That said, things get a lot better around episode 16-18. We start following a much more interesting cast of characters, and they actually explain their motivations and the world around them. They are not flawless by any means. Some characters are annoying, but their struggles are at least understandable given the plot.
And then around halfway through the series, the stakes get elevated, and things start getting interesting. As of this review, I'm not super familiar with Tomino's other works, but this is when some of the stuff Tomino is known for starts coming into play. While it's not as intense as some of Tomino's other works, it still works very well in this setting, and with these characters. If you're really into 80s mecha, or a big Tomino fan, the second half of this anime is worth it for that alone.
Story: 7
Most of these points are for the second half of the story. The story of a regular guy getting whisked away to a magical world, where he is naturally stronger than everyone else is nothing new. And the fact that the first part of the show is so poorly written doesn't help. But once we start following a new set of characters, things start picking up. And after a certain event happens to our main character, the story becomes truly engaging. The last act of the story is very noteworthy. If the story had started around episode 16, the story rating would have been much higher.
Art: 5
This is not very good animation. The characters almost always wear masks in battle, so the animators don't have to animate lipflap (or much of anything during these shots.) The characters aren't very expressive, and really lean on the voice actors to emote. The mechs themselves are well designed (nothing groundbreaking, but still well executed.) There are many shots of big ships slowly flying towards each other, while bullet/beam animations loop over it. The monsters are nothing to write home about either. That said, there are some genuinely beautiful shots in here. Most of them involve the mechs. You can tell what shots received budget support, and which ones didn't.
Sound: 4
The music was inoffensive. It got you riled up when it needed to, and it gave you quiet moments when it needed to. Some of the soundbites sound archaic (stock baby crying and stock monster roars.) I do not think there was any voice direction for this dub. There are a few minor characters that are delightfully miscast. The voice actor who plays Show does a great job given what he had to work with. Some of the accents were distracting. My main gripes with the dub is that many of the female characters have extremely annoying voices (not helped by exaggerated accents.) The timing for these lines was also off, result in characters talking over each other. One character might say "I agree" before the other character is even done talking. It doesn't effect the story. But it is distracting.
Character: 6
The main character is a surprisingly logical. It's clear that all of the characters are intelligent on the battlefield. Off the battlefield is another story.
This anime has some of the most poorly executed romances I've ever seen. One couple, the guy just randomly asks if the girl has feelings for him with no build up that he was even interested. Then they kiss. And then a few episodes later they seem to forget that this conversation happened, and repeat the exchange all over again. There are some couples where they love each other "just because." There is an extremely clumsy love square that doesn't last long.
Show seems to have the largest range of emotion. He reacts appropriately to everyone around him. He also has understandable reactions to the bad things that happen to him personally, and the things that happen to others as a result of his actions. Keen has some very good moments early on, and is believable as a kid with more guts than most people around her. Elle is a very good princess, and I wish we saw more of her as opposed to Emelie (one of the most annoying characters in the show.) I was pleasantly surprised by how well Elle's grandfather was portrayed. He was realistic while being reasonably flawed.
Where this show shines is its villains. Emelie's mother is one of the most intimidating villains of the show, more so than the main baddy Drake. And she has a lot of competition for that position. It was a shame that there wasn't more focus on her machinations. Galaria was a great rival character. I'd argue she was a better rival than Todd. Her character growth was interesting to watch, in spite of her status as an antagonist. There were points where I almost wanted Bunnings to win. His struggle was relatable, and had he not chosen the wrong side, he could've become so much. I genuinely wanted him to switch sides, so he could have some well earned redemption. Jeryl was a delightfully ruthless antagonist. I was pleased with all of her appearances, her final appearance especially. And while not really an antagonist, King Elf did a great job of highlighting stupidity, the danger of said stupidity, and how that stupidity effects the battlefield. Most of the character points in this review come from the villains.
Enjoyment:6
If you like 80s mecha anime, you will probably like this. If you like Tomino anime, you will probably like this. If you like nostalgically bad dubs, probably you will like this (it's no Garzey's Wing, but there are some funny moments in there.)
If you do not fall into any of these categories, you will have to get used to the low budget animation, and the low budget dub.You will have to sit through 15-ish episodes of not very good anime to get to the good anime that's buried under it. This anime is far from groundbreaking. But after the first 15-ish episodes, I found myself enjoying it. The last third especially was quite enjoyable. The ending is not as intense as some other Tomino works out there, but if you're just getting into Tomino anime, the ending will leave an impact with you. Maybe not the best anime for casual anime fans, but if you really like old school 70s or 80s anime, this is a pretty good watch.
