite a bit. And, it seems we still haven’t seen the full capability of her weaponry, and Rebecca teaches her yet another new trick that will definitely come in handy in future battles. There are some interesting, and helpful, extras included with the fourth volume. In the “Boy, I’m glad that’s on here” category is the map of Mars. This allows you to take a close-up look of what’s where, giving you a much better sense of exactly where the action is taking place and the relative distance from point A to B. If you ever have felt like brushing up on your Japanese a little, and maybe even singing along with the opening and closing themes, now is you chance. ADV has provided you with a karaoke track for each complete with the Japanese lyrics written in both kanji and English. Don’t go thinking that you’re going to be the next America Idol though, but have fun with it. There’s also an interview with Tesshou Genda (James) and Hoko Kuwashima (Dolores), and both share their insights and experiences working on the anime and what their impressions and thoughts of the series are. Once again, I have to hand it to ADV for understanding that this is in fact a Japanese series, and there’s really no point in having interviews with the English “voice actors” or directors. My opinion has always been that the Japanese cast has a much better idea of the series, and the seiyuu are fully in tune with the characters as they were the ones who initially came up with the emotion and feeling that they portray. “A Prelude to War” offers up everything
that has made the Z.O.E series so great thus far. There’s plenty
of action involving not only LEV and orbital frame combat, but hand-to-hand
and a perfect dose of comedy. Z.O.E is just about as much fun as you can have with a mecha series, and then some. Episode 11 – Tight Rope James and family have finally managed to get close to Mars without any more major incidents, but there’s another problem that’s come up. They can’t take the Ender down to the surface without drawing attention to themselves, nor can they use Dolores to transport everyone, as it would take too many trips and again, give away their location. Fortunately however, they’re stopped right in the middle of a space junkyard, and with a little ingenuity, James believes that the family can make a landing pod capable of surviving re-entry. Episode 12 – Die Hard Having successfully landed on the surface of Mars, the Links’ family finds themselves in yet another hot situation. A group that’s working on improving the Martian atmosphere has saved them, but there is another faction that is aimed at taking it over for their own goals. With James around though, a hostile take over is easier said than done, and Dolores poses yet another problem for the LEV’s that are en-route to offer assistance. Episode 13 – Red Desert James may have thwarted the take over attempts, but now another enemy enters the picture, and that’s the danger of the hostile Martian environment. The harsh windstorm they need to endure is bad enough, but nightfall is approaching, and if they don’t find shelter before them, the temperature drop may very well kill them. Fate has always been on their side though, and they stumble across an apparently abandoned farming settlement. However, it’s not quite as vacant they would have hoped, and a aging farmer and his grandson fill them in on the details. But, a reporter out to make a quick buck and an attack by a LEV squadron make things more interesting, and the family finds themselves separated. Episode 14 – Rebecca With Dolores around, most battles are quick, but the attacking pilot attempts to destroy her mecha, resulting in Dolores not only being damaged, but a bit scrabbled mentally as well. James, having saved the pilot, decides to find shelter to allow Dolores, and the pilot, time to recover. However, the young girl, Rebecca, sees James as the enemy and wants nothing to do with him. She also recognizes Dolores, whom she knows as Isis, and attempts to blackmail the still recovering orbital frame into coming with her. -mike-
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