Apocalypse Zero
Apocalypse Zero, known in Japan as , is a manga series written and illustrated by Takayuki Yamaguchi. It was serialized in Akita Shoten's "Weekly Shōnen Champion" from July 1994 to August 1996. The manga was adapted into a two episode original video animation in 1996, animated by Ashi Productions and produced by Big West Advertising, Victor Entertainment and Tomy. Plot. Kakugo and Harara are brothers trained by their father, Oboro, to slay monsters that have begun roaming the streets of a post-apocalyptic, 21st century Tokyo following a devastatingly, powerful earthquake. In order to aid them in their  quest, Oboro entrusts his two sons with ""Fortified Armor Shells"", cyborg exoskeletons forged using the souls of deceased warriors by their grandfather, a former scientist of the Imperial Army of Japan during World War II, Shiro Hagakure. However, Harara becomes possessed by a mysterious evil from deep within his armor, mutating his body into a far more androgynist one as well as filling him with a desire to destroy all of mankind in order to help cleanse the Earth of contamination. Some years later, Kakugo moves to ""Reverse Cross High School"", located in one of the ruined districts of Tokyo  near the castle from which Harara commands their demon army. It's now up to Kakugo to defeat his evil sibling and put a stop to their wicked legions. Media. Manga. The "Apocalypse Zero" manga series was written and illustrated by Takayuki Yamaguchi. It was originally serialized in the Akita Shoten magazine "Weekly Shōnen Champion" from 1994 to 1996. A total of 11 "tankōbon" (chapter collections) volumes were published by Akita Shoten. An English translation of the manga was published as a graphic novel in the US by Media Blasters beginning on January 19, 2005. The manga was sold shrink  wrapped, presumably due to the large amount of violence. Only six of the original 11 volumes were translated and released, as Media Blasters chose to cease publication of the series in early 2007. The manga was published in Italy by Dynamic Italia, flipping it in a left-to-right format. From 2010 to 2014, Yamaguchi wrote "Exoskull Zero", a reboot of "Apocalypse Zero" featuring a similar protagonist in a slightly different plot. It was published in Akita Shoten's Champion Red magazine. OVA. The "Apocalypse Zero" anime OVA was co-produced by Victor Entertainment, Tomy and Big West Advertising, it  was animated by Ashi Productions and directed by Toshihiro Hirano. It was released in Japan in two volumes from October 23, 1996, to December 18, 1996, on VHS and Laserdisc. The OVA was planned to have ten episodes, but was canceled after the completion of the second episode. The reasons for the OVA's cancellation are currently unknown. The anime was released in Italy in 1999 on VHS, licensed by Dynamic Italia. The US license for "Apocalypse Zero" was acquired by Media Blasters who created a dubbed English language version of the anime translated by Takashi Sakudo and produced by  Bang Zoom! Studios. The two VHS volumes were released from June 20 to August 22, 2000. A DVD release containing both episodes was released on August 28, 2001. A Region 2 DVD of the series with both episodes was released in Japan by Toshiba in 2003. Video game. A video game based on "Apocalypse Zero" was released on the PlayStation on March 21, 1997, exclusively in Japan by Tomy. The game is a standard 3D fighting game allowing the player to go head-to-head against the CPU or against another player. It features seven characters to choose from based  on both the anime and manga, and animated cut scenes taken from the OVA. Reception. Due to the use of gratuitous violence and repulsive imagery, critical reception to "Apocalypse Zero" in the west has been largely negative. John Oppliger of AnimeNation called the "Apocalypse Zero" OVA "the most viscerally violent and gruesome anime" he has seen and "arguably the most grotesque anime ever made". "Animerica" called "Apocalypse Zero" the "Best Anime Splattervision" in its "Best of the Best" awards. "When a 45-minute video features a scene where someone's face is sucked off, and that's not even the  most shocking thing in the video," the magazine proclaimed, "you know you'll be getting your horror-show money's worth." Despite this, the manga was well received and popular in Japan. "Apocalypse Zero" managed to be one of the finalists for the 1997 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, losing out to Doraemon by Fujiko Fujio. Context. The Japanese title is an allusion to An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no Susume) from Yukichi Fukuzawa, an important early Japanese advocate during Meiji Restoration.