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I found it gorgeous and was really wowed by the sound track. However, the overall package feels pretty flat. It comes very close to saying something a few times, but by the end our gallant hero just kinda...wins. It has the general shape of a heroes journey, but without any of the beats past his home being destroyed. We never get to see the titular lens do anything either, or the huge space battle that happens off-screen. I see why people compare it to Star Wars, because it has all of the interstitial moments, but none of the big 'WOW' factor.
But there is something in ... there to enjoy, and it might be worth watching for the discerning viewer.

Incredible squandered potential. It almost makes me madder because I can see that this was nearly a great show. It has all the elements but it feels like it was, quite literally, put together in the wrong order.
This has everything going for it. This should have been a slam dunk for me. It has everything I like:
*Gunvolt-esque robot master robot warriors with gimmick powers
*robo-revolution
*cute character design
*SPACE
*good music
*good writing - ERROR:404
The sticking point here is that this may be some of the worst TV anime writing I have experience in quite a while. I acknowledge that I haven't watched seasonal anime for ages. Maybe I've let ... my standards rise? No. I was watching an anime tie-in for a PS2 game concurrently. Most seasonal anime have bad writing in the bland sense: inoffensive. This is bad enough it borders on transgressive, I'd congratulate it if I thought it was intentional. It made me and my partner rantingly irritated. Why is the second episode a better introduction to the world and characters? Why is the actual first episode barely coherent? They had to have had their orders shuffled, right? The pacing would have been so much better? The ideas would have been able to build each other.
And don't get me started on the Replicants. I've seen and read enough sci-fi stories with allegorical robot slavery/oppression, and this might have the distinction of passing Detroit Become Human as being the worst. I get that this is good if this is your only point of reference but it doesn't work internally as initially presented. This is mostly the fault of the first episode, which feels incongruous with the flavor of the rest of the show's treatment of the reploids.

I feel more like this is a greatest hits album of votoms. The first arc is quite literally two characters going on an anniversary reunion tour of every major location from the first series. It can only really aspire to remind me of better TV. It kills off characters I liked and muddies the legacy of others. It was a series of events that managed to even undo the controversial, but in my opinion exciting ending of the original, but replacing it with one even weirder and likely offputting to anyone who didn't like the original.
The animation is serviceable but not energetic or particularly inspired. ... The characters were there on screen. I didn't clap when I saw them.
The conclusion feels baffling, like a story setup for the eventual reboot in another 20 or so years.
Watch this for completions sake, otherwise get your fix from the compilation movies or something.

Uncut peak. I know this isn't for everyone, but if you have the patience, you will find an incredibly ahead-of-its-time mecha classic.

Some elements feel dated, and it drags as much as you should expect for this era and genre. This might turn off people used to modern seasonal, because this operates on the axis of 'great TV' and delivers a tone you don't see anymore.
It's a hard boiled show, closer to a war or detective show. The man with no name walks through a story of conspiracy and social connection he wants no part in. A wanted man who will do anything to survive. The ... stone-cold protagonist, Chirico, deserves his cult status. Love how it is very clear that his (later confirmed) autist status was planned from the get-go. Nice to see a neurodivergent protagonist who doesn't lean on the crutches of stereotype.
The variety of tones and locals that this show explores puts even its sequels to shame. Each almost feeling like a different movie and premise. The action is dynamic. The mechs? Iconic! The OP and ED? Sick as hell!

I don't care what kind of trickery I have to pull to get people to watch it. I'll tell people 'Its like if Drive meets Warhammer 40K' I don't care. Whatever works.

Anyone watching this in current year is in for a bad time. Its watchable at best.
Do not be fooled by the first two episodes that tease at a better series and present good hooks. The show shifts and by episode 4 it devolves into 'not-quite-bad-enough-to-be-funny territory like an episode dedicated to foot fetish.
This fails to do anything other than borrow the surface level aesthetics of the post-eva imitator wave. In stark contrast to RahXephon or any of the other shows that do anything with it. I have no faith it will ever have adiquite payoff considering how disinterested it is with the elements it introduces. ...
If you think this is a homage to classic mecha anime...no. It knows what Getter Robo is but doesn't understand why people like it.

This feels like anime in form and not a whole lot else. It takes 4 episodes to do a story beat it set up in the first 10 minutes. It goes from questionable yuri to actually gross, it has action sequences but they don't have weight because they get drowned out by music and don't grab your intention and worst of all it feels like a waste of time.

This is what happens when you take insert songs, usually a treat for high-impact moments and try to build a whole magical girl hybrid with super robot elements. It should be good but its just nothing.
Also I ... couldn't even make out the music as well as maybe I should have. something about the sound mixing didn't mesh

This show made me remember why I love Mecha Anime.

This thing is a Gundam in all but name, but it has enough of its own identity. Its standout aspect is its absolutely breakneck pace. You could argue it is tropey, but this thing blasts through what usually takes 25-50 episodes. It trims enough fat to only leave the exciting moments and it only has a slow point in retrospect. You know how Gundam 0079 had an insane last handful of episodes because they compressed the last season? this show feels like 12 (14 including the 2-episode sequel, which is a must see) of that energy. ... Most of it is take it or leave it...but it is no exaggeration that the last few episodes had me hooting and hollering. and I cant remember the last time I did that.