Just Keep Rebooting!: The Crazy History of Zoids 

I remember watching the show as a kid (I believe it was New Century). The High End Master Model kits are amazing. While Zoids is not as widely known as Gundam, it still has a charm to it.

I lived in England for a couple of years and Zoids were a much bigger thing there than they were in the U.S. Great toys, great comic.

As someone who's been along for the Zoids saga from the beginning, I appreciate the amount of exhaustive effort put into this episode. 👍

I discovered this show on Toonami during college when I would get home from class and there was nothing else on. I was hooked immediately by the visuals with the CG fight scenes

You gotta have a look at the Zoids HMM line of model kits. They started with those back in around 2005 and still come up with new designs. They are expensive as heck but the detail on them is absolutely stunning. Also Did you know that Zoids Wild: Zero has been written by the guys that made the first Zoids Anime, Chaotic century? Hench the less kiddie approach and more war and mysterious adventure plot of the series.

I feel like New Century would have caught on if they did just one more season. Seriously, it was a perfect mix of comedy, action and the story was just getting interesting.

For so long I thought the Zoids show was a dream I had because I couldn't remember anything except the blue robot, which I wasn't sure was a wolf or a lion.

I had a Robo Strux Gordox as a kid, but had completely forgotten about it until this video. I never knew there was a related cartoon.

Fuzors also refers to the eventual ability of the Zoids to combine with the Damn Trash Can. For example, your mom discovers that your Liger Zero can fuse with the Damn Trash Can to create a less messy Fuzor called Since You Can't Clean Up After Yourself I Threw Liger Zero in the Damn Trash Can

When I was a kid in the '80's, the small hardware store that my Dad frequented sold Zoids (and later Starriors) for some reason. That was the only place that I remember seeing them. As a kid who was all about the "lore", I found the lack of story to be confusing, but also strangely fun. I had a large HO scale train layout, and the tiny figures inside the Zoids seemed to be close in scale to my train set people. I quickly sat about using Zoid models to terrorize the good citizens of train town, and later added some 1/72 scale infantry figures as resistance. It was probably some of the most imaginative playing that I ever did.

The only Zoids show I’ve ever watched is Zoids: New Century back when it aired on YTV in the early 2000s. I miss the days when cable tv was good.

The one with Liger Zero holds a special place in my heart.

Dan has the same haircut as the FBI agent from The Frighteners

I adored the “found future” aspect of Zoids a kid. It was fascinating seeing people in the anime use machines that had qualities unknown or not well understood to their current owners.

I love Chaotic Century, Guardian force and new century. Van flyheight is like the Amuro Ray of Zoids.

I really love Zoids. I wish it was more popular.

Zoids were a part of my Transformers universe in the mid 80s. I loved taking them apart and putting them back together

I had the Liger toy back in the day. I remember building it, and the Claw would light up. Ahhh the memories 😌

In before watching to drop my only item of Zoid knowledge: I believe Grant Morrison wrote the original Marvel Comic series for Zoids. Please do the history of The Tick, and as an aside, please find out why the US DVD releases were missing certain episodes.

My first Zoid was a 'Tank' zoid and my brother got the 'Serpent' zoid. Got Zoidzilla and Gore the Lord Protector (Iron Kong) later. Loved these toys. RIght in my top 3 along with Transformers and Lego. Chaotic Century was a great cartoon too with a great storyline.

Quite obviously, I love robot animals, and Zoids is an especially beloved one of mine, especially the New Century, the Chaotic Century, and Fuzors.

I like when Magic Spoon is the sponsor, the Sunday morning cartoon references always tickle the nostalgia bones for me .

i remember being a kid in 2001 and getting on AOL to search for information about zoids and being really disappointed that most results were just porn. What a time.

I saw the ''Zoids: New Century'' on TV. I also remember seeing commercials for the toys, which looked expensive. For a long time I did not know they were related.

I remember I got the t-rex model and the package was damaged. I was just too happy to get one after seeing those crazy commercials and after hours of trying to assemble all the parts...I realized it was missing a lot of parts and was basically useless and that taught me a valuable lesson about not buying damaged marked down toys...needless to say I was deeply disappointed....wasted money on a box of miscellaneous box of random toy parts and the store was either too greedy to care or just had no idea that it was missing the motors and parts to the set(probably both).

My brother and I used to collect these models when we lived in Japan, and when we moved I never knew the name, so I could never research or buy new stuff. Thanks for helping me out!

I remember the advert at 10:15 very well from childhood. I had a few of the pocket money sized ZOIDS, but always dreamed of Zoidzilla, and Gore (Ihe original Gorilla one). Thanks for the walk down memory lane!

When I was a kid watching Toonami, I had no idea that Chaotic Century was made only a year before New Century. It looked and felt like a show from the 80s.

I used to collect Zoids and the Spiderman & Zoids comics when I was in school. That storyline will always be the true Zoid story in my mind. Thanks for covering one of my favourite childhood toy lines.

I remember watching one commercial for the New Century Zero toys,having a neighbor who had a few toys from the show,& watching one episode of it on Toonami

Zoids: New Century is one of my favourite animated series. I really wish they'd continued the story with them going up to the next class in the competition.

Watching this while putting together the HMM Blade Liger AB kit...I remember watching chaotic century as a kid that was some real forming media right there. Surprised you never mentioned the fact that the last three episodes of the second season were never run until they had them run ONCE on toonami one weekend. I still remember watching them in my room with my door and windows closed because I wanted zero distractions. I wasn't disappointed. Those were good times.

Fuzors ended pretty suddenly. Less than a week after the last episode they showed aired, I saw the Energy Liger in a store for the first time and it was already on clearance.

the toy I've been waiting on you to cover! Loved Zoids when they hit in the early 80's, really loved them when they came back as RoboStrux and as Techno Zoids.

I only watched New Century, I remember loving every second of it. Couldn’t wait til the next episode. After it ended they started a new series and I just couldn’t get into it

I had no idea zoids even existed before the early 2000s such a long history

Great video as always! Also I’m sure it’s been asked a million times, but I hope we get a history of Jackie Chan Adventures at some point- such an amazing show

I'm 50 yrs old... I owned may of those toys and remember ALL of the marketing you site... Wow, the memory lane, bless and thank you!

I loved Zoids New Century Zero, it was my first exposure to Zoids and still my favorite. Always wanted the Master Grade Liger Zero kits, especially with the Jaeger and other additional sets. Such a cool set of kits. Shame they could never make a solid arena battle game with this IP, seems like such an easy mash-up.

Kotobukiya's HMM series is an amazing line of model kits and what got me back into Zoids.

I had the mechanized walking Iron Kong when I was a lil kid (about 7 or 8). It was my favorite thing at the time and the first model kit I ever built. I was really proud of myself for managing that.

The Zoids RP forum Metal Machine Music was home to my first real online 'community' for YEARS. I still get nostalgic about it. Essentially a Role Playing MMORPG with live judges essentially DMing individual battles and weeks of repairs per zoid after a battle. Was a crazy time, those early 00s!

Wow, I remember 1st seeing the gold silver and black series zoids, you could only find them at David Jones (wannabe upper class retail store) I think I ended up getting the shield liger, it had battery movement and flip out back mounted twin linked cannons and side fold out missile pods. I also managed to get the large hero z-knight model. Love to see a quick video on them as I'd assume they're a spin off of zoids.

Zoids Chaotic Century, Guardian Force and New Century were my jams. I loved the different setup for the Liger Zero

Zoids Battle Legends was released in the US for the GameCube and it's actually a fun game. The controls are questionable and the campaign is infuriating at times but it's actually fun. And it looks fantastic. Especially in emulation with upscaling and AA.

Here in the UK (I’m from Scotland) Zoids were bigger though never massive. The brand was supported by the Spider-Man & Zoids comic from Marvel UK. It wasn’t a team-up, but 2 separate comic stories in one package. The most notable contributor was one Grant Morrison who set up the Zoids mythos as warring factions (Red Vs. Black etc).

I loved the models when I was young. I didn't know there was an animated series until I had put together quite a few sets and then I was hooked on both

The Rob Hubbard soundtrack for the Commodore 64 Zoids game is burned into my brain. Masterpiece!

I love that you're covering Zoids, especially the early stuff. I grew up with Zoids in the early 90's in Europe (we got the Zoids and Zoids 2 toylines - I notice you didn't cover Zoids 2) so it's very nice seeing Zoids get some love here. That's what my channel is all about too, reaching out to Zoids fans and trying to introduce more to the franchise.

I remember ZOIDS as a kid. While I had none of my own, a friend of mine had a ZOID, but he wouldnt let me touch it. Something about his parents spending a lot of money on it, and didnt want it broken,

My intro to Zoids was the Marvel UK comic book series, which was super-dark for a toy tie-in and thus appealed greatly to me, since - as most people of the world already know - British children are violent psychopaths. The Black Zoid storyline did actually wrap up, it just left lots of dangling plot threads that were supposed to be carried forward into a monthly Zoids comic book meant to be released in the US as well as the UK where it would be produced, but that book never materialised - though an uncoloured ashcan/dummy of the first issue can be found online.

I loved liger zero with the mod kits. Panzer, Schneider, Jaeger, Plainer lol. He could be a tank, bladed attack force, speed demon. And plain white organoid system working overtime because plain has no visible advantage. Loved also how the cabin changed for each mod and how there were disadvantages for each mod used.

I still have my Liger Zero, the Sabertooth, and the Berserk Fury from the New Century series. Always a good laugh when Tigers Team is constantly called "Fuzzy Pandas" Team, it's one of the reasons I got that particular model. Got the DVD set too. My only regret was not getting a D-Bison or the Sniper Raptor.

Zoids was very consistent. Having the phoenix from a completely different set be able to fit on the liger from an earlier set was pretty great.

Zoids hit the US at a perfect time in my life (hitting around age 11). I had no idea it had such a long and rich history, thanks for sharing!

Oh hell yeah! Now this is what I collected when I was younger! Man I LOVED zoid models.

I had DOZENS of the Hasbro-branded Tomy kits in the early 2000s. Chaotic Century and Guardian Force were my jam, used to watch them in the mornings before school when they were airing on CN at like 6:30am. Now I’ve got a HMM Blade Liger kit waiting to be built and I can’t wait to see how it compares to the old Tomy design.

Ngl I appreciate you getting the ads out of the way for me to watch the ad for whatever topic you are covering. The nostalgia hits me hard in the member's berries.

As a kid in the early 80's I was given the T-rex and building it was great, playing with it felt a bit fraught as it would fall apart all on its own though. I low- key loved all the individual parts. Being cautious, it took me a year or to conclude that I really wanted the other robot wind-up dinosaurs shown in the fold out catalogue that came with it (and I still had in pristine condition), but there just wasn't a way to get them any more.

The episode I didn’t know I needed. Brilliant. Zoids were amazing.

I loved my Zoids (and Starriors) as a young kid. I actually had an original Zilla Zoid too (I was 5 or 6, so either '83 or '84 - mine was black so I don't think it was the Terox re-release) but it was missing parts. We took it back and got a refund because it was sold out. I've been butthurt and traumatized about it to this day. I need to get myself a Zilla Zoid now.

I remembered Zoid like things back in the 80's when I was a kid, but mostly at Radio Shack. I didn't see the appeal until Zoids: CO came out and it reminded me of those toys back in the day. Still got a Liger Zero with a few armors in the attic. Thanks to your show, now I NEED a Radox and Zoid 'Zilla.

I had the original elephant and spider. I loved those things! Even after the windup motors fell apart, they were great. Didn't even realize the Zoids I bought at Walmart in the mid 90s were the same thing until I saw the tiny pilots that were the exact same piece.

I had a few Zoids. I never cared for the windup feature. I just wanted anything that had to be built and customized.

The show is still really fun to watch. Had a blast making these models

The first time I saw Zoids as a kid on Cartoon Network I immediately thought this would make a cool Armorcore style game if the kept the settings and story.

Early Zoids kits were the bomb! I was putting them together long before the well known animated series came to air. I'm a bit of a TOMY toy nut personally (I have three Astro Shooter Pinball machines). The anime is pretty good! The more current kits are great as well.

Another Great Video, Dan! For my Birthday in 1983, among my presents was the Zoids Giant Zrk! It was one of my favorites and I literally played with it until it fell apart. Good Times!

Loved Zoids as a kid. I feel like here in the UK the original line lasted a few years. I remember having them for a good few years at least. I swear there was one that was a big snail thing and it left a trail of slime behind. Dunno if it happened in the US but Zoids spun off into a toyline called Z-Knights here that was the same thing but with big robotic knights. They were incredibly cool. Also, thanks to this, I have Moonbay's song from Chaotic Century stuck in my head.

Zoids Chaotic Century was the first Zoids anime I got to watch. I didn't know much about the other series until a few years later.

thank you so much for doing this show!!! zoids is by far my fav part of my childhood tvshows!!

Didn't watch the cartoon but owned several early Zoids as a kid. I still own my original Robo Strux Brutox (I believe it still works too). It sits proudly in my studio along with 7 Starriors. It's an awesome looking robot! Great deep dive into the history of this line!

Transformers, zoids, just need Yu-Gi-Oh and you nailed the Sky One early Saturday morning check list of shows i used to watch and be up at 6am to see. Keep up the awesome work 👌👍

I remember the Zoids where they fought in competitions. I remember random things about it and couldn’t tell you what the story was. I also remember seeing the other two Zoids shows but I don’t think I saw it all.

I remember finding these at flea markets in the late 80s/early 90s, and wondering why anyone would want them. I would later be enamored of the cartoons on Toonami.

Zoids, unknown to most - yet thriving It's a weird duality

I remember when Zoids first aired in 2001, and as soon as I found out that there were toys, I knew I had to have one. Many years later, and I have 30+ examples, including the Gil Vader that is my profile image, bought during the unfortunately too-short Rebirth Century line. I still have an unbuilt Rising Liger and Bazootle, because I resolved to build them like how they appear on the Japanese boxes, and it turns out detailing and ink-washing takes hours upon hours. Trouble is I've resolved to start actually drawing more (which also requires hours upon hours). I might have time to set aside for both, if not for neither of them paying the bills! Stupid bills! Speaking of detailing, most Japanese series also release some form of equipment sets called Custom Parts to enhance their abilities, while there is like an entire subculture where modelers will recolor or outright customize their model kits using parts and weapons from other Zoids or even model kits from entirely different series. Some even scratch-build parts, often based on video game and anime-exclusive variants. And the Battle Story also include variants for different combat roles and upgrades, some of which have been released as actual model kits, such as the Gojulas Mk-II and Great Saber, most of are only obtainable online. I also had an idea a while back to try to make a RU-vid channel for the series, only to find that was too time-consuming, and attempting to facilitate a cooperation with other Zoiders just drifted into development hell.

the Zoids toys were so freaking cool to me as a kid.

Loved watching both Zoids Chaotic Century and new Century zero on toonami, here's a fever dream of a show I'd like to see an episode on, captain Simian and the Space Monkeys

I was born in the uk in 87 and I don’t remember zoids in shops. Which I feel maybe I just blanked it out as a kid I ignored anything you had to build like Lego.

Absolutely love them! Still put together Zoids to this day! Have most of them as well. Understandable that you didn’t go too much into the Asian variants of the show. Nice overview overall.

Zoids were my favourite toys of the 80's... and they're the only ones I've hung on to. Transformers, G.I. Joe/Action Force, Star Wars, Matchbox... all sold on... but my Zoids are still in storage, awaiting a bit of TLC and dedicated display room.

Lol I didn't know Dan was a Japanese import himself 😅 Another great Zoids vid!

My dad was stationed in Japan from 84 to 87 in Misawa. We went off-base to buy our Zoids. They were awesome. Iron Kong, Ultrasaurus, and a host of others. They were a huge impact on my designs. Best, JBR

I've never watched any of the Anime, but I had one of the first ones in 1983, very simplistic and small Dinosaur-like Zoid,, but it was awesome....oh wow Mecha-Bonica, that's what I had. I guess the name Zoid was just easier to market 😎

Oh god, I'm having a weird existential crisis. I had no idea Zoids existed way before the 2000s anime. I had a handful of the models kits growing up.

I loved Zoids as a kid, in retrospect, it is surprising they are not better known.

Just like Gundam, I've been waiting for this one. Before the Anime, me and my brother would build Zoids kits.

In the 80’s I had a couple, the stingray was supposed to float… but quickly sank in the bath. In the releases that came with the cartoons which I quite enjoyed I got back into them and got a fair sized collection. Building them was quite a lot of fun. Fuzors left me cold though, it felt like too much of a gimmick and felt too childish, both in the cartoon and the designs. I expect I’d have felt that way even if I’d been a kid at the time.

I watched New Century Zero (or whatever the first one to air in the US was called) every morning before school and absolutely fell in love with it. I still have the Zoid toys I got from then too

The older ones were amazing. My son got one of the newer ones a couple years ago and it was cool, just as cool as the older ones

The “im so tired” is ICONIC. You have all the making of a future high level toy maker exec 🤣

Oh now this is a nostalgia trip! I watched the New Century anime as a kid and Blade Liger was my favourite 😆😆😆 Thanks for a fun video Toy Galaxy and go hug your animal friends folks 💙🐱💙

I fell in love with Battle Champions and went on to complete my collection as well at the entire Japanese line!! Zoids gashapon are the best!!!

I remember my older brother having some Zoids in the mid 80’s. I was too young to mess with them during the height of their popularity in the uk. I remember a similar line that came along around 1990 that had robotic humanoids rather than dinosaurs and what not. You had to build them from kits in the same way- the larger ones were battery operated. They had the same little round rubber caps bits that were an iconic part of the zoids designs...can’t remember what they were called though...

"Go LIGER!" I remember checking out this show on Toonami as well as selling a whole bunch of these toys at Toys R Us.

The old 80s era Zoids were heavily shown, among other Tomy products, in the film "Where The Toys Come From". Zoom, a camera wind-up, wasn't too fond of the Zoids.

Used to love zoids. Me and my classmate became best friends because of zoids until he moved from VA to San Francisco. We just recently followed each other on Facebook.

i remember helping a friend build a liger model when we were kids. we thought it was awesome we were building what is essentially an action figure. it took us a fair amount of time but it was worth it.

Chaotic Century and New Century is what my after school afternoon was made of way back then when Tonami was the platform that showed it, nothing was worked on until the episodes were done. Used to have a motorized Warshark