History Manga / ApocalypseZero

* AfterTheEnd: The series is set in and around Tokyo after a series of powerful earthquakes ravaged human civilization.

* PluckyGirl: Tsumiko keeps cheery during her ordeals. At one point, when Pyonsuke is distraught, she reminds him the rule that "you cannot be the first to cry",

The manga was followed in 2010-2015 by '''Exoskull Zero''', a BroadStrokes distant sequel where Kakugo wakes up from a long slumber and meets other six armored warriors (each one a HeroOfAnotherStory... [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And Harara]].) who may have [[HeWhoFightsMonsters different approaches]] to justice than him. It was followed in 2015-2021 by '''Efu no Shichinin''' ("The Seven of Efu"), a pseudo-remake/prequel of ''Exoskull Zero'' in [[{{Jidaigeki}} Edo-era Japan]] (in the style of the author's own ''Manga/{{Shigurui}}'' featuring cameos from some of his other works.

* BigBad: Harara Hagakure [[spoiler: for most of the series... Or rather the grudge of Mei Inukai that lived in the Kasumi armor. Mei's newborn child was sacrificed to power the Kasumi armor without her consentment, and her husband was brainwashed to forcefully kidnap his own son from her wife [[MoralEventHorizon at all costs]]: all of them, including the [[{{Determinator}} already-wounded]] Mei, were [[LeaveNoSurvivors brutally executed later]]... [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds No wonder]] she doesn't hold humanity in high regard.]]
** [[spoiler: TheManBehindTheMan itself is Shiro Hagakure, Kakugo and Harara's great-grandfather, and an Imperial Army veteran loosely based on [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirō_Ishii Shirō Ishii]]. He was the mastermind behind the technology used by the Hagakure family (armors, weapons, techniques, etc.) and the monsters. Noticeably, he's the only villain which doesn't undergo a HeelFaceTurn, a DeathEqualsRedemption moment, and/or [[EverybodyLives gets revived in the end]].]]

* CanonWelding: ''Exoskull Zero'' retroactively retcons the author's 2001-2002 manga ''Banyū Inryoku'' (a {{Cyberpunk}} manga about [[FarmBoy traditionalist]] / [[WorkingClassHero craftsmen]] / [[FantasticCasteSystem low-class rogues]] who [[ManVersusMachine battle against a technological plutocracy]]) as an ''Apocalypse Zero'' sequel. Its highly technological setting is a contrast to ''Apocalypse Zero'''s AfterTheEnd setting, but by ''Exoskull Zero'' everything has fallen into chaos again... Although, since ''Banyū Inryoku'' is barely mentioned in the story itself, it was probably meant to aknowledge it as a SpiritualSuccessor more than anything else.

* MildlyMilitary: The Hagakure family retains some Japanese Imperial military imagery even although they are civilians. Justified because many of their traditions ''were'' invented by the defunct Imperial military.

* NaginatasAreFeminine: When Tsumiko jokes about wishing to know UsefulNotes/{{Karate}} to be as badass as Kakugo, he comments that hand-to-hand fighting is unfit for women and that naginata training would be better for them, presumably because women have generally less muscle strength and would benefit more from a weapon than bare hands.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Takayuki Yamaguchi is a '''huge''' fan of the legendary anime and tokusatsu singer (and occasional voice actress) Creator/MitsukoHorie, so much that he named Tsumiko Horie after her [[note]]Tsumiko is a rearrangement of Mitsuko[[/note]], and naturally Mitsuko Horie ended up voicing her in the anime version. You can note it in the times Horie starts singing for no reason other than to showcase her seiyu's talent.

* PronounTrouble: Harara has a female body after merging with his armor, Kasumi, but is still referred to by male pronouns. Some of the art implies he is meant to be a hermaphrodite whose nether regions are censored, though.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: No, really. [[spoiler:Harara ultimately decides to tolerate the existence of humans, find room for them in his vision of a healthy new Earth and uses his powers to bring all of his dead allies back to life, finally making peace with the humans.]] Surprisingly Happy Ending taken to another level.

The series' appeal mostly comes from its eclectic mix of stylistic influences: HenshinHero transformations and villains straight out of ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'', unsettling imagery inspired by UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, glam flourishes for Harara lifted out of [[ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] manga like ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'', ridiculous arrays of [[GagPenis over]]-[[GagBoobs sexualized]] monsters with a bizarre cartoony aesthetic that echo some of the stranger demon designs in ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'', [[LudicrousGibs guts-spewing, blood-gushing, skin-melting, bones-sticking-out-limbs]] {{Gorn}}... And, most importantly, an old-school "good versus evil" narrative told completely in earnest, including even a good dose of ThePowerOfLove.

* TakeThat: While the hero's JapaneseSpirit and clothing/armor seemingly lifted from UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan might give a pro-nationalistic vibe, the manga itself clearly condemns Imperial Japan's jingoistic attitude and acknowledges the nation's brutal war crimes, especially the ones commited by the controversial Unit 731: In ''Apocalypse Zero'', the monsters are experiments created by a Shiro Ishii {{Expy}}, as well as Kakugo and Harara's weapons which were developed through inhuman experiments (noticeably, their armors are powered by slaughtered POWs or civilians, most of them being non-Japanese). In the end, the heroes manage to win against the misguided villains not by violence but through ThePowerOfLove... And all of them ally to defeat the Shiro Ishii Expy, who is the one who caused all the chaos to begin with.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: No, really. [[spoiler:Harara ultimately decides to tolerate the existence of humans, find room for them in his vision of a healthy new Earth and uses his powers to bring all of his dead allies back to life, finally making peace with the humans.]] Surprisingly Happy Ending taken [[UpToEleven to another level]].

The series' appeal mostly comes from its eclectic mix of stylistic influences: HenshinHero transformations and villains straight out of ''Franchise/KamenRider'' and the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'', unsettling imagery inspired by UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, glam flourishes for Harara lifted out of [[ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] manga like ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'', ridiculous arrays of [[GagPenis over]]-[[GagBoobs sexualized]] monsters with a bizarre cartoony aesthetic that echo some of the stranger demon designs in ''Manga/Devilman'', [[LudicrousGibs guts-spewing, blood-gushing, skin-melting, bones-sticking-out-limbs]] {{Gorn}}... And, most importantly, an old-school "good versus evil" narrative told completely in earnest, including even a good dose of ThePowerOfLove.

The series' appeal mostly comes from its eclectic mix of stylistic influences: HenshinHero transformations and villains straight out of Franchise/KamenRider, unsettling imagery inspired by UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, glam flourishes for Harara lifted out of [[ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] manga like ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'', ridiculous array of [[GagPenis over]]-[[GagBoobs sexualized]] monsters with a bizarre cartoony aesthetic, or [[LudicrousGibs guts-spewing, blood-gushing, skin-melting, bones-sticking-out-limbs]] {{Gorn}}... And, more importantly, an old-school "good versus evil" narrative told completely in earnest, including even a good dose of ThePowerOfLove.

The series' appeal mostly comes from its eclectic mix of stylistic influences: HenshinHero transformations avd villains straight out of Franchise/KamenRider, unsettling imagery inspired by UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, glam flourishes for Harara lifted out of [[ShoujoDemographic Shoujo]] manga like ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'', ridiculous array of [[GagPenis over]]-[[GagBoobs sexualized]] monsters with a bizarre cartoony aesthetic, or [[LudicrousGibs guts-spewing, blood-gushing, skin-melting, bones-sticking-out-limbs]] {{Gorn}}... And, more importantly, an old-school "good versus evil" narrative told completely in earnest, including even a good dose of ThePowerOfLove.

* BigBad: Harara, or rather [[spoiler:the grudge of Mei Inukai that lived in the Kasumi armor.]]

''Apocalypse Zero'', also known as ''Kakugo no Susume'', is a manga by Takayuki Yamaguchi and two-part OVA from TheNineties. It revolves around two siblings, Kakugo and Harara, who are given Franchise/{{Kamen Rider}}-esque suits of PoweredArmor that let them defend [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] Tokyo from demons and mutants. After Harara succumbs to the evil within the armor, it is up to Kakugo to defeat his sibling.

This is basically the entire plot. The series' appeal comes from the ridiculous array of baddies it features, starting with a [[FanDisservice gigantic, nearly-naked woman]] who likes to call herself "Beauty," a building-sized homosexual leprechaun IdolSinger, and more. Oh yeah, and it's violent. ''Really'' violent. We're talking [[LudicrousGibs "guts spewing, blood gushing, skin melting, bones-sticking-out-limbs" violent]].