Zone of the Enders was one of the first remotely impressive titles to appear on the PlayStation 2, but its story satisfied few. It was terse, it was hackneyed, and it came across as a poorly introduced episode of a much larger saga. This seems to have been Konami's plan from the start, as the Zone of the Enders franchise soon grew to encompass a PlayStation 2 sequel, a GameBoy Advance strategy title, a 26-episode TV series, and this Idolo thing, a one-shot OVA that serves as an indirect prequel to the original Zone of the Enders.
The year is 2167, Idolo's opening declares, and mankind has colonized Mars to the point where it's practically a second Earth. Lieutenant Radium Levans (as in Marie Curie's Radium) is a mecha pilot in the red planet's military and a bit of a discipline problem, with his recklessness upsetting both his superiors and his close comrade, Viola Gyunec. Even more troublesome to the Martian armed forces is the decidedly overbearing Earth military, and a hallway encounter between Radium's unit and some Earth troops makes plain the tension between the two planets. The Terrans often use their diplomatic privileges to pick fights, and thanks to the higher gravity of their home planet, they're excessively stronger, as shown when a single punch from one of them nearly caves in the face of some unfortunate Martian grunt.
Still stung from their run-in with the Earthers, Radium and Viola learn that they're to be transferred to a research facility out in the Martian wilderness. Initially ticked about his new assignment, Radium finds the blow softened by the revelation that his sweet-natured girlfriend, Dolores, is stationed at the same lab. Both she and Radium are aiding a friendly and demanding woman named Dr. Links in the testing of a new “orbital frame,” a lithe-looking robot known as Idolo. Radium eagerly embraces his role as the prototype's test pilot, as Idolo promises to be key in a coming war for Martian independence.
While Radium proves an exceptional pilot, Idolo demands more than simple flying maneuvers. Constructed with a mysterious substance known as Metratron, the oribital frame is slowing bonding with its handler, driving him to isolation and violence. The effects of Idolo take their toll not only on Radium, but also on Dr. Links, Dolores, and Viola, who finds herself even more concerned for her comrade than usual. The Earth forces also have their hand in things, and they aren't about to let the Martians use as effective a weapon as Idolo.
Though anime based on video games has a well-deserved reputation for being garbage, Zone of the Enders: Idolo is surprisingly competent. The animation isn't bad for a low-run OVA, with only some stiff and inconsistent character art marring the atmosphere. Some nice mechanical designs emulate the lean, Bubblegum-Crisis-meets-Brain-Powered aesthetics of the PlayStation 2 title quite well, even if Idolo has the same ridiculously phallic cockpit as Jehuty did.
The story behind the gloss is a typical tale of space-age insurrection that's been a sci-fi cliché since before The Venus Wars, but Idolo tells it with a noticeable degree of depth, opting for a mature cast and an ending that avoids any uplifting cop-outs. And unlike most game-inspired anime, Idolo actually enhances its source. The roots of the conflict that served as a detail-free background in the video game are given purpose in Idolo, and plot elements such as the Metatron ore are explored, if not entirely explained. Viola, who appeared in the Z.O.E. game as a shallow and villainous plot device, receives a genuine motivation and personality here, and her actions in the game take on completely new meaning.
However, Idolo doesn't fare so well in comparison with mech-heavy anime space operas like Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross, or even Orguss. While the characters here are more than images, they're all too familiar: Radium's a resolute loose cannon whose idealism makes him disregard sensible action, Dolores is supportive and prone to self-sacrifice, and Viola is a hardened, reticent woman with a rough past and a burgeoning yet unspoken affection for the hero. They aren't a particularly vital group, and there are only cursory reasons to care about them within the video's 55 minutes.
The somewhat generic cast feels all the more disconnected in the English dub, provided by ADV Films' Monster Island Studios (Tekken: The Motion Picture, Sakura Wars). Ben Wolfe simply doesn't sound right as Radium, neither does Dara Hurt when she voices Viola, and even ADV dub veteran Brett Weaver (Gai Daigouji in Nadesico, Carrot Glase in Sorceror Hunters) lacks his usual gusto. The dub here may be better than the one received by the PS2 game, yet Idolo benefits more from the Japanese cast.
It's above the uninspired mechanics of most game-derived anime, yet Idolo still works best as a companion piece to the Zone of the Enders game (which it was packed with in Japan), as it really isn't anything more than a mildly memorable space-opera vignette. It remains to be seen if the Zone of the Enders franchise can pull itself together. If it can't, Idolo will just be one more piece of an incomplete portrait.
