View source for Differences Between the Chaotic Century Manga and Anime

[[File:Anime Fiona and Manga Fiona.jpg|150px|thumb|right|In the midst of a battle for supremacy, [[Fiona (Chaotic Century Manga)|Fiona]] is siezed in a brutal headlock by her [[Fiona (Chaotic Century Anime)|parallel universe counterpart]].]] 
Aside from sharing a title and many of the same characters, the '''Zoids: Chaotic Century''' [[Zoids: Chaotic Century (Manga)|manga]] and its [[Zoids: Chaotic Century (Anime)|anime adaptation]] differ significantly from eachother. This article explains the differences between the two in depth.

==Storyline==

The first story arc of the manga and the anime are similar to each other in broad strokes. Given that the manga was published several months before the anime, it is probable that the changes occurred during the anime's preproduction stages. 

The first chapter of the manga and the first episode of the anime tell the same basic plot of Van being chased by a Guysack and finding Zeke in a pod in some ruins, who then fights the Guysack. The differences are mainly in the details; in the original manga, the Guysack is an un-manned Zoid that Zeke defeats on its own, while in the anime, the Guysack has a [[Blu|pilot]] and two accomplices in Command Wolves that Van and Zeke defeat by reviving a derilect Shield Liger. In the manga, Fiona's pod is brought to the village, and she doesn't hatch until during the attack on the village, while in the anime, the pod hatches in the ruins at the end of the first episode. In the manga, the event is witnessed by Raven, who attacks the village with a Saber Tiger and is eventually defeated by the combined efforts of both Zeke (Van's Organoid) and Zeke (his father's old Command Wolf.) In the anime, the village attack is adapted more loosely, with the [[Desert Arcobaleno]] as the culprits instead of Raven, who doesn't even appear until the 12th episode; they threaten the villagers with Molgas and a Redler instead of a Saber Tiger, and the actual battle takes place outside the village. 

Following the first story arc, the plot of the manga and anime completely diverge. Notably, the manga continues the themes of exploration and adventure that were eventually phased out of the anime - Van and Fiona never join the Republican military, and officially remain neutral. There is no actual warfare depicted in the manga, though the story has a military presence and the threat of a war breaking out lingers over the plot.

The Zoids: Chaotic Century manga is written as a continuation of the original Battle Story, albeit in a [[Continuity##Battle_Story_Continuity|separate timeline]] where the events of post-ZAC 2099 go off in an alternate tangent. The anime exists in its own continuity, with no stated connection to the Battle Story.

==Characters==

The core characters of Van Flyheight, Zeke, Fiona, Irvine and Moonbay exist in both manga and anime, as do the primary antagonists of Raven, Shadow and Gunther Prozen. They also share the supporting characters Rob Herman, Karl Schubaltz, President Campford, Dan and Maria Flyheight, Reverend Leon, Rosso, Viola and Rosa. All the other characters are exclusive to either the manga or anime. However, even between the shared characters, their portrayals differ. 

Van's appearence differs between the manga and anime. In the first few chapters of the manga, Van wears a different outfit, before eventually acquiring an outfit that resembles the one he wore in the anime. In the manga, he had green eyes at first, and later had reddish eyes (the exact hue being inconsistent from one cover illustration to the next.) In the anime his eyes are black. In the manga, Van is a more pacifistic character and has a deep bond with ''both'' of his Zoids, shedding tears of empathy for Caesar before he even piloted it. Whenever possible, he will use non-violent tactics to stop enemy Zoids, such as disabling their weapons or throwing them with Caesar's shield. In contrast, anime Van shares a deep bond with Zeke but merely views the Liger as a vehicle (referring to it as "just some Zoid I found") and makes little to no effort to avoid mutilating enemy Zoids. In the manga, Van retains his brash and feisty personality, while in the latter half of the anime, he becomes more disciplined and serious after his military training.

Fiona's appearence differs between the manga and anime; most prominantly, she has green hair in the manga, and blonde hair in the anime. The markings on her forehead are more detailed in the manga and she also wears a different outfit. In the manga, Fiona is stoic and reserved, becoming more emotional as the series progresses. Early in the anime she is cheerful and ditzy, and eventually becomes more mature as she regains her memories.

In the manga, while initially hostile, Van and Irvine warm up to eachother far more quickly. In the anime, Irvine goes through an awkward phase as a [[Memory|cackling evil villain]]. In the manga, Irvine's distinctive eye patch is a cybernetic implant. In the anime he still has his natural eye beneath it. Irvine's sister [[Rebecca]] is alive and well in the manga and lives in the city of [[Porto]]. In the anime, Irvine's sister [[Helena]] died of an illness when they were both children.

Moonbay's backstory differs between the manga and anime; in the manga, she appears to have always been a transporter, and comes from a huge family with many siblings. In the anime, no information about her family is ever revealed, and she is portrayed as a racer in the Guylos Grand Prix who had a fling with a rich guy and retired to become a transporter.

Raven's portrayal in the manga is far more nuanced, with his relationship with his family being better developed than the anime and giving an actual reason for his hatred of Zoids: Raven's hatred stems from an incident that he caused when he accidentally killed his entire family while piloting a Zoid. The anime shifts the blame away from Raven and provides no explaination for his hatred of Zoids, as he already hated them before his family's death and subsequently lost his memories. Manga Raven is more than willing to spare the pilots of the Zoids he kills and doesn't particularly enjoy killing humans if he doesn't need to. Anime Raven is more stereotypically evil, shown to murder humans, even his own allies, out of sheer sadism or pride. While Manga Raven is a powerful foe, in all of his appearances he's never actually won a fight against Van. Anime Raven is nigh invincible, defeating Van in most of their encounters, losing or retreating [[Character Shielding|only when the plot needs him to]].    

In the manga, Herman has no recurring subordinate, while Karl Schubaltz has one in Kirsche. In the anime, Herman has a recurring subordinate named O'Connel, whereas Karl's recurring subordinate, Marcus, is eventually killed off. President Campford has more of a backbone in the manga, willing and able to shout down a rampaging wild Zoid, and is shown to be shrewd and manipulative when it suits her. In the anime, President Campford has a lot less fight in her, and would have surrendered to the Empire if not for Herman's plan to erupt Mt. Osa.

==Zoids==

The portrayal of Zoids differs significantly between the manga and anime. In the manga, Zoids are portrayed as fully sentient beings who are heavily integrated into the culture and daily lives of ordinary people on Zi, are treated as companions and are even given names such as [[Zeke (Command Wolf)|Zeke]], [[Bony]], [[Caesar]], [[Tornado]], [[Gamba]], etc. Some, such as [[Wendeen]], are even ''revered'' as benefactors. This forms a stark contrast to the anime, where Zoids are portrayed simply as vehicles for war and construction whose lives are valued less than a human's. Since the manga outlasted the anime, it features Zoids that appeared in [[Zoids: New Century (Anime)|New Century]], such as the Liger Zero. While the anime limited itself to Zoids avaliable as models and variations on them, the manga featured a number of unique Zoid types.

There is a general trend of the manga Zoids being MUCH more powerful than their anime counterparts, notably the Shield Liger, Geno Saurer and Blade Liger. The Shield Liger could perform mid-stride barrel rolls to dodge railgun bullets; the Geno Saurer had nine Zoid Cores, could blow up entire mountains with its charged particle beam and fire said beam from the air; and the Blade Liger could project its shield beneath it to run on the surface of the water. In contrast, the anime Shield Liger wasn't as fast, the Geno Saurer had only a single core, its cannon was far less powerful and required the Zoid to be locked down to fire it, and the Blade Liger could only project its shield in front of it.

The size and power of the Death Stinger is more consistent in the manga than in the anime, where its size and power fluctuated between episodes and even scenes. The manga Death Stinger also required its pilot to be given neural enhancements in order to pilot it, whereas the anime Death Stinger had no such limitation.

In the manga, Rev Raptors have small cannons concealed in their mouths. In the anime they had 20mm beam cannons mounted on their elbows, and no mouth cannon.

The manga Guysack is equipped with an actual stinger, and stabs at its prey using its tail as a real scorpion would. The anime version carries a beam cannon on its tail instead, more in line with the model kit.

==Organoids==

Manga and anime Organoids possess the same basic suite of stock powers: they are capable of flight, beaming into the body of another Zoid to enhance its physical capabilities, and functioning as escape pods by merging with their pilots. However, there is a marked difference in the portrayal between manga and anime Organoids. Most significantly, manga Organoids are depicted in a more consistent manner despite being far more powerful, with their abilities being well defined and coming with checks and balances. In contrast, anime Organoids have no drawbacks and function as free-range plot contrivances who gain and lose powers at the story's whim. 

In the manga, Organoids do NOT posess the ability to initiate metamorphosis, unlike in the anime where this is stated to be their primary function. However, upon merging, manga Organoids ''do'' cause some minor physical changes to their hosts; Zoids who merge with Zeke gain its distinctive facial markings, while Organoids who merge with Shadow turn black. In the anime, Zoids who fuse with Zeke and Shadow are not physically altered.

Zeke and Shadow's designs differ slightly between the manga and anime. Manga Zeke has triangle-shapes beneath its visors and gold trim on various parts of its body, while both Zoids have only two fingers and narrow, glowing optics beneath their visors, similar to the Death Saurer. In the anime, Zeke and Shadow's designs would be simplified for animation, with Zeke losing its triangles and gold trim, Shadow gaining blue visors, and both Zoids gaining thumbs and losing their glowing optics.  


[[Category: Chaotic Century]]