Super Dimension Century Orguss can be a way to make up for the feeling of loss after finishing Super Dimension Fortress Macross. Both were made by similar staff and were in production at the same time at some point. The story is it's own, and follows the story of Kei. He was blasted in an accident into a parallel world along with his friend Olsen. Once there, it's a struggle to try and get back home while at the same time falling in love with the new world he finds himself in. Compared to Macross, Orguss is inferior but still an interesting series going into early mecha.
The series shares many of the same flaws as Macross. The production falls apart constantly. There is lot of reused animation, slide show like execution, and skips in animation. At least the characters don't look like clay sometimes such as in Macross. The ending felt rushed, odd, and underwhelming. I really enjoyed most of the beginning of the series. On the other hand, those few last episodes began to decline in quality and weren't as enjoyable. Music wise, hardly any of the songs were memorable. At the very least the opening and ending sequences are iconic. As a romance, there are several characters that get involved here. Whereas the previous series was based on a love triangle, there are several love triangles and love quadrilaterals going on in Orguss. You can expect lots of heavy drama in regards to this.
Kei himself is an amusing and funny character. He always has something smart to say back even during dangerous situations. The man is always surrounded by women and is very flirtatious. At the same time, once he has really fallen in love he can fully commit, though he can make inappropriate comments at times that can make his girlfriends jealous. He makes a lot of mistakes but ultimately is a good man. Throughout the series, he tries to adjust to the way life works in this new Earth, and travels around after meeting the crew of the ship called The Factory. It's revealed that he and Olsen are the singularities. They would come to understand that they have become the keys towards restoring the Earth. Kei can also be very reckless to the point his life can be carelessly put in heavy danger.
Olsen is his friend who thinks much more rationally. He doesn't succumb as easily to his feelings unlike Kei. He is often calm, cool, and collected. He often wears shades for his iconic look and tries to be Kei's voice of reason.
Mimsy is, you could say, the Minmay of Orguss in a few ways, except Mimsy's character is too involved in emotion than actually growing and developing as a character. She is just something to protect and not much else. Her character design can look very beautiful at times when she isn't drawn in odd ways. She is part of a race that look like humans, except that they have two tentacles that made Kei panic once he noticed them. They are sort of like the Zentradi from Macross in that they live life oddly in Kei's view, while at the same time they are not too familiar with the culture of Kei's human race. She is Slay's girlfriend who finds Kei as a bother as he has a target on his back and is constantly bringing trouble back home to the crew.
Mome is another focus of the series as a cybernetic girl with many useful skills. She is head over heels over Kei despite that he has no interest whatsoever. Her story is touching but feels like a tragedy overall.
There are sadly many characters who don't do too much by the end and don't really feel worth mentioning. Still, there are a few more who are memorable such as the adorable duo pilots Lieea and Maaie, Shaya who gets involved in her own love triangle, Athena the conflicted soldier, the loveable Jabby, and the loyally protective captain robot.
Despite the animation quality at times, Orguss still can look beautiful. It comes from a time where hand drawn animation beautifully put attention to detail in its own respectable way compared to modern anime. I can appreciate that it does very well in animating the entire characters bodies and in showing body language. You look at modern anime today that is so painfully bland and many times executed as still frames with flapping mouths that really make you appreciate the animation of Orguss.
Orguss overall was a very enjoyable series despite it's many flaws. I would have called it a masterpiece if it wasn't for that small mediocre chunk of episodes towards the end.
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