Z.O.E. Dolores, I DVD

It is the year 2172. Humanity has colonized Mars, and the tension between the resource-rich Martian colonies and the militarized authority of Earth's United Nations has been building toward open conflict for years. James Links is not a player in any of this. He is forty-nine years old, a freelance space cargo hauler running routes between Earth and Mars, estranged from his adult children Leon and Noel, and not entirely over the disappearance of his wife Rachel — a scientist who vanished years ago under circumstances nobody will explain to him. His plan for the immediate future involves delivering a shipment, collecting his fee, and going home. This plan is ruined when he discovers that one of his cargo containers holds Dolores: an Orbital Frame — a massive, highly advanced AI-controlled mecha powered by the rare mineral Metatron — whose autonomous intelligence manifests as a cheerful, chatty young woman who immediately decides that James is her uncle and refuses to let him leave without her. Moments later, two UN inspectors aboard his ship are dead and James is the only suspect. His children, guilty by association, are now also wanted. With the authorities of two worlds hunting his family and Dolores apparently holding a key to the whereabouts of Rachel, James Links — space trucker, reluctant fugitive, deeply underprepared hero — sets course for Mars.

Z.O.E. Dolores, I is a 26-episode mecha television series produced by Sunrise and set in the universe of Konami's Zone of the Enders PlayStation 2 franchise. It is one of the more unusual entries in the early 2000s mecha genre: its protagonist is a middle-aged civilian man rather than a talented teenager, its tone oscillates freely between domestic comedy and genuinely dark political drama, and its central relationship — between the lumbering, overwhelmed James and the innocent, intensely loyal Dolores — gives the series an emotional core that separates it from its contemporaries. The series was directed by Tetsuya Watanabe and features mechanical designs drawn from Shoji Kawamori's original game Orbital Frame concepts.

Originally released in North America by ADV Films across seven DVD volumes; a complete collection was also released by ADV Films as a single boxset. 

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Tetsuya Watanabe
Series Composition: Shin Yoshida
Original Franchise Creator: Hideo Kojima (Zone of the Enders, Metal Gear Solid)
Mechanical Design: Shoji Kawamori (Arjuna, Macross, Escaflowne)
Studio: Sunrise
Music: Hikaru Nanase

Japanese Cast:
• Tessho Genda as James Links (Gate Keepers, Getter Robo Armageddon)
• Houko Kuwashima as Dolores / Isis (Gate Keepers 21, Ceres Celestial Legend, SoulTaker)
• Narumi Hidaka as Rachel Links
• Takehito Koyasu as Napth Pleminger (Slayers, Escaflowne, Gate Keepers)
• Tomokazu Seki as additional cast (Chobits, Arjuna, Vandread, Gate Keepers)

DVD Features

• ADV Films Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: ゾーン・オブ・ジ・エンダーズ ドロレス,i (Zōn obu ji Endāzu: Dororesu,i)
Runtime: ~650 Minutes (Complete Series, 26 Episodes)
Director: Tetsuya Watanabe
DVD Release Year: 2002–2003 (U.S. Release, ADV Films)
Original Broadcast Date (Japan): April 7 – October 27, 2001 (Mainichi Broadcasting System)
Publisher: ADV Films
Rating: Unrated
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Mecha, Sci-Fi, Action
Themes: Space Trucker Protagonist, AI Orbital Frame, Mars vs Earth Politics, Estranged Family, Zone of the Enders Universe

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.