Boys riding girls to control giant robots? Think that’s shows going to have an enticing story? No, me neither. I’ve never been a fan of gundams, they just don’t interest me. So, I when this show was airing in the winter/spring 2018 season, I purposely put this show off. After watching some first episode reactions I thought my worst fears for this show were coming true. A ecchi harem gundam.

God how I was wrong, though I am glad I didn’t watch this show in the season. I decided to give it a try when I had a few days off work and I didn’t have any other plans. I didn’t have high hopes for the show and I wasn’t planning to binge the show, I was just looking for something to keep me occupied. I watch the first episode;

Spoiler, click to view

the generic protagonist is down on his luck meets a girl that flirts with him and things start to look up. He finds what looks to be his new partner they kiss.

I was left thinking here starts the ecchi fan-service. The second episode my feelings didn’t change much. I hadn’t been given much information about the world, however I did start to much a connection about how these kids didn’t know much about the world either.

As the story went on it really started to shine, the relationships built, and the worlds starts to get revealed. The story telling up to around episode 15 is flawless and is one of the best features about this show for me. It turns into a kind of slice of life anime set in a dystopian world. This is the shows highlight and everything up to that point is highly enjoyable. I started to feel empathetic with the kids and the immersion in to the story is great. The world building is one of the best of recent times. There are a few hiccups along the way however, parts feel rushed and blown over. But overall up to episode 18/19 the show had me hooked.

Past these episodes, the show feels like it’s already climaxed. It all goes downhill from there. The plot becomes ever more unbelievable and I started to lose interest. The whole thing seems to drag on and by the end of the series I felt myself wishing it would just end already. The last few episodes became really predictable, and the ending felt unsatisfactory.

Spoiler, click to view

The ending in which the giant robot turns in Zero two and plungers its way into a planet to destroy is what did it for me. It felt unnecessary.

The show felt like it had lost its sense of seriousness and the ending felt like a bit of a joke. Which is really annoying after spending the time binge watching a really good show just to be let down at the last hurdle. This would have been more annoying for me if I invested time in every week to watch the show it to turn out like it did.

The last 5 episodes and the ending just felt like sloppy writing, which really ruined the whole experience for me. If this weren’t the case the show would have easily made it into my top 10. But overall it hasn’t been anything that special to me. I did enjoy the show, it was entertaining for the most part, the build-up to the climax and the way the world was slowly revealed were my highlights. But it is wrecked by a sloppy ending leaving me feeling unsatisfied.

Breakdown:
Story – 8/10
Characters – 9/10
Art – 8/10
Sound – 7/10
Enjoyment – 5/10
Overall – 7.5/10

Good points:
• Great world building.
• The story telling up to episode 18 was done extremely well.
• Pacing was slow be satisfying.
• The art is what you expect from studio trigger, felt like alot of effort was put.
• Character building and interactions were a highlight.
• Angles and camera shots to highlight certain features were a nice touch.

Ruined by:
• Sloppy writing near the end.
• Left feeling unsatisfied.
• Became unbelievable.

Overall I found the show enjoyable other than the ending which is much more than what I expected from the show in the first place. I do recommend you give the show a watch.

Hope you enjoyed this review, would love to hear your thoughts on the show and any feedback is appreciated.