The episode begins with Van and Zeke attempting to break into the Republican base at Red River in order to rescue Fiona and Moonbay. They're caught by the guards very quickly and learn that they've been roped into the service by Moonbay. The commander of the Republican forces, Captain Rob Herman, plans to use Van, Zeke and the Shield Liger in a holding action against the advancing Imperial forces. Herman also plans to send Moonbay and Fiona to the nearest bridge and sabotage it by blowing it up, preventing Imperial reinforcements from reaching the battlefield. The commander of the Imperial forces, Major Karl Schubaltz, isn't really all that eager to start a war with the Republic, much to War Minister Prozen's consternation. While Schubaltz prefers to let the Republican forces make the first move, his subordinate Marcus doesn't and makes plans with Prozen to a battle, using Rosso's gang and their newly acquired Pteras. Viola uses the aerial Zoid to make it look like the Republican forces are the aggressors and the battle ensues. With the Republicans outnumbered and outclassed, their best hope lies with Moonbay and Fiona; unfortunately, the bridge is still intact thanks to defective equipment. It's up to Van to get to the bridge and destroy cargo of weaponry Moonbay was hauling, thus taking out the bridge. Luckily for Van, Irvine shows up to lend his Command Wolf for support.
"The Battle of Red River" acts as little more than a filler episode for the series, but it does introduce several important characters: Schubaltz, Prozen, and Marcus, all from the Imperial side. Their personalities are touched on here, plus the new war between the Empire and Republic begins in this episode. It also introduces a "running gag" of sort in the series, namely, Moonbay's frustration with "faulty Republican equipment."
Of all the Imperial characters introduced, Schubaltz is given arguably the most extensive character development in his first speaking role in the series. He's shown as a loyal soldier to the Empire, committed to his duty, but reluctant to shed unnecessary blood. His personality adds a line of gray to the Empire, showing that while it's clearly the "aggressor" nation in the series, there are those who aren't "warmongers" or "outright evil." The voice actor does an admirable job with the character and the scene between Schubaltz and Herman was done very well.
Schubaltz's subordinate Marcus, on the other hand, serves as a foil to Schubaltz and is his opposite in every way. Marcus obviously wants to attack straight away, and he's not above going behind his commander's back to establish a connection with Prozen to get it done. Marcus's actions serve as a hint towards how one can advance in the Imperial military, and in the its hierarchy as well; who you know can be just as important as your skills, possibly more so. Marcus will be shown in later episodes to be extremely ambitious, though unlike Schubaltz, not necessarily all that capable.
Prozen is introduced in this episode, and though his character isn't fully expanded on here, we do get hints of his personality. It's very clear that he's an aggressive character who desires the complete capitulation of the Republic and is willing to use whatever means necessary to do so. This is made extremely clear when he allows Marcus to use Rosso and his gang to instigate the Red River battle, an action that will have consequences for Rosso's group later. Despite his bit part here, Prozen will gain importance as the chief antagonist as series wears on.
On interesting aspect of the series is touched on here. Both Prozen and Marcus refer to the Republic as "the rebels," and several Imperial characters would refer to the Republic as such. It suggests that the Republic split off from the Empire sometime in the past, perhaps the reason behind the often mention previous war. This is contrary the nation's relationship in Tomy's Battle Story, in which the Guylos and Zenebas Empires (the nations the Zoids anime Empire is based on) split from the Helic Republic (the Republic in the anime)(It should be noted that the names Helic, Guylos, and Zenebas are never mentioned verbally stated throughout the series, though the series nations use the emblems of the Helic Republic and Guylos Empire). It's just as likely that the Republic is a relative upstart in a part of the continent that wasn't controlled by the Empire and that the Empire sees them as encroaching. Either way, it does give the series the feel of a "Star Wars" style plot; this might have been intended, especially towards an international audience more familiar with an "evil empire" concept.
All in all, the show serves as a good introductory episode and the action sequences will keep the viewer enthralled. The Red River base will appear again in later episodes and the consequences of the events shown will reverberate throughout the first half of the series.moreless
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Episode Summary
Minister Prozan decides to start a war between the Empire and "the Rebels." Can Van and company find a way to stop it when they will be traveling through both territories?
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Jonathan Love
Major Shubaltz
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Dave Kelly
Prozan
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C. Adam Leigh
Lt. O'Connell
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Season 1 Episodes
See AllEp 34
The Capital Ablaze (3)
Ep 33
The Battle for Survival (2)
Ep 32
The Doom Machine (1)
Ep 31
The Three Guards
Ep 30
Moonbay's Waltz
Ep 29
Heroes of the Sky
Ep 28
Run, Wolf!
Ep 27
The Saviour
Ep 26
Memories of Zi
Ep 25
The New Liger
Ep 24
A Voice from Afar
Ep 23
The Imperial Ring
Ep 22
Farewell to a Friend
Ep 21
The Charged Particle Gun
Ep 20
The Resurrection Monster
Ep 19
Prozen's Conspiracy
Ep 18
The Defense of the City (3)
Ep 17
The Longest Night of the R...
Ep 16
New Helic City (1)
Ep 15
Deploy the ZG!
Ep 14
Wake Up! Zeke!
Ep 13
The Battle of Chronos
Ep 12
The Black Organoid
Ep 11
The Fog at Mt. Iselina
Ep 10
The Mountain of Dreams
Ep 9
The Valley of the Monster
Ep 8
The Road to the Republic
Ep 7
The Battle of Red River
Ep 6
Jump Zeke!
Ep 5
Sleeper Trap
Ep 4
The Protectors
Ep 3
Memory
Ep 2
The Mysterious Fiona
Ep 1
The Boy from Planet Zi
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