Gainer's opening theme hits with this infectious optimism that never matches what the show actually is, a Tomino joint about escape that keeps doubling back on itself, refusing to make sense in ways that somehow feel right. The music carries you through narrative whiplash that would sink a lesser show; instead it becomes the secret glue that makes the scattered, illogical jumps feel like a fever dream instead of a mess. Watch it for the mecha fights and character arcs, stay for the pure tonal confidence of a director who knows you'll follow him anywhere as long as the soundtrack is good.

In the distant future, an environmental catastrophe has left humanity living inside domed cities that private corporations run and supply. In a Siberian dome, the virtual game champion Gainer Sanga is arrested on suspicion of Exodus, the forbidden act of leaving the dome. In prison he meets Gain Bijou, a mercenary set on breaking out. Together they steal a mysterious Overman from Duke Medaiyu's mansion. Holding off the Siberian Railway Patrol, the pair lead a mass Exodus out of the city, bound east for Yapan, the land their ancestors came from. The series combines action, adventure and mecha battles in a science fiction setting.