For me, I have an anime addiction. At any given point, I need to be involved in an anime some way. If I am not in the middle of one, I feel weird, like I'm not doing a good job of being myself. With all that said, you can understand why I choose to watch this anime. Not so much because it looked good or interesting, but because I had a need to watch something were the characters have huge eyes. Still, Str.A.In surprised me by being a pretty thoughtful, emotional run.
(SPOILER ALERT! Read this paragraph last! MAYBE!)
Str.A.In is set in a world were aliens are a constant threat to the earth and to humanity. Enter Sara Werec. She is the sister of Ralph Werec, a war hero, and Strain Pilot prodigy. On an unfortunate night, her school and attack ed destroyed by an invading fleet. This ambush was led by the one time hero, Ralph. No one knows why he has switched sides. After the attack, all the admiration he had garnered quickly becomes hate and fear now. Sara must now take on a new identity in order to have a chance to confront her brother and understand why he has turned into such a monster.
Likes - The first thing I liked about this show is how it started. Similar to Gai-Rai: Zero, the first episode is this insane sucker punch. If you've read the above paragraph, I've ruined it for you. If not, you're set to have your head spinning. You really don't get a feel of things until the second episode where you come to see where the current struggle is heading.
Another aspect of Str.A.In I liked were the lighter moments. There were many comedic, cartoony moments and stories. I'm glad for it though because if not for those, Str.A.In would feel so heavy and depressing, It would be a struggle to watch the 13 episodes. As the good times are a distraction for Sara, they also serve to distract the audience from the real story - People are dying, by the hand of one man, and no one knows why.
Related to the story are the characters. At first they seem like stock characters, flat and no thought put into their creation. Over time, the people and their stories, opinions, and experiences all begin to tie together creating unexpected complexity. Str.A.In started off seeming like another mecha driven anime but became a series about the meaning of family, friends, and the importance of letting go.
Dislikes - Mainly, I could not stand Sara. I think that was the point of her. Watching her constantly pushing people away and instead finding comfort and conversation from an inanimate doll was creepy and sad. I understand this is important to the story but it took her way too long to get out of this depression. You can look at it as how much damage she really suffered by being betrayed, but still, it was SOO annoying. Once you get past Sara though, the other characters can be charming and fun, especially compared to Sara's black light.
Overall - I enjoyed this anime. I don't know if I would brag that I watched this or that it was ground breaking. It did serve as a good way to pass the time and fulfill my anime addiction. So if you watch a lot of anime, you might enjoy this one while looking for the next big thing. For other people, there is a lot more out there to watch. Overall 4 stars, though I don't know if I'd highly recommend this.
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