Zoids Wild

Zoids Wild (ZOIDS ゾイド ワイルド) is an anime series based on the Zoids model kits produced by Takara Tomy. The 5th Zoids anime, the anime is part of a cross-media relaunch of the franchise encompassing a new toy line, manga series, and video game for the Nintendo Switch, which were predominantly aimed at boys aged 10–12.[1][2] Streamed from 7 July 2018 to 29 June 2019, this was the final series produced by Allspark Animation before being absorbed into Entertainment One (now Lionsgate Canada) on 9 October 2020.

Characters

Main characters

  • Arashi (アラシ)
  • Arashi is a villager who joins Team Freedom after acquiring the legendary Zoid Liger through chance. He eventually wins the Zoid's trust and is trained by Quade to master Wild Blast, with Liger able to master his trademark action "King Claw" (King of the Claw in Japanese), and later its variant "Ultra King Claw" (King of Claw Spiral in Japanese). However, Quade's death at Gigaboss's hands causes Arashi to enter a raging Berserk mode that increases Liger's power at the cost of attacking both friends and foes alike. After the fall of the Dark Metal Empire, Arashi and Liger part ways with their team to travel.
  • Quade (ベーコン)
  • Team Supreme's founding leader and a famous, powerful Zoid Seeker whose Zoid partner is Zaber Fang. Quade initially sought out Liger alongside the mysterious "Ancient Treasure Z" before meeting Arashi. He mentors the youth before resuming his search for "Ancient Treasure Z". Despite not being a member of the resistance, Quade openly opposes his former friend Gigaboss, as he stole half of Demise's hacker key before giving it to Arashi prior to his death by the emperor's hand. Quade appears as a spirit before his allies, enabling Zaber Fang to fight alongside them. Quade had also met Arashi's father, Apex, and Mitsuba before the events of the series took place.
  • Battalia (ペンネ)
  • Battalia is an orphan whose parents were killed by bandits when she was a child. She becomes a bounty hunter to provide funding for the orphanage she lived in with her Scorpear-type Zoid partner, Needle. She ends up under the employ of the Dark Metal Empire's Numb-lock after impressing him with her skills. He tasks her with taking down 100 bounties for the Empire in exchange for a fortune that would allow her to support her orphanage. However, after meeting Arashi and becoming the first member of Team Freedom prior to learning Arashi is her final bounty, she eventually sides with her friends.
  • Analog (オニギリ)
  • Tanks' pilot is a member of Team Freedom who has a strong passion for Zoids, which is common for many characters in the show who introduce their Zoids with great enthusiasm. When a new Zoid appears, Analog explains its name, type, and abilities. This can happen even when Analog is nowhere near the Zoid in question. Analog was initially a slave of the Dark Metal Empire. He was forced to perform Hacker Key experiments. For his own survival, he performed many of those experiments on Tanks, which filled him with guilt for a long time. After meeting Arashi, Analog summons the courage to revolt against his captors, which moves Tanks to give him its Zoid Key.
  • Bastion (ギョーザ)
  • A Team Freedom member and pilot of the Triceratops-like Zoid, Tryke. Bastion is a powerful pilot who uses his affinity for rap and dance to boost Tryke's fighting ability. His Zoid is relatively slow compared to the rest of the cast, but very effective at close range. Bastion started as a stingy pilot motivated only by money, which put him at odds with Arashi. It's later revealed that his desire for money is to buy expensive medicine from the Dark Metal Empire for his ailing sister. When he tries to steal medicine from Haxile of Dark Warriors, Bastion learns that he was being conned by the Empire. This makes him change his stingy ways, which earns him Tryke's Zoid Key and a place on Team Freedom.
  • Apex (ソルト)
  • A Team Freedom member and pilot of the Hunter Wolf (ハンターウルフ)-type Zoid, Alpha Shadow, who raised him after his father accidentally abandoned him while protecting him from a wild Zoid. He became determined to prove he was the best Zoid pilot in the world. Apex initially believed that friends were unnecessary, but his rivalry with Arashi slowly changed his views. Apex is a powerful pilot, and is the only one in the series to use the "Second Gear" ability of Wild Blast. He is assumed dead following his fight with Numb-Lock, with his teammates unaware that he resumed traveling alone. The English dub edits him into scenes of the final episode.
  • Snare (ヨウカン)
  • A Team Freedom member and pilot of the spider-like Zoid, Phobia, Snare is a mysterious treasure hunter with a keen eye who steals from those aligned with the Dark Metal Empire.
  • Drake (ドレイク)
  • One of the Four Dark Warriors of the Dark Metal Empire and pilot of the Gilraptor-type Zoid, Ruin. Drake was the child of two archeologists who taught him to love and respect Zoids. Seeking funding for their work, the couple took Drake, Ruin, and another Gilraptor with them to the Dark Metal Empire. After his parents sacrificed themselves in failed attempt for him and their Zoids to escape, Drake was forced to become an obedient servant after being compelled to choose Ruin, while white Gilraptor was killed and fed to Demise. After numerous failed attempts to capture Arashi, Drake acquires a Zoid Key after acknowledging his bond with Ruin, leaving the Empire to aid Team Freedom in the final battle.

Supporting characters

  • Dyna / Sauce (ソース)
  • Member of the Supreme Team and pilot of Winghorn.
  • Shades / Candy (キャンディ)
  • Member of the Supreme Team and pilot of Flyhorn.
  • Scrapes / Avocado (アボカド)
  • Member of the Supreme Team and pilot of Ankylosaurus Zoid, Knockz.
  • Pach / Garlic (ガーリック)
  • Member of the Supreme Team and pilot of the Pachycephhlosaurus Zoid, Rash.
  • Ikazuchi (イカヅチ)
  • Arashi's father.
  • Gaffer / Taifu (タイフウ)
  • Arashi's grandfather.
  • Greta / Sanratan (サンラータン)
  • Greta is a transporter and does not participate in battle. However, she has an extremely strong bond with her Silkworm Zoid, Spineless.
  • Master Bug / Mushi Sennin (ムシ仙人)
  • Master Bug is a strange man who makes up stories in his spare time. Due to his lack of contact with the outside world, he is largely oblivious to current events happening around him and has an intense desire for reading books to fill the time. Master Bug is a master Zoid pilot. His skills are second to none. He is easily able to take on many Zoids at once, even fighting the three members of Team Freedom simultaneously, without any effort.

Dark Metal Empire

  • Marcellus / Gigaboss (ギャラガー)
  • The eccentric but ruthless leader of the Dark Metal Empire, he is cruel to his subordinates and seeks stronger Zoids to pilot. He was originally a friend of Quade, as they both trained under Master Bug, until learning of the legendary Zoid Demise (デスレックス, Desu Rekkusu), also known as "Ancient Treasure Z", who devours other Zoids to become stronger. Gigaboss establishes the Dark Metal Empire to revive Demise, before losing half of the original Hacker Key to Quade. He commissions the creation of Hacker Key copies so that he can tame Demise. While succeeding in acquiring the key, Gigaboss ends up orchestrating his death when Demise is knocked back into the volcano he was excavated from.
  • Malware (キャビア)
  • A member of Dark Metal Empire's Four Dark Warriors and a mad scientist who uses deception in battle while upgrading his Alligator Zoid, Overbyte, replacing the Zoid with the mind-controlled Knockz.
  • Numb-Lock (フォアグラ)
  • A drum-playing member of the Dark Metal Empire's Four Dark Warriors and pilot of the gorilla Zoid, Dragz.
  • Haxile (トリュフ)
  • A member of the Dark Metal Empire's Four Dark Warriors and a master tactician. He originally pilots the stegosaurus-like Zoid, Bonesaw, before replacing it with the dimetrodon-like Zoid, Dimomite, upgraded with Demise's cells, giving him the ability to brainwash other Zoids and convert them to the Dark Metal Empire's cause.

Zoids Wild Zero

  • Leo Conrad (レオ・コンラッド)
  • Voiced by: Shō Nogami
  • Sally Land (サリー・ランド)
  • Voiced by: Hazuki Senda
  • Buzz Cunningham (バズ・カニンガム)
  • Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura
  • Jo Aysel (ジョー・アイセル)
  • Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa
  • Christopher Giller (クリストファー・ギレル)
  • Voiced by: Toshiki Masuda
  • Luc (リュック)
  • Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio
  • Clive Dias (クライブ・ディアス)
  • Voiced by: Satoshi Mikami
  • Walter Borman (ウォルター・ボーマン)
  • Voiced by: Yoshito Yasuhara
  • Electora Gate

Media

Manga

A manga series by Moricha began monthly serialization in Shogakukan's CoroCoro Comic magazine from April 2018 to May 2019.[3]

A sequel series, also by Moricha, began serialization from September 2019 to October 2020.[7][8]

Anime

Wild aired on Mainichi Broadcasting System and Tokyo Broadcasting System from July 7, 2018, to June 29, 2019 in addition to other networks.[13][14][15] Inspired by Moricha's manga, the series is produced by OLM, directed by Norihiko Sudō and written by Mitsutaka Hirota. On June 22, 2019, it was announced that Zoids Wild would end on June 29, 2019.[16]

On October 1, 2018, it was reported that Hasbro currently has plans to bring Zoids Wild to North America with Hasbro Studios (now Allspark) licensing the anime for an English dub, which was tentatively titled Zoids: Build Them to Life. before being retitled to just Zoids and then back to its original title.[17][18] The dub is produced by Ocean Productions.

The first half of the dub released on Netflix on August 14, 2020 and then second half on October 3, the latter originally slated to be released two days earlier.[19][20][21] The dub was removed from Netflix on August 15, 2022.[22] A Hong Kong-produced English dub began airing on Cartoon Network in the Philippines on March 2, 2019. It also aired in Singapore on Okto on April 8, before moving to Channel 5 the following month due to Okto's closure.[23]

A second season, titled Zoids Wild Zero has been announced, featuring a brand-new story with new characters, directed by Takao Kato and written by Kenichi Araki.[24] The second season aired from October 4, 2019 to October 16, 2020, on TV Tokyo.[25] On May 22, 2020, it was announced further episodes would delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] On June 11, 2020, it was announced the anime would return on June 19, 2020.[27]

In September 2020, it was announced Zoids Wild Senki, a CG-animated miniseries released on YouTube, on the CoroCoro's, Takara Tomy's YouTube channels, starting from October 17, 2020.[28][29]

Video games

An arcade game called Zoids Wild: Battle Card Hunter (ゾイドワイルド バトルカードハンター) was released by Takara Tomy in Japan on January 24, 2019.[30] It was followed by the Nintendo Switch title, Zoids Wild: King of Blast (ゾイドワイルド キング オブ ブラスト) action game developed by Eighting on February 28, 2019.[31] Outright Games released the title in Australia, Europe and North America as Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed on October 16, 2020.[32] A sequel, entitled Zoids Wild: Infinity Blast, was released November 26, 2020 on Nintendo Switch in Japan.[33][34][35] A digital card game called Zoids Wild Arena was released globally (excluding China, Japan and South Korea) by Act Games for Android devices on April 3, 2023.[36] Service ended on March 6, 2025.

References

  1. Zoids Model Toys Inspire Zoids Wild Summer Anime, April Manga, Switch Game Anime News Network, retrieved 2018-10-29^
  2. Marion Frayna. The Newest Zoids Wild Series Is A Massive Nostalgic Bomb To Your Wallet Geek Culture, 2019-03-27, retrieved 2022-09-30^
  3. Zoids Wild revives mech franchise with new anime, manga, games, models ToonBarn, March 1, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019^
  4. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09142760 Shogakukan, August 28, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019^
  5. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09142760 Shogakukan, August 28, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019^
  6. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09142899 Shogakukan, June 28, 2019, retrieved September 7, 2019^
  7. Zoids Franchise Gets New Manga in August Anime News Network, June 23, 2019, retrieved June 23, 2019^
  8. Moricha's Zoids Wild 2 Manga Ends August 28, 2023^
  9. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09143136 Shogakukan, December 27, 2019, retrieved July 10, 2020^
  10. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09143203 Shogakukan, June 26, 2020, retrieved October 15, 2020^
  11. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09143255 Shogakukan, December 25, 2020, retrieved August 1, 2025^
  12. https://www.shogakukan.co.jp/books/09143313 Shogakukan, August 30, 2021, retrieved August 1, 2025^
  13. Sal Romano. New Zoids series Zoids Wild announced, includes Switch game Gematsu, 26 February 2018, retrieved 9 March 2018^
  14. Paul Chapman. Zoids Wild TV Anime Runs Rampant in Summer of 2018 Crunchyroll, 27 February 2018, retrieved 9 March 2018^
  15. Karen Ressler. Zoids Wild Anime Teaser Reveals July 7 Premiere Anime News Network, 11 May 2018, retrieved 12 May 2018^
  16. Zoids Wild Anime Ends on June 29 Anime News Network, retrieved 2019-06-23^
  17. Hasbro Lists Zoids in MIPCOM Lineup Anime News Network, retrieved 2018-11-12^
  18. Screening Room retrieved September 29, 2019^
  19. Zoids Wild | Netflix Netflix^
  20. Netflix Streams Zoids Wild Anime in U.S. on August 14 Anime News Network, retrieved 2020-08-20^
  21. EXCLUSIVE: New ZOIDS Figures Revealed Ahead of Hasbro's Pulse Con retrieved September 24, 2020^
  22. What's Leaving Netflix in August 2022 July 20, 2022, retrieved July 20, 2022^
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  24. Zoids Wild Zero Anime Reveals Cast, Staff, October 4 Premiere Anime News Network, retrieved 2019-08-26^
  25. Zoids Wild Anime Gets 2nd Season in October Anime News Network, retrieved 2019-07-26^
  26. Alex Mateo. Zoids Wild Zero Anime Delays New Episodes Due to COVID-19 Anime News Network, May 22, 2020, retrieved July 10, 2020^
  27. Alex Mateo. Zoids Wild Zero Anime Resumes on June 19 After COVID-19 Delay Anime News Network, June 11, 2020, retrieved July 10, 2020^
  28. Zoids Wild Senki Net Anime Announced for Fall Premiere August 28, 2023, retrieved September 14, 2020^
  29. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 最新作!アニメ「ゾイドワイルド戦記」予告編を公開!第1話は10月17日(土)より配信スタート! YouTube, October 9, 2020^
  30. Ryuichi Matsumoto. https://www.4gamer.net/games/444/G044470/20181214163/ 4Gamer, December 15, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019^
  31. Sal Romano. Zoids Wild: King of Blast for Switch launches February 28, 2019 in Japan Gematsu, November 12, 2018, retrieved March 13, 2019^
  32. Sal Romano. Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed coming west on October 16 Gematsu, July 9, 2020, retrieved July 10, 2020^
  33. ゾイドワイルド インフィニティブラスト(Nintendo Switchソフト)|タカラトミー retrieved October 6, 2022^
  34. Zoids Wild Infinity Blast Switch NSP XCI November 26, 2020, retrieved October 6, 2022^
  35. Zoids Wild: Infinity Blast - Press Kit March 2006^
  36. 'ZOIDS WILD ARENA' Announces Its Launching ACT Games, GlobeNewswire, April 5, 2023, retrieved August 1, 2025^