Anime Despite the cult success of the video games, the
Zillion anime received only a very brief release in the early 1990s in the United States. The first five episodes of the TV series, as well as the
Burning Night OVA were dubbed and released on VHS by
Streamline Pictures. The anime was featured in the music video for
Michael and
Janet Jackson's collaboration "
Scream". In October 2018,
Funimation has released the complete series and the
OVA on a
Blu-ray/DVD set with Japanese audio and English subtitles. • "My Name Is J.J." (US title: "They Call Me, J.J.") (original airdate: April 12, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Attack the Enemy of the High Skies" (US title: "Hang Fire") (original airdate: April 19, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "0.1 Second Chance!" (US title: "Split—Second Chance") (original airdate: April 26, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Trap of the Shapeless Ninja Squadron" (US title: "Target, The White Knights") (original airdate: May 3, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Apple Order Violation!?" (US title: "Judgement Call") (original airdate: May 10, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Take Off, Tricharger" (original airdate: May 17, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Struggle 'Til Death! J.J. vs. Ricks" (original airdate: May 24, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Strike the Oceanfloor Base!" (original airdate: May 31, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Stolen Zillion" (original airdate: June 7, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Flames! Ricks' Counterattack" (original airdate: June 14, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Birth of New Zillion!" (original airdate: June 21, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Attack! Triple Shoot" (original airdate: June 28, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Angry Shutter Chance" (original airdate: July 5, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Nightingale of the Battlefield" (original airdate: July 12, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Life Or Death!? Confrontation of Fate—Part. 1" (original airdate: July 19, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Life Or Death!? Confrontation of Fate—Part. 2" (original airdate: July 26, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Tears! Let's Search J.J." (original airdate: September 6, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "The Beautiful Noza's Challenge" (original airdate: September 13, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Match! Let's Throw the Coin" (original airdate: September 20, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Kick with a Broken Heart" (original airdate: September 27, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Clash! The Sniper" (original airdate: October 4, 1987): written by
Takao Koyama • "Great Victory from a Lie!" (original airdate: October 11, 1987): written by Takashi Yamada • "Terror! Demon's Bio Weapon" (original airdate: October 18, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Great Adventure! Warrior Opa-Opa" (original airdate: October 25, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Gentle Fugitive Apple" (original airdate: November 1, 1987): written by Takashi Yamada • "Revenge Demon Ninja!" (original airdate: November 8, 1987): written by Haruya Yamazaki • "Extraordinary Rebel Ricks" (original airdate: November 15, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Mystery!? Zillion Power" (original airdate: November 22, 1987): written by Mami Watanabe • "Heroic! Ricks Dies!?" (original airdate: November 29, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Planet Maris on the Corner!" (original airdate: December 6, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito • "Last Shoot for Victory" (original airdate: December 13, 1987): written by Tsunehisa Ito
OVA Zillion: Burning Night, known in Japan as , is a Japanese
direct-to-video anime release by
Tatsunoko. It is also referred to as
Red Bullet Zillion: Burning Night and
Zillion: Burning Night Special. It was released on June 21, 1988. According to Toshinori Otsuri, it is inspired by
Streets of Fire.
Plot In the peaceful aftermath of the Nozsa wars, the charismatic heroes known as "White Nuts" have changed career paths to becoming music making rock stars. Their music career would soon be interrupted by a new threat of colonial settlers. Apple is kidnapped by the sadistic ODAMA Clan, a family of ruthless killers. Located in a heavily fortified mountain retreat, J.J. and company attempt a rescue mission with their laser weapon Zillion, but the former Knights only have a limited supply of Zillium for the Zillion guns. A mysterious stranger named Rick, a wondering bodyguard for the ODAMA Clan, turns out to be an old lover of Apple.
Video games Two games were made based on the series, both by
Sega for the
Master System:
Zillion, an action game similar in play style to
Metroid and
Impossible Mission, and a sequel,
Zillion II: The Tri Formation, which was a faster-paced game involving a powered armor
mecha which transformed into a motorcycle.
Publications Zillion Creations 1 and
Zillion Creations 2 were released in 1987 and 1988, respectively. These books offer an in-depth look at the equipment and characters from the series. In 1993,
Eternity Comics published a
comic book adaptation of the series, written by Tom Mason and illustrated by Harrison Fong.
Toy A Zillion-based
laser tag toy line also by Sega was also released in Japan and Brazil. The design of the gun, which was also featured in the series released in 1987, was reused from the Master System
Light Phaser light gun which was released in 1986 in North America, Europe and Brazil. Later in the series, Sega and Tatsunoko changed the design of the anime series' guns, simultaneous with a cosmetic change in the laser tag guns on which they were based. In 2009, a Brazilian man used the toy in a hostage crisis situation where a woman was held for more than 10 hours. The Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2010 cited it as the "Longest police stand-off with a videogame peripheral". ==Development==