Zoids Art Book
The Concept Art Book was released on August 31st, 2010. It came as a surprise to quite a few people, since an art book hadn't been released since Zoids Generations, and this one was of a very different sort. The book sports a velvety hard cover with chrome silver lettering. The art inside is a strange, sort of painterly meets CG style.
Personally, I'm not a fan of the style, and the only thing in the book that really screams "ZOIDS" is the fact that the robots are animals. They bare little if no resemblance to current Zoids at all, with the exception of caps. However, it also features mostly Wild Zoids (Albeit a very different look from the earlier known ones). On a plus side, almost the entire book is translated into english. Not shown in the pictures; each art image has a Japanese translation on the left, and an English translation on the right.
Title: ZOIDS concept art
Release Date: August 31st, 2010
ISBN: 978-4-7986-0121-2 C0076
- Chapter 1 The Birth
Prologue
I am an observer. My ancestors and I have been recording the history of this planet.
The planet we live is called "ZOIDS."
This is the planet where the human race and mechanical life forms called "ZOIDS" have lived and remained together, and sometimes fought each other.
It repeated the history of peaceful eras and wars.
This is a history book of the genesis of that planet-.
In the era, when every single life on the Earth, including that of the human race, faced a grave extinction crisis caused by repeated wars and environmental destruction, a new planet consisting mainly of certain heavy metals was born in an unknown galaxy billions of light years away.
The planet initially covered by high-temperature liquid metal gradually became cooled down, and the ocean and gigantic continents were formed. However, due to turbulent magnetic storms across the planet, its natural environment appeared to be too harsh for any life form to exist.
However, a miracle happened under the ocean containing a large amount of heavy metals. Primitive metal life forms primarily composed of silicon came to existence.
"ZOIC-NOA" --- A large spaceship used for exodus from the dying Earth. It encountered an unexpected accident during the space warp with hope to find a new world, and wrecked ZOIC-NOA crashed into an unknown planet.
Crews of ZOIC-NOA escaped with evacuation ships and fanned across the planet. "ZOIC Lab" was one of those ships and conveyed genetic samples of numerous species once existed on Earth.
ZOIC Lab eventually crash-landed on a continent, and a scientist crew discovered a life form on the planet. It was that primitive metal life form.
Soon the scientists started an experiment to integrate genes of lives on the Earth into the primitive metal life forms with hope to make this planet their adopted home.
The primitive metal life forms with integrated genes of lives on the Earth evolved at a pace far exceeding the prediction of the scientists and expanded their territory from the ocean to the land.
The evolved life form became generally known as "ZOIC-ANDROID" or "ZOIDS" for short. The scene of dinosaur-type ZOIDS swaggering about reminded us of the primitive Earth.
ZOIDS evolved into a wide variety of life forms with unique appearances and placed outside the scientists control. They continued to breed and develope independently and created a new ecosystem across the planet.
- Chapter 2 Mutualism
The planet much suffered by the turbulent magnetic storms turned into a planet filled with life. This was the beginning of a new world where human race and ZOIDS live in harmony.
The crews of ZOIC-NOA in the evacuation ships subsequently set down in various places of the planet, and formed village-like communities. They became to call themselves "ZOIDIANS" without realizing.
The changes in the planet's ecosystem brought by the evolution of ZOIDS caused its environment to become very close to that of the Earth, and ZOIDIANS started to develop agriculture in each community leveraging abilities of domesticated ZOIDS.
It was not an easy task to train and domesticate wild ZOIDS. However, among ZOIDIANS, there were persons highly trained and capable in this field. They were known as "ZOIDS Trainers" and respected by the people.
Only a few gifted and talented ZOIDS trainers were able to train savage beast-type ZOIDS and communicate well with them.
"Mechabonica" --- A global festival on the planet to pray for the productiveness of grain. Well-known ZOIDS trainers from the communities competed with each other over their skills and abilities at its main venue.
Although the planet became the new world for the human race, it was a world governed by law of the jungle. Wild carnivorous-type ZOIDS posed a great threat to both ZOIDIANS and herbivorous-type ZOIDS.
ZOIDIANS fought back against carnivorous-type ZOIDS with combat vehicles called "ZOIDS busters" to protect themselves and herbivorous-type ZOIDS.
Sometimes, ZOIDS Buster unit was assigned to escort transportation unit composed of large-sized ZOIDS.
The former ZOIC Lab had a new role of "ZOIDS Lab" operating as a research facility to cure and recover wounded ZOIDS.
Having successfully performed its tasks as a countermeasure against wild carnivorous-type ZOIDS, ZOIDS Buster unit gained support from the people, gradually expanded its scale, and, eventually developed into an enormous military organization.
Thanks to co-existence and co-prosperity with ZOIDS, life of ZOIDIANS became affluent, the population increased and much more concentrated in urban areas, and, as a result, such areas commenced to exist and function as nations. The chronicle of this planet was about to move onto the next stage.
- Chapter 3 New Species
One day, a transportation unit was attacked by an unknown carnivorous-type ZOIDS. Unlike any other ZOIDS it was a new species with machine-like inner structure and robust armor.
"ZOIDS Graveyard" ---- The lake of liquid metal and the final resting place for ZOIDS. Once ZOIDS became aware that it had a little time left to live they would come to this place. The bow of the wrecked spaceship ZOIC-NOA lied down in silence at the bottom of the lake.
"NOA," a quantum computer, and nanomachines designated to repair ZOIC-NOA were loaded in the bow. Though it was not feasible to serve its original purpose, NOA began to regenerate organs of dead ZOIDS with the nanomachines. It was an act at its own discretion.
The nanomachines regenerated ZOIDS' muscle tissues and organs such as heart, and changed them into something that had a close resemblance to machines like gear and motor. This was the birth of the new species "Mechanical Lifeform ZOIDS" further evolved from the metal life form.
A mechanical lifeform ZOIDS captured by ZOIDS Buster unit was transferred to ZOIDS Lab for research and analysis.
"ZOIDS Core," an organic core serving as its brain and heart and functioning like its central command, was found inside the Mechanical Lifeform ZOIDS. Furthermore, it was revealed that electronic signals delivered by ZOIDS core controlled its audio-visual and motor functions.
The scientists had a hypothesis that if they could control the electronic signals with their computer technology they would be able to establish more direct and precise communication with it. In attempt to verify the hypothesis they built a cockpit into the Mechanical Lifeform ZOIDS for a pilot to board.
As the scientists hoped, the built-in cockpit enabled them to have direct communication with ZOIDS and, more importantly, compelling control over ZOIDS.
ZOIDS with enhanced arms as well as the cockpit became "Battle Mechanical Beast ZOIDS" or generally known as "Battle ZOIDS" replacing ZOIDS Buster unit and assuming responsibility for protection against carnivorous-type ZOIDS. This meant that the chronicle of the human race and ZOIDS entered into a new phase.
- Chapter 4 Conflict
The advent of Battle ZOIDS brought a revolutionary change to the planet, and the Central Continent was divided into two parts by two powerful rival nations.
The one nation was the Democratic Republic. They founded their nation in a region with a mild climate and adhered to a policy of peaceful co-existence with all kind of ZOIDS as in the past, even with Battle ZOIDS.
The another was a Military Regime. The region they live was under appalling circumstances, but had a vast mineral reserve.
Key posts of the Military Regime were dominated by the former members of ZOIDS Buster unit, and they strongly believed that it should be them to rule the planet because they had served to protect people of the planet for a long time. As a part of strategies to achieve this goal, they built many fortress-like research laboratories for re-creation of ZOIDS.
In the research laboratories, they worked night and day to enhance arms of ZOIDS. For the Military Regime, ZOIDS were nothing more or less than "living weapons."
Pilots of Battle ZOIDS were called "ZOIDS Riders." ZOIDS Riders of the Democratic Republic moved as one with ZOIDS, and ZOIDS riders and ZOIDS worked hard together to improve their skills and abilities.
With each passing day, the tension between two powerful nations rose. It forced ZOIDS Riders of the Democratic Republic to reinforce their arms.
After having been fully prepared for a war of invasion, the Military Regime dispatched their reconnaissance unit to near military boundary.
The Military Regime moved forward with the invasion with large-scale Battle ZOIDS squadrons as planned. It was an outbreak of the war.
- Chapter 5 The War
A tiger-type ZOIDS with saber-teeth deployed by the Military Regime was far superior in mobility, destroying ZOIDS units of the Democratic Republic on the defense line one after another.
The pterosaur-type ZOIDS of the Democratic Republic in an all assault operation. However, the Military Regime also had the air force, and there were fierce aerial combats between pterosaur-type ZOIDS immediately after this scene.
"The Devil's Chandelier" ---- The term used for a formidable aerial fortress created by the Military Regime. There were unceasing combats over air supremacy around it.
The Democratic Republic later deployed theropod-type ZOIDS, with high mobility. In a battle between ZOIDS with equivalent abilities, only ZOIDS Rider's skill and experience would decide who should stand and who should fall at the end.
The "Trap Flying Column" was a unit consisting of elite ZOIDS Riders of the Democratic Republic and overwhelmed the enemy especially in hand-in-hand combat.
The Trap Flying Column capturing a disabled enemy ZOIDS. The captured ZOIDS was transferred to a military dockyard for research and analysis purposes, and deployed by the Democratic Republic as a friendly force where appropriate.
The Trap Flying Column was good at operations at night. The enemy feared its most unpredictable and unexpected movements.
The sauropod-type ZOIDS firing a long-range cannon into an enemy base having reliance on information from the Trap Flying Column. It absorbed impact of fire by taking a position in lake water in this instance.
There was a brief silence in the battlefield. But ZOIDS Riders who completed ammunition supply knew it was not going to last long....
Contrary to the Military Regime's anticipation of ending in a short period, the war became in a stalement. Soldiers of both nations started to show signs of strains.
The garrison force of the Democratic Republic built a ZOIDS pillbox on the final defense line to prepare for the forthcoming major assault by the enemy.
In the prolonged stalement, soldiers of the Military Regime encountered a wild anthropoid-type ZOIDS in a cantonment area. The look in its eyes seemed as if it despised the human race fighting each other and pitied the ZOIDS dragged into the war.
One day, when the war still continued to spread, a gigantic flying object emerged from the sky. It was obviously an Earth-made spaceship. And no one could foresee that its advent would plunge this planet into further maelstrom of war.
