Pros:
-The art design in this show is phenomenal. I liked how they didn't just copy the art style of the late 60s/early 70s, but rather took elements of that style and mixed it with the style of the time. The character designs I love, I really love, and even though some feel kinda bland, this show definitely has a distinct look.
-The animation is phenomenal. This show is definitely one of the highlights of the pre-CGI era of anime. Everything is smooth and crisp, and it is a joy to look at, even if the content lacks substance at times.
-The music is also interesting and distinct. It has this operatic/orchestral feel that makes it stand out from it's contemporaries. It helps to underscore the tragic themes that the series inhabits.
Cons
-As other reviewers have pointed out, for a show called Giant Robo, the show really doesn't feature that much in the way of Mecha Battles. It saves the action for individual fights of the wuxia variety. This isn't a bad thing, it's just that this show bills itself as mecha, but doesn't really feel like it.
-The story starts out really interesting. Once I understood that this wasn't a mecha show, just more of a sci-fi shounen, I started to find it interesting. However, it doesn't elaborate enough on the interesting mythology of the world, and instead continues to give us meaningless action, death, and explosions.
-This show has some great character designs and animation, but that can't make up for the lack of connection I feel towards these people. There are about a dozen that we are told to empathize with, and the way that they're introduced makes it hard to latch onto them. There are some interesting ones in the bunch, but the time that the show would use to show us these details is used to introduce us to more characters instead. A lot of them start to feel really homogeneous after a while too. I can only have so many Chinese Warriors. A few of these characters die, and this lack of connection I feel towards them makes these deaths feel trite.
-The ending of this show is effing ridiculous, and not in a self referential way. It's bad, and the last few episodes are these really long, drawn out battle scenes. I'm not against sequences like this, but when I'm not really feeling the characters or the story, it makes me feel disconnected. The last two episodes are a non stop battle that doesn't take a breather, and this really messes with the pacing of the show. The unending pace makes me feel desensitized to everything that's going on and makes me feel disinterested.
TL;DR
This show is a joy to look at and appreciate as long as you don't pay too much attention to the story. This isn't a mecha anime as much as it's a weird sci-fi shounen. It throws at lot at you at once, but if you are in the mood for some crazy action battles, this may fit the bill.
