The show takes everything that was light and weird about Nadesico and decides to go somewhere darker, colder, meaner. It's beautiful to look at and it sounds incredible, but the tonal whiplash will destroy you if you weren't prepared for it. Two years passed in the world and two years passed in you, and this movie refuses to let either of you stay comfortable with what came before. The narrative gets tangled without the expanded universe context, but that confusion is partly the point, the Nadesico you knew is gone, and figuring out what replaced it is your problem now, not the show's.

Two years after the original series, Earth and the Jovians have become allies, and Ruri now commands the Nadesico B. Boson Jumping has grown popular, spurring the Hisago Plan, a vast transit network of Chulip portals that may hold the secrets of Bose particles. When a Martian splinter group launches an offensive, the baffled United Forces call the former Nadesico crew back for a special, unsanctioned mission. Meanwhile, Akito and Yurika have disappeared. The film blends mecha action, comedy and drama in a science fiction setting.