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As this post-Evangelion mecha series stumbles to its conclusion, the story line collapses in a welter of contradictions. After 18 episodes in which the survival of humanity was threatened by the cataclysms that would occur if Orphan rose from the ocean depths, it rises, takes the form of a new mountain range--and life continues. The United States suddenly becomes the villain, claiming Orphan as "the 53rd state" and using nuclear weapons against the Good Guys aboard Novis Noah. Yuu's sister Quincy, who had sworn to destroy her brother, suddenly switches sides and joins Novis Noah, then switches back and returns to Orphan, on the flimsiest motivations. The filmmakers repeatedly violate rules they've established: Quincy announces Grand Chers must have pilots to function, then hers takes off without her or anyone else at the controls. Although Hime "talks" to Orphan, Quincy and her Grand Cher somehow merge with it, then separate to join Yuu. The already faltering plot is needlessly complicated by flashbacks and dream sequences, by disguised identities and revelations, by pseudo-mystical "transcendent" moments and family reconciliations. Orphan leaves Earth for space--once again, without causing any of the promised destruction, but leaving numerous plot points unresolved. It's an anticlimactic finale to a series that is widely (and correctly) dismissed as a dud. (Rated 16 and older: violence, nudity, profanity, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon
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