Story: 8/10
Big baddy versus talented youth SOUNDS cliche, but what really sets this story apart is the world and how dark it eventually gets. The world-building is done wonderfully here. It's a wonderful mesh between what we consider the 'real world' and a dark, dystopian world of mecha.
The real joy in this story is the eventual unfolding of the plot. The writers took a cliche story and gave it a pretty dark backstory. There are some points where you sort of have to stop and take in how absolutely terrible the scenario is for some of these people. You have wars, friends and families who die right in front of them, an overtone of supernatural evil etc etc.
In a way, I found it really depressing. I actually couldn't see how on Earth the heroes were going to win. In the end, that's the genius of this anime. Usually when a semi-powerful Hero goes up against an all-powerful Villain, it's pretty obvious the hero's going to win.
--Not in this case. This Villain is one mysterious bad-ass with an army of crazy (and crazily strong) minions whose numbers feel like they could swallow our heroes whole.
Art: 8/10
Not bad, typical 90s shounen style. I had a crush on Teppei as a kid so I'm a little biased. ...And I also wanted a B'T because they're just so awesome. If you look at them, their actually very intracately designed!
Sound: 10/10
I loved the OST. I absolutely loved it. It was exciting, moving, and completely fitting to the anime.
Character: 8/10
They're a little cliche, but somehow still loveable. There's always an extra something in their personalities that sets them apart from other characters of the same cliche. It's one of those things you can't really put your finger on.
Enjoyment: 8/10
...I really...REALLY liked this lol.
(Not as much as the OVA though.)
Overall: 8/10
Recommended --highly even. It's a good story, and I might even call it 'classic' more than cliche because it really has depth to it. It's not as well known as other animes of the same type and genre, but I still think it's better than most of them by FAR. Like I said, the good ones always have you wondering how it'll end. It's no fun when the Hero's already won the battle...before he's even gone into the battle.
