A teenage boy meets an AI girl built to save humanity, and the show never bothers pretending their bond is anything other than what it is: a kid falling for a weapon that might love him back. The combat itself matters less than watching Kei realize that Gripen has already chosen to die for him, and she'll keep choosing it every single time they launch. By episode three you stop thinking about the sci-fi premise and start thinking about what it costs her to smile at him before a mission she might not come home from.

Mysterious flying creatures called the Zai appear without warning and overpower every aerial force humanity can field. To strike back, people rebuild existing aircraft frames into combat machines called Daughters, flown by automated pilots known as Anima that look like human girls. Kei Narutani, a boy who longs to fly, escapes China with his childhood friend Song Minghua as refugees bound for Japan. On the way, a red aircraft rescues them. Drawn to that plane, Kei meets its pilot, Gripen, an Anima regarded as humanity's trump card. The two grow close, and the Japan Self-Defense Force brings Kei in to help Gripen with her trouble flying. Joined later by the easygoing Eagle and the proud Phantom, the group stands as the last line of defense against the Zai in this action and science fiction drama.