# Aldnoah.Zero
**Aldnoah.Zero** (アルドノア・ゼロ) is a 24-episode Japanese mecha anime television series about a war between Earth and Mars, produced by A-1 Pictures and TROYCA with story by [Gen Urobuchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/gen-urobuchi) and direction by Ei Aoki, which aired in two 12-episode seasons from July 2014 to March 2015.[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) • [2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Staff | Original work Olympus Knights; director Ei Aoki; story original draft Gen Urobuchi (Nitroplus); character original design Takako Shimura; mechanical design I-IV and Kenji Teraoka; music Hiroyuki Sawano[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) |
| Broadcast | Season 1 premiered July 5, 2014 (12 episodes); season 2 premiered January 10, 2015 (12 episodes); finale aired March 28, 2015[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) • [4](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259) |
| Setting | In 1972 the Apollo 17 mission found a hypergate to Mars on the Moon; fifteen years after the Moon catastrophe HEAVENS FALL, a cease-fire between Earth and the Vers Empire breaks when Princess Asseylum's motorcade is attacked[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) |
| Main cast | Inaho Kaizuka (Natsuki Hanae), Slaine Troyard (Kensho Ono), Princess Asseylum (Sora Amamiya); English dub: Matt Mittelman, Zach Aguilar, Erika Harlacher[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) • [5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) |
| Music | Score by Hiroyuki Sawano; season 2 opening "&Z" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki; endings include "GENESIS" by Eir Aoi and "heavenly blue" by Kalafina[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) |
| Reception | ANN user mean fell from 7.001 for season 1 to 6.679 for season 2; Crunchyroll average 4.5 from about 7,900 ratings[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) • [6](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRP8DNZ1R/aldnoahzero) |
| Revival | A complete Blu-ray Disc BOX with a new episode, EP24.5 "雨の断章 -The Penultimate Truth-", released March 26, 2025 at 38,500 yen[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/) |
## Premise and setting
The story's divergence point is 1972, when the [Apollo 17](https://www.edgepedia.org/apollo-17) mission discovered a hypergate to Mars on the surface of the Moon; afterward, war broke out between Earth and Mars, with Martian soldiers descending to Earth riding steel giants.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) The hypergate collapsed on the Moon in a catastrophe known as HEAVENS FALL, and the series proper begins fifteen years later, when the war between Earth and the Vers Empire of Mars is in cease-fire.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) The cease-fire breaks when Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia's motorcade on Earth is struck by a missile, beginning a new war.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf)
The Martians' power rests on Aldnoah, which director Ei Aoki described in the official production interview as a super-scientific energy source discovered together with a prehistoric civilization on Mars; it gave the Martian settlers their power.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/) Aoki also stressed that the Martians are not aliens but Earth people who emigrated to Mars, so neither side is simply good or evil, which he intended to make a complex human drama.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/)
## Production and staff
The project began when Aniplex producer Iwakami asked Aoki during the production of *[Fate/Zero](https://www.edgepedia.org/fate-zero-tv-series)* to make a robot series with boy and girl protagonists in the real-robot direction.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/) The official site notes that *Aldnoah.Zero* is the first collaboration between Urobuchi and Aoki since *Fate/Zero*, with animation production by A-1 Pictures and by TROYCA, in which Aoki himself participates.[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/) The working title was "火星のプリンセス" ([A Princess of Mars](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-princess-of-mars)), a nod to [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-rice-burroughs), with Mars chosen as the most approachable unknown planet.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/)
Full credits from A-1 Pictures' works page: original work Olympus Knights; direction Ei Aoki (あおきえい); story original draft Gen Urobuchi (Nitroplus); series composition Katsuhiko Takayama; character original design Takako Shimura; mechanical design I-IV and Kenji Teraoka; music [Hiroyuki Sawano](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiroyuki-sawano); production A-1 Pictures + TROYCA; 製作 Project AZ.[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/)
## Plot and characters
The story centers on three figures: Inaho Kaizuka (界塚伊奈帆), an Earth-side cadet voiced by [Natsuki Hanae](https://www.edgepedia.org/natsuki-hanae); Slaine Troyard (スレイン・トロイヤード), an Earth-born boy raised on Mars voiced by [Kensho Ono](https://www.edgepedia.org/kensho-ono); and Princess Asseylum Vers Allusia (アセイラム・ヴァース・アリューシア), voiced by [Sora Amamiya](https://www.edgepedia.org/sora-amamiya). Darzana Magbaredge is voiced by Ai Kayano.[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) Urobuchi and Aoki described the core of the work as the story of the relationship between two boys and how war changes them, a saga-style (大河もの) ensemble drama covering both the Earth and Mars sides.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/)
Season 1 covers the outbreak of the new war after the attack on Asseylum's motorcade.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) Season 2 opens after Count Saazbaum, a Martian, attacked the Earth: Earth's forces repelled Saazbaum's assault, but nineteen months later the battle continues with Martians still invading Earth.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) • [9](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/1441/aldnoahzero/episodeguide) Aoki directed and storyboarded the final episode (episode 24).[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305)
The story received a coda a decade later. The new episode EP24.5, "雨の断章 -The Penultimate Truth-", is set about nine months after the war's end and features Inaho visiting the imprisoned Slaine, asking him "Why do birds fly?" (どうして鳥は飛ぶのか？).[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/) The database listing describes it as a conclusion to many unresolved issues, concluding the Aldnoah.Zero story, with a runtime of 23 minutes.[4](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259)
## Genre placement and the real-robot tradition
Aoki located the series within the real-robot lineage of mecha anime, whose innovation, in his view, was treating robots as weapons and fighting as war; he described Aldnoah.Zero as an action story of boys and girls caught up in war.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/) Aniplex marketed the series on the *Fate/Zero* pedigree of director Ei Aoki (*Fate/Zero*, *the Garden of sinners*) and creator Gen Urobuchi (*Madoka Magica*, *Fate/Zero*).[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) The two-sided Earth/Mars conflict, with Martians as emigrated Earth people, follows from the same design principle Aoki stated: no side is simply good or evil.[8](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/)
## Music
Hiroyuki Sawano composed the score.[1](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/) The original soundtrack import was released February 5, 2015.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) Season 2's opening theme was "&Z" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:mizuki; ending themes included "GENESIS" by Eir Aoi, "&Z -English ver.-", and "heavenly blue" by Kalafina (episode 12).[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) The home video volumes carry textless endings "A/Z" and "aLIEz".[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf)
## Release and media
Season 1 premiered on July 5, 2014 and ran 12 episodes of about 23 minutes each; season 2 premiered January 10, 2015 and ran 12 episodes of about 24 minutes each.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) The finale, "Inherit the Stars", aired March 28, 2015.[4](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259)
On June 6, 2015 at A-Kon in Dallas, Texas, Aniplex of America announced a four-volume Limited Edition Blu-ray and Standard Edition DVD release with an English dub; volumes 1 and 2 (episodes 1–12) released July 21, 2015.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) The English dub cast has Matt Mittelman as Inaho Kaizuka, Zach Aguilar as Slaine Troyard, and [Erika Harlacher](https://www.edgepedia.org/erika-harlacher) as Princess Asseylum, with English voice direction by Lex Lang and production by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf) [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) volumes carry Japanese and English audio with English and Spanish subtitles and a 13UP rating.[5](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf)
Region A Blu-ray releases followed: season 1 Set 1 on July 21, 2015 and Set 2 on October 27, 2015; a UK season 1 Blu-ray on June 27, 2016 and a UK re-release on October 9, 2017; season 2 Sets 3 and 4 on January 26 and April 19, 2016, with a UK season 2 Blu-ray on January 9, 2016.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) The series is available for streaming on [Crunchyroll](https://www.edgepedia.org/crunchyroll) with Japanese audio.[6](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRP8DNZ1R/aldnoahzero)
## By the numbers
ANN's user ratings quantify the show's reception curve. Season 1 holds an arithmetic mean of 7.001 ("Good", standard deviation 2.1223), a weighted mean of 6.959, and a Bayesian estimate of 6.964 from 1,125 ratings, with 77 voters rating it "Masterpiece" and 1,702 users marking it seen.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) Season 2's arithmetic mean is 6.679 ("Good−", standard deviation 2.1772), with a weighted mean of 6.663 and a Bayesian estimate of 6.675 from 1,195 users, a drop of about 0.32 points on the 10-point scale.[3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) Crunchyroll's viewer average is 4.5 from about 7,900 ratings on its 5-point scale, and the tf.org database lists a community score of 7.6 from 151 votes.[6](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRP8DNZ1R/aldnoahzero) • [4](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259)
The 2025 revival is also quantified: the complete Blu-ray Disc BOX, catalog numbers ANZX-17801–17811, was priced at 38,500 yen (tax included).[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/)
## Reception and legacy
The measurable second-season ratings decline, from 7.001 to 6.679 in ANN user means, documents a lower average user rating; the sources record the numbers but not the professional critical prose behind them.[2](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028) • [3](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305) The franchise's post-2023 status is defined by the March 26, 2025 Blu-ray BOX, which collects the full 24-episode TV series plus the new episode EP24.5 and a bonus package: a digijacket illustrated by Takako Shimura, reprinted setting materials, comics and novels about Slaine's past and the First Interplanetary War, a genga art collection, reprinted CDs of Sawano's score rearrangements, and creditless openings and endings.[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/) EP24.5, set nine months after the war's end, gives Inaho and Slaine a final meeting and, per the database description, concludes the story.[7](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/) • [4](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259)
## References
1. [アルドノア・ゼロ | WORKS | A-1 Pictures オフィシャルサイト](https://a1p.jp/works/aldnoahzero/)
2. [Aldnoah.Zero (TV) - Anime News Network](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16028)
3. [Aldnoah.Zero (TV 2) - Anime News Network](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=16305)
4. [Aldnoah.Zero - TV Show Details (tf.org)](https://tf.org/tv_details.php?id=61259)
5. [Aniplex of America to Release ALDNOAH.ZERO on Blu-ray and DVD (press release, June 6, 2015)](https://aniplexusa.com/pdf/PR_060615_Aldnoah_Zero.pdf)
6. [Watch ALDNOAH.ZERO - Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GRP8DNZ1R/aldnoahzero)
7. [アルドノア・ゼロ Official Site (Blu-ray Disc BOX)](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/)
8. [ALDNOAH.ZERO Official Site – Interview (Ei Aoki, Gen Urobuchi)](https://www.aldnoahzero.com/tv/)
9. [tvmaze.com](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/1441/aldnoahzero/episodeguide)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Anime and manga › Anime series, episodes, and franchises › Anime television series, 2010s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license