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M, FB, Plus, 7, 7Gin, D7, F

Illustrated by Ken Imai (twin bell)

Caption: To say that "life" and "battle" have the same meaning is not an exaggeration to the Zentraadi, who know nothing but war. But when they learnt of a life outside of war, called "culture," they became the good partners of mankind.

The Zentraadi: The Warrior Race that the Protoculture Gave Birth To
The giant clan of Zentraadi had the appearance of mankind meeting a myth. In myths, giants were creatures from mankind's imagination and often had a powerful existence depicted as gods or monsters. However, giants are things that exist in reality. Doesn't it seems like the galaxy is a place where the mind jumps around a lot? In the case of the Protoculture, who had a civilization, it didn't seem strange to be dreaming up imaginary creatures. And they had the ability to create what they dreamt. When thinking about it, the day that the human race, who had advanced into the galaxy, could meet enlivened fantasies other than giants also wasn't a dream. Though it might certainly be an absolute crisis for the human race at the time...
The Giant Humanoid Biological Weapon Zentraadi were created by the Protoculture, who amassed the Interstellar Republic in remote antiquity. Although they were given an intelligence in order to be able to flexibly respond to orders and states of war, various shackles were put on them so they didn't deviate from their category of "weapon", starting with the basic directive "do not interfere with the Protoculture"; and while they have intelligence, their thinking is limited. Above all else, they couldn't undertake creative actions at all, and the thoroughness of the limited thinking was to a degree that they could not (did not) even make repairs, let alone make something new.
"Combat" is "life" for the Zentraadi, who have had their fighting instinct strengthened, and although they lost their creator, they continued to fight in the direction of their instincts. However, their meeting with the human race became a turning point, and some of the Zentraadi who were members of the Bodol Main Fleet knew of culture and chose the road where they walk together with mankind. The strong thought control by the Protoculture is likely to have been cancelled by the emotional stimulus awakened by "songs".
The proverb "yesterday's enemy is today's friend" appears to have been communicated at the galactic level, as mankind and the Zentraadi, despite having crossed swords with each other at one time, chose coexistence. For the human race that advanced into the unknown galaxy, there is no partner as reassuring as the Zentraadi, who stood nearby. At any rate, that reassurance is assuredly because the mythical giants are comrades.

Related Matter: Zentraadi Micronization
By using the My-clone System, the Zentraadi are able to become human sized, the so-called micronization. In the First Interstellar War, although the micronized Warera, Rory and Konda snuck into the Macross as spies, they became acquainted with culture, and consequentially became the bridge between the human and Zentraadi races. Also, as Earthlings have almost the same genetic information as the Zentraadi, it's possible for Earthlings to be changed into giants. In practise, however, there are few examples of Earthlings having done that.*

*Translator's note: the last two lines were in the original: "In addition, on reversing the process and the possibility of a human becoming a giant, the authenticity is unknown whether or not Maximilian Jinaasu experienced the change to giant size in the First Interstellar War."

Right: Klan Klan
A Zentraadi attached to the Macross Frontier's Private Military Provider S.M.S.. Although she's a beautiful woman who is proud of an outstanding figure, she has a strange genetic make-up that causes her to have the figure of a little girl when micronized.

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The Creation and History of the Zentraadi
The Zentraadi, which the Protoculture were able to make as combat weapons, contributed to the expansion of the Interstellar Republic's territory in the 2,600 era of the Protoculture History. Due to the appearance of the Protodevilun after that, the Protoculture that were brainwashed by the Protodevilun and their subordinate Zentraadi (the forces subordinate to the Protodevilun who are presumed to have become the parent body of the Inspection Forces) started to invade the Interstellar Republic and faced the Zentraadi on the Interstellar Republic's side. The Zentraadi on the Interstellar Republic's side were unable to fight sufficiently because of the basic directive that prohibited them from attacking the Protoculture. For that reason, although the Protoculture of the Interstellar Republic rescinded the Zentraadi's basic directive, combat consequently intensified and the Protoculture population decreased rapidly, irregardless of being directly or indirectly involved in the fighting. Thus, although the Protodevilun were sealed away, the declining Protoculture didn't have the remaining strength to reissue even only the basic directive. In this way the Zentraadi, who were left as is to take care of themselves in the absence of their creator, continued abiding by the command to "fight the enemy forces" and fought. However, due to the part of the Zentraadi who contacted mankind and acquired "culture", the Zentraadi are no longer mere weapons, and became "one species" walking along a new path.

Caption: The Zentraadi known as the Lost Zentraadi, who still continue fighting, exist in the Galaxy. Since the First Interstellar War, examples of Lost Zentraadi who were able to reconcile with the mankind allied Zentraadi appear to be very few.

Body Features
Although the Zentraadi have a body structure that's approximately the same as Earthlings when My-clones*, when they become giants, the function and position of the internal organs change and they have a robust body structure suitable for combat. This is the manifestation of a special gene that is different from an Earthling when the Zentraadi are being made gigantic by the My-clone system. And despite the internal organs and organization being scaled-up and cloned, the position and function changes are the result of strengthening being performed on the body. In addition, although the Zentraadi were created by cloning in a Factory Satellite, after coexisting with mankind they came to be born by natural birth due to pregnancy.

* Translator's note: in the original edition the line was "Although the Zentraadi have a body structure that almost favourably compares to those of Earthlings when Mi-clones"

Caption: Zentraadi genes pass through the generations, and they seem to individually variably manifest. There also seems to be people who have a link between their changes of emotion and the movement of their hair.

Size of the Zentraadi
Right: Zentraadi: 10 m
Up: Earthling: 2 m

Society
The entire society of the Zentraadi, who were originally Protoculture weapons, was a military organization that was controlled by strict military regulations. From the time that they were born, they were brainwashed and psychologically manipulated by the Protoculture in order to not take productive actions or do cultural things. Even after being separated from Protoculture control, only the uppermost individual of a main fleet knew of culture only as recorded knowledge, and the system didn't change. However, the Zentraadi who met mankind each awoke to culture due to the culture shock of such things as songs.

Caption: In the Zentraadi society, concurrent to the significance of population management, men and women are systematically separated. Although they cooperate in military campaigns, their living spaces are separate.

Right: The Female Zentraadi Soldiers
The female Zentraadi officer Miria Farina. She was widely known as an ace pilot, had an interstellar wedding with the Earthling Max, and was the first female Zentraadi to be blessed with a child of mixed parentage from the two different species.

Types of Zentraadi
General Soldier Type
The combat personnel often directly engaging in combat. The soldiers are the most abundantly created among the Zentraadi, who, on the performance side, are mainly produced as three different types of soldiers. They feature a high fecundity and compose the greater part of the Zentraadi forces. For that reason, a Zentraadi army doesn't easily function when culture has spread to the general soldiers, and Buritai, who feared an internal break down, decided to negotiate with the Macross. In addition, the loss-rate of the general soldier is pretty high, because they often fight directly on the foremost line of a battlefield, driving Battle Pods and so on.

Left: Standardized General Soldier
Because there is a numerous amount of Zentraadi, who are highly mass-produced, one could say that the soldiers come forth with individuality, so to speak, and have extremely individual variations due to the circumstances of such things as their original genes and the battlefields where the cloning was carried out. In addition, the general soldiers attached to Buritai's fleet, as the Zentraadi who first experienced the culture that Warera et al brought back, played the role of preachers in conveying culture to the rest of their brethren.

Staff Officer of Recordings Type
The staff officer status that assists the commander on the strategic side. Compared to the general soldier, their physical abilities are inferior and their combat abilities are low. On the other hand, they specialize in intellectual power and are able to retain a vast memory and recall it. It's thought that they were produced only in a number that matches that of the commanders of each fleet. They mainly perform the analysis of such things as the plans for military operations, and enemy armaments and tactics. However, because their thinking is limited, it seems that the creation of new tactics and so on were difficult even though they were able to suggest things recalled from memory.

Left: Ekisedoru Forumo
Ekisedoru, who was the Recording Staff Officer attached to Buritai, is the Zentraadi who was micronized, officially proceeded to the Macross as an envoy, and achieved the armistice between the Zentraadi and mankind. After the First Interstellar War, he became a leader of the New Unified Government, and his knowledge was very useful for the human race, such as with the confiscation of the Factory Satellites. Later on, he also embarked in the Macross 7 Fleet, and is the famous staff officer who overcame the Protodevilun Crisis.

Commander Type
The officer class. Mainly their combat abilities are strengthened, and they have an individual fighting strengthen to the extent that they can overwhelm a VF with their bare hands. Their bodies can act even in outer space, although it is only for a short time. Individuals also exist who have skin with the hardness of an average strengthened metal. Moreover, they also happen to have the command abilities necessary for military operations, and they often take managerial positions that administer lower class soldiers in the Zentraadi forces. In addition, because they have a high performance, advanced manufacturing processes are needed and they are difficult to mass produce. From the point of view of the entirety of the Zentraadi, they are few in number.

Left: Buritai Kuridaniku
The commander of a branch fleet of the Bodoru Main Fleet. He boasts a fighting strength to the extent that he repelled and captured the Valkyries of Ichijo Hikaru et al, who had snuck into his ship. Moreover, he is also the owner of prudent judgement abilities and a broad mind that handles quirky soldiers like Kamjin. He chased the Inspection Forces and met the Macross in the First Interstellar War, and is the person who made the wise decision to take the side of the Earth by having known the power of culture.

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© Aaron Sketchley