AllMovie

Director Hideaki Anno is perhaps better known for his 1995 anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion but this six-episode OVA preceded it by seven years and explores many similar issues. In the year 2023, the existence of insect-like aliens has been discovered. Their goal seems to be the eventual eradication of the human race and so, the smartest and strongest teenagers in the world are picked from massive training schools to pilot the giant robots that earth's defense scientists have engineered to combat the aliens. Noriko Takaya is one such pilot; the daughter of a great captain in the war against the creatures who was killed in action. Noriko is haunted by the pressure to live up to the memory of her father, as well as by the weight of mankind's salvation upon her shoulders.