Zillion (anime)

Zillion
Screenshot from the Zillion television series
赤い光弾ジリオン (Akai Kōdan Jirion)
Genre	Adventure, Science fiction
Anime television series
Directed by	Mizuho Nishikubo
Written by	Tsunehisa Itoh, Haruya Yamazaki, Mami Watanabe, Takashi Yamada, Takao Koyama
Music by	Jun Irie
Studio	Tatsunoko Production IG Tatsunoko
Original network	NTV
Original run	April 12, 1987 – December 13, 1987
Episodes	31
Original video animation
Zillion: Burning Night
Directed by	Mizuho Nishikubo
Studio	I.G. Tatsunoko
Released	June 21, 1988
Runtime	45 minutes

Zillion (Japanese: 赤い光弾ジリオン, Hepburn: Akai Kōdan Jirion^?, fully titled Red Photon Zillion) is a Japanese anime television series that ran from April 12, 1987 to December 13, 1987 on Nippon Television in Japan and was produced by Tatsunoko Production. After the production of the anime, Tatsunoko Production and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa, the producer of Zillion, established IG Tatsunoko (which later became Production I.G) to obstruct the dispersing of the excellent staffs of Tatsunoko branch which had done actual production. Therefore, Zillion is considered to be Production I.G's first work.

Five of the 31 episodes were dubbed into English and released on VHS in the United States by Streamline Pictures. This anime was featured in the music video for Michael and Janet Jackson's collaboration "Scream". Samples from the English dub of the anime were also featured in Del the Funky Homosapien's single "Cyberpunks".

The story takes place on the planet Maris in the year 2387. Around this time, the Nozas started a genocide program to kill all humans in order to lay eggs and reproduce on the planet. Three mysterious guns dubbed the "Zillion Weapon System" appear and three teens (JJ, Champ, and Apple) are chosen to wield them as a task force called White Nuts (known as the White Knights in the English version), whose purpose is to fight back against the Nozas.