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Okay I just finished watching a 13-episode long anime called Strain.
I was dragged into watching this thing by my sister and was hooked almost intstantly. I'll admit it took me watching the second episode to get really interested, but the first episode is essentially backstory.
The story is your standard space-robots affair and follows the story of Sara Werec, a Reasoner- that is pilot capable of flying the vastly powerful mobile unit known as a Strain (Strategic Armored Infantry).
After her brother, Ralph Werec, turns out to be a traitor she changes her name and identity as a Reasoner, which is easily done after an attack on her training compound by Ralph. Ralph also destroys her Mimic, the device that allows a Reasoner to pilot a Strain.
Now part of the training ship Libertad, the 13-episode anime follows the quest for Sara to find out what caused her brother to betray the Union, and the origin of a mysterious girl named Emily who somehow allows her to once again pilot a Strain.
I loved this series, it has a school days aesthetic mixed with a gundam wing style story. It's very reminiscent of Xenosaga and the music is incredible.
But I have one major complaint about this series. The soft-science nightmare of light-speed, time travel, quantum leap physics and so forth are just part of the willing suspension of disbelief (although I admit sometimes they made my brain hurt).
My major complaint is that the series IS A TOTAL DOWNER!
I mean it seems like every other episode somebody dies. Usually somebody you like. And even when people don't die they make the show as depressing as possible. Towards the middle there's a lot of humor, mostly brought about by the mid-season episode Lavinia's Lovely Plot in which a fellow Reasoner Lavinia tries numerous ways to court Sara... and yes Lavinia is female.
But the rest of it is just one big let's see how fast we can make our audience burst into tears. For my part the last two episodes, I'll admit, did get me semi-upset but the rest of the time the deaths happen so fast that you can't process them.
My refrain to my sister through the last six episodes was: "WHY DID <SPOILER> HAVE TO DIE?!" (You'll know who I'm talking about when you see it.)
The series is a depression sandwich which a humorous middle; it's like prozac wedged between two razor blades. Again I highly recommend it, but you better be ready for it.
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