Anime / Aquarion Evol

At least we did not have to wait 12.000 years to see what happens next.

________ Union!

GO! Aquarion!

The sequel to Shoji Kawamori's orgasm-powered mecha series Genesis of Aquarion, which started airing on 8 January 2012.

Please note that if you have not seen the preceding series, Genesis of Aquarion, then huge spoilers follow.

Twelve thousand years ago, Apollo, Sirius and Touma realized the need to set aside their differences and form Aquarion together for the last time in a Heroic Sacrifice to save Vega, the world they all live in, from total collapse. Before doing so, however, Apollo promises his lover, Silvia, that they would meet again in 12,000 years.

Fast forward to 12,000 years later: Vega is once more at the mercy of unknown enemies, this time the "Abductors" from the enigmatic world of Altair. DEAVA, the organization which fought Touma and his Shadow Angels twelve millennia ago, has since evolved into Neo DEAVA, hosting Holy Angel Academy, an Academy of Adventure with a strict policy of separate education for Element Users, teenagers with special powers — a Military School for males, and a Church Militant for females. With a new threat to humanity looming on the horizon, Neo DEAVA sends its best boys and girls to fight them using the Aquaria, a pair of Humongous Mecha, each formed from three Vectors — Type-M for males, Type-F for Females. Into the scene comes Amata Sora, a boy working at a movie theater, and Mikono Suzushiro, a girl he meets there. When an Abductor attack puts Mikono in danger, Amata is forced to unleash his Element power — flight induced by emotion — and, unwittingly levitating into the cockpit of a Vector-Z, breaks the long-standing taboo between male-female Unions and revives the legend of Aquarion. As Vega braces itself for a showdown with Altair, more secrets regarding both worlds, its denizens, and even the Aquarion itself slowly unfold...

An OVA for the series has been released in 2015. It takes place in Showa-era Japan and tells the story of Shin Tsukishima and Yuno Kawazu, who get caught in the middle of a new battle involving both the casts of Evol and their predecessors.

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This show provides examples of:

• Academy of Adventure: Holy Angel Academy, Neo DEAVA's official front.
• Accidental Pervert:
  • Andy and Amata dig their way through the barrier and into the female side of the Academy, only to get an upskirt of Mikono. Amata's powers go haywire and starts flying around with Mikono's ass on his face. Andy lampshades on the implausibility of the situation.
  • Jin somehow wound up in the girls' locker room in Episode 10.
• Adam and Eve Plot: Played for laughs in the finale episode. If they failed Crea wanted Suomi and Donar to become the new Adam and Eve in the new world. Suomi agrees and Donar is just shocked.
• Adaptation Distillation: Done in-series with "Skies of Aquaria," a supposedly trashy B-movie Amata kept playing on the movie theater he works in about the events of 12,000 years past, which is justifiable, considering the massive time gap. To summarize how much peoples' perception of those events have changed: Apollo is now known as "Apollon" and has become a Long-Haired Pretty Boy (probably alluding to his original incarnation, Apollonius), Sylvia as "Sylvie," and the Aquarion as the "Aquaria" (revealed to be a deliberate move by DEAVA to hide its true name), with no word yet as to modern perceptions on all the other players in the previous war. What they got right: Apollo's cross-shaped scar, red hair, his Heroic Sacrifice, and his parting promise with Silvia to meet her again after 12,000 years.
• Alien Abduction: Apparently the modus operandi of the Abductors.
• All of the Other Reindeer: Avoiding a major case of this is a reason Amata keeps his levitation powers secret by wearing boots inlaid with pockets with which he can place weights.
• Anti-Villain: Majority of Altair's Human Aliens has noble reasons for the abductions, namely a method to regenerate their dying race with "Rare Iguras," women with the potential to become the "True Eve." Unfortunately for them Mykage has his own agenda, and that doesn't include their scramble for survival.
• Artistic Age: Both Amata, Mikono and Kagura are supposedly 16 years old, yet they don't look anything like their age. In some scenes (specially on Cayenne's visions) Kagura looks like he's on his early to mid twenties and the same happens with Amata although on a less exaggerated level. Yunoha is 15. She's just one year older than Jin and one year younger than Amata. Let that sink into your head.
• Art-Shifted Sequel: This anime clearly has a different character designer than its predecessor.
• Avenging the Villain: On Episode 9, three of Jin's henchmen tried this. Not only do they fail but Jin isn't even dead.
• Back for the Finale: Sirius, Toma, Apollo, and Shrade all reappear for the final episode. Shrades spirit helping and giving power to Cayenne to create Aquarion Geparda. While Mikono talks with the other three who have become content spirits in Aquarion.
• Barbie Doll Anatomy: Just like 12,000 years ago, this still applies during combining sequences.
• Beach Episode: Episode 17, though of the lakeside variety.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Andy and Mix are constantly at each other's throats, and they eventually hook up.
• Betty and Veronica:
  • For Amata, Mikono is the Betty, while Zessica is the Veronica.
  • For Mikono, Amata is the Betty, while Kagura is the Veronica.
• Big Brother Instinct: Cayenne's relationship to Mikono. At his most extreme, he does whatever he can to keep her self-esteem so low she stays at home where it's safe. For this reason he immediately disliked Amata for apparently bringing her outside, not realizing (until she tells him in Episode 4) that she's willing to get hurt alongside her brother and Amata.
• Birds of a Feather:
  • Amata and Mikono. They both share similar backgrounds, causing them both to become shy and withdrawn. They even bond over their self-proclaimed uselessness. Though they are both nice people and genuinely want to change for the better.
    Mikono: See, we're a useless pair!
  • Jin reminds Yunoha how she was when she first transfers and tries to befriend him.
• Boy Meets Girl: Amata meets Mikono at a movie theater.
  • Meet Cute: Afterwards, they go on a little date as Amata talks about the movie.
• Bridal Carry:
  • Kagura does this to an unconscious Mikono in Episode 5.
  • Amata does this to Mikono in Episode 12. And the fact that they were both floating in the air makes it even more sweeter.
  • In Episode 13, Jin does this with Yunoha in an attempt to bring her to Altair.
    • Kagura does this to Mikono again in Episode 13, but this time it's mixed with a little Victory Dance, as Kagura celebrates his short-lived capture of Mikono.
  • Amata does it one last time to Mikono at the end after returning with the Aquarion.
• Bring Him to Me: Played with. Mikage is after the Golden Wings of the Sun, Solar Wing, but he doesn't seem to be aware of the fact that since Episode 1, all signs have pointed to Amata being this.
• Brown Note: Shrade's element power allows him to manipulate people's emotions or physically disable them with his music.
• Buried Alive: Zen actually uses this AS TRAINING!!!!!
• Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": Apparently, nearly every cute animal in that world is a cat. Including Mikono's Head Pet Shu-Shu, Yunoha (or at least the frog doll carried by the actual girl), and even what's obviously a pig with a mustache. Amata has lampshaded this twice.

• Cerebus Syndrome: Hits HARD in episode 14.
• Childless Dystopia: Altair.
• Church Militant: Neo DEAVA's training regimen for females apparently involves them engaging in ecclesiastical activities.
  • First Church of Mecha: They apparently worship Aquarion, the temple has a huge statue of the mecha where the altar should be.
• Clothing Damage: In Episode 8, Jin's upgraded Radius Gnis fires missiles that, while apparently causing no physical damage to the Aquarion, actually slowly depletes Zessica, Mikono and Amata's spirit levels, tearing their Vector suits in the process. Then Zessica notices that the less clothing she has, the greater her sensitivity to the missiles and thus increasing her evasive capability. She starts stripping more of her suit, and encourages Amata and Mikono to strip more of their outfits while she mows down Radius Gnis with Aquarion Spada.
• Cock Fight: Amata and Kagura over Mikono.
• Colony Drop: Mykage plans have resulted in Altair going for a collision cousre with Earth/Vega.
• Combining Mecha: True to its predecessor, the Aquarion is still this (coupled with orgasm-inducing combination sequences).
  • Vector-Z: Amata, Andy, Mix, Jin, Kagura
  • Vector-X: Mikono, Cayenne, Zessica, Andy
  • Vector-Y: Mikono, Cayenne, Zessica, Yunoha, Shrade, Kagura
  • The following transformations are shown in the series:
  • Aquarion EVOL: Z (head), X (legs), Y (back); piloted by Amata and Mix, as well as Kagura in the OVA.
  • Aquarion Gepard: X (head), Y (legs), Z (back); piloted by Amata, Cayenne, and Zessica.
  • Aquarion Spada: Y (head), Z (legs), X (back); piloted by Shrade, Zessica, and Yunoha.
  • The OVA throws in some one-shot examples, made by mix-matching the Evol Vectors with the Genesis Vectors:
  • Aquarion Spadion: Y (head), Sol (legs), Z (back); piloted by Mikono (subpiloted by Apollo and Kagura).
  • Aquarion Gepardion: X (head), Mars (legs), Luna, (back); piloted by Amata (subpiloted by Reika and Silvia).
  • 1st un-named Aquarion: Mars (head), Z (legs), Luna (back); piloted by Shin (subpiloted by Jin (inside Tama) and Yuno).
  • 2nd un-named Aquarion: Sol (head), Y (legs), X (back); piloted by Apollo (subpiloted by Mikono and Amata).
• Continuity Nod: Episode 16 has the main characters looking through a window the past, where they see the events from the first series, such as Apollo and Silvia's love, and the original Aquarion sacrificing itself to save the world.
• Continuity Snarl: See Rewrite below.
• Cypher Language: There are two alien alphabets◊, one for Neo-DEAVA and one for Altair, that are substitution codes for English with glyphs that strongly resemble their corresponding English letters; you can pretty much squint your eyes and read them without too much difficulty.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • There's a reason Donar Dantes, the Drill Sergeant Nasty instructor of the male side of Neo DEAVA, is initially reluctant to allow mixed Unions for fear of a repeat of the "Aquarion Disaster" nine years ago. He was the main pilot of the Aquarion on that day (with two females, one of which is his lover, in tow) during its first sortie against the Abductors, when Donar and his lover's feelings went so high Aquarion went berserk and Mykage appeared to take his lover away, costing Donar both his arms (now replaced with metal prosthetics) in the process.
  • Same goes for Shrade, whose Element powers accidentally made his parents kill each other. Word of his powers quickly spread, and important figures were often conned into attending his concerts so they would kill each other. He didn't learn how to fully control his abilities until Crea personally recruited him.
• Distant Sequel: This sequel takes place 12,000 years after Genesis of Aquarion.

• Dying Declarationof Love: In episode 21 Zessica grabs Amata and kisses him to activate his powers, letting him escape right as Mikage seemingly kills her with a Cherubim Soldier.
• Dysfunction Junction: Neo DEAVA pretty much became this after Amata punches a hole through the Berlin, allowing boys and girls to mingle. This is lampshaded by Suomi in Episode 10, complaining that student discipline has been tanking.
• Easily Forgiven: Amata forgives Alicia and Izumo rather easily for abandoning him at the age of 6 and leaving him to fend for himself
  • Mykage, at least by Mikono, who actually apologizes to him.
  • Kagura too. In the next to last episode Amata is determined to hand his ass to him for killing their parents (as he doesn't know that Mykage was behind this). In the last episode it seems to be totally forgotten.
• Eccentric Mentor: High Chairman Zen Fudou is seemingly channeling the spirit of Gen Fudou, complete with strange lessons for the boys and girls of Neo DEAVA. Placing rings on their left forearms which literally shock them whenever their romantic feelings go too high will certainty not be the last of his many weird ideas.
  • Not so much as channeling GEN Fudou as he IS GEN Fudou. Who as of ep 20 has been confirmed to be alive for at 24000 years.
• Empathy Pet: Mikono has Shu-Shu, her Head Pet. She talks to it like she would to another human, and it even makes heart shapes with its wings in Episode 3, showing that Mikono has indeed accepted Amata's apology.
• The Empath: Cayenne's currently known Element power is apparently psychic vision onto other people, usually Mikono.
• Endangered Species: Turns out Altair has zero population growth rate—with Jin as the Last of His Kind—and is thus scrambling to find suitable humans to repopulate the entire race.
• Enemy Civil War:
  • Episode 11 focuses on a battle between a bunch of Altair mooks and Kagura, now fully under Mykage's thrall. Retaking the Mithra Gnis, he manages to survive a detachment of mooks and three shots from a Wave-Motion Gun before Mykage reopens a portal to Vega which Izumo ordered closed as a precautionary measure.
  • While Mykage and Izumo appear to be allied on the surface, the truth is that Mykage could care less about what happens to Altair, as the only thing he wants is to reawaken the original Aquarion. As a result, he and Izumo constantly clash over what to do.
• Evolving Credits
  • Starting Episode 3, the ending sequence (that for the combined Episodes 1 and 2 is like a movie credits) features stylized artwork by character designer Chinatsu Kurahana of Amata, Mikono, Cayenne (Episode 4 onwards), Shrade (Episode 6 onwards), MIX, Andy, Zessica, Yunoha (Episode 7 onwards), Jin (Episode 13 onwards), and Kagura.
  • To a lesser extent, the opening sequence has this in the major characters pose, where Yunoha's doll was added hiding behind Andy for Episode 7, before the actual girl shows up for Episode 8.
• First Church of Mecha: Within the next 12,000 years since the original Aquarion saved the world, this godlike Humongous Mecha has since apparently inspired a religion devoted to its veneration as Messianic Archetype, as evidenced by Neo DEAVA's training regimen for its female cadets.
• Forbidden Fruit: Neo-DEAVA bans their students from falling in love with each other due to the "Aquarion Disaster."
• Freudian Excuse:
  • MIX's hatred for men and holes stems from her father's affair with a woman he met at a hole-in-the-wall bathhouse.
  • Mikono's low self-esteem and cowardice also comes from her father.
  • Kaguras obsession over Mikono is because he has never had a single good thing in his life and Mikono has been the only good thing in it. So he's doing everything he can to have her.
• Fusion Dance: Cayenne and Shrade combine their powers to create Aquarion Geparda in the finale.
• The Gadfly: Zessica seems to enjoy flirting with Amata just to see him float.
• Gender Bender: Whatever it is that caused "The Curse of Eve" not only killed all the women of Altair, but any women from Vega that don't die when brought to Altair will transform in mind and body into men. We see evidence of this with Mix in episode 19, and it's confirmed in 20, and was also starting to affect Zessica and Yunoha.
• Gendercide: Altair's female population was wiped out by a mysterious disease. Before that the female birth rate took a sudden nosedive.
  • Turns out that it was the Ianthe. The machine that powers all of Altair by sucking out energy from the earth and was built by Izumo's mother.
• Green-Eyed Monster:
  • Mikono is not pleased about how Zessica can also make Amata float.
    Mikono: I thought that I was the only one...
  • Later in the series, Zessica starts to show shades of this when Amata gives Mikono a lot more attention, particularly when she bends a large metal structure well out of shape with her powers.
• The Good, the Bad, and the Evil: Neo DEAVA, Altair (Izumo/Jin) and Mykage. Kagura was initially on Altair's side, but Mykage used his new obsession with Mikono to turn him into his pawn.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: The true and ultimate power of Aquarion Evol, further exemplified by the fact that EVOL spelled backwards is LOVE. All it needed was a truely loving couple to actually use it and not let it go berzerk.
• Head Pet: See that thing in Mikono's hair that looks like a cute hair accessory? It is actually Mikono's "cat," Shu-Shu. When it's not too busy being a cute hair accessory, it usually resides on her shoulder.
• Heel–Face Turn: Jin in Episode 13. Unfortunately, Mykage saw to it that he will have to pay for his defection with his life.
  • Kagura follows suit after Mykage casts him out.
• Heroic BSoD
  • Everybody suffers this in Episode 14 after a number of Neo DEAVA students, including Jin, are killed during Kagura's rampage.
  • Played for Laughs in Episode 17 by Andy, after MIX slaps him for his... rather suggestive confession.
  • Played for Drama in Episode 18 by Andy, after MIX gets captured by Izumo and his men whilst saving Zessica.
• Holding Hands: Amata initiates this with Mikono while they're watching "Skies of Aquaria" in Episode 12.
• Homage: Solarion: a Romance is a Victorian novel by Edgard Fawcett about an intelligent dog who falls in love with the girlfriend of his master, the scientist who created him. The name should have been just an uncanny coincidence but for the Plot Twist in episode 23.
• Human Aliens: The denizens of Altair. Arguably, the humans of Vega—its Earth-like setting notwithstanding—also count. Turns out that Altair and Vega were once the same planet, separated in two with the Tree of Life's death in Genesis of Aquarion.
• Humongous Mecha
• I Know Your True Name: Amata's only way to break the Guize Stones that keep Vector-X and Vector-Y from forming a Union with his Vector-Z is to pronounce the "forbidden name"—Aquarion.
• Improbable Age: Crea Drosera, Chairwoman of Neo-DEAVA (and Zen's partner) is (apparently) only a child with an absurdly high IQ of 300. Interestingly, when Zessica asks exactly how old Crea is, Donar deliberately dodges the question.
• Indirect Kiss: In Episode 11, Zessica drinks from Amata's juice box; when she realizes the implications of it, she hastily drinks out of Mikono's juice box too.
• Interrupted Declaration of Love: In Episode 11, Amata attempts to ask Mikono if they can date once the Abductors invasion is over (as there will be no need for the ban on relationships), but Mikono seeing Kagura in Amata's reflection interrupts his confession.
  • Averted in Episode 16 Zessica's initial labored confession to Amata is drowned out by missile fire while they are in a mock battle. But after he and Mikono ask what she says, she screams it out again for everyone to hear.
• In the Blood: Cayenne and his younger sister Mikono belong to an influential family of Element Users. Mikono hasn't (apparently) developed any powers, and has to rely on Cayenne to protect her every time the Abductors attack—at least until she meets Amata.
• Ironic Hell:
  • Of the school detention variety. In Episode 9, as punishment for refusing to perform a Union during a simulation battle (with Mikono), MIX and Andy were confined to a room where they had to do things which are, in context, the opposite of their powers—Andy has to put corks on bottles, while MIX has to punch holes on reams of animation papers.
  • Mix hates men, so of course she would be the one who is forcefully taken to Altair, a planet filled with men — and turned into a guy.
• Karma Houdini: Mykage. The worst he got hit with is that he a heart shaped attacked used against him and his plans foiled. But now he is a part of the man he loves and hates for all eternity just like he always wanted. He even describes it as being warm inside Fudou.
• Killed Off for Real: Jin at the end of Episode 13. Also Shrade in episode 23 and then Izumo and Alicia in the next episode.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Deconstructed in Episode 18. Zessica's actions end up getting Mix kidnapped.
• Let's You and Him Fight: The OVA's promotional video features Aquarion Evol and Solar Aquarion duking it. Turns out to be little more than Kagura and Apollo doing their thing.
• Literal Split Personality: Kagura is actually the "dark side" of Amata who was split by Mykage in order to use him for his revenge.
• Logic Bomb: During his first mock exercise, instead of actually fighting the Abductors, Amata instead bows down in front of the camera to apologize to Mikono for accidentally looking up her skirt earlier. The AI enemies are so utterly confused by his actions that the staff are forced to shut down the simulation before the system crashes.
• Lovable Sex Maniac: Andy really loves girls—in fact, he uses his innate ability to detect weak spot in enclosures to dig a tunnel through the great wall that divides the male and female sides of the Academy.
• Love Epiphany: Kagura's extremely fast reversal of his feelings toward Mikono at the end of the series is implied to be because he realized he was Loving a Shadow and that Amata loved Mikono as a person.
• Love Makes the Aquarion Go Berserk: The "Aquarion Disaster" nine years ago supposedly happened due to Donar's affections for a female copilot. For whatever reason this caused Aquarion to run wild and Mykage taking the girl away. She held onto him so tight both Donar's arms were ripped off.
  • Episode 16 has Aquarion going berserk after Zessica confesses to Amata her unrequited love for him, causing it to go berserk and do a dimensional mugen punch.
  • Averted in the finale. Apparently only Amata and Mikono, the incarnations of Apollo and Celiane respectively, could express their feelings for each other in the Aquarion EVOL without it going berzerk.
• Love Triangle: Amata and Mikono have feelings for each other. To Mikono's jealousy, Zessica flirts with Amata, in spite of Mikono's feelings for him, because she thinks it's funny when he floats. Until Zessica starts to develop feelings for Amata too.
  • Love Dodecahedron: Kagura takes an interest in Mikono and is determined to make her his "wench." Mikono is fearful of Kagura, but in spite of her feelings for Amata, she also finds herself attracted to him. This might have to do with the fact that Amata and Kagura are both the reincarnation of Apollo/Apollon and Mikono of Sylvia/Sylvie.
• Magic Music: Shrade's Element ability is manipulating brainwaves with music from his piano, as well as sensing the "music" in people and surroundings. He can use it to mentally stun people or drive its listeners into a genocidal frenzy—including (unintentionally) his own parents.
• Manipulative Bastard: Mykage, who pulls the strings behind friends and foes alike for the sake of his true objective locate and seize the original Aquarion.
• Mars Needs Women: Altair's true purpose for the "abductions." Altair itself is even a red planet like Mars.
• Meaningful Name: The massive wall that separates the male and female sections of the Academy is called the "Berlin."
• Mecha-Mooks: Abductors' mechas are remote-controlled, unless it's personal and/or the pilot is Kagura.
• Meteor Move: The "Flying Love Attack" is a variation of Type B, with the Aquarion ramming Kagura's Mithra Gnis into an asteroid.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Episode 14 for the students and 17 for the Aquarion.
• Military School: Neo DEAVA's approach towards training males is basically this, complete with a Drill Sergeant Nasty instructor.
• Moment Killer:
  • Kagura. You just had to follow your nose, didn't you?
  • Shu-Shu. Although as of Episode 12, Amata seems to have grown immune to Shu-Shu and his moment killer ways. Kagura, not so much...
• Mood Whiplash: The rest of Episode 5 is basically the kids of Neo-DEAVA getting (comically) electrocuted with their love-detecting collars (most notably Andy and Sazanka). It ends with Mikono, who is already with high emotions thanks to Amata's sweet words, being shocked unconscious by the collar after Kagura shows up, licks her hand, and tells her she "stinks deliciously."
• Ms. Fanservice: Zessica. Just look at her outfit.
• Muggle Born of Mages: Mikono hails from a family of Element Users, yet has no apparent Element powers as of present.

• Mundane Made Awesome:
  • Amata apologizing to Mikono using the Aquarion to pull off an "orz."
  • Punching a hole through the Berlin with a Mugen Attack that orbited the planet twice after defeating Jin.
  • DONUTS!
  • Andy is very passionate about digging holes, and even goes into great detail about how digging has advanced human society.
• Mythology Gag: There was a movie Amata kept playing on the movie theater he works in about the events of twelve millennia past. The world essentially forgot about it, but the theme song stayed incredibly popular, enough to bring tears to Mikono's eyes.
• Nice Guy: Amata, although he is the main character.
• Nice Girl: Mikono.
• No Communities Were Harmed: Neo Kowloon, the city near Neo DEAVA's headquarters, is pretty much a dead ringer for Hong Kong.
  • Neo DEAVA itself has a design that resembles cultures from Middle East. Some character designs are even influenced by this.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Kagura can and will walk up to any woman just to stiff her.
• The Nose Knows: Kagura seems to have great smelling ability. In Episode 1, Kagura was able to smell Mikono even though they were both in seperate cockpits. In Episode 5, Kagura finds Mikono smack in the middle of bustling Neo Kowloon just by following her scent.
• Not What It Looks Like: In Episode 7, Mikono is convinced that something happened between Amata and Zessica after witnessing them "running away in each other's arms" the night before. In reality, they were running away in fear of what appeared to be a ghost, which turned out to be Yunoha.
• Oh, Crap!
  • The staff of the Neo DEAVA Academy collectively shit their pants whenever Amata does something unusual—when he utters "Aquarion" (a name supposedly unknown to anyone outside the Academy's higher-ups), breaks the taboo (and the Guize Stones) prohibiting cross gender Unions, and punches a hole right through the Berlin.
  • Probably the only way to describe Mikono's expression when she sees Kagura in Amata's reflection in Episode 11.
  • The first time Fudo has a legitimately angry and serious expression on his face is when Mykage apparently killed Jin, which leads us to...
  • The moment that end of Episode 14 where Kagura suddenly bursts out of the ground next to the protagonists.
  • Kagura in Episode 25 when an insanely pissed off Amata attacks him with a vengeance after he allegedly kills both of their parents (It was actually Mykage). He recovers, but it's pretty much the only time we see him truly scared.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Fudo, being a badass reincarnated member of the original cast who's fully aware of his past life, always seems to know how to lead his men to victory with a calm smile on his face. He even responds to Mykage's threats with a teasing smirk. So when he frowns, you know that shit's hit the fan. Case-in-point, the first time he frowns is when Mikage kills Jin.
• One-Gender Race: Altair's Human Aliens used to have a functional two-gender race (just like Vega), until the female birth rate suddenly stopped, and then a mysterious disease wiped out what few females Altair has left. To this end they start scrambling to find Reaiglers, women qualified to become their new "Eve" (though on occasion males get captured, too) who can repopulate Altair.
• One-Gender School: Played with—Neo DEAVA Academy is definitely a co-ed school, but has separate facilities for its male and female student bodies, down to having their own Aquaria units. They are even separated by a giant wall called the "Berlin." This is ultimately subverted at the end of Episode 4, when Zen changes Neo-DEAVA's educational system to co-ed after Amata punches a hole through the "Berlin"... except romantic relationships are strictly forbidden.
• Opposites Attract: Andy is a Lovable Sex Maniac who can find weak spots in structures. MIX is a Straw Feminist who can cover weak spots in structures. Clearly these two have nothing in common, but for some reason they make an oddly effective pair.
• Parental Abandonment: Amata's Parents. Alicia was abducted to Vega and seems to be stuck in some sort of stasis. Izumo is implied to be to his father or at least knew Alicia while she was alive. Shrade is this as well, only with shades of Self-Made Orphan.
  • Confirmed as of Episode 24. Izumo is Amata's Long lost dad who travelled to Earth to find a cure but met Alicia instead.
• Personality Powers:
  • Yunoha very shy: Invisibility
  • Jin doesn't like to interact with others: Deflector Shields.
  • Sazanka is a rotten girl: Decay
• Person of Mass Destruction: Shrade's element power allows him to manipulate people's emotions with his music. He essentially has the power to put entire crowds of people into an uncontrollable, homicidal rage.
• Poor Communication Kills: Amata and Mikono often get into misunderstandings that lead Mikono to give Amata the cold shoulder until Amata fixes things or the truth comes to light. This is usually Played for Laughs until Episode 7. During the second battle against Jin, Amata was bothered because of yet another misunderstanding, causing his spirit levels to drop significantly, nearly spelling defeat for him had it not been for Yunoha's intervention.
• Power Floats: Amata's Element is levitation amplified by emotion.
• Pretty Boy:
  • Selling pictures of Shrade is a big moneymaker on the girls' side of Neo DEAVA.
  • When Kagura sneaks away to explore Neo Kowloon, two girls immediately ignore their initial shock to gush over his good looks.
  • Amata's looks didn't go unnoticed by the girls, as evidenced in Episode 8.
• Psychic Powers
  • Amata: Levitation and Flight
  • Mikono: Connection
  • Zessica: Distortion
  • Cayenne: Telepathic Vision
  • Shrade: Brainwave-Altering Music
  • Andy: Creating Holes
  • Mix: Spatial Augmentation
  • Yunoha: Invisibility
  • Kagura: Reversal
  • Jin: Isolation
  • Malloy: Fragility
  • Sazanka: Decay
• Red Oni, Blue Oni:
  • Cayenne and Shrade. The former is a Hot-Blooded empath with a sometimes overprotective streak towards Mikono. The latter is a cool-headed Bishōnen with a streak of Dissonant Serenity and an ability to manipulate brainwaves with music. This is further emphasized through their interactions with Amata: Cayenne immediately disliked him for Falling into the Cockpit with Mikono without realizing that he risked his life protecting her, while Shrade immediately had a pleasant conversation with him, noting how he exudes a beautiful, honest melody. This dynamic did not go unnoticed by Sazanka.
  • On the side of Altair, Kagura is a feisty Blood Knight who loves running headlong into battle, while Jin is a calculating strategist who prefers tactical combat and manipulating his Mooks from high up the orbit.
• Redemption Equals Death: For refusing to go along with Mykage's schemes, Jin is Killed Off for Real at the end of Episode 13.
• Reincarnation: Mikono is the reincarnation of Silvia and Amata and Kagura are both the reincarnation of Apollo who in turn was revealed to be the incarnation of not Apollonius but Pollon, the angel's winged dog companion. Also, Crea Drosera is implied to be Rena Rune's reincarnation.
• Reincarnation Romance: Being Aquarion, this is required. That being said, it still screws with the viewer's expectations.
• Rewrite: Twice. the entire existence of the shadow angel dog Pollon is this. Originally Kawamori did want to include the plot twist that Apollo was the reincarnation of Pollon rather than Apollonius in the original Genesisof Aquarion, however the staff of Genesis talked him out of it pointing out that the inclusion of the dog would only take away the focus on the love story between Apollo and Silvia. Kawamori reluctantly agreed and Pollon was erased from the story. Apollo was then made the reincarnation of Apollonius despite Apollo's many canine-like behaviors and traits, and how in the finale the Aquarion itself was revealed to hold Apollonius's soul. This is also why there is no mention of the dog in the Aquarion OVAs. When it came time to make up the story for EVOL however, Ohkada found Kawamori's notes and Kawamori was easily convinced into integrating the idea back into the story. Essentially, EVOL takes a scrapped earlier draft of the original anime's story and makes it the canon version of the setting.
• Running Gag
  • It seems that events always conspire to prevent Andy from performing a Union with a female pilot. This is Lampshaded by him when he is ordered to swap out of the Vector-Z for Amata. Then come Episode 9, just when he finally has a chance (with MIX and Mikono), he gets knocked out of the sky and had to be replaced with Amata.
  • Once more in episode 25, after MIX gets HIS memories back as a girl, the two enter Andy's Vector for a Union, only for them to be replaced by Yunoha. It's justified this time since the two are currently high with love, they had to be switched out in order to prevent the Aquarion from going berserk.
  • Zessica teasing Amata to the point when he floats, and Shu-Shu biting Amata if he gets too close to Mikono.
  • The comforting presence of Paper bag-chan.
• Scarily Competent Tracker: Kagura.
• Self-Made Orphan: Shrade, though unintentional, having accidentally made his parents kill each other while he was playing his piano.
  • Kagura under the influence of Mykage becomes one without knowing.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man:
  • Amata and Andy. The former is a shy, reasonable boy who can show courage when fighting or protecting Mikono. The latter is an energetic young man who takes his digging career seriously.
  • Shrade and Cayenne. The former is a mysterious piano player who's calm even when he's mentally torturing someone. The latter is a Hot-Blooded, Knight Templar Big Brother who will do anything to keep his sister out of harm's way.
• Series Continuity Error: In Aquarion Love, the Evol series has already ended, and nobody recognizes Solar Aquarion or Apollo and Silvia, despite the fact that 1. they all saw the events of the original series in Episode 16, 2. Kagura piloted Solar in Episode 24, and 3. they have a statue of Solar at their school.
• Shout-Out
  • The anime likes reusing music from the first series, such as various background pieces. In Episode 8, they replaced the regular Theme Music Power-Up with "Go Tight!".
  • The scenes in Episode 8 where Amata, Mikono, and Zessica are tearing their flight suits apart are reminiscent of the climactic scene of Gunbuster's finale.
  • Sazanka is shown performing Ranka's trademark Kira pose in the opening credits. Also doubles as an Actor Allusion, as both are voiced by Megumi Nakajima.
  • There's even a shoutout to Macross with the pineapple pizza appearing the episode before the one where Jin is Killed Off for Real
  • More's to the point, the Super-Dimensional Mugen Punch is triggered by a love triangle between a guy and two girls, with one of the driving emotions being jealousy.
    • Considering the fact that the series is directed by the same man responsible for Macross Frontier, the Macross references shouldn't be surprising.
  • Andy W. Hol. 'Nuff said.
• Ship Tease
  • There's some Belligerent Sexual Tension between Donar and Suomi, but hints abound that they're getting close to each other, such as when they hold hands as they cheer the two Aquarions' victory over Kagura at the end of Episode 13 before backing away in embarrassment.
  • As of Episode 10, Jin and Yunoha. It ultimately goes nowhere when Jin is Killed Off for Real at the end of Episode 13.
• Something Else Also Rises: Quite literally. Any intense emotion can trigger his levitation abilities (such as a zombie movie), but fanservice is so far the most common factor, so in a way he starts starts flying around every time he pops a boner. Hilarity Ensues.
• Something Only They Would Say: Less specific than most examples, but the implications of Jin knowing an attacking abductor's name are not lost on Yunoha.

• Straw Feminist: MIX was constantly preaching to other girls about how "filthy" men are and that the only combinations which are "pure" are those amongst girls-only trios. Not so much once she finally makes a Union with Andy, who manages to defrost her.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Izumo and Mykage's alliance boils down to this, with the former becoming increasingly wary of the latter's manipulations, particularly of the feral Kagura. It comes to a head at Episode 11, after Mykage frees Kagura, now fully under his thrall, to retake Mithra Gnis and continue chasing after Mikono.
• Telescoping Robot: The Mugen Punch returns as the Mugen Attack.
• Testosterone Poisoning: a very literal example. All Rare Iguras (WOMEN) abducted to Altair suffers this. Those that are powerful enough to ACTUALLY survive get mentally and physically transformed into MEN. Yunoha's turning was particularly funny. Due to the testosterone flooding her system, she couldn't stop talking in a stereotypical macho way.
• Theme Music Powerup: The new OP serves as this. It's even sung by the same group as the last one.
• Together in Death: Amata's parents Izumo and Alicia are reunited in death towards the end of the anime.
• Twice Shy: Amata and Mikono crush on each other from their first meeting, but are too awkward to be honest about their feelings.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: Amata and Mikono. They obviously like each other. But repeated Moment Killers, and Neo Deava's ban on love keeps them from having a Relationship Upgrade. Even when Amata tries to evade this in Episode 11 by asking her if they could go out after the Abductors are defeated, he is interrupted by Mikono seeing Kagura in Amata's reflection.
• Villainous Crush:
  • Kagura is getting interested in Mikono, saying that he's finally found himself a good "wench." There's also been a flashforward of sorts showing a sad-looking Mikono dressed in black together with Kagura at what Cayenne describes in his strange visions as a "wedding in mourning clothes."
  • Also, when Jin infiltrates the academy, he picks up a crush on Yunoha. It redeems him... and proves to be his undoing.
• Visual Pun: On Neo-DEAVA's very first first co-ed class (after Amata punches a hole through the "Berlin" with a "Mugen Attack"), nascent sexual tension between several males and females were so steamy, so to speak, Mix's glasses got mist.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: As said in the Mars Needs Women, Altair isn't looking invade Vega. Rather, they are looking for their new "Eve."
• Wham Episode: Episode 13... full stop. Just when Jin finally discovered The Powers of Love, Friendship and Trust (courtesy of Yunoha and the rest of her friends), Mykage kills him off for daring to defy him and Kagura, now his Unwitting Pawn. Even the unflappable Zen Fudo was shocked. And it gets worse — as the next episode preview shows, Jin isn't the only casualty.
  • Episode 23, just, Episode 23
  • Episode 24. My God... episode 24. We suddenly find that Alicia wasn't in true stasis, she could even move and talk... psychically? So Amata finally managed to talk to her and find out who his Father truly was and that his mother abandoned him to join him on Altair. Outside; the True Aquarion, under Mykage's control is given an ultimatum; surrender the True Eve or face the full power of the planet Altair as wielded by Izumo, takes a pot shot at the building where Alicia was being kept. When Izumo races off to save his lover, Mykage mind controls Kagura and they back stab Izumo's Ahura Gnis. Amata found AND lost BOTH his parents in the span of 10 minutes.
• The Worf Barrage: Mugen Punch becomes this after its first use.
• Woman Scorned: As in the previous series, this applies to the male antagonist. It can be said that Mikage really is the personification of this, as he is the bitterness that came out from Touma when Touma realized the truth at the end of the first series.
• Yaoi Fangirl: Sazanka is described as one on her character profile. This is especially shown in Episode 5, where she starts seeing something beyond Shrade's simple friendly overtures and Cayenne's awkward responses, accidentally electrocuting herself twice with the love-detecting collar in the process. In Episode 10, she guesses whether Jin is a top or a bottom when he transfers into the class, even wondering if he is a top that just LOOKS like a bottom.

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