Brain Powerd is one of the more unique and out-there mecha anime I've ever seen and although it wasn't the easiest watch in the world, it's stayed with me months after watching and certainly deserves more praise than it usually gets.

Penned and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, famous creator of the Gundam franchise, Brain Powerd shows his thematic writing in full force. This show is easily Tomino at his most, well... Tomino. Those that hate his erratic emotional characters and somewhat odd view of relationships will be frustrated and I would never in a million years recommend this show to such people. Anyone willing to put up with a lot of emotion, though, can find some genuinely interesting relationships written into Brain Powerd.

There's a significant focus on character & world building over the series' 2-cour run and by the end I was more curious seeing how characters would turn out rather than the plot itself. There are a lot of metaphors and implied deeper meanings, and overall I think it was handled pretty well. This show is significantly more subtle than Evangelion, a show it is often compared to purely due to it having organic mecha and a few psychological themes. Brain Powerd is about the relationship people have with their parents and about the identity you forge for yourself as you grow up, both internally and externally.

One thing not even those that hate the show can take away from it is a simply wonderful soundtrack by the consistently excellent Yoko Kanno. Ranging from frantic tracks to more simple yet beautiful ambience it all compliments everything near-perfectly. Voice actors deliver solid emotional performances to match their oft-neurotic characters, with Gou Aoba's unhinged Jonathan and Akino Murata's caring Hime as highlights.

Visually, the show is more of a mixed bag. Animation quality is somewhat weak throughout, but it makes up for it with some interesting direction and artistic choices made to hide the low budget such a teleportation and a lack of traditional super flashy mecha attacks. The designs will be divisive as they're very unique and unlike any other series I've seen. There are a lot of deathless skirmishes in Brain Powerd all contributing to quite possibly the lowest body count in any anime that Tomino's ever had a major hand in.

Overall I think Brain Powerd is one for the more alternative mecha fans. It wont convert anyone to the genre or director, but to those already interested it provides a unique and interesting experience more focused on giving you something to think about than anything else.