This program unpacks Playstation 3 Theme files (.p3t) so that you can touch-up an existing theme to your likings or use a certain wallpaper from it (as many themes have multiple). But remember, if you use content from another theme and release it, be sure to give credit!
Download p3textractor.zip from above. Extract the files to a folder with a program such as WinZip or WinRAR. Now there are multiple ways to extract the theme.
The first way is to simply open the p3t file with p3textractor.exe. If you don’t know how to do this, right click the p3t file and select Open With. Alternatively, open the p3t file and it will ask you to select a program to open with. Click Browse and find p3textractor.exe from where you previously extracted it to. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename]. After that, all you need to do for any future p3t files is open them and it will extract.
The second way is very simple. Just drag the p3t file to p3textractor.exe. It will open CMD and extract the theme to extracted.[filename].
For the third way, first put the p3t file you want to extract into the same folder as p3textractor.exe. Open CMD and browse to the folder with p3extractor.exe. Enter the following: p3textractor filename.p3t [destination path]Replace filename with the name of the p3t file, and replace [destination path] with the name of the folder you want the files to be extracted to. A destination path is not required. By default it will extract to extracted.filename.
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book Action Comics#1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938).[1] Superman has been adapted to a number of other media, which includes radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Superman was born on the fictional planet Krypton with the birth name of Kal-El. As a baby, his parents sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark began developing various superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the Daily Planet. Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White, and his enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.
Superman is the archetype of the superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, it was Superman who popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.[2]
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization. His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work.[3] In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "The Reign of the Superman". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.[4]
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors told them that their ideas were insufficiently sensational. If they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character.[5][6] Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational: Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin.[7][8] Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful.[9] In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.[10][11]
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago.[12][a] In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48.[13] It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time.[14] Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called The Superman. A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person.[15][16] Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of Detective Dan were disappointing.[17][18]
Cover of an unpublished comic book, 1933
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster.[19] When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.[20]
Siegel wrote to numerous artists.[19] The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the Fu Manchu strip for the Bell Syndicate.[21][22] In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime.[23] O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.[24]
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner: an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton.[25][26] Keaton drew the Buck Rogers and Skyroads comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described.[27] Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.[28][29]
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape.[30][31][32] They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane, who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.[33]
Concept art c. 1934/1935. Note the laced sandals, based on those of strongmen and classical heroes.[34]
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson.[35] Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in New Fun Comics #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult".[36] Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf.[37] In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines.[38] Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in New Fun Comics #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves.[39][40] Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.[41]
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled Detective Comics. Siegel and Shuster produced stories for Detective Comics too, such as "Slam Bradley". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.[3][42]
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called Action Comics.[43][44] Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for Action Comics. Siegel agreed.[45] Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for Action Comics.[46] Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published.[47][48] Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid $130 (equivalent to $2,814 in 2023) for their work ($10 per page).[49] In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well.[50]
Superman's debut
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of Action Comics, which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.[1][51][52]
Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines, and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances.[53][54] Another influence was Philip Wylie's 1930 novel Gladiator, featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers.[55][56]
Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.[59][60] Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.[61]
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.[62]
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being Winsor McCay's fantastical Little Nemo.[58] Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane."[58] Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.[3]
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture[63] and a fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.[3]
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots.[34] The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence.[64] The emblem on his chest was inspired by heraldic crests.[65] Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.[66]
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians.[67] It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes".[68] It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Übermensch; they never acknowledged as much.[69]
The cover of Superman #6 (Sept. 1940) by Joe Shuster, the original artist and co-creator
Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is Action Comics, which began in April 1938.[1]Action Comics was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is Superman, which began in June 1939. Action Comics and Superman have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme).[71][72] A number of other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years.[73] Superman is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
Superman has sold more comic books over his publication history than any other American superhero character.[74] Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public as well, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of Action Comics and Superman probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined.[75] Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s.[2][76][77] Sales rose again starting in 1987. Superman #75 (Nov 1992) sold over 23 million copies,[78] making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, thanks to a media sensation over the supposedly permanent death of the character in that issue.[79] Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, Action Comics sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, Amazing Spider-Man #797 sold only 128,189 copies).[80] The comic books are today considered a niche aspect of the Superman franchise due to low readership,[81] though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.[82]
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult.[83] A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.[84]
Beginning in January 1939, a Superman daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters.[85] By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million.[86] Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring.[87] From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer.[88] The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.[89]
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise.[90][91] But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors.[92] Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories.[93] Editor Whitney Ellsworth, hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill.[94] Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.[95]
Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach.[96] Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro, his cousin Supergirl, the Phantom Zone, the Fortress of Solitude, alternate varieties of kryptonite, robot doppelgangers, and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals.[97] Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers.[98] Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.[99]
Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers.[100] Starting with The Sandman Saga, Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers.[101] Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "For the Man Who Has Everything" (Superman Annual #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton.
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline "Crisis on Infinite Earths". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian.
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics.
From an ambiguous term: This is a redirect from an ambiguous page name to a page or list that disambiguates it. These redirects are pointed to by links that should always be disambiguated. Therefore, this template should never appear on a page that has "(disambiguation)" in its title – in that case use {{R to disambiguation page}}instead.
Hatsune Miku (Japanese: 初音ミク, [hatsɯnemiꜜkɯ]), officially code-named CV01,[2][3] is a Vocaloid software voicebank developed by Crypton Future Media and its official anthropomorphic mascot character, a 16-year-old girl with long, turquoise twintails. Miku's personification has been marketed as a virtual idol, and has performed at live virtual concerts onstage as an animated projection (rear-cast projection on a specially coated glass screen).[4]
The name of the character comes from merging the Japanese words for first (初, hatsu), sound (音, ne), and future (ミク, miku),[a] thus meaning "the first sound of the future",[2] which, along with her code name, refers to her position as the first of Crypton's "Character Vocal Series" (abbreviated "CV Series"), preceding Kagamine Rin/Len (code-named CV02) and Megurine Luka (code-named CV03). The number 01 can be seen on her left shoulder in official artwork.
Hatsune Miku was the first Vocaloid developed by Crypton Future Media after they handled the release of the Yamaha vocal Meiko and Kaito. Miku was intended to be the first of a series of Vocaloids called the "Character Vocal Series" (abbreviated "CV Series"), which included Kagamine Rin/Len and Megurine Luka. Each had a particular concept and vocal direction.[8]
She was built using Yamaha's Vocaloid 2 technology, and later updated to newer engine versions. She was created by taking vocal samples from voice actressSaki Fujita at a controlled pitch and tone. Those samples all contain a single Japanese phonic that, when strung together, creates full lyrics and phrases. The pitch of the samples was to be altered by the synthesizer engine and constructed into a keyboard-style instrument within the Vocaloid software.
Crypton released Hatsune Miku on August 31, 2007. Crypton had the idea to release Miku as "an android diva in the near-future world where songs are lost."[9] Hatsune Miku was released for Vocaloid 3 on August 31, 2013, including an English vocal library.[10] She was the first Vocaloid to be developed by the company, following their commercial release handle of Yamaha Corporation developed vocals Meiko and Kaito, making Hatsune Miku the third Vocaloid to be sold commercially by the company.[11]
On April 30, 2010, a new add-on for Vocaloid 2 called Hatsune Miku Append, was released, consisting of six different timbres for the voice: Soft (gentle timbre), Sweet (young, chibi quality), Dark (mature and melancholic), Vivid (bright and cheerful), Solid (loud, clear voice), and Light (innocent and angelic).[12]Miku Append was created to expand Miku's voice library, and as such requires the original program to be installed on the user's computer first.[13] This was the first time a Vocaloid had such a release, and more Append versions were reported from Crypton Future Media at later dates.[14]
It was mentioned that a seventh Append voicebank, a falsetto voice, had been recorded; however, since the developers did not think it would be useful on its own, no plans were made for an independent release.[15] During the Kagamine Append development, a "darkish Whisper/Sweet" append was being considered.[16] Miku's English vocal was due for a Vocaloid 2 release, but it was not released in the engine due to low quality.[17]
To aid in the production of 3D animations, the program MikuMikuDance was developed by an independent programmer. The freeware software allowed a boom in fan-made animations to be developed, as well as being a boost for promoting Vocaloid songs themselves.[18] This spawned "NicoNico Cho Party", where fans could submit their animations to accompany live holographic performances of popular Vocaloid songs.
An English voicebank for Hatsune Miku was announced in 2011 and was to be released by the end of 2012. However, the decision to move to Vocaloid 3 and issues with English pronunciation delayed the release.[19] It was finally released on August 31, 2013 via digital distribution.
The Hatsune Miku Vocaloid 3 Japanese vocal library was released on September 26, 2013. It contained updates to all previous Vocaloid 2 vocals except Vivid and Light. These were later released separately, though they were initially offered to anyone who already owned Hatsune Miku, Hatsune Miku Append, and Hatsune Miku V3. Once imported into Vocaloid 4, all Vocaloid3 Hatsune Miku vocals could use the new Cross-Synthesis system (XSY) built for the new engine of Vocaloid 3. The voice was imported into a device called Pocket Miku, released on April 3, 2014.[20]
Hatsune Miku received an update for Yamaha's Vocaloid 4 engine under the name of Hatsune Miku V4X.[21] It makes use of the new EVEC system for Piapro Studio, a VSTi plugin used as an alternative to the traditional Vocaloid Editor. EVEC consists of recorded vowels. Along with the consonant, a different vocal tone can be achieved. Two vocal tones are included in the EVEC system: Power and Soft. Along with the new EVEC system, phoneme errors found in Miku's V2 and V3 voicebanks would be fixed allowing for easier manipulation of the software's voice. As of August 31, 2016[update], Hatsune Miku V4X/V4 English was released.
A Mandarin Chinese voicebank was released in September 2017, making Hatsune Miku the first officially trilingual Vocaloid product. Her Chinese name is 初音未来; Chūyīn Wèilái; 未来 are the kanji characters for her given name, Miku.
At Magical Mirai [ja] 2019, head of Crypton Future Media's Character Development Wataru Sasaki announced that Hatsune Miku would be departing Yamaha's Vocaloid engine, and would not be utilizing Vocaloid 5 for any further development of their voice banks. It was established that the "identity" of the voices would remain the same, however.[22] Then, on December 24 2019, Sasaki announced that information about Hatsune Miku NT (Newtype) would be released. On the same day, Sonicwire announced that the release of Hatsune Miku NT was planned for summer 2020, and those who had registered for the software early would be able to access a prototype of the new engine, Piapro Studio NT.[23] After delays,[24] the Piapro Studio prototype was released on June 4, 2020.[25] The full version of Piapro Studio and Hatsune Miku NT were released on November 27, 2020.[26]
Miku has been heavily promoted since 2008 and was originally aimed at professional musicians.[27] On September 12, 2007, Amazon.co.jp reported sales of Hatsune Miku totaling 57,500,000 yen, making the character the number-one-selling software of that time.[28] She was the first vocal to be developed and distributed by Crypton Future Media and sung in Japanese. Hatsune Miku's instant success is owed to Vocaloid being a cultural hit in Japan and she reportedly sold 40,000 units by July 2008, selling on average 300 units a week.[29] By January 2011, she had sold 60,000 units.[30]
Since the success of Hatsune Miku's Vocaloid 2 package led to an expansion of marketing possibilities, most of the mass marketing has come after the software's initial release as a response to Miku's popularity and has been on going since 2008. Even with the addition of other Character Vocals, Miku's name continues to be used as the primary source of marketing for Crypton Future Media, to the point where most products for their Vocaloid related products will usually only feature Hatsune Miku's name. In March 2012, the Nomura Research Institute estimated that the sales of all Hatsune Miku brand goods added up into the region of ¥10 billion since the release in 2007.[31] Her name is easily the most recognizable of all Vocaloids.[32]
In 2011, Crypton began to focus on marketing Miku to United States audiences. On May 7, Amazon placed a preview of Supercell's hit song, "World is Mine", as a single. When the song finally went on sale, it ranked at No. 7 in the top 10 world singles list on iTunes in its first week of sales.[33] Since Crypton had always sold Miku as a virtual instrument in Japan, they asked their Japanese fan base if it was acceptable for them to sell her as a virtual singer to the new market audience.[34] The main purpose of the Miku English version is to allow Japanese producers to break into the western market and expand their audiences.[citation needed]
In 2008, Good Smile Racing began the licensing of Hatsune Miku and other Crypton Future Media-related Vocaloid content. Studie participated in the 2008 and 2009 seasons using a BMW Z4 E86 painted in official Hatsune Miku art, and fan-derivative versions of Hatsune Miku in some races in the 2009 season.[35][36] In the 2008 season, a group of "Racing Queens" were seen in the pitstop of races. Dubbed the "MikuMiku Gals", the three girls were Rin Miyama, Riona Osaki and Hina Saito.[37] In 2009, a new set of MikuMiku Gals were introduced; these girls wore outfits based on all three Character Vocal series females and not specifically Hatsune Miku alone. Hiroko Nagano, Atsuko and Ayami were the Racing Queens for the season.[38][39]
Team COX, participating in the 2010 season, uses Racing Miku (an official Hatsune Miku derivative wearing an orange racing queen suit) as their image. 2010 was the first season to receive the first official "Racing Miku" derivative design, and from this season onward, the Racing Queens outfits were based on the season's derivative design. The designer of the 2010 outfit was illustrator Redjuice. Model Ayami returned for this season as a Racing Queen and was joined by fellow models Saki Tachibana and Shihomi Kogoshi.[40]
GSR and Studie with TeamUKYO was the sponsor for the 2011 season. The designer of the 2011 Racing Miku derivative design was illustrator Yuichi Murakami. Ayami returned as a Racing Queen for the third time and Tachibana Saki returned for a second season. Haruka Aoi was the third Racing Queen to wear the Racing Miku 2011 outfit.[41]
GSR and Studie with TeamUKYO was continued as a sponsor for the 2012 season. The Racing Miku design was illustrated by Gan for this season. The Racing queens for the season were returning models Tachibana Saki and Aoi Haruka, as well as new models Sena Kougami and Ayana Sato.[42]
Studie with TeamUKYO's sponsorship continued with the 2013 season. The Racing Miku design for the season was done by Mari Shimazaki.[43][44] The illustrator of the official art was Saitom.[45] Sena Kougami returned as a racing queen for this season and was joined by Tsukasa Arai and Elena Ishiguro.[46] In 2013, the sponsorship expanded to feature a team in the Isle of Man TT, called Team Mirai, with a Racing Miku-designed bike. They finished 6th with Ian Lougher after a fatal accident struck Yoshinari Matsushita (who rode another bike, a Suzuki 600cc) during practice at Ballacrye Corner.[47][48][49] The Racing Miku design was adapted for a "Sepang" version showing bare toned skin as part of showing good health and promoting the design as "the Angel of summer".[50]
The illustrator for the 2014 season was Oguchi, one of the 15 artists of Kantai Collection. The outfit is designed by Koyama Shigeto, the art director of Kill la Kill. The machine version of the outfit is designed by Shigeto and Shōji Kawamori, who is noted for his "Macross" designs.[51] The Racing Queens who wore the outfit were returning models Tsukasa Arai and Sena Kougami, as well as new models Kelal Yamaura and Noa Mizutani.
For the 2015 season, the design was based on a "Princess Knight" complete with a shield and spear-like umbrella. The illustrator was Taiki, the lead visual designer from Square Enix and Sega's games Lord of Vermilion and Rise of Mana. Shigeto once again returned as the art director and designer for the season. Tsuyoshi Kusano is in charge of the new machine design.[52]
For the 2016 season, design elements were solicited from the public, and five finalists were selected. Mai Yoneyama combined different aspects of these designs into one final illustration. Koyama Shigeto was the art director for this season.[53]
The 2017 season marked the 10th season for the Miku GT project. The 2017 design has elements that make the design look fairy-like, which, as of 2023, is not present in any other Racing Miku design. The 2017 version was illustrated by Tony, a designer for the Shining series of video games. Koyama Shigeto was the art director for this season.[54]
The 2018's season design was illustrated by Hiro Kanzaki, who has illustrated manga such as Oreimo and Eromanga Sensei. He has ties to other vocal synthesizer related projects, such as Project 575, created by Sega. This season was the first time the illustrator for that season's design was in charge of the theme song. Koyama Shigeto was the art director for this season.[55]
For 2019's season, the design illustrator was annin doufu, known for designing and illustrating the characters for The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls. Koyama Shigeto was the art director for this season.[56]
The 2020 season saw the return of Koyama Shigeto as the art director once again. The illustrator this season was Len[A-7], who illustrated the main visuals for Magical Mirai 2016.[57]
For the 2021's season, the illustration was drawn by En Morikura, who has been involved in multiple projects involving Kizuna AI. The design places focus on elements such as circles and squares by adding them as accessories to the main design. Koyama Shigeto returns as the art director.[58]
The illustrator for 2022's season was neco, who has had prior involvement with Hatsune Miku projects. Neco had illustrated the main visual for Miku Expo 2016. Koyama Shigeto remains as the art director for this season.[59]
Sapporo has been a major main target of sponsorship since 2010, with Crypton Future Media sponsoring the winter festivals. The image of Hatsune Miku would appear around the town on public transportation. The image portrayal of Miku that is used is a derivative design called "Snow Miku [ja]". Although originally, this was simply a recoloring of the normal Hatsune Miku, unique designs have occurred every year since 2011, and figurines based on the design have been made based on the year's design.
The 2012 design was chosen via a contest. The winning entry was referred to as "Fluffy Coat Snow Miku".[62] The 2013 design was called "Strawberry Daifuku Shiromuku Miku".[63][64] The 2014 design was based on a Magical Girl design by dera_fury, who was the winner of the 2014 Snow Miku contest.[65] The illustration was "Nekosumi". The design featured a pet called "Rabbit Yukine".[66] The 2015 design was called "Snow Bell Snow Miku" and was illustrated by Nardack.[67]
In 2012, several ice sculptures of the Character Vocal series and several snow sculptures of Miku were produced for the event. However, on February 7, 2012, one of the Snow Miku sculptures later collapsed and had to be rebuilt elsewhere with better support. The collapsed figure hit a woman in her early 60s on the back of the head; no serious injuries were sustained in the process.[68][69]
During Miku's development, Crypton decided to take a different approach from that used by the other Vocaloid soundbank publishers.[citation needed] It was decided that to make the product successful not only would a highly appealing voice need to be developed, but the voice needed an image. She was originally aimed only at professional producers; the amateur and otaku market had not fully formed yet, and so were not initially considered.[70]
The task of coming up with Miku's image went to the manga artist Kei Garō. When Kei designed Miku, his only direction was that she was an android and what her color scheme (based on Yamaha's synthesizer's signature turquoise color) was.[71] Various aspects of her clothing, such as the computer interface on her left sleeve, were based on Yamaha's synthesizers.[72]
Nico Nico Douga, a Japanese video streaming website similar to YouTube, played a fundamental role in the recognition and popularity of the software. Soon after Miku's release, Nico Nico Douga users started posting videos of songs created using the character's sound bank. According to Crypton, a popular video featuring Miku's chibi version, Hachune Miku, singing and dancing to "Ievan Polkka" while spinning a spring onion in homage to Loituma Girl's original video (which led to Miku being commonly associated with spring onions, as well as leeks, due to the Japanese variation looking similar to them.) demonstrated the potential of the software in multimedia content creation.[74] As Miku's recognition and popularity grew, Nico Nico Douga became a place for collaborative content creation. Popular original songs written by a user would inspire illustrations, animations in 2D and 3D, and remixes by other users. Some creators would show their unfinished work and ask for ideas.[75]
In September 2009, three figurines based on the derivative character "Hachune Miku" were launched in a rocket from the United States state of Nevada's Black Rock Desert, though it did not reach outer space.[76][77] In late November 2009, a petition was launched in order to get a custom-made Hatsune Miku aluminum plate (8 cm × 12 cm, 3.1" × 4.7") made that would be used as a balancing weight for the Japanese Venus spacecraft explorer Akatsuki.[78] Started by Hatsune Miku fan Sumio Morioka (known online as "chodenzi-P", his producer name), this project has received the backing of Dr. Seiichi Sakamoto of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. On December 22, 2009, the petition exceeded the 10,000 signatures necessary to have the plates made. An original deadline of December 20, 2009, had been set to send in the petition, but due to a couple of delays in the Akatsuki project, a new deadline of January 6, 2010, was set; by this deadline, over 14,000 signatures had been received. On May 21, 2010 at 06:58:22 (JST), Akatsuki was launched, having three plates depicting Hatsune Miku and Hachune Miku in several monochrome images, composed of the miniature letters of the messages from the petition form etched in the plates.[79][80] The UK 59th issue of the music and fashion magazine Clash featured Hatsune Miku as their cover star (using a real-life photo model), with a full feature on her.[81] The third launch of the MOMO sounding rocket by Interstellar Technologies used Hatsune Miku's voice for the countdown.[82]
The Vocaloid software has had a great influence on the character Black Rock Shooter, who looks like Hatsune Miku but is not linked to her by design. The character was made famous by the song "Black Rock Shooter",[83] and a number of figurines have been made. An original video animation made by Ordet was streamed for free as part of a promotional campaign running from June 25 to August 31, 2010.[84] A televised anime series aired in February 2012.[85]
In October 2011, Crypton showed on the official Hatsune Miku Facebook page a letter from the Japanese Minister of Economy for "contributing to the furtherance of the informatization by minister of economy."[citation needed] The flag of the city of Chiba was considered to coincidentally resemble the silhouette of Hatsune Miku, and on the 10th anniversary on August 31, 2017, the municipal government website temporarily changed its logo to look like Miku.[86] Geoffrey Cain of GlobalPost has argued that the phenomenon of Hatsune Miku is partly due to the love of Japanese for giving inanimate objects a soul, which is rooted in Shintoism or animism, and in the long tradition of Karakuri ningyō or automated wooden puppets. Thus, Japanese are much more ready to accept a virtual character as "human".[87]
Hatsune Miku is often jokingly attributed as the creator of the video game Minecraft (originating from the Miku Twitter parody account mikumiku_ebooks which tweeted "I created Minecraft") as well as the book series Harry Potter. Both of these attributions came about after the original creators of both works (Markus Persson and J. K. Rowling, respectively) published tweets that were critical of transgender people, which resulted in backlash from their respective fans.[88][89]
Akihiko Kondo, a Japanese school administrator, unofficially married Hatsune Miku. In November 2018, he held a formal wedding with the character, attracting media attention.[90][91] Crypton Future Media wrote a statement to Fox News, clarifying that the company was not involved in the wedding. Commenting on it, they said: "We see this as one individual's way of expressing his appreciation for Hatsune Miku, and we respect that."[92]
Miku's popularity has resulted in various references to her in anime. Miku is the protagonist of a manga series named Maker Hikōshiki Hatsune Mix, written by Kei Garō. The manga explores the many possibilities of story-telling and has featured numerous adventures, ranging from giant-sized battles with Hatsune Miku to home exploits. There is therefore no single storyline, and the entire setting within the manga is unofficial. During an episode of Zoku Sayonara, Zetsubou Sensei, Miku is seen auditioning for the voice of Meru Otonashi (Kagamine Rin and Len are referenced in the same episode). Miku's voice is used in one of the ending themes for the anime series Akikan! (episode 12). Moreover, she sings the ending theme for the anime Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories, called "Kaikai Emaki" (怪々絵巻). During an episode in the Lucky StarOVA, Kagami Hiiragi gets magically transformed into Miku cosplay. A character in the anime Kämpfer appears dressed as Miku in episode seven. She appeared in the large plasma screen in Chrome Shelled Regios as an endorser. She appears in episode 11 of Baka and Test as a member of class B. Miku appears in
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Sailor Moon (Japanese: 美少女戦士セーラームーン, Hepburn: Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn, originally translated as Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon[1] and later as Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon[2][3]) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi from 1991 to 1997; the 60 individual chapters (later reorganized into 52), along with several side stories, were compiled in 18 volumes. The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal" (「幻の銀水晶」, Maboroshi no Ginsuishō, lit. "Phantom Silver Crystal"). She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Soldiers, called Sailor Guardians in later editions, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.
The manga was adapted into an anime series produced by Toei Animation and broadcast in Japan from 1992 to 1997.[4][5] Toei also developed three animated feature films, a television special, and three short films based on the anime. A live-action television adaptation, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, aired from 2003 to 2004, and a second anime series, Sailor Moon Crystal, began simulcasting in 2014. The manga series was licensed for an English language release by Kodansha Comics in North America, and in Australia and New Zealand by Random House Australia. The entire anime series has been licensed by Viz Media for an English language release in North America and by Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.
Since its release, Sailor Moon has received universal acclaim, with praise for its art, characterization, and humor. The manga has sold over 46 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling manga series, as well as one of the best-selling shōjo manga series of all time.[6] The franchise has also generated $2.5 billion in worldwide merchandise sales.
One day in Juban, Tokyo, a middle-school student named Usagi Tsukino befriends Luna, a talking black cat who gives her a magical brooch enabling her to transform into Sailor Moon: a guardian destined to save Earth from the forces of evil. Luna and Usagi assemble a team of fellow Sailor Guardians to find their princess and the Silver Crystal. They encounter the studious Ami Mizuno, who awakens as Sailor Mercury; Rei Hino, a local Shintoshrine maiden who awakens as Sailor Mars; Makoto Kino, a tall and strong transfer student who awakens as Sailor Jupiter; and Minako Aino, a young aspiring idol who had awakened as Sailor Venus a few months prior, accompanied by her talking feline companion Artemis. Additionally, they befriend Mamoru Chiba, a high school student who assists them on occasion as Tuxedo Mask.
In the first arc, the group battles the Dark Kingdom, those members attempt to find the Silver Crystal and free an imprisoned, evil entity called Queen Metaria. Usagi and her team discover that in their previous lives, they were members of the ancient Moon Kingdom in a period of time called the Silver Millennium. The Dark Kingdom waged war against them, destroying the Moon Kingdom. Its ruler Queen Serenity sent her daughter Princess Serenity, reincarnated as Usagi, along with her protectors the Sailor Guardians, their feline advisers Luna and Artemis, and the princess's true love Prince Endymion, who in turn was reborn as Mamoru.
At the beginning of the second arc, the Sailor Guardians meet Usagi and Mamoru's future daughter Chibiusa, who arrives from a 30th-century version of Tokyo known as "Crystal Tokyo", which is ruled by Neo Queen Serenity, Usagi of the future and has been attacked by the group of villains known as the Black Moon Clan. During their journey, Sailor Moon and her friends meet Sailor Pluto, Guardian of the Time-Space Door. During the climactic battle of the arc, Sailor Pluto dies trying to save the sailor soldiers and Chibiusa was brainwashed by the enemy and turned into the Black Lady, but was eventually reformed and awakens as a Guardian herself—Sailor Chibi Moon.
The third arc introduces car-racer Haruka Tenoh and violinist Michiru Kaioh, who appear as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, whose duty is to guard the Solar System against external threats. Physics student Setsuna Meioh, Sailor Pluto's reincarnation, joins Uranus and Neptune in their mission to kill a mysterious girl named Hotaru Tomoe, whom they identify as the Guardian of Destruction Sailor Saturn. However, when Saturn awakens she joins the final fight against the main antagonists of the arc, the Death Busters, sacrificing her life in the process. With her newly obtained powers as Super Sailor Moon, Usagi restores the Earth and Hotaru is reincarnated as a baby.
The fourth arc explores the Sailor Guardians' dreams and nightmares when the villainous group Dead Moon Circus exploits the Guardians' deepest fears, invades Elysion (which hosts the Earth's Golden Kingdom), and captures its high priestHelios, who turned into a Pegasus and tried to ask Guardians for help. This storyline also addresses Mamoru's relevance as protector of the Earth and owner of the Golden Crystal, the sacred stone of the Golden Kingdom. Mamoru and all ten of the reunited Guardians combine their powers, enabling Usagi to transform into Eternal Sailor Moon and defeat Dead Moon's leader, Queen Nehelenia.
In the final arc the Sailor Starlights from the Planet Kinmoku, their ruler Princess Kakyuu, and the mysterious little girl Chibi-Chibi join Usagi in her fight against Shadow Galactica, a group of both corrupted and false Sailor Guardians and led by Sailor Galaxia, who have been rampaging across the galaxy and killing other Sailor Guardians to steal their Star Seeds, Sailor Crystals—the essence of their lives. After Mamoru and all of the main Solar System Guardians are killed by Shadow Galactica, Usagi travels to the Galaxy Cauldron, the birthplace of all Star Seeds of the Milky Way, in an attempt to revive her loved ones and to confront Chaos, the source of all strife in the galaxy.
Naoko Takeuchi, after working on Nami Akimoto's 1991 manga Miracle Girls, redeveloped Sailor Moon from her 1991 manga serial Codename: Sailor V, which was first published on August 20, 1991, and featured Sailor Venus as the main protagonist.[7] Takeuchi wanted to create a story with a theme about girls in outer space. While discussing with her editor Fumio Osano, he suggested the addition of Sailor fuku.[8] When Codename: Sailor V was proposed for adaptation into an anime by Toei Animation, Takeuchi redeveloped the concept so Sailor Venus became a member of a team.[9][10] The resulting manga series became a fusion of the popular magical girl genre and the Super Sentai series, of which Takeuchi was a fan.[11] Recurring motifs include astronomy,[8]astrology, gemology, Greco-Roman mythology,[12]Japanese elemental themes,[13]: 286 teen fashions,[12][14] and schoolgirl antics.[14]
Takeuchi said discussions with Kodansha originally envisaged a single story arc;[15] the storyline was developed in meetings a year before serialization began.[16]: 93 After completing the arc, Toei and Kodansha asked Takeuchi to continue the series. She wrote four more story arcs,[15] which were often published simultaneously with the five corresponding seasons of the anime adaptation. The anime ran one or two months behind the manga.[16]: 93 As a result, the anime follows the storyline of the manga fairly closely, although there are deviations.[17] Takeuchi later said because Toei's production staff were mostly male, she feels the anime has "a slight male perspective."[17]
Takeuchi later said she planned to kill off the protagonists, but Osano rejected the notion and said, "[Sailor Moon] is a shōjo manga!" When the anime adaptation was produced, the protagonists were killed in the final battle with the Dark Kingdom, although they were revived. Takeuchi resented that she was unable to do that in her version.[18] Takeuchi also intended for the Sailor Moon anime adaptation to last for one season, but due to the immense popularity, Toei asked Takeuchi to continue the series. At first, she struggled to develop another storyline to extend the series. While discussing with Osano, he suggested the inclusion of Usagi's daughter from the future, Chibiusa.[18]
After the Sailor Moon anime was released in North America and dubbed in English, fans and academics alike noted that the dub had westernized Sailor Moon from how it had been released in Japan. In the 1995 English version of Sailor Moon, the westernization of the characters is seen in how a majority of the character names are changed from Japanese to English names.[19] Sailor Moon's civilian name, Usagi Tsukino, is turned into Serena.[19] The love interest of Sailor Moon, Mamoru Chiba, is turned into Darien Shields.[20] Other examples of westernization referenced by Sailor Moon's audience were things like flipping scenes of traffic to have cars drive on the right side of the road along with the English dub changing any conversations between characters that contained lesser-known (in the United States at the time) Japanese cultural references.[21] According to Bandai America, the company in charge of Sailor Moon merchandise in the western hemisphere, the approach to advertising Sailor Moon was to make the show and super-heroine "'culturally appropriate' for the American market".[22]
Written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon was serialized in the monthly manga anthology Nakayoshi from December 28, 1991, to February 3, 1997.[7] The side-stories were serialized simultaneously in RunRun—another of Kodansha's manga magazines.[7] The 52 individual chapters were published in 18 tankōbon volumes by Kodansha from July 6, 1992, to April 4, 1997.[23][24] In 2003, the chapters were re-released in a collection of 12 shinzōban volumes to coincide with the release of the live-action series.[25] The manga was retitled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and included new cover art,[26] and revised dialogue and illustrations. The ten individual short stories were also released in two volumes.[27][28] In 2013, the chapters were once again re-released in 10 kanzenban volumes to commemorate the manga's 20th anniversary, which includes digitally remastered artwork, new covers and color artwork from its Nakayoshi run.[29] The books have been enlarged from the typical Japanese manga size to A5.[30][31] The short stories were republished in two volumes, with the order of the stories shuffled. Codename: Sailor V was also included in the third edition.[31]
The Sailor Moon manga was initially licensed for an English release by Mixx (later Tokyopop) in North America. The manga was first published as a serial in MixxZine beginning in 1997, but was later removed from the magazine and made into a separate, low print monthly comic to finish the first, second and third arcs. At the same time, the fourth and fifth arcs were printed in a secondary magazine called Smile.[32] Pages from the Tokyopop version of the manga ran daily in the Japanimation Station, a service accessible to users of America Online.[33] The series was later collected into a three-part graphic novel series spanning eighteen volumes, which were published from December 1, 1998, to September 18, 2001.[34][35] In May 2005, Tokyopop's license to the Sailor Moon manga expired, and its edition went out of print.[36]
In 2011, Kodansha Comics announced they had acquired the license for the Sailor Moon manga and its lead-in series Codename: Sailor V in English.[37] They published the twelve volumes of Sailor Moon simultaneously with the two-volume edition of Codename Sailor V from September 2011 to July 2013.[38][39][40] The first of the two related short story volumes was published on September 10, 2013;[41] the second was published on November 26, 2013.[42] At Anime Expo 2017, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release Sailor Moon in an "Eternal Edition", featuring a new English translation, new cover artwork by Takeuchi, and color pages from the manga's original run, printed on extra-large premium paper.[43][44] The first Eternal Edition volume was published on September 11, 2018;[45] the tenth and final volume was published on October 20, 2020.[46] On July 1, 2019, Kondasha Comics began releasing the Eternal Editions digitally,[47] following an announcement the day before about the series being released digitally in ten different languages.[48] In November 2020, Kodansha Comics announced plans to re-release the Sailor Moon manga again as part of their "Naoko Takeuchi Collection".[49] The company described the new edition as a "more affordable, portable" version of the Eternal Edition. The first volume was published on April 5, 2022.[50]
Sailor Moon has also been licensed in other English-speaking countries. In the United Kingdom, the volumes are distributed by Turnaround Publisher Services.[51] In Australia, the manga is distributed by Penguin Books Australia.[52]
The manga has been licensed in Russia and CIS for distribution by XL Media publishing company. The first volume was released in 2018.[53]
Toei Animation produced an anime television series based on the 52 manga chapters, also titled Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon.[4][5]Junichi Sato directed the first season, Kunihiko Ikuhara took over second through fourth season, and Takuya Igarashi directed the fifth and final season.[54] The series premiered in Japan on TV Asahi on March 7, 1992, and ran for 200 episodes until its conclusion on February 8, 1997. Upon its release, the show quickly rose to be Toei Animation's highest ranked TV series.[55] Most of the international versions, including the English adaptations, are titled Sailor Moon.
On July 6, 2012, Kodansha and Toei Animation announced that it would commence production of a new anime adaptation of Sailor Moon, called Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal, for a simultaneous worldwide release in 2013 as part of the series's 20th anniversary celebrations,[56][57][58] and stated that it would be a closer adaptation of the manga than the first anime.[59]Crystal premiered on July 5, 2014, and new episodes would air on the first and third Saturdays of each month.[60] New cast were announced, along with Kotono Mitsuishi reprising her role as Sailor Moon.[61] The first two seasons were released together, covering their corresponding arcs of the manga (Dark Kingdom and Black Moon). A third season based on the Infinity arc on the manga premiered on Japanese television on April 4, 2016, known as Death Busters arc in this adaptation.[62]Munehisa Sakai directed the first and second season, while Chiaki Kon directed the third season.
Three animated theatrical feature films based on the original Sailor Moon series have been released in Japan: Sailor Moon R: The Movie in 1993, followed by Sailor Moon S: The Movie in 1994, and Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie in 1995. The films are side-stories that do not correlate with the timeline of the original series. A one-hour television special was aired on TV Asahi in Japan on April 8, 1995.[63]Kunihiko Ikuhara directed the first film, while the latter two were directed by Hiroki Shibata.
In 2017, it was revealed that Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal anime's fourth season would be produced as a two-part theatrical anime film project, adapting the Dream arc from the manga.[66] On June 30, 2019, it was announced that the title of the films will be Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie.[67][68] The first film was originally to be released on September 11, 2020,[69] but was postponed and released on January 8, 2021, and the second film was released on February 11, 2021.[70]Chiaki Kon returned from Crystal's third season to direct the two films.[66]
In 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie, covering the Stars arc of the manga would also be produced as a two-part theatrical anime film project, titled Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos The Movie. The two films are directed by Tomoya Takahashi, and was released on June 9 and 30, 2023.[71][72]
There have been numerous companion books to Sailor Moon. Kodansha released some of these books for each of the five story arcs, collectively called the Original Picture Collection. The books contain cover art, promotional material and other work by Takeuchi. Many of the drawings are accompanied by comments on the way she developed her ideas, created each picture and commentary on the anime interpretation of her story.[1][73][74][75][76] Another picture collection, Volume Infinity, was released as a self-published, limited-edition artbook after the end of the series in 1997. This art book includes drawings by Takeuchi and her friends, her staff, and many of the voice actors who worked on the anime. In 1999, Kodansha published the Materials Collection; this contained development sketches and notes for nearly every character in the manga, and for some characters that never appeared. Each drawing includes notes by Takeuchi about costume pieces, the mentality of the characters and her feelings about them. It also includes timelines for the story arcs and for the real-life release of products and materials relating to the anime and manga. A short story, Parallel Sailor Moon is also featured, celebrating the year of the rabbit.[15]
Sailor Moon was also adapted for publication as novels and released in 1998. The first book was written by Stuart J. Levy. The following novels were written by Lianne Sentar.[77]
In mid-1993, the first musical theater production based on Sailor Moon premiered, starring Anza Ohyama as Sailor Moon. Thirty such musicals in all have been produced, with one in pre-production. The shows' stories include anime-inspired plotlines and original material. Music from the series has been released on about 20 memorial albums.[78] The popularity of the musicals has been cited as a reason behind the production of the live-action television series, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.[79]
During the original run musicals ran in the winter and summer of each year, with summer musicals staged at the Sunshine Theater in the Ikebukuro area of Tokyo. In the winter, musicals toured to other large cities in Japan, including Osaka, Fukuoka,[80]Nagoya, Shizuoka,
Technozoids (テクノゾイド, Tekunozoido), also referred to as simply Zoids (ゾイド, Zoido), is a Japanese science fictionmedia franchise created by Tomy that feature giant robots (or "mecha") called Technozoidaryans, otherwise known as Technozoids, Zoidaryans or Zoids for short. A Zoid is essentially a large mechanical animal, with designs being based on animals; including dinosaurs, insects, arachnids and mythological creatures.
There have been a number of different Zoids model lines over the years, both in Japan and other countries. Between these lines, over 200 different designs have been released, some several times over. Several companies outside of Takara-Tomy have produced Zoids kits. This has led to Zoids being made as die-cast figures, highly detailed posing kits, smaller action figures and even PVC figurines.
The predecessors to Zoids. Released in 1982, "Mechabonica" was technically not a Zoids line, but is counted as such by collectors as it consisted of three models that would later be re-released as the first three Zoids (Garius, Elephantus, and Glidoler). The line was not very successful and was quickly dropped by Tomy.
Starzeta was the Spanish version of the Mechabonica line. Since Tomy had no direct marketing power in Spain during the 80s the models were released under licence by a smaller company (Feber) but unfortunately the line performed even worse than its Japanese counterpart. The same 3 models were released but bizarrely they were given new color schemes; grey parts became silver and the dark blue caps became bright blue. The models were not given names but are listed as Starzeta I, II and III.
SZ IV (Garantula), SZ V (Aquadon) and SZ VI (Gorgodos) were supposedly planned as a continuation of the series but their release status is currently unknown.
The models are incredibly rare (even more so than the Japanese Mechabonica) and demand is boosted even further by their unique color schemes.
TOMY sold the Mechabonica line in the United States and Europe in late 1982, under the name Zoids. The line was far more successful than Mechabonica, which led TOMY to reintroduce the line in Japan under the new name.
Later, a pair of original Zoids, the Power Zoids Tank and Serpent, were created exclusively for the European and North American markets and were never released in Japan. Other Zoids like the Bigasaur (renamed to Giant ZRK) were also released. Radio Shack released the Mammoth Zoid in the US at the same time. While not a part of the release, it is generally counted with them.
The Original American Release is commonly abbreviated as OAR by fans and collectors.
In 1983, following the success of the OAR, TOMY reintroduced the Zoids line in Japan. The relaunched Japanese line, now entitled Zoids, was a success, running from 1983 until 1990. The Zoids line had its own "Battle Story" that was told serially on the backs of the model boxes and in catalogues.
Initially, the Zoids were divided into two distinct factions, the Helic Republic and the Zenebas Empire. In 1989, the Zenebas Empire was replaced with the Guylos Empire.
The Original Japanese Release is commonly abbreviated as OJR.
Zoids were also released in Europe, (and to a limited extent in Australia, South Africa and South-East Asia), from 1984 to 1987 by TOMY. The models in this release were a mixture of ones directly ported over from the OJR, as well as recolored Zoids, including the rare Ghost Zoids line. Additionally, the Tank and Serpent Power Zoids from the OAR were released. Most of the Zoids in the line were renamed.
The Zoids in the release were divided into two distinct factions, which are the Blue Guardians and the Red Mutants. The line had its own story told in the UK Zoids comic.
The Original European Release is commonly abbreviated as OER.
Robo Strux were released in the US and Canada by TOMY, in 1985–86. All the Zoids in the line were OJR Zoids, however, some versions of the same model retained their original (OJR) color scheme, whereas other versions of the same model received a distinctive Robo Strux color scheme. Thus, the Robo Strux line had two differently colored releases of several models. Based on their color schemes, the Zoids were divided into two factions, the heroic Blue Guardians and the evil Red Mutants. However, there was no accompanying story or media.
Due to the lack of marketing and the relatively high prices of the models, Robostrux was rather short-lived.
In 1988, TOMY launched a sub-line of the OJR, featuring larger-scale Zoids. The 1:24 line featured Zoids of similar size to existing ones, but scaled for larger pilots. Each kit came with a 3 inch tall action figure of the pilot. Like the regular Zoids line, the Zoids were divided into Helic and Zenebas factions.
The 1:24 Zoids were not a success, and were discontinued after a year.
In 1990, TOMY re-released several of the 1:24 scale Zoids in a new line called Zevle. The Zoids were recolored from the OJR versions, and came with detailed, 3 inch tall action figures of the pilot and crew. The pilot figures were unpainted and on sprues, much like a model kit, and had to be assembled. The crew figures also came with accessories of guns and beam sabers. Zevle featured its own "Battle Story" on the boxes, but while it was similar to the Zoids Battle Story, it was unrelated to it.
Like the 1/24th Zoids, Zevle was a commercial failure and was discontinued.
Kenner acquired the rights to release Zoids in North America, releasing the Technozoids line in 1995–1996. The Zoids in the line were all recolors of earlier Zoids released in the OJR, although some were directly imported from the Zoids2 line. There were no distinct factions for the Zoids, and no backstory was given.
The Technozoids line was a failure and was discontinued after one year. A number of Zoids were left unreleased at the end of the line.
TOMY released another line of Zoids in the UK and Europe (with a re-release in Australia and South-East Asia) in 1994. The Zoids 2 line featured very bright color schemes, with all the Zoids having at least some chromed parts. The Zoids also had unique stickers with odd swirling designs. The Zoids 2 line did not feature distinctive factions for the Zoids, but did have a backstory loosely based on (but not a continuation of) the UK Zoid comic, with the Zoids invading Earth and humanity's last hope being to turn the Zoids against each other.
Like Technozoids, Zoids 2 was eventually discontinued.
In 1999, TOMY relaunched the Zoids line in Japan, with subsequent releases elsewhere in Asia. Initially, the line consisted of recolored re-releases of older Zoids, but TOMY quickly began producing new Zoids designs. The Zoids were divided into Helic and Guylos factions, with the Zenebas Empire returning later. The OJR battle story was continued on the NJR boxes, with the Zoids Anime and Manga drawing on alternate versions of the New Battle Story's events.
The line was abruptly discontinued in August 2004. By the end of the line, there were still thirty-three Zoids from the OJR line that had yet to be re-released.
The New Japanese Release is unofficially abbreviated as NJR.
Along with the re-launch of the Zoids line, TOMY also launched a line known as Customise Parts or simply CP. The line consisted of additional weapons and equipment that could be added onto Zoids models. The line was a mixture of new parts and re-issues of parts originally included in various OJR models (as well as the Empire and Republic Customization Kits).
The Customise Parts line was discontinued in 2002.
In 2002, TOMY introduced a new line of non-motorised Zoids called Blox, which featured flexible construction. Blox Zoids can be easily disassembled and combined with each other, as well as with regular Zoids.
In 2002, Toys Dream Project began a line of limited Zoids releases. The line consisted of a mixture of new recolors of existing Zoids and re-releases of older versions of some Zoids in their OJR colors, as well as kits paired with uniquely colored customize parts.
Following the launch of the NJR, Hasbro licensed Zoids for release in North America and South-East Asia in 2001. Like the NJR, the line was divided into Republic and Empire factions, with the Anime providing the backstory. Initially, the Hasbro line consisted of just re-releases of Zoids from the NJR. However, they later began developing their own Zoid designs, as well as co-developing others with TOMY. Additionally, Hasbro had planned to re-release several OJR Zoids that had not been released in the NJR.
Although it was initially successful, Hasbro suspended the line in 2004, due to poor sales. The cancellation of the line left a number of new Zoids unreleased, including most of those not yet re-released by TOMY. Much of the leftover stock was later released by Hasbro in Australia and the UK.
In Australia and South-East Asia, these Zoids were released by TOMY. These countries were identical to Hasbro's Zoids, but featured TOMY branding on the box. In the UK the Zoids boxes featured slightly different logos to both Australia and the US. The UK release featured several Zoids designs and color schemes that were not available in the US.
Any Blox Zoids that were released by Hasbro were sold as part of the line known as Z-Builders. Most of the Z-Builders were re-releases of the NJR Blox line, but the line included several Hasbro-designed Zoids, as well as individual releases of Blox Zoids that did not occur in Japan. The Z-Builders line was suspended alongside the motorized models. Z-Builders was released in Australia and the Pacific featuring TOMY branding instead of Hasbro branding.
In late 2004, TOMY launched a new Zoids line to tie into the Zoids: Fuzors anime that was then showing on Japanese TV. The line was composed entirely of recolors of older Blox and Zoids. Some models were altered slightly, or packaged with additional parts, mainly to allow different Zoids to connect (or "fuse"). The line also featured a number of Zoids that were previously only released in North America.
The line was abruptly halted in early 2005, with several items unreleased.
In early 2005, another new Zoid line was launched, to tie into the Zoids: Genesis anime. The line consists of a mixture of old designs, new designs and older designs with new parts. The line is most notable for the much-anticipated reissues of Houndsoldier and Gilvader.
Reactions to the line were mixed; the re-releases of older designs (which included several OJR Zoids not previously re-released) were well received. The new designs, namely the Bio-Zoids which had rubber armor, did not do so well, having been plagued by quality control issues and production errors.
Genesis is commonly abbreviated as GZ. An alternate abbreviation, GB, is used for the Bio-Zoids released as part of this line.
Released in May 2006, the Neo-Blox are an improvement on the previous Blox line, primarily due to the greater range of poseability the 'Blox and peg' connection system has.
Two sublines have also been released. The first is the Legends Series, which features Zoids from previous releases, but redesigned to be the same size as the Neo-Blox Zoids, and modified to use the same connector system. The second are the Custom Blox; subline appeared to be on hold, with Tomy instead focusing on the Legend Blox sub-line. With the cancellation of all unreleased Neo-Blox in early 2007, the line was effectively dead.
The Neo-Blox is abbreviated as either NBZ or NB. Alternate abbreviations are used for the Legends Series (LB) and the Custom Blox (CBZ).
Academy, a company from Korea better known for model airplanes and ships, re-released many of the NJR Zoid models, as well as some Zoids from the Customize Parts, Fuzors and Genesis series. In most cases, these Academy Zoids have nearly identical packaging to their Japanese predecessors save for the Korean language and a sticker bearing the Academy logo. Though the quality of the Academy Zoids were on par with their Japanese counterparts in the early 2000s, the age and repeated use of some molds, such as Command Wolf and Liger Zero, has caused degradation in the line. The line continues to sell Zoids exclusively in Korean markets.
Starting in late 2006, the High-end Master Model line, commonly abbreviated HMM, is a joint effort between Tomy and Kotobukiya. The line advertises high-quality, highly detailed, pose-able model kits based on designs of existing Zoids.
Miniature Zoids
Starting in late 2006, the High-end Master Model line, commonly abbreviated HMM, is a joint effort between Tomy and Kotobukiya. The line advertises high-quality, highly detailed, pose-able model kits based on designs of existing Zoids.
Released in Summer 2007 onward, the Graphics line are reissues of the OJR model kits released in the 1980s. They feature the model kit in special windowed packaging along with bonus parts or miniature figures and a booklet with early battle story information.
Starting in 2008 as part of the line's 25th anniversary, this new Zoids line contains both re-releases of 80s Zoids and entirely new designs. The backstory is set between the end of the original line and the start of the new Japanese release, covering the Zoidians' efforts to rebuild after the meteor disaster and the conflicts that come with it.
Starting in 2009, as a tribute to both the NJR Zoids Release and the Chaotic Century Anime series, the Anime 10th Anniversary is a limited line of correctly colored model kits based on those piloted by characters in the Anime series. The line abruptly stopped after just two of the kits were released. Zoids: Chaotic Century is what this 10th anniversary is based upon. It was only ended in 1999.
A company called Kaiyodo released four Zoids as Revoltech figures under the Yamaguchi line. Two Zoid types, the Blade Liger and the Geno Breaker, were produced with the Liger coming in three different colors. These Zoids were made to be highly pose-able, having more joints than any Revoltech before. These Zoids are smaller than the motorized Zoid models but larger than the Hasbro action figures.
Yamato released two Shield Ligers and a set of Beam-Cannons for the Zoids between 2010 and 2012. These Zoids had die-cast metal parts as well as fine details and many points of articulation for movable parts. The action models dwarfed their predecessors in size and weight. The first Shield Liger was colored like the hero Zoid of the Chaotic Century series and included three small character figures. The second was painted black and silver and included the Beam Cannon like the limited NJR model, the Shield Liger DCS-J, it was based on. The Yamato Shield Liger was released in the United States and is the only line to be sold in the U.S. since Z-Builders.
For the 30th anniversary of Tomy's main Zoids line, the franchise was treated to a new line of Zoids kits. Abbreviated MSS, the Modeler's Spirit Series were produced by TOMYTEC at a 1:144 scale, much smaller than previous lines. These Zoids are not motorized but do feature posing gimmicks similar to Mobile Suit models, which have used the word 'gimmick' for movable parts longer. Zoids in the MSS line also include a display base. The first MSS Zoids, released in January 2013, were a Shield Liger and Hammer Rock.
Another event for the 30th anniversary was announced on Takara-Tomy's main Zoids web page. Titled Zoids Original, the line features redesigned motorized kits. As with other core Zoids lines, the new series includes a tie-in Battle Story. A model called the Mirage Fox was the first kit to be released in the new line.
"Battle story" is a fictitious timeline of events that features on the boxes, manuals and cataloges of some Zoid model kits. Battle Story allows collectors to piece together information about the Zoids universe from the perspective of certain Zoids, and their roles in the various timelines. None of the English-language model kits feature this story.
Beginning fairly early after the start of the original Japanese Zoid releases, the battle story first introduced the conflict between two rival nations: the Helic Republic and Zenebas Empire. Their main weapons were Zoids, living war machines built from metal-based lifeforms native to planet Zi. The Zenebas Zoids were mostly red and silver and more armored, the Helic more skeletal and favoring blue and grey.[3]
The line expanded and drew in fans, and was thus given a proper ongoing story, with the creators wanting to appeal to fans of science fiction and animation.[4] The two nations' conflict turned into an ongoing series of stories included on the boxes and published in various magazines and books.[5][6] History of Zoids, published in 1985, covered Zi's history as a planet wrecked by natural disasters and conflict, King Helic's uniting the original tribes and formation of the Republic, the Empire's bitter splitting off after his son Helic II took over and the younger Zenebas was betrayed by the era's politicians, and much of the earlier battles in the resulting war over territory on the Central Continent.[7][8]
As more advanced model kits were added to the line, a human element was added to the story: mainly, a ship from Earth (the Globally 3) crashlanding on Zi. Earth technology made its way to both sides, accelerating the arms race and making for many stronger Zoids.
In 1986, the Ultrasaurus was released, and billed in-story as the machine that would defeat the Empire. It nearly succeeded, but Zenebas and his forces fled to the Dark Continent Nyx, soon returning with new-model Zoids like the Death Saurer. The Republic was driven back and forced to hold the Empire off with guerrilla warfare in the mountains, paving the way for the brief 1/24 scale line (notable for featuring the Battle Rover as the winner of a fan design contest).[9] The Republic's counterattack came in the form of the Mad Thunder, and as Zenebas again turned to the Dark Continent for help, he was betrayed by Guylos, whose new "Dark Army" Zoids[10] attacked and absorbed the Empire Army.
1989 thus marked a drastic change in the line's focus, the first catalogue even calling it "Zoids New Century"[11] (a title unrelated to the anime series Zoids New Century /Zero). The more ambiguous conflict became more "good versus evil", with Guylos described as having a "merciless, cruel fighting style [...] beyond imagination" in Tomy's material,[12] and Shogakukan's version of the battle story abandoning telling things from both sides to give only the viewpoint of a Republic soldier portrayed as a hero. There were no windup kits released after the Cannonfort in April 1989, the toys instead focusing on "Gradeups", curvy techno-organic designs with vacuum metalized parts, build-it-yourself motor boxes, and interchangeable custom parts.[13]
The line ended in the late months of 1990, King Gojulas and Descat marking the final designs.[14] Battle story Zi came down to a final showdown between the nigh-unstoppable King Gojulas and various Dark Army Zoids (including Gilvader), only to have the conflict cut short as a comet struck Zi's third moon, raining down meteor destruction and leaving the entire planet in disarray.[15]
The Zoids revival in 1999 included both an anime[16] and a new battle story. After decades of peace, the current Emperor died, leaving only the young Rudolph as his heir. His regent, Prozen, took the opportunity to resume the conflict between the Guylos Empire and the Republic. Early on, both sides used their past Zoids, the model line focusing entirely on reissues of popular past kits.[17]
As technology advanced, entirely new designs were produced, the first being the Rev Raptor and Geno Saurer.[18] Many of them were also tie ins to the Chaotic Century anime, including special pilot figures of characters who used them while the Zoids did different things in the battle story.[19] The accelerating arms race came to a head with the Death Stinger, which proved an uncontrollable berserker and only served to further the Guylos Empire's gradual loss.
Their retreat to the Dark Continent was not as it seemed, and in 2004 (four years after the first anime series finished its run), Prozen was revealed to be Zenebas' son...and the current ruler of the Republic his daughter under the alias Louise Elena Camford. The entire war until now had been a ruse to weaken both nations, and in a bitter coup ending with his own death Prozen engineered the rise of Neo Zenebas. His son took over the reins, driving the Republic forces back to the Eastern Continent.
The toyline shifted to match, introducing the new posable "Blox" kits (first sold in 2002)[20][21] as the creation of humans who had fled there to remain neutral in the original conflict. They sold their work to both sides during the Republic's bid to regain their homeland. The ensuing battles—and the battle story portion of the toyline—ended with the Republic reclaiming their capital, forcing the Zenebas Empire back to the western half of the Central Continent.[22]
Providing a glimpse into Zi's future and released in 2004,[23] the Three Tigers line consisted of all of six kits: three legendary Tiger-type Zoids (one formed via a combination of two separate kits) and the Dekalt Dragon (also a combination). It was very closely followed by the Fuzors line and its direct anime tie-in (also in 2004),[24] and featured a similar setting: Zoids are owned mainly by private citizens, with fightworthy ones restricted to peacekeeping forces and licensed sports battlers.[25]
Two large Zoid manufacturing corporations, ZOITEC and Zi-Arms, became considerable powers on Zi. Discovering the cores of ancient tiger Zoids, they set out to create their own versions. Part of Zi-Arms proved to have an ulterior motive: seizing power and reviving the glory days of the Empire with the Dekalt Dragon, Brastle Tiger, and a Mega Death Saurer. The two ZOITEC Tigers (Whitz and Rayse) team up with a rebelling Brastle to stop the Saurer, however ... and then vanish, the story booklet included with the Brastle Tiger kit describing them as "disappearing back into legend".
While the old battle story and the 1999 revival left nearly thirty years post meteor disaster undetailed, Tomy's Rebirth Century revival[26] (2008–2010) picks up where the old story left off. After retelling the final battle with King Gojulas, it moves on to a Zi torn by magnetic storms and faction tensions, using it as a reason to rerelease both old kits (Gilvader and King Gojulas included)[27] and new designs.
For the 30th anniversary of the OJR line, Takara-Tomy revived the Battle Story on the main Zoids website. Prior to the anniversary, this story was released as a book series titled Zoids Concept Art in 2010. Though the overall plot is the same, some differences between the OJR and the Onslaught version occur. Also, the new version of the Battle Story is digitally illustrated with highly stylized Zoids instead of featuring pictures of the actual Zoids models like the older lines did. Episodes of this story can be viewed on the Tomy's main Zoids web page.
The six anime series pertaining to Zoids are: Zoids: Chaotic Century and its sequel series Zoids: Guardian Force, Zoids: New Century Zero, Zoids: Fuzors, Zoids: Genesis, and Zoids Wild. The first four series take place on the fictitious planet Zi. Zoids Wild is set on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth. Chaotic Century and Guardian Force aired as one series in the US, but they are considered two separate series by Takara Tomy.
Zoids: Chaotic Century is the first two Zoids anime series and consists of Chaotic Century and Guardian Force. Its setting is loosely based on that of Battle Story, and follows Van Flyheight as he meets an amnesiac girl called Fiona and an organoid called Zeke. As the series progresses, Van meets various opponents, such as Raven, and friends, like Moonbay and Irvine, and eventually ends up helping Fiona in her quest to regain her memory and to find a mysterious entity called the "Zoid Eve". Their quest takes them into the thick of an ongoing war between the two factions of the Helic Republic and the Guylos Empire.
In the US the story of Chaotic Century is split into two seasons, with a time skip in the middle. In Japan Guardian Force is considered the second series. Three to four years after the initial arc ("Chaotic Century"), the second story (Guardian Force) begins. The two warring nations seen in the first arc have made peace, and to ensure it remains, they establish a joint military task force called the Guardian Force. Van becomes a part of this force, and after some time again goes searching for the elusive Zoid Eve. On the way, he meets up with both old and new friends and foes.
Despite being the first series created in Japan, Chaotic Century was the second series to be broadcast in English, following New Century.
As well as the anime series, there was a Chaotic Century manga published in Japan. It was later reproduced in English in North America by Viz Communications, and in Singapore in English by Chuang Yi. There are significant differences between the anime and manga, becoming more striking in the later issues.
Zoids: New Century takes place some time after the events of Guardian Force, however, aside from a few cameo appearances, there is no direct relation to the past series. In New Century Zoid battles have become a tournament-based fighting competition. The main character is Bit Cloud, a junk dealer, who forms part of the Blitz Team. He becomes a pilot of their Zoid, the Liger Zero, a temperamental Zoid that previously had been unpilotable. Bit and Liger form a partnership and end up joining the Blitz Team in their various league matches. He is aided by his teammates, Leena Toros, Brad Hunter, Jamie Hemeros, as well as their leader, Dr. Steve Toros.
Along the way, Bit's unique Zoid gets the attention of the Backdraft Group, an organization who is trying to take over Zoid battles and make them more "interesting" by using illicit battles, often with no rules or regard to pilot safety. The Backdraft attempts to acquire the Liger Zero by any means possible.
New Century Zero has a number of animation cameos with Zoids from Chaotic Century and Guardian Force, which are the cause of much fan speculation but not explained. Moonbay's Gustav can be seen in the background in one of the later episodes, the Backdraft shoots judge satellites down with a Death Stinger tail, the Death Saurer appearing as a model and in a background TV show, the three Geno Saurers that attack Berserk Fury, and the Ultrasaurus wreck on which Bit Cloud claims victory carries the Gravity Cannon on its side.
This was the first Zoids series to appear on American television, airing in Cartoon Network's Toonami block.
Zoids: Fuzors follows the adventures of team Mach Storm and RD, a novice Liger Zero pilot. They live in the technologically advanced Blue City, competing in Zoid battles.[28] When a top team is wiped out by a pair of Zoids able to combine, it leads to a series of discoveries relating to special "Fuzor" Zoids and combinations: RD's Liger Zero ends up partnered with the Fire Phoenix and later the Jet Falcon.
There's something more sinister lurking behind the sports battles and RD's rivalry with team Savage Hammer. As the series unfolds RD and his friends Helmut, Sigma, Hop, Sweet and Matt get caught up in a plot to take over the city. Eventually RD discovers the secret behind the mysterious "Alpha Zoid" and with the help of pilots from all over the city, defeats the Seismosaurus holding it under siege.
About half-way through the series, the show was removed from America's Cartoon Network, ending on a cliffhanger. This was most likely a result of flagging ratings and toy sales, although its timeslot did not help matters. However, the full series aired in Australia and was later shown in Japan, getting full DVD releases in both countries.
Zoids: Genesis aired in 2005. At a certain point in time, there was a great quake on Planet Zi. An enormous crack ran through the planet, stretching as far as the seabeds to the high mountains. Volcanoes erupted with fire, and the sky was covered in darkness. Many cities were destroyed as they were swallowed in large areas, sinking underwater. This was known as "God's Fury."
Before this large series of natural disasters, all civilizations were at their peak. All were destroyed by the disasters, and it was several thousand years before the inhabitants of Zi were able to re-establish themselves in any meaningful form. Survivors of the disasters gathered together and formed new civilizations; these groups searched for Zoids that are buried underground for human use.
The story begins in a village whose most precious item, a giant blade, is worshipped as a holy symbol. Ruuji, a teenage boy, discovers an ancient Liger-type Zoid, the Murasame Liger, while on a deep water salvage operation. His village is suddenly attacked by skeletal "Bio-Zoids" intent on securing the powerful Generator located in the village. During the attack, Ruuji awakens Murasame Liger and fends off the Bio-Zoids, however the Generator on which the village depends becomes damaged in subsequent attacks. Seeking to repair it, Ruuji sets off on a journey to find a mechanic capable of fixing a generator.
Zoids Wild is the newest Zoids anime series. It began airing on July 7, 2018 on Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System. It is notable that characters are depicted riding on top of Zoids rather than within an enclosed cockpit as in previous Zoids media.[29]
In the 1980s, a Zoids tie-in strip was published in the Marvel UK title Secret Wars.[30] On the back of this, it gained its own weekly title, Spider-Man and Zoids. This story has no continuity with any Japanese anime (which didn't exist at the time) and it was created to go along with the original UK (and subsequently Australian) release of model kits. The comic is notable for featuring early work by Grant Morrison, including the epic and apocalyptic Black Zoid storyline.
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