Zone of the Enders Dolores, i

Publisher
ADV
Director
Tetsuya Watanabe
Production
Sunrise, TV Tokyo, VAP
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2001

Zone of the Enders Dolores, i vol 2: Operation Escape

By John Huxley
23rd May 04

Episode Summary

WARNING: may contain spoilers

Episode 6: Get Away

Separated and on the run from Wired, Noel is captured and Leon is taken prisoner by same person who framed his father. James, meanwhile, is reunited with an old flame and her mafia boyfriend. And who could possibly bring these three together regardless of the dire circumstances? A giant pink robot by the name of Dolores, of course!

Episode 7: Untouchable

Yet again pursued by Wired, the Links family (now joined by the mafioso couple) are forced to stop off at a notorious space station that is home to some of the most despicable criminals in the universe. Top of the bill (or should that be bottom?) is Ron Pao, a mafia don who has the key to exactly what James and co. need - a space catapult that could take them to Mars in no time. Of course, Ron Pao isn't the kind of man to give something for nothing...

Episode 8: The Grave of Humanity

Asked to destroy a nearby spy satellite in exchange for the use of the catapult, James and Dolores head off thinking this mission will be over in a jiffy. Things take a turn for the worse when they are attacked by army LEV's and the sudden realisation that Ron Pao is using them as a decoy. To make matters even worse, he intends to exterminate Noel and Leon and walk away with the booty.

Episode 9: Lost in Space

Finally able to use the space catapult, James, his family and Dolores are on a speedy one-way trip to Mars. Then again, considering their luck so far, do you really think everything will run smoothly? Of course not...they don't have enough fuel for the trip and they can't locate the only space station for miles around!

Episode 10: Total Recall

Onboard a unmanned military base James stumbles across some interesting information. His wife may yet be alive, and Dolores is not the only orbital frame of her kind. With renewed optimism, the trio are more determined than ever to reach Mars. But Mars doesn't give them a warm reception, sending out several orbital frames to intercept them at the military base.

Volume Review

The second volume of ZOE Dolores and the Links family are still on the run from the law! After escaping Earth, these five episodes chronicle their turbulent journey to Mars.

The first episode resolves the questions left at the end of the last volume and introduces two secondary characters, a local mafia boss and his girl. We actually met these two during the very first episode of the series, but here they are again, lending James a helping hand. Although they don't dislike each other, both characters appear to be incompatible with the Links family for different reasons. For the time being it is a marriage of convenience.

The mafia connections come in handy when they are forced to stop off at a seedy dive of a space station. I say seedy, but you don't actually get to see much of it. You're taken through a golf course, a few rooms and a couple of corridors, but I found it very difficult to get a sense of location. Still, the mafia boss Ron Pao was a nasty piece of work which put James' mafia friend in to perspective. Indeed, he ends up helping him escape Ron Pao's grasp in the third episode.

You can wave goodbye to the mafia for the next two episodes, where the focus once again turns to the Links family and Dolores. Now alone in space and on their way to Mars, we finally get some piece and quiet with no Wired and certainly no mafia breathing down their necks. Although these episodes not completely devoid of action, the pace does slow a little compared to previous exploits. The change of pace does allow for some quality time with our characters, however, and Dolores gets to read her first book. She's still the star of the show, and you'd be hard pressed not to crack a smile when she makes herself a frilly dress and dances around the cargo bay of the Ender.

Even with the change of pace, ZOE Dolores is still a good watch. My only fear is that they've exhausted the current fugitive plotline and need to move on to pastures new. Only time will tell, but I can wholeheartedly recommend the first two volumes of ZOE Dolores.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles, Interviews with Tetsuya Watanabe (director) & Shin Yoshida (series composition), Dolores' Diary Part 1, Deimos Station, Clean Opening & Closing Animation, Production Sketches & Conceptual Artwork

Notes: The second volume doesn't let the side down. The interviews with the director and series planner are very similar in format to the ADR session from the first disc, albeit with important director types in place of the voice actors. And let me tell you, these guys aren't half as coherent as the trained voice actors. But if you pick up/decipher what the presumably drunk directors are saying it's actually really insightful. The Dolores Diary is a series of clips from the show with (the Japanese version of) Dolores dubbed over the top, in a similar fashion to the previews at the end of each episode. The Deimos Station is a page of text explaining the space station's history...very nerdy! The production sketches and concept artwork mostly relate to these episodes only, which means you get to flick through lots more character and background designs. Not forgetting the clean opening and closing animations, that about wraps up another great ZOE Dolores disc!

-- John Huxley 23rd May 04

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