Zaion: I Wish You Were Here

Title:Zaion: I Wish You Were Here
i -wish you were here- ~Anata ga koko ni Itehoshii~
I Wish You Were Here
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - GONZO
In the future, a meteor crashes into Earth and brings with it a virulent form of life. This virus is known as M34 and attacks humans, turning them into vicious monsters. Most of the human population is wiped out, thus government agencies are formed to fight the virus. One of the groups, NOA, inserts nanomachines into the bodies of its soldiers; these machines allow them to transform and fight off the infected. Unfortunately, the virus mutates and becomes too strong for NOA to handle. Now the fate of the world rests in the hands of 16-year-old girl with the power to defeat the virus.

(summary from ANIDB.NET)

4 episode series (25min each)
Listed as licensed by ADV Films
Released by ADV-UK
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Watch 7 6 7 6 5 5 Ggultra2764 [series:1305#1552]
(Watch-/ Avoid+)

Gonzo is quite well-known for being hit-or-miss with the quality of their titles where sometimes, they can create quality gems like Gankutsuou and Bokurano, while other times they create duds like Dragonaut: The Resonance and Afro Samurai: Resurrection. Zaion, sadly, falls under the latter category in its focus on military forces halting a viral threat. The animation to the series tends to be quite inconsistent at points sporting good-looking character and scenery designs which usually drop in quality at points during some scenes, and the anime's CG animation with mecha designs was subpar in its rendering sticking out like a sore thumb and looking clunky in their movements.

The four-episode OAV format of Zaion also doesn't help matters in properly developing its plot and characters. Other than some focus on Ai and Yuuji, many other characters seen throughout the series that interact with the two are seemingly there only to fill space on the character roster as we don't get very much told about them. Even then, Ai and Yuuji still have a limited amount of depth to their characters which make them hard to relate with and makes their relationship developments unconvincing. As for the plot, the series appeared focused on exploring how multiple factions handled the virus threat and trying to limit public awareness of it. Yet just like the characters of Zaion, there is very limited focus on the group dynamics of these factions and said efforts on limiting public awareness are quite absurd when you clearly see giant virus-infected monsters wrecking havoc on populated areas of cities.

Zaion's premise would have been better executed if it were made into a TV title for a season or two as four OAV episodes aren't quite enough to create convincing character and faction dynamics in the title's focus on halting a viral threat.

Last updated Saturday, May 05 2012. Created Saturday, May 05 2012.
Buy 10 10 10 10 10 Violet D [series:1305#1393]
I rented this at Hastings and I watched it and I thought it was good. I plan on watching it again to observe the story more and check out the detail and what is happening. I usually watch the film about three or more times to really enjoy it. I like the idea of the girl haveing powers to save the others who are fighting against the virus and yes being a romantic the idea of the young man who has fallen in love with her and wants to protect her. This anime works for me and I think you would like it. A different idea about a virus that changes them into monsters if they come in contact with them. But not a bad ending.

Last updated Saturday, April 29 2006. Created Saturday, April 29 2006.
Unevaluated Forbin [series:1305#1573]
Drama : Med
Comedy : None
Action :High
SciFi : High
Ecchi : None

2 Episodes Watched
LOL! Jan-Chan! Ok Ok, so I went and rented the R1.

My local video store has this so I will assume it had a R1 release at some point or another.

It's Saikano meets Bubblegum Crisis. The beginning is just like Bubblegum but instead of boomers, it's a M32 virus. Noa looks just like the BGC girls because their suits are like extensions of themselves. The main guy is just your typical jerk trying to survive and the girl is just like your typical (Girl has no memory) kind of person.

Last updated Monday, February 06 2006. Created Monday, February 06 2006.
Unevaluated Jan-Chan [series:1305#967]
Ok .. licensed by ADV Films, but released in the UK (United Kingdom or Great Briton?) ... and it does not appear to be listed in the R1 - ADV Films (USA) series web site listings ...

Others (or other review sites) rank this as a 6.5 of 10 type of anime series,which might translate as being a strong (watch+) or perhaps a (rent-).

I did find a fansub download ... so a more detailed review is pending ... if not from me, then perhaps from (kick-kick-kick) Forbin or Stretch .....

Last updated Saturday, January 28 2006. Created Saturday, January 28 2006.

Community Anime Reviews

anime mikomi org