The story begins by introducing us to our main heroine Ange, who lives in a world where magic is a used daily, and those without magic are a persecuted group of people called the Norma. Ange is pretty unlikable for the first few episodes, as she clings to the fact that Normas are inferior, despite the fact that she is revealed to be a Norma herself, apparently not realizing that not using Mana once in your life is a tell tale symptom. From there she is shipped off to a Norma prison island and told that she has to fight DRAGONs to save humanity, why in all caps? Apparently Sunrise thought it looked cool. From there Ange is introduced to the other Norma, who are all young girls, and the fanservice begins, and it's literary ridiculous. There's some weird rapey scenes, lesbian three ways to keep the plot moving, and Ange is naked for about 60 percent of her on screen time, a trend continues as the series moves on. The first few episodes will test if you are ready for this series, from going for over the top shock affect on issues such as racism, lots of nudity, and little girls getting lopped in half by giant dragons. It is as ridiculous as it sounds, and it sometimes hilarious to watch the over the top nature, and the series seems pretty self aware of just how trashy and bad it is. The cast of side characters initially aren't very important to the plot or are given much attention, besides the leader Salia and the head lesbian Hilda. There is also a guy named Tusk who lives on an island and rescues Ange at some point, and all of their conversations consist of him accidentally bury his head in her crotch or something like that, than Ange shouts "baka" and beats the crap out of him. That is basically a summary of that episode. However Tusk shows some interesting characteristics as well as brings up some mysteries about the world of Mana.
The story starts to pick up near the end of the first half, when the narritive shifts from the island back to the mainland, where we are given a lot more depth into Hilda's character that makes her much more likable and understandable, and we once again see how ingrained the fear of the norma is in the people who use Mana. However a large battle breaks out on the Norma battle island, and during this battle we are introduced to the main villain Embryo, whose main attack as well as the other special mechas is powered by song. I wish I was making some of this up, but it seems like Sunrise started throwing crap at a wall until it stuck. The story starts to get more and more interesting after this point, and has some twists and shows us how exactly the earth has ended up in this state and the true nature of the DRAGONs, and some honestly genuine twist regarding the cast of characters and how they have been manipulated by the great Embryo, and seeing how he played off the weaknesses of each girl makes him a cool character to watch. They start throwing a lot of science jargon around during the end that feels like it could be replaced with a recording of Jesse Pinkman saying, "science bitch" over and over as it seems like they are just sputtering straight nonsense. Also there is a ridiculous deus ex machina near the end that left in tears as it tried to explain how a frying pain stopped a bullet and can also apparently save you from falling into a ravine and getting hit by an exploding car, its like they suddenly realized these characters are integral to the plot and has never heard of the no take back rule. But in all honesty, the second half is a vast improvement and has an interesting plot that can suck you in.
The characters are very diverse, with most falling in the categories of being Ange, wanting to bone Ange, or strongly disliking Ange because they want to be her. Ange falls in the being Ange category, and starts off pretty dislikable, but quickly turns into the chosen one who pilots the special mech with great skill and cares deeply for her comrades and friends. Tusk falls into the wanting to bone her category, and is a skilled fighter and nice guy who helps out the Norma and is considered to be Ange's knight, which as a side effect grants invulnerability. Salia is the leader and falls into the hate us because they ain't us category, and is initially a fairly competent leader who keeps a steady head, but is insecure due to the fact that she was not chosen and Ange was. Hilda wants to bone Ange and starts off unlikable, but as she learn more about her and she softens up she is a fairly likable character who goes through some nice development. Embryo wasnt to bone Ange, is the ridiculous Op bad guy with a justified God Complex, and is actually interesting to watch how he toys with others and manipulates them to accomplish his will. i was also impressed with the later development of some of the other side characters, as it really shows what's going through their heads and proves they are more than just boobs and ass.
Overall Cross Ange is a train wreck, but is one that you can;t turn away from. It's over the top scenes can make it hilarious, and it seems aware of this fact which is honestly pretty funny. the fan service is up to ridiculous levels, and I would advise if you choose to watch this series do it in a sealed room because if someone walks in on you during some of the more fanservicey scenes you are going to have some explaining to do. The plot really gets going as the show completes it's run, but you have to put up with the trash that is the first few episodes and be able to take a ready helping of fan service. Cross Ange is definitely an experience, and one i would recommend giving a try, even if you can hear cackling Sunrise execs counting their money as you watch the literal crap they put out that somehow turned out to be pretty good. Nest year we'll probably have a mecha series featuring fully naked girls fighting GRIFFINs in space while trying to bring down two gods in a separate dimension, with a healthy dose of lesbian three ways, but that goes without saying.
