Aldnoah.Zero 1

Wrong show, Sucker!

An anime with the name Gen Urobuchi tied to it. That’s usually a warning sign, but it’s not like there is much to see this season.

Oh boy, here we go.

 Once upon a time, humans made their way to the Moon and found a Stargate to Mars there.

Sure, they don’t call it that, but it’s totally a Stargate.

Anyway, this opened the path to colonization. The problem is, in true human fashion, the people living in Mars started getting ideas and made their own Empire, Vers.

They also got all the Ancient, but advanced Martian tech.

Sharing is for losers.

Flash forward some decades and the relationship between Earth and Mars is tense to say the least. Especially since they blew up a big chunk of the Moon 15 years ago. That tends to leave an impression.

Enter the Princess!

She’s cute. Really cute.

She’s also making a diplomatic visit to Earth. All the other Martians tell her it is a horrible idea because they are filthy Earth haters.

As an aside, I have seen some people complain about the level of racism seen in the Vern Empire given the relatively short amount of time since its foundation, but I’m okay with it.

Filthy Martian

Institutionalized racisms is a powerful thing.

The Princess doesn’t seem to want any of that. Which is probably the only reason why the Terran, Slaine, is still alive and hanging out with the Martians.

Too bad her car gets blown up with her seemingly inside it while on Earth.

How’s that for diplomacy?

Needless to say the Empire reacts in a decisive manner to the death of their princess and proceeds to declare war. 

Colony Drop!

The Earthlings have been preparing for this for a while, but I'm not liking their chances.

On the plus side, they get taught how to pilot giant robots in school so that's a plus.

Why didn’t they teach that at my school?

Anyway, this was a fun ep. Probably the most engaging of the season so far. The conflict is established, the stakes are damn high, and the soundtrack is great.

Looking forward to see how it evolves.