Anime Review: Zone of the Enders, Dolores I

Review Zone of the Enders, Dolores I Written by Warpshadow Rating good/ very good

Just when you thought that all mecha shows were the same something like Zone of the Enders comes out of nowhere and suprises us all. While it probably won't spawn a gaggle of clones it is good to have a change once in a while.

James Links is a middle aged man who pilots a cargo transport. One day he receives a strange mission that was especially assigned to him. While transporting the cargo he hears a familiar voice emanating from the crate and when he checks it out he finds an Orbital frame (a mech) inside. When his ship is inspected by the police there is some foul play involved and Links ends up being framed for murder. Now the only things he can depend on is the orbital frame (complete with an AI that calls herself Dolores) and his two children, whether they want to help or not.

Zone of the enders is an interesting mecha show and different most others. James Links is very different from the protagonists of other mecha shows and the show gets points for that. The show was based off of a play station game and is the sequel to Zone of the Enders, Idolo but being familiar with either of these is not necessary to enjoy this show. My biggest problem with the show is that the personality of Dolores conflicts badly with the rest of the show. Overall I found Zone of the Enders to be a good change of pace for the mecha fan.