Zone of the Enders Dolores, i

Publisher
ADV
Director
Tetsuya Watanabe
Production
Sunrise, TV Tokyo, VAP
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2001

Zone of the Enders Dolores, i vol 4: The Enemy Within

By John Huxley
23rd May 04

James Links and his two dearest siblings Noel and Leon have been caught up in a whirlwind of conspiracy, interplanetary politics and giant robots. In too deep to turn back, they must find their long lost mother Rachel Links, all the while avoiding the attentions of government agencies from both Earth and Mars who want their heads on a platter. And when you're trying to keep your head down, it doesn't help to have a giant pink robot with the personality of a naive young girl tailing your every move.

Several new characters were introduced during the latter stages of the previous volume, and this outing sees yet another badguy added to the already sizeable roster. He's a familiar face to anyone who's had the pleasure to play the original game and he's bought his Anubis orbital frame with him - no doubt a showdown with James and Dolores is on the cards. He only makes a brief appearance, enough to introduce himself and make it perfectly clear that he's the new villain in town.

While it is true that ZOE Dolores does have an unfeasibly large cast of badguys, all after the elusive Links family for their own reasons, only a few are wholeheartedly evil types who James and co. will be forced to kill or be killed. This certainly isn't the case with Wired, the comically inept police force who've followed the Links family from Earth to Mars, still convinced that James Links was responsible for a murder way back in episode one (the real perpetrator was another badguy). However, with the all-powerful Dolores on their side, Wired is nothing but a nuisance to the beleaguered Links who spend much of this volume wandering the deserts of Mars, under the careful watch of an altogether different (and more dangerous) kind of foe.

From the very first moment we set eyes upon him it's pretty obvious that he's up to no good. He succeeds in befriending our slightly gullible heroes and making us, the audience, curse their stupidity as they fall prey to his evil scheming. Of course, they're not privy to the revealing close-ups of his suspicious frowning whenever the infatuated Links turn their backs. This may sound like a story from a badly written pantomime, but it has an uncharacteristic and strangely moving finale that not only provides some of the best action of the series so far but also closes a chapter of ZOE Dolores that appeared to have been forgotten. Sadly, without wanting to spoil anything else I can't really divulge any more information.

In amongst all this high drama and villainous shenanigans, ZOE Dolores still finds time for some of the comedy that has punctuated the series from the beginning. One episode in particular, where a star-struck James meets the author of his parenting bible 'How to be a Daddy', only to discover the author's relationship with his own children is a shambles (explains a lot, really) is a great conclusion to perhaps the funniest running joke of the series.

Eighteen episodes down the line and ZOE Dolores continues to impress. There is enough raw quality here to appeal not only to fans of the videogames, but to anyone who likes a good anime. And that's you, right?

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English 2.0 and Japanese 2.0 audio, English subtitles, interviews with Madoka Hirayama (main character designer) Kumi Horii (character designs) Tsutomu Suzuki (mecha designs) & Tsutomu Miyazawa (mecha designs), opening & closing karaoke versions, production sketches & conceptual artwork

Release information: UK release date: 20th October 2003, ADV

Notes: Once again ZOE Dolores impresses with a plethora of entertaining extras, nestled neatly within the intuitive and attractive menu system. The interviews are hardly the most revealing, but they do offer some insight in to the designer's thoughts. You're encouraged to sing along to the karaoke versions of the opening and closing animations, though I doubt anyone will have the audacity to do so (at least in public). A good set of extras that should keep you entertained long after the closing credits have rolled.

-- John Huxley 23rd May 04

Zone of the Enders Dolores, i Images