I may watch Armor Hunter Mellowlink first though, since that will take me less time.

By the way, I would second the recommendation for SPT Layzner. The Cold War setting and survivalist atmosphere makes for a relatively unique work. It’s been quite interesting, at least for the first few episodes I’ve seen.

That’s strange, it looks like my first comment disappeared into the void, somehow. Oh well, nevermind.

I’ve been interested in Votoms for a while and everything makes it sound like something that would appeal to me, so this review adds yet another reason. I may watch Armor Hunter Mellowlink first though, since that will take me less time.

Also, the importance of plot holes is often relative. I might care more or less for them than you did, in time, but we’ll see have that turns out.

By the way, I would second the recommendation for SPT Layzner. The Cold War setting and survivalist atmosphere makes for a relatively unique work. It’s been quite interesting, at least for the first few episodes I’ve seen. There are some teenagers involved and they do angst, but I think it’s justified under the circumstances.

I feel like Gasaraki got negative reviews because most people don’t have much of an attention span.

In any case, I’ve been interested in Armored Trooper Votoms for a while and everything makes it sound like something that would appeal to me, so this review adds yet another reason.

I just need the time and resources, literally and otherwise. That’s what keeps delaying my watching older, longer series lately.

It’s possible that I might end up watching Armor Hunter Mellowlink, a Votoms spin-off, first. You might want to look into that too.

By the way, I would also second the previous recommendation for SPT Layzner, if you’re interested.

I’ve only seen the first few episodes but a slightly similar vibe seems to be present, although events take place in a Cold War context and teenagers are very much involved…initially as spectators who end up getting much more than they bargained for, granted, but the setting justifies it. Then again, I don’t necessarily dislike so-called “emo” in and of itself either.

You should also try Layzner,another anime from Takahashi and another classic i would recommend to you would be L-Gaim,it’s from Tomino.

If you’re a fan of realistic settings and dark stories and characters, you should definitely check out this movie called Ringing Bell (aka Chirin no Suzu). It’s about a lamb who becomes a wolf’s apprentice when his mom is killed…by that very same wolf! It may seem kiddy at first, but after the first 10-15 minutes, it immediately goes into a COMPLETELY different direction. There’s no blood, but there IS violence. And best of all, there’s no happy ending! Unfortunately, the movie is hard to find since it was made in 1978, and it’s available on YouTube only in English. But I think you’ll really like it if you’re into animals being portrayed in a realistic manner and darkly toned stories and twisted moods and vice versa.

Wikipedia claims that VOTOMS stands for ‘Vertical One-man Tank for Offense and ManeuverS’, which sounds like an explanation cooked up after the fact to me.