Inspired by a classic video game, the animated Zoids comes with a ready-made and uniquely appealing story line and characters. Set on the desert planet Zi, where mechanized robot beasts known as Zoids are piloted by humans in fierce battles against one another, this episodic anime adventure series centers on a 16-year-old junk dealer named Bit Cloud. The unlikely choice of a catlike Zoid hero named Liger Zero to be the latter"s intuitive pilot, Bit becomes a champion fighter for the warrior group Team Blitz. The four tales on this program explore Bit and Liger"s feats of derring-do, as well as Bit"s struggle for acceptance by his teammates. The fights are fun, the romantic conflicts are juicy, and Liger"s courageous heart is a thing to behold. The show plays regularly on the Cartoon Network. --Tom Keogh