the completion of the second episode. The reasons for the OVA's cancellation are currently unknown. The anime was released in Italy in 1999 on VHS, licensed by Dynamic Italia. The US license for Apocalypse Zero was acquired by Media Blasters who created a dubbed English language version of the anime translated by Takashi Sakudo and produced by Bang Zoom! Studios. The two VHS volumes were released from June 20 to August 22, 2000. A DVD release containing both episodes was released on August 28, 2001. A Region 2 DVD of the series with both episodes was released in Japan by Toshiba in 2003. Video game A video game based on Apocalypse Zero was released on the PlayStation on March 21, 1997, exclusively in Japan by Tomy. The game is a standard 3D fighting game allowing the player to go head-to-head against the CPU or against another player. It features seven characters to choose from based on both the anime and manga, and animated cut scenes taken from the OVA. Reception Due to the use of gratuitous violence and repulsive imagery, critical reception to Apocalypse Zero in the west has been largely negative. John Oppliger of AnimeNation called the Apocalypse Zero OVA "the most viscerally violent and gruesome anime" he has seen and "arguably the most grotesque anime ever made". Animerica called Apocalypse Zero the "Best Anime Splattervision" in its "Best of the Best" awards. "When a 45-minute video features a scene where someone's face is sucked off, and that's not even the most shocking thing in the video," the magazine proclaimed, "you know you'll be getting your horror-show money's worth." Despite this, the manga was well received and popular in Japan. Apocalypse Zero'' managed to be one of the finalists for the 1997 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, losing out to Doraemon by Fujiko Fujio. Context The Japanese title is an allusion to An Encouragement of Learning (Gakumon no Susume) from Yukichi Fukuzawa, an important early Japanese advocate during Meiji Restoration. References External links 1994 manga 1996 anime OVAs Action anime and manga Akita Shoten manga Ashi Productions Post-apocalyptic anime and manga Shōnen manga Tomy games