Kotobukiya has been teasing us about some upcoming images that aren't done yet, but soon! Perhaps this is related to the unpainted Wild Liger we saw earlier. Either way, let's go over other HMM news from the past couple of months while we wait.

- Great Sabre Marking Plus

 The Great Sabre is scheduled for a rerelease as the Marking Plus version! Like other Marking Plus, this will contain new decals as well as clear (colorless) parts in addition to the normal clear eye color, etc. It is scheduled to release in April 2020, for 7,800 yen.

- Saber Tiger Marking Plus

 Aside from Great Sabre, the original Saber Tiger was released a month or so ago, with modified box art. This box art contains a new atmosphere, and suits the Saber Tiger incredibly well! It also contained new decals and clear eye, etc. pieces.

- Shield Liger DCS-J

 The HMM Shield Liger DCS-J was released in November for 7,800 yen, and Kotobukiya has posted a blog post. This post shows off the kit as well as several different pose concepts, concepts that could have been for the box art! I think they chose the best one. It carries so much gravity for the battle story. We will get back to work on the Official Fan Books soon!

- Gojulas Gunner

 The Gojulas Gunner was released in November, for 29,800 yen. This kit was a Kotobukiya Direct exclusive. If you pre-ordered the kit you'd get all of the parts that came with Gojulas the Ogre, but if you purchased the kit after the release date, you only got the typical "Gunner" parts, which excluded some of the Ogre equipment. Kotobukiya made a blog post showing off this kit, along with its box art!

- HMM Rereleases!

 Kotobukiya has announced a slew of rereleases over the coming months! In April we have the Command Wolf Repackage for 4,800 yen. This is the white Command Wolf that comes with all of the different weapon loadouts. Also being released in April are the Molga and Molga With Canory Unit, as well as the Molga AA & Molga Carrier. Both Molga sets are releasing at 4,200 yen. Finally, we have the Storm Sworder rereleasing in May for 8,300 yen.

 This week we have some non-anime concept art! Starting with the Bazootle sketches, the Genospino sketches, and some Pachycedos sketches. As a fascinating last note, Shinohba, who worked on the old Zoids web comics, posted two concepts of the Quad Liger, one of which we have seen photos of before. These are beautiful, clear images of this Zoid's design process. Quad LIger can always use some more love!

- Zoids Wild Zero Concepts

 When you move on to Wild Zero concept art, there is a heaping ton of it. So let's begin! Fortress City Mosaic, Brigadier General Seeger, General Garrett, Lapis Island, Genospino Restoration Site, Imperial Army Weapons, Abandoned Town at the bottom of the cliffs (sky view), Sniptera Cockpit, Brigadier General Collins, Frank Land, On-board the Science Ship, Leo's All-purpose Armament, Baan, Diaz, Jo Aysel, Lieutenant Knox, Beast Liger Cockpit, Imperial Army Training Area, and finally, the Genospino Cockpit.

 The recent reissue of the Chaotic Century manga is now for sale on Amazon JP as an Ebook. Unfortunately, it seems you need to be a resident of Japan mostly to easily obtain this book. The book contains a large chunk of concept art (scroll through thread) for various characters, including quite a few pieces that have never been published before. Ueyama also drew some art of Jo and Sally.

 Zoids Wild 2 has released its first book! You can buy this on Amazon for 662 yen. There have also been a couple of teaser pages released on twitter.

 Zoids Wild BCH has released its 5th expansion, with all new variants, including Beast Ligers based on the Murasame evolts! There are also a ton of images posted to twitter. Let's cover as many as we can. WR Beast Liger ABU, CoroCoro Genospino, Beast Liger ABU, Hunter Wolf Sylpheed, Cannon Bull, Rising Liger, Genospino, and Gatling Fox, Blade Liger Gibeon, Blade Liger Zeolite, Fangtiger Schwarz, Sniptera BRU, WR Wild Liger Thunder Lion Form, WR Death Rex Magnum, SP Genospino, Death Rex Buster Magnum, Beast Liger Zero ABU, Command Liger Woodland, WR Command Liger Woodland, Rising Liger Mugen and Blade Liger Gold, Gatling Fox, and Sniptera Storm.

 Aside from the card images, they have also posted the artwork for the secret rares Sniptera and Cannon Bull! While not necessarily news for BCH, Zoids will also be releasing a Beast Liger card as part of a collaboration with Duel Masters.

 A recent article from Startt featured an interview with Hazuki Senda, the voice actress of Sally Land in Zoids Wild Zero. She was attending an event in Tokyo at the time, and discussed her childhood enthusiasm for the franchise, etc. You can read the article here~

 The Zoids Official twitter has posted a few of the profiles that air at the end of each episode of Zoids Wild Zero. So far they have posted the Gatling Fox, the Beast Liger, and the Stylaser.

- Geno Saurer Repackage Ver.

    The HMM Geno Saurer Repackage Ver. is now popping up for pre-order! The kit will be released in March 2020, with a retail price of 8,200 yen. There's an article up on Kotobukiya's blog detailing the changes. The mold is the same as the latest Geno molds, for the most part. So let's go over the minor changes!

    - Now has a peg hole to support flying bases/stands
    - The transparent parts come in both clear red and colorless clear plastic
    - It contains a large number of decals compared to the original
    - The Repackage comes with a standard pilot
    - It includes the Raven spec. changes, which means it can completely straigthen out for the CPC pose.

Bone Geno & Gun Sniper Release!

    The two bone Zoids, originally on pre-sale at Dino Expo 2019 in Japan hit Kotobukiya Direct today! 4,620 yen for the Gun Sniper and 9,020 yen for the Geno Saurer. Since they are a Koto Direct exclusive they won't be reaching stores like HLJ or AmiAmi. You can still get the kit by going through a middle man service, so let's take a look at the options. The fees are the service fee only, not the banking, domestic shipping, etc.

    Celga: $10 fee for each item, with unlimited free storage. Orders are stated to take up to 1 ~ 2 business days. In my past 10 purchases, all were placed within 24 hours.

    From Japan: $3 service fee (basic) or $7 protection plan fee (includes domestic shipping insurance, check item service, international shipping insurance). Free storage for up to 45 days. No paid extension, item is discarded after 45 days. Items are purchased within 24 hours.

    White Rabbit Express: $13.44 fee for Geno, $9.33 for Gun Sniper. 30 days free storage, $1 per day after that. Orders are processed within 24 hours, aside from weekends and holidays.

    People who have sent in orders for the items through White Rabbit Express have been courteous enough to give us the price they paid, for those who have trouble working out fees! This price is not including shipping costs.

    - Both kits ordered at the same time totaled $155.33 USD, or $230 AUD
    - Ordering just the Geno Saurer totaled $103.94

- 500th Issue Anniversary Geno Spino!

    In celebration for reaching their 500th issue, the December issue of CoroCoro will contain a massive raffle. A grand total of 1,000 winners will be selected to receive a variety of prizes, from different series that are covered by CoroCoro. Although we don't yet have an official name, one of these Zoids has been teased on CoroCoro's announcement. A Geno Spino with bright red armor.

- ZW33 Geno Spino!

    Geno Spino has popped up on the TakaraTomy Mall! The kit is scheduled to be released on November 16th for 7,700 yen retail, though you can find better prices ordering through the typical stores. Dengeki Hobby Online posted an article containing some additional pictures of it and the Gatling Fox. TT posted a Twitter video of the Wild Blast. CoroCoro has posted an early build video as well as their typical build/review video, seen below.



    CoroCoro posted a picture from the November issue, showing off the Geno Spino page. It seems this Zoid is being treated as a true swimmer! It'll be a cool new take on a bad guy Zoid. While some (Death Stinger, etc.) have traveled in the water in the past, it was hardly exemplified to be a notable gimmick of theirs. The November issue also included a 3D Art Box (seen in the same link), which they posted a video of here.

- ZW34 Gatling Fox!

    Gatling Fox is up on the TakaraTomy Mall! You can view the box art and images. It's scheduled for a November 23rd release, for 3,850 through their shop. Dengeki Hobby Online posted an article containing some additional pictures of the Gatling Fox as well as the geno. TT posted a Twitter video of the Wild Blast. CoroCoro/TT have posted mirrors of the same standard build/review video, but the TT version (seen below) includes weapon customization examples.

- Beast Liger Limited All Clear Ver.!

    CoroCoro has posted an article on their upcoming all clear Beast Liger kit. As usual, there are 100 being released through the November issue of CoroCoro. They also posted a video (seen below) showing it off in a diorama format! The builder shows how he made the giant ice sculptures behind it.

    With another chapter of Zoids Wild 2 appearing in the November issue, we have a wave of teasers from TT and Moritya! This sample page shows off the Omega Rex and Panther. There's also an awesome shot of the Spino coming out of the water and the Sniptera ready to fire! As well as the color page for this chapter.

    A huge amount of concept art has been posted for Zoids Wild Zero! First is Luc, who we saw in Episode 1 piloting a Cannon Bull. Next up is Buzz Cunningham, Leo's business partner. Next is Sally Land, the mysterious girl introduced in Episode 1. Last but not least for the current characters is our main character, Leo Conrad! We also have concepts of the city edge, showing a stark difference between the ruins and the glimmering city in the distance.

    We also have concepts for a couple of the upcoming characters! Aldridge is a Major in the Imperial Army, commanding Guiller and Luc. He pilots the Zoid "Stylaser" that specializes in laser attacks. He's voiced by Shinichiro Miki.

    Next up is Lieutenant Colonel Diaz, who pilots the Triceradogos Kai, and will be encountering Leo soon. He is voiced by Satoshi Mikami.

    On the Zoids front we have an early concept of the Spideath! This Zoid underwent radical design changes throughout the process, including a different color. It's neat seeing these variations! We also have a head and Mane Claw concept for the Beast Liger.

    With Vol. 3 released, the twitter acc has posted some of the Battle Card Game art. The third volume included this, art from the Zoids Core Box, and a special new chapter that was released earlier this year in CoroCoro Aniki. The manga artist, Ueyama also posted a Zoid Girl drawing of Liger Zero Caesar.

    Zoids Wild: Battle Card Hunter will be holding its first "Great Treasure Excavation Competition" event! During this event you'll be able to find hidden excavation points, where you'll obtain an application ticket for the battle. Each ticket will have a unique number where participants can enter the code at the bottom of the campaign page. At the end of the event, the winners will be announced!

    150 lucky winners will receive the Wild Liger Crystal, a limited kit cast entirely in clear plastic. 1,000 other winners will receive the Assault Boost Unit Clear Ver., also cast in clear plastic. There will also be limited time cards of the campaign Zoids found during this period. We've not yet seen what these look like, but they'll probably feature the beautiful cover art.

    The Anime Zoids Wild Twitter has posted a couple new character concepts! First is Dr. Bowman, Sally's Grandfather. "A scientist who holds the key to Earth's regeneration. He's an important person who will influence the development of future stories."  His voice actor is Yoshito Yasuhara.

    The second is Sergeant Shell. "A Seargent in the Imperial Army. He pilots the weaponized Zoid, the Bazootle. Will the powerful firepower of the Bazootle stop Leo from moving forward!?"  His voice actor is Kenji Hamada.

    Although this is somewhat old news, TakaraTomy recently posted their Annual Report 2019, which had some interesting bits of information regarding Zoids. We're going to include all of the relevant info below.

    Zoids Battle Card Hunter has added a new set! This time they've differentiated it as a new 'series' of sets, so we'll see what it beholds. You can view the current lineup on the official website. So far, the legendaries remain Blade Ligers.

- Wild Liger Crystal!

    TakaraTomy Arts has uploaded a commercial for the new arcade game set. Most interesting, it includes a Wild Liger Crystal, which will be obtainable by redeeming part of the Beast Liger card as a lottery ticket. There doesn't seem to be an official campaign page yet, but it should be coming up soon.

    The release date for the Shield Liger DCS-J has been pushed back to November. So those who are expecting to pay this month, remember to set that money aside!

    Some new details have surfaced about the Chaotic Century manga. In particular, Ueyama's tweets regarding why old fans won't be unhappy about purchasing the new release! He also drew a cute picture of Fine and Sally, from Zoids Wild Zero!

    #1: Volume 3 will include the brand new chapter "The Storm of Port Town", which was featured in CoroCoro Aniki earlier this year. This chapter was not part of the original publication.

    #2: The end of the volume will include color illustrations from the Battle Card Game as well as the Zoid Core Box, printed in high quality.

    #3: The cover features a full color illustration of Liger Zero Caesar the King! This is the first color illustration since it first appeared in 2001.

    #4: Because of the greater width of the book, pages now have a further cut off point. This means you'll see more details from the original artwork, as well as losing less to the page gutter. The comic is also printed in sharper detail.

    The second chapter of Zoids Wild 2 was just released in the October issue of CoroCoro! To spread the news, Zoids Official over on twitter has posted the color picture, as well as a couple of teaser pages. These pages introduce Shuuza's Zoid, the Gatling Fox!

    TakaraTomy has posted a new PV for Zoids Wild Zero! This video was originally shown at the C3AFA Tokyo event, where photography was not allowed. Now that it's posted online there's so much to take in! We see a lot of new colored Zoids or those with weapon customizations. Cockpits appear to materialize around pilots, with a much more complex user interface. We see two logos for the Republic and the Empire. The animation is amazingly detailed in all regards, and all in all, it's shaping up to be an excellent series!

- Preview Video

- Discussion

    So, with the trailer having so much interesting content, I thought it'd be fun to take a closer look at it. Everything in this discussion section is pure speculation. I've got no insider info, it's just random stuff observed while rewatching the trailer!


    As we enter the trailer we see a lot of beautiful background art. Some of the shots stand out as a prestine urban environment with carefully groomed grass, well kept streets, and a skyline made of glass. Yet, as you look to the background of Image 1, we see a devastated ruin environment. The city facing away from it. This ruin zone seems to be heavily policed by Zoids of the Empire.



    This ruin environment isn't just inhabited by the Empire, however. It seems skeletal Zoids, lacking in armor also roam the streets, exhibiting extreme aggression towards humans. This may very well be because of their tension with the Imperial army Zoids, but the animation for them is excellent. Even the raptor in the background seems to shy away, reluctant to attack as its allies get gunned down. We can certainly hope to see more of this in the show, with an animation style that seems to imply an overall budget increase for this second series. Furthermore, what is this green substance that seems to glow from inside the Zoids?



    We know from earlier interviews that the series will consist of two major groups, a Republic and an Empire. This power balance echoes earlier series, and the character designs definitely echoe a civilian Vs. Empire mind set. We catch a glimpse of their logo on the pilot interface, as well as an obscured shot of the Republic's logo behind the Republican Army text.



    In an interesting turn of events it seems as if pilots of the Empire, at least, link up to their Zoids to activate the Machine Blast. Not only do we see a suit diagram, but two large screws on the back of Luc's suit appearing to bolt in a cable that likely links to the Zoid. Upon the activation of the Machine Blast, the visor that covers the Zoid's natural eyes generates a glitchy graphic and the ability activates.



    This link setup seems to be absent for Leo, who pilots the Beast Liger. While he's left with basic controls, it seems that cockpits for both Zoids (regardless of alliance) are forged of energy and appear to generate around the pilot once the interface is activated. This open air look will provide a lot more immersion for the pilots.



    Last but not least, it's apparent through most of the trailer that Leo is piloting a customized Liger, featuring two large tanks on its back. How does this relate to the Beast Liger he's piloting later in the episode? Does it perhaps "evolt"? Is it a full customization? And why is Leo out in the ruin zone to begin with?


    There are a lot of things to look forward to with Zoids Wild Zero, and many unanswered questions. The environment looks interesting and engaging, especially to old time fans who often like these opposing environments. The Zoids are well animated, and post processing has taken a big step to better blend them with a dynamic environment. The character art is so reminescent of older series, and while I found the character designs underwhelming to begin with, this trailer makes them really grow on you. It's exciting to watch. Perhaps I'm way overhyping a simple trailer, but there are a lot of things for us older fans to love about this, and I hope people don't mind the long ramble here on the news page!

    Once again, the series is scheduled to start airing on October 4th! Let's look forward to seeing this exciting new development for the Zoids franchise!