On the surface, Aldnoah.Zero appeared to be just another Mecha Anime with a focus on machines. So many mecha genre series’ have come out lately that I can understand why some people would look past a series like this. I did the same thing myself, and I regret waiting. So I finally took the time to watch the series and see what it was about and by the end of day 3, I had watched all 12 episodes. The story is unique in that many mecha anime revolve around humans fighting aliens with machines to save the planet. In this case, we have humans fighting humans. More accurately you have Terrans (Earth Born) humans fighting Vers (Mars Born) humans.
Rather than focus on the mecha’s themselves the series focuses on the characters and the political landscape that is the war for resources and honor between both races. It is a refreshing change of pace for the genre and the characters are developed smoothly throughout the season leading up to the jaw dropping season 1 finale. I will admit I was pissed and worried after that ending, only comforted by the fact that it was coming back Jan 2015 with 12 more episodes. So lets dive into the story and the characters. Fair warning, spoilers ahead so if you have not caught up on season 1, stop reading here.
In 1972, an ancient alien hypergate was discovered on the surface of the moon. Using this technology, humanity began migrating to Mars and settling there. After settlers discovered additional advanced technology, the Vers Empire was founded, which claimed Mars and its secrets for themselves. Later, the Vers Empire declared war on Earth, and in 1999, a battle on the Moon’s surface caused the hypergate to explode, shattering the Moon and scattering remnants into a debris belt around the planet. Cut off from Mars, the remnants of the Vers insurgents established several massive orbital space stations within the debris belt and a ceasefire was established. 15 years later, in 2014, an attack on the Vers princess during a peace mission causes the Empire to launch a new attack on Earth, this time determined to conquer it once and for all
Characters
The 3 main characters consist of Inaho Kaizuka, Slaine Troyard, Asseylum Vers Allusia – Princess of Mars. Inaho is a student and all around genius tactician who in his orange training machine manages to take down several Ver’s enemies that the army simply couldn’t touch. Inaho’s most annoying yet interesting trait is that he is ridiculous calm and stoic during battle showing little to no emotion. He along with his classmates were drafted into the army when Mars declared war on earth under the assumption that their princess had been killed by Terran terrorists.
Slaine Troyard is a Terran born boy who ended up on Mars with his father, who was researching Aldnoah technology. Captured by the Martians, he and his father were saved by Princess Asseylum. Slaine is looked down upon by the knights as a lower class race and is often called “Terran Scum”. He is fiercely loyal to the Princess and tells her everything he knows about Earth. He is rather timid like Inaho but when it comes to protecting the Princess he has no issues shooting to kill. Ironic considering the season ending.
Asseylum Vers Allusia, The Princess of the Vers Empire. She is very close to Slaine, and is curious to learn about Earth. She went to Earth on a goodwill visit, but her motorcade was attacked and she was presumed to have died. This assassination was used by the orbiting Martians as a casus belli for their invasion. However, the princess had been unaccustomed to the gravity and felt ill that day, so a body double had been killed instead. Asseylum now travels with Inaho’s group under a false identity (“Seylum”) until they can get a message back to her grandfather in hopes of stopping the rekindled war.
The Musical Score
I don’t say this about TV shows or anime for that matter but the music on this series is excellent. A mix of modern and futuristic techno music that has a good beat to it, and fits very well into intense scenes throughout the series. One of the best was aLIEz by Hiroyuki Sawano and Mizuki seen at the end of several episodes and during battle scenes involving Inaho. Katsuhiko Takayama acts as the series composer, managing the flow and story of the series. The score is worth picking up and can be found easily on Amazon, PlayAsia and other sites.
Season 1 Review
Season 1 hit the ground running from the first episode bringing us straight into the plot by the Martians plot to kill her and go to war for Earth’s resources. As the season began to mature and reveal the political motivations of the Mars Knights and the relationships between Terran and Vers got tense, 2 characters stood out on either side of the fight. Slaine and Inaho are of course the poster boys for the Terran and Vers fight, both bulled headed and stubborn. Inaho is not afraid to put himself in harms way to protect his friends and continue to kick the knights ass. Slaine is also not afraid to speak out of turn and protect his love the Princess. The overall plot for season 1 was rather simple once it was outlined as all the knights wanted was to go to war to take the resources Earth had that Mars didn’t.
Inaho didn’t think much about the war, other than coming up with in the moment tactical ideas that resulted in countless wins for the UE forces. His friends were constantly amazed and afraid when he would jump into the line of fire. One of the more annoying things was his lack of emotion. You would expect a boy of his age to get angry, smile, or even cry at some point. Instead he remains fairly emotionless throughout the season. There are a few moments where we catch a slight smile on his face or a smirk of admiration or disgust. However, as annoying as his demeanor was, it was also what made him Inaho and he was just brilliant on the battlefield.
I will admit that as the season started I did not like Slaine much, but he grew on me as more of his backstory was revealed and the torture he went through to protect the princess. He is a whiny brat to say the least, but you just have to feel for him considering the situation he is in, alone after his father passed, away from his home. That is at least until the final battle began. Slaine was aiding the enemy against his own people and it got to the point where you had to wonder: pick a side already. Well he did and it wasn’t to the benefit of his popularity among fans. At the end of season 1, he finally gets to meet ‘Orange’, the mecha pilot who had shot him down leading to his torture and the person responsible for using the princess for his own gain, Inaho.
Inaho, who referred to Slaine as ‘Bat’, could barely crawl out of his craft when he and Slaine were face to face for the first time. Guns pointed at each other, Slaine shoots to kill after having just watched one of the Mar’s Knights kill the Princess. In all fairness Inaho said to Slaine the last they met they were enemies, and he shot him down. This lead to Slaines recapture by Ver’s forces and resulted in his torture. So for Slaine to be a little upset over that, and the fact that Inaho was using the Princess on the battlefield was all the justification Slaine needed to shot.
It was clear as Inaho crawled towards her, that he actually started to have feelings for the princess and his smirk facing Slaine made you feel like he knew what was going to happen next.
Predictions for Season 2
So 2 of the 3 main characters appear to be killed off at the end of season 1, but are they? I have read many different thoughts on the matter and I have rewatched the final scene many times to get a sense of what we actually saw. First, the final moments after Slaine shots, we get a narration talking about many losses on both side and that the whereabouts of the princess are unknown. There was no direct confirmation or Inaho’s death, nor that of the princess either. Lack of confirmation is not in itself proof he lives, but it also doesn’t rule it out.
The final shot by Slaine is not very clear as to where Inaho is shot thought it appears to be in the head or near his head. When I look at the above picture, the blood on his face was already there from when he crawled out of the pilot seat (remember he commented about blood in his eye). Both in anime and in the real world, it is not impossible to see someone survival a head shot, especially if it was a graze or angled just right. The princess is seen taking a body shot and then another shot as she feel. Both of hers appear to be survivable shots.
新宿アルタ前、アルドノア・ゼロ。やはり二期の主役はこいつなのか。 pic.twitter.com/k9Kw607HxK
— ゆきなみ (@yukinami_jp) October 6, 2014
Season 2 will have 12 episodes like season 1, and I cannot see them going through 12 episodes just focused on Slaine. Lets face it, the princess was in my opinion nothing more than a catalyst to get the story going. The real story is about these 2 boys and their fight for what they think is right. The series creators are being very tight lipped about the new episodes coming back in Jan 2015, showing only a poster of Slaine.
What do we think is going to happen? I am not expert on main character deaths in anime but this is what I see unfolding. The princess’ status will remain unknown for most of the second season, perhaps showing up in the last 3-4 episodes. Inaho will have survived, possibly having lost the one eye, but determined to seek revenge. This may also be the catalyst for us to see some emotion from him finally. Slaine will have sided with the Mars Knights thinking their mission was just. The second season will then focus on a final show down between both Slaine and Inaho by the end of the season.
So am I completely wrong? Do you have your own theory? Share them with us and lets see what happens. The wait isn’t long, more episodes will be streaming on Crunchyroll come Jan 2015. No matter how you slice it, this anime was worth watching and I will be first in line for the new episodes in Jan.
