Zaion - i wish you were here (2003)
Animation Production: Gonzo Digimation
Released by: ADV Films
Official Website: Zaion - i wish you were here
Episodes: 2
By Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Zaion, better known to many anime fans as “i-wish you were here” took me by complete surprise with its artistry and elegant presentation of the classic alien virus invasion story that has been a staple of modern science fiction for so many years now. While the plot was familiar territory to me, the execution was not.

Story (Box Description)

“A meteorite crashes to Earth, bringing with it a deadly virus known as M34 that infects humans turning them into lethal beast-like monsters. The world's top organizations gather to form the organization C.U.R.E., to combat the infectious disease. One organization, NOA stands in the virus' destructive path by using soldiers implanted with super nanotechnology to fight the vicious disease. As the virus continues to spread and mutate into different strains, mankind’s only hope may be a sixteen year-old girl...”

Review

In these first two episodes of Zaion we are introduced to the series protagonists, Yuuji, the NOA squad's current ace fighter and Ai, a mysterious sixteen year-old, who is hinted at being the Earth's best hope in its fight against the extraterrestrial virus that is starting to take root around the world. We are also introduced to some of the story's background elements through several moments of exposition between various characters.

Overall there is an interesting balance to this OVA's components; between the relationship that is being hinted at developing between the two main characters, the alien virus invasion and the science behind our heroes' technologies. It all seems to come together seamlessly in the narration of each episode, albeit it does so at a somewhat slowly pace.

Outside of some of the slower character building moments this OVA also has some surprisingly fast paced action scenes that revolve around the NOA squad. These scenes would make any live action hero fan proud as the soldiers activate their nano machines, effectively achieving a henshin moment in which they are covered by their color coded armor and then jump off into battle.

The fight scenes are for the most part grounded in reality, with a healthy dose of physics-defying moments that help establish some intriguing moments as our heroes battle humans infected with the virus they are trying to contain and keep away from the public eye. All in all they help break up the slower segments of each episode and inject a dose of kinetic action to the proceedings.

To me where this anime series really shined was in its presentation. The color palette employs that muted-color style that seems to be so popular in graphic design nowdays to great effect and the character designs are sharp looking and visually rich. The animation is also very good, with a smooth frame rate and good implementation of special visual effects to enhance key segments. The exception to this was the CGI robots. These really stood out whenever they made an appearance, especially in episode 1, and to a varying degree took me out of the action since they seemed to be so out of place, however this is a minor gripe.

Overall these first two episodes of Zaion were fun to watch and really made me interested in learning more about the characters and the events that are carefully taking place in the background of their story. I commend Gonzo for creating Zaion and ADV Films for releasing it stateside.

The DVD itself comes with the first two episodes of this OVA and some nice extras that include a promotional video that was used to market the series in Japan, special interview segments with the president of Gonzo and the director and writer of Zaion. There are also some production sketches included along with promos for other ADV Film releases.

Final Thoughts

This anime is highly recommended to all anime fans, especially those who like a story that takes it time to carefully build up momentum and character relationships. I also recommend it to those of you who would typically not like anime, as Zaion has a very universal appeal to it that so many other series strive for, but never quite achieve.

Jeffrey Couto