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Anime: Rinne no Lagrange

(From left to right: Lan, Madoka, and Muginami)

Madoka Kyouno is the sole member of the Jersey Club and always ready to help others out. One day, she is approached by an alien named Lan who asks her to pilot a robotic aircraft to defend mankind against an evil force. Thus begins a surprisingly morally ambiguous story despite having a highly idealistic protagonist and an overall lighthearted tone.

Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne (輪廻のラグランジェ Flower declaration of your heart, Rinne no Raguranje) is an anime that started airing in January 2012. The Second season will begin airing in July 2012. The anime is being produced by Xebec and directed by Toshimasa Suzuki. The anime has been licensed for streaming in North America by Viz Media. The respective opening and ending themes are "TRY UNITE!" and "Hello!", both performed by Megumi Nakajima: she will be reprising her role for the second season's opening.

A Character page is currently under construction, so please move all character tropes there.

This series provides examples of:

A Friend in Need: Madoka says she will always help friend in need; even if it's a friend she just met, she'll pilot a robot for her.
After the End: All the aliens are actually descendants of humans who left before Earth's civilization collapsed. Now their home planet is essentially a galactic reserve for society.
Air Vent Passageway
Aliens in Cardiff: Alien Humongous Mecha in Kamogawa.
Amusing Injuries: Madoka takes some.
Anti-Villain: Between their many humanizing scenes, lack of inclination to perform any actually villainous acts, and the show's Gray and Grey Morality; it is really hard to see the Kiss trio as anything but this. Their boss Villaguillio probably counts as well.
Barehanded Blade Block: Vox Aura handily catches Kirius' blade... and fails. Doesn't matter, Vox Aura has thick plating (Kirius claims it was supposed to be nonlethal). In fact, this happens twice. The third time, it works. Because Lan's robot does it that time.
Batter Up: Madoka bats away a flying newspaper dispenser, using a ripped from the ground streetlight.
BFG: Villagiulio's Vox has one, and Lan receives a rifle as well.
Big Damn Heroes: Lan's brother and his Le Garite Knights in Episode 12 drive off Kiss just in time.
Bishoujo Series
Bishounen: The three attackers of the earth, Izo, Array, and Kirius.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Muginami seemed to be leaning towards this at the end of episode 5. Talking about war like it was nothing kinda rubbed people the wrong way. But after Villagiulio's Reason You Suck Speech, she'll probably snap out of it.
Bittersweet Ending: Everything's resolved nicely by the end of the first season, but...Madoka lost two close friends (and quite likely more than just friends). They do promise to see each other again, though.
Book Ends: The first season begins and ends with Madoka stripping to a swimsuit she was wearing under her clothes to help someone at the beach.
Break the Cutie: Done to Muginami in episode 5 after Villagiulio tells her that she is just a parasite and that she never was a part of his team.
Bridge Bunnies
Butt Monkey: Array, who constantly gets into various embarrassing situations, such as having to spend latest episodes in a French Maid Outfit.
Can You Hear Me Now?: Madoka's cellphone gets almost no reception in the floating city, but it somehow works just fine inside her robot and under hundreds of feet of ocean. The latter oddity is lampshaded by the commander.
Catch Phrase/Verbal Tic: Madoka always says "Maru", which means "Tick", "Circle" or "Perfect" in english.
- Which may be a Japanese pun on her name, since "Madoka" can also mean circle.
- And Lan has "Wan", which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for "Woof!"
- There's also Muginami's "Roger that!" (Kashikomari!, short for Kashikomarimashita)
  - They all also do hand gestures, Madoka makes an air circle and Lan does a Faux Paw, and Muginami does a little salute.
The Cavalry: The Le Garite fleet arrives just in time as Vox Aura... runs out of fuel, or whatever causes it to stop moving. It's still possible to win the battle with the other two Voxes, but considering what happen when you push Vox pilots to their emotional limit, it's probably not a wise thing to do.
Chainmail Bikini: Averted, sort of. The pilot suits cover everything, but they usually make themselves transparent on the arms, legs and upper back for no apparent reason.
Chekhov's Gun: The shield materialization ability of the Ovids saves most of Kamogawa from the falling debris of the big battle. Most..
Chekhov's Gunman: Yurikano. If she's not on the same otherworldly shore as the one Madoka ended up in, things would probably went disastrous.
Cliff Hanger: Episode 11. Madoka's sister is mortally wounded by a fallen enemy bot; Madoka sees this and has a Freak Out that causes all three Voxes to lose control and blossom simultaneously. Gratefully, she gets better.
- And even more gratefully, the season finale DOESN'T end on this, even when it was known well before airing it would be two seasons. It ends fairly conclusively, yet still open to more afterwards.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The Ovid and their contrails.
Conveniently Empty Building: The only building Madoka lands on in episode 3, apparently shut down the previous week. She also manages to crash-land in an empty lot; the house that was there had recently been demolished.
- Although she didn't need to be that worried as an evacuation order was issued and the people were presumably heading to shelters.
Crapsack World: U-Go, the planet Muginami hails from. It's described as essentially being the trash heap of the universe.
Creative Closing Credits: People Walk on Chairs? SO MANY CHAIRS.
Curtains Match The Windows: Multiple characters.
Destructive Saviour: Madoka consciously does her best to avoid being one. It doesn't always work... especially considering that her Vox has some kind of special ability that plays right into Villagiulio's hands...
Easily Forgiven: Muginami is rather quickly forgiven for being a bad guy, who was planning on giving the Vox to Villagiulio. Hell, Madoka apologized to her.
Elemental Powers: Vox Aura, Lympha, and Ignis are stated to have the powers of wind, water, and fire respectively.
Embarrassing Tattoo: All three of the main girls have 'Memoria' in...unusual places, to say the least. Madoka's appears to be on her ass, Lan's is somewhere near her breasts, and Muginami's is just above her crotch.
- On the other hand, Asteria's tattoo, that which she calls Rin-Ne, is located right on her bossom.
Empathic Weapon: The Vox units only work if the pilot believes in themselves. Madoka seems to have "befriended" hers at some point in the past as well.
Eternal Recurrence: According to Asteria, she's the Witch who cycles the world through war and peace, and she hopes to be freed from this role by Madoka. Whatever that means.
Face Palm of Doom: Villagiulio makes one to Muginami. Squishy.
Fanservice: Normally mild, but episode 7 has a Bathtub Bonding scene, spontaneous Skinny Dipping, and a bunch of eels doing...things. Probably meant to counterbalance the flashbacks to Muginami's Dark and Troubled Past in the same episode, but mainly it's just jarring.
- Fanservice with a Smile: When Lan and Muginami help Madoka out at the restaurant, damn near the entire town gathers there due being told about "a cute waitress AND a klutzy one?". And damn near everyone sits there gawking at Lan spilling everything and Muginami being Muginami. Later they all get waitress uniforms anyway.
Fashionable Asymmetry: When wearing her jersey (i.e. pretty much all the time), Madoka has the right leg and left sleeve rolled up.
Furo Scene: Madoka and Muginami have one in Episode 7.
Gainaxing
Getting Crap Past the Radar: One of the concert-goers in Episode 10 wears a shirt that reads "FUCK KEIN". Whoever Kein is is never explained.
Human Alien: All of the aliens that have appeared thus far. Justified because they actually are descendants of Earthlings that voyaged to other planets before Earth's civilization collapsed.
Humongous Mecha
Improvised Weapon: For the first couple of fights, the Vox units don't get any weaponry whatsoever, forcing Madoka and Lan to punch and throw random crap to victory. Later on they get actual weapons sent to them.
Indirect Kiss: Youko's apprentice was estatic in episode 6 at the prospect of sharing one with her when she took his instant noodles from him.... only to finish it and thow the cup in the bin, visibly dissapointing him.
Intertwined Fingers: Madoka and Lan do this in episode 12.
Laser Blade: Array's robot has one.
- Also Kirius and Izo
The Load: Muginami apparently. Viliagilio said that the only thing she did back at their Alien base, Kiss, was eat and sleep.
- Not really. The Load gets in the way. Also, its heavily implied that he was twisting the reality as part of a scheme to piss Madoka off and get Muginami to stay behind.
Male Gaze: Well, female. Madoka's first view of Lan is the full slide up with her slackjawed.
- Quite a few shots have a female character's rear end covering half the screen...
Mecha Expansion Pack: The Vox units get one about episode 10. It gifts Muginami with a double-blade sword, Lan with a machine gun, and Madoka with a smaller Laser Blade.
Mood Whiplash: Good job, Lan and Madoka, you beat the bad guys with The Power of Friendship! Then Array recounts a legend that essentially amounts to "the Vox units will destroy the world".
Must Make Amends: Lan feels very bad for making Madoka pilot the Vox Aura and for the destruction that Kamogawa suffers from battle. But Madoka doesn't think badly of her, since being a pilot is Madoka's own decision.
New Transfer Student: Both Muginami and Lan transfer into Madoka's school in episode 4.
NGO Super Power: As fitting of a NERV Expy, Novumundos is ridiculously powerful. Asteria casually threatens to replace the American president during a phone call.
Oh Crap: Quite possibly the PRETTIEST Oh Crap ever. Sure making an explosion that resulted in green energy flowers falling everywhere looks harmless, but the resulting Evil Laugh from Moid and Villagiulio's relative approval of the event sure as hell doesn't mean good things.
Overly-Long Name: Lan's full name is Fin E Ld Si Laffinity. Madoka just thinks it sounds foreign.
Phlebotinum Killed The Dinosaurs: The Voxes triggered Last Glacial Maximum collapsed the human civilization of that era and forced the survivor to flee to outer space, their descendants today being the "aliens" like Lan. No wonder Kirius and co are hellbent to destroy the Voxes.
Posthumous Character: Yurikano. Who just happen to look like Madoka. She's probably not dead, only stuck in a pocket dimension.
The Power of Friendship: The Vox seems to work better when using this. More than likely this will surface between the three pilots as well.
Precursors: Earth is actually the origin of the Polyhedron "alien" cultures, in fact being the descendants of human colonies from a lost age gone twenty thousand years ago.
Product Placement: Drink sweet energy drinks◊ and you'll be able to save the earth! Also, the credits do mention it's sponsored by Nissan to a degree, as well as the mechs being created by Nissan's vehicle designer.
- See Real Place Background, right below.
Real Place Background: Kamogawa. As part of the show's Idiosyncratic Episode Naming, "Kamogawa" is worked into every title in some fashion. Kamogawa is hoping this show will increase tourism for them.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Muginami calls Madoka out in episde 6, claiming that she doesn't truly think of others and that everything she does is for selfish reasons. It does nothing but piss Madoka off, and makes her enable the Rin-Ne.
- In episode 7, she realizes that Muginami was right and that she needs to learn to listen to people.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: Muginami and Lan.
Romantic Three Girl Friendship: Madoka is very, very close to both Muginami and Lan. (Despite Lan's misgivings, she has no problem with having two people be her Most Important People.) Madoka and Lan star in the blatantly romantic student film "The Spaceship and the Lily", and the false declaration of love turns out to not have been so false...
Running Gag: Madoka's inability to pronounce Villagiulio's name.
Madoka: "Villagiuvio!"
Lan: "You almost got it right."
Scenery Porn: It can be said without a doubt that the show takes place in vibrant and lush surroundings, a nice break from the usual bleak flatlands and crumbling cities found in most mecha shows. Even the metaphysical apocalyptic scene after Rinne fully blooms is astonishingly nice-looking, if depressing.
- Scenery Gorn: However, U-Go, Muginami's planet, is broken and gray and stark and overall horrid place. A horrid place that happens to posess the Animation Bumps within the show itself.
Shippers on Deck: The girls who produce the student film "The Spaceship and the Lily" (starring Madoka and Lan) are implied to be a bunch of Madoka/Lan shippers.
Skinship Grope: No groping, but naked bathing and hugging.
Super Robot Genre
Transforming Mecha: Which only adds to the very Eureka Seven-ish design scheme of the mecha.
Trouser Space: Madoka pulls a tennis ball out of her skirt. It is actually◊ Truth in Television.
True Companions: According to Madoka's older cousin, True Companions are people carrying the same beliefs and holding mutual love for each other. Madoka, Lan, and Muginami will probably grow into this as the series goes on.
Unusually Uninteresting Sight: The kids at Madoka's school don't seem to notice Lan's blue hair, purple eyes, and her unusual outfit. They just wonder if Madoka finally recruited a new club member. Even Madoka doesn't take notice of it.
- In a mixture of Cloudcuckoolander and Crazy-Prepared: Madoka thinks Lan's costume is a swimsuit, and that she's prepared for a rescue — just like herself in the beginning of the episode.
Villains Out Shopping: Villagiulio gets in a fight with Madoka's uncle over a coat they both wanted to buy.
- Go Karting with Bowser: Then they have a drink to make up for their immaturity. Villagiulio gets the coat.
- Episode 9 is almost completely this.
Wake Up, Go to School, Save Kamogawa
War Is Hell: It's all but stated that Lan lost her brother in a war sometimes in the past. This must be the reason Villagiulio doesn't regard Muginami taking a Vox as a good thing, since to him she's just a war-buddy-wannabe kid.
Was It All a Lie?: When Lan corners Muginami about secretly working for the Kiss while maintaining friendly facade.
- It Meant Something To Me: Muginami's reply is that it was a good time, but the good time must go.
Wham Episode: Episode 11 looked like this to many. Gratefully it all ends fairly peacefully.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?: The three colored chairs that represent Madoka, Lan, and Muginami. At the end of episodes that mark important turning points in their characters, the chairs shift positions and placement. And at the end of the first season, Madoka's chair is all alone...
You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Kirius and Lan. Lan's hair is light blue while Kirius's hair is dark blue.
Zettai Ryouiki: Lan in her normal outfit and Madoka's pilot suit.