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"A merry robot action anime about protecting the peace of the world and your neighborhood."
Yoshiyuki Tomino technically explains the show to his sponsors, Gundam Sousei.

Space Runaway Ideon (a.k.a. 伝説巨神イデオン, Densetsu Kyojin Ideon, lit. Legendary Giant God Ideon, also The Ideon) is a 1980 Super Robot Genre, Mecha Show anime. It was the project that Yoshiyuki Tomino worked on directly after Mobile Suit Gundam. As with its sister series, it had its run cut short, it was planned for 43 episodes but got pulled after 39. The last 4 episodes were made into the movie Be Invoked (with help from Sanrio Animation). Due to its angsty and bizarre ending, it is often cited as a close inspiration for Neon Genesis Evangelion (Hideaki Anno himself describes Evangelion as Ideon meets Devilman).

The story goes as follows: A group of Terran colonists on a remote planet find a Cool Starship and three bulky starfighters that combine into a Super Robot. The ship and the robot contain the so-called Ide, a source of infinite energy, which a militaristic alien-but-actually-human civilization called Buff Clan is after. This results in a Strategy of the Week format as the Buff Clan (unsuccessfully) employs increasingly more devastating technologies and renowned military commanders to bring down the Solo ship and to get their hands on Ideon. Along the way, many folks die, and the Solo crew screw up their relationships with other Terran colonies and the Earth itself, all of whom now want Ide for themselves. On top of all that, it also becomes apparent that Ideon has a will of its own and that it is displeased with the humans' wars and infighting...

Yoshiyuki Tomino apparently wants to make a remake of it. Complete with the death scenes.


This anime provides examples of:

  • Afro Asskicker: Cosmo Yuki, main character, main pilot of the Ideon, and proud owner of a stylish orange 'fro.
  • All for Nothing: The war. It starts over a misunderstanding and ends in a Mutual Kill. And if that didn't make it pointless enough, there's the fact that it was all part of the Ideon's plan.
  • All There in the Manual: The official website offers several insights into the main characters' backgrounds and motivations:
    • Gije was originally appointed as Karala's fiancee by the Doba family due to his skills, and due to the same qualities, he was eventually appointed as the leader of Buff Clan's research team on the Ide.
    • Kasha was separated from her parents when she was a child and was subsequently raised in a military facility, leading to her hardheaded personality.
  • Anyone Can Die: Taken to its absolute logical extreme in Be Invoked. Not even Rapappa is spared. Hell, even Yoshiyuki Tomino is brutally killed!
  • Apocalypse How:
    • In Be Invoked we see the energy from the Ideon's destruction spread out and engulf the remaining planets in the system. And then it just keeps getting larger... and larger...
  • Ascended Fanboy: Gije, having become obsessed with the Ideon over the series' duration, eventually defects to the Solo Ship (not that the Buff Clan minds about his fate anymore) so that he can witness "a manifestation of the Ide" and ends up becoming one of its pilots.
  • Badass Crew: The Solo Ship crew grew into this and having two variations of Proud Warrior Race Guy also helps.
  • Bait-and-Switch Credits: The opening shows Bes in his spacesuit as if he's one of the main pilots of Ideon. Though he did pilot Sol-Vainer/Ideo-Nova in the early episodes, he chooses to be the captain of the Solo Ship instead while Moera is the one who pilots Sol Vainer for the majority of the show until his death in episode 32.
  • Because You Were Nice to Me: How Bes and Karala's relationship came to be because the former mistook the latter as an Earth colonist and asked her out for a date during their first meeting. Even after learning who she is, Bes still treats her nicely regardless of how most of the crew members feel about her. He is the first human who accepts her for who she is and is willing to listen to her advice. It helps that he saved her when she was humiliated by her older sister.
  • Bloodier and Gorier: The war sequences are even more brutal and graphic than that of Mobile Suit Gundam. Both humans and Buff Clan soldiers drop like flies that even civilians are not safe from active warzones.
  • Blood-Splattered Innocents: So... so... many... *sob*.
  • Big Bad: At first you'd think it'd be the leader of the Buff Clan, Emperor Zuou Habel Gande, or their military commander, Karala's Archnemesis Dad, Doba. The real main villain is either the Ideon or all of humanity. The machine is alive and seeks to wipe out all sentient life for its repeated acts of violence and war. And either they've already failed its test, or the entire show is sentient life failing in their last opportunity to save themselves because they can't stop fighting each other even in the face of extinction.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • Bes saves Karala when her sister humiliates her and orders her men to strip her.
    • When Ideon is captured by the Buff Clan's Adigo Mobile Mecha with their Geru Field, Piper Lou, who happens to sneak in the Ideo-Delta with Ashura and Fard, starts to cry in despair causing a huge energy surge with Ideon. The energy surge creates two beams of light from Ideon's wrists which can destroy the mechs with ease. Cosmo realizes that Lou's responsible for this and thanks him for saving their lives.
    • After being abandoned by his superiors, Gije saves Sheryl when she's being attacked by the Moonland survivors.
    • Karala and Gije also rescue Bes and Cosmo when they're imprisoned on an Earth base after Bes refuses to surrender the Solo Ship and Ideon to the military.
  • Brain Fever: After Moera's funeral, Bes collapses due to the stress he experienced in the previous episodes. Because of this, Hatari takes over as The Captain for the meantime while Bes recuperates from his fever.
  • Brandishment Bluff: Karala threatens to shoot Commander Doba with a small remote control-like object that she claims can emit a tiny laser. It's later revealed that the object in question was actually a communicator.
  • Burial in Space: In episode 32, Moera was given a space burial where his coffin is sent into deep space.
  • Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": The Buff Clan refers to Planet Solo as Planet Logo Dau. In turn, they refer to the crew of the Solo Ship as Logo Dau Aliens for never realizing that the ship's crew is immigrants from Earth in Planet Solo.
  • Cain and Abel: Karala is the Abel and Harulu is the Cain. It culminates in Harulu killing her own sister in Be Invoked
  • Cantata: "Cantata Orbis", the closing soundtrack of the anime. Its lyrics are extremely ironic, since it talks about the glorification of life and God, all the while, in the end, the characters are dead.
  • Combining Mecha: The eponymous Ideon itself is made out of three transforming component vehicles, including:
    • Sol-Amber/Ideo-Delta making up the arms and head, piloted by Cosmo and Deck.
    • Sol-Vainer/Ideo-Nova making up the torso, piloted by Bes, and after him, Moera, Gije, and finally in Be Invoked, Bento.
    • Sol-Conver/Ideo-Buster making up the waist and legs, piloted by Kasha and in Be Invoked, Deck.
  • Compilation Movie: The second Ideon film, A Contact, is a compilation of the first 32 episodes of the anime, compressing them into a roughly 85-90 minute runtime and adding some new footage to smooth over the arc transitions. Although it came out before Be Invoked, the fact it's just a retread of the series in contrast to how Be Invoked is the canonical ending of the series means most fans ignore A Contact.
  • Compressed Hair: How on Earth Planet Solo does Cosmo manage to make his afro fit inside his helmet?
  • Cool Ship: The Solo Ship which also has its own miniature garden.
  • Cosmic Horror Story: The Ide is a god of infinite power who either wants all sapient life in the universe dead from the start for their repeated acts of violence and war or is conducting a final Humanity on Trial test before it takes this last step. It deliberately manipulates the emotions of the crew of the Solo Ship to accomplish its desires, which the crew becomes increasingly aware of over the show. Many, like Sheryl, are even broken by the fact they have no control over what is happening or even their own minds anymore. This finally comes to a head in the movie, where the Ide forces a Despair Event Horizon so it can get the crew to wish for everything to be "fixed". And once Ideon is invoked by those desires, it uses its Your Mind Makes It Real powers to do just that... by wiping out humanity and restarting the universe.
  • Cosmic Plaything: The crew of the Solo Ship feel this is what they are, as everywhere they go they are attacked and they can't even leave the Solo Ship and Ideon lest the Ide, its infinite power source, falls into the wrong hands and dooms everyone. It only gets worse when they start to realize the Ide is sentient, wants them there as well, and is even manipulating their very emotions for its own ends.
  • Creator Cameo: Mr. Tomino is briefly seen as a crew member of the Solo Ship in Be Invoked. This most likely means even Tomino won't escape death in a Tomino story.
  • Creepy Twins: Dopa and Kiyaya Buff, who also have the ability of Twin Telepathy.
  • Company Cross Reference: The Ideon itself takes the head design of the GMs from Mobile Suit Gundam. What a change.
  • Culture Clash: When Terrans meet the Buff Clan, they raise a white flag of truce. Unfortunately, in the symbolism of the Buff Clan, the white flag means "We're gonna fight to the death."
  • Cunning Linguist: Sheryl is a linguistic scholar.
  • A Death in the Limelight: Episode 32 focuses on Moera who piloted Sol-Vainer/Ideo-Nova for the majority of the series and his relationship to Fard and Ranpo. Then, he dies at the end of the episode.
  • Death of a Child: In the movie, all of the kids die, some very gruesomely. Ashura gets her head obliterated by a missile, and Deck gets incinerated by Gando Rowa's Wave-Motion Gun.
  • Death Wail: After witnessing the death of Commander Camyula and defeating the Buff clan forces that ambushed the base, Cosmo yells in anguish and swears to destroy the Buff Clan. Even the mecha Ideon itself lets a heartwrenching but terrifying roar, giving an indication that it can feel Cosmo's pain.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Sheryl, again. Brutally prevented by Gije dying first.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Sheryl finds herself basically losing all hope after realizing she'll never be able to leave the Solo ship due to the various warring factions and the danger of giving any of them the infinite power source that the Ide poses. It only gets worse when she further realizes the thing she is most proud of, her mind, is nothing but a plaything of the Ide, which is not only sentient but manipulating her and everyone around her for its unknown desires.
  • Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the TV series, Kitty was shot by Daram while trying to protect one of the orphans. In the movie, she died in an explosion and Cosmo sees her head flying off.
  • Disowned Sibling: Harulu is disappointed with the actions of her sister, Karala, who sided with the humans after refusing to hand over Ideon to them. She considers her a lost cause and chooses to forsake her. Upon learning that Karala got pregnant with a human, Harulu is disgusted by this and kills her and her unborn son not only out of jealousy because Karala gets to be with the man she loved but also to salvage her family's reputation and keep the bloodlines pure.
  • Doom Magnet: The Earth colonies and the rest of Earthlings regard the Solo Ship as a threat because they're always followed by the Buff Clan which brought destruction and death and they carry the most powerful weapon that could destroy the universe. It's expected that they blame the crew for the mess they're in and they wouldn't hesitate to attack them. Then, it turns out the Solo Ship is directly responsible for the meteors that were sent to both Earth and Buff.
  • Downer Ending: Everyone dies. Doba Ajiba's final trump card leads to the death of the entire human race and the Buff Clan, including everyone in the Solo Ship, with Ideon and the Gando Rowa pulling a Mutual Kill and then Ideon causing a massive explosion that wipes out the solar system. The show ends on the idea this may be an Eternal Recurrence, and the audience is left to hope the next form of sentient life can overcome the failings the previous version of humanity could not.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: After Lin and Gije were killed, Sheryl ends up drinking to the point of becoming an alcoholic.
  • Earth-Shattering Kaboom: Multiple planets are destroyed by either the Buff Clan or the Ideon itself, whether by bombarding them with high-powered projectile weapons or even splitting them in half with the Ideon Sword.
  • Enemy Mine: After seeing how dangerous and powerful Ideon and the Solo Ship are, the Buff Clan and the Earth Alliance team up to bring it down.
  • Empathic Weapon: The Ideon itself, sorta, with the Ide Gauge that reflects its attack and defense capabilities being filled up somehow by the crew of the Solo Ship's emotions, though the crew spends much of the show trying to figure out the actual mechanics of it.
  • The End of the World as We Know It: The Ideon's true goal.
  • Eternal Recurrence: One theory inspired by the ending of Be Invoked is that the Ideon has repeatedly arisen to test multiple incarnations of sapient life, only to destroy them when they proved unworthy, and that the spirits of the dead are being led by Messiah to a reincarnation and eventually the return of the Ideon for its deadly test. A variant theory is a slightly toned down version of this trope, with the Ideon having "tested" multiple civilizations in the past, but the Ideon's destruction at the end of Be Invoked ends the cycle (technically) by killing the tester, so future races may be free of Ideon's trial.
  • Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite their warlike tendencies and unwillingness to stop chasing Ide, many Buff Clan members have loved ones to go back to, exemplified by Abadede's love for his family and Daram and Harulu's relationship. While she never stops having a stern appearance in front of her forces, Harulu has a small moment when she breaks down from the stress of chasing Ide in Be Invoked and calls for Daram's help (who's already long dead at that point) during that moment.
  • "Everybody Dies" Ending: Not only does Ideon explode, not only does every named character die, not only does all of humanity die - an entire solar system, and perhaps even a large portion of the galaxy, is annihilated in the process.
  • Everyone Can See It: Cosmo and the rest of the Solo ship crew can see that Bes has feelings for Karala.
  • Failure Knight: Cosmo's guilt upon not being able to keep Kitty Kitten alive. In Be Invoked, when their souls are reunited, he apologizes to her, but she smiles and tells him to ease up.
  • Fantastic Nuke: The Ideon is a sci-fi metaphor for nuclear weapons and Mutually Assured Destruction. It has the power to wipe out everything, and yet it can't be actually destroyed. So the only way to avoid this eventuality is to not fight. But, since humanity is incapable of this, in the end they trigger a mutually assured destruction that causes the death of everyone.
  • Faster-Than-Light Travel: DS drive.
  • Fire-Forged Friends:
    • Karala and the Solo ship crew members, particularly Sheryl and Cosmo. Initially, they don't trust her because she's from the Buff Clan and blame her for the deaths of their family and friends. Even after Karala is declared a traitor by her people, the distrust is still there. However, after Sheryl's failed attempt to desert the Solo ship, Karala takes the blame so that there's no fallout within the crew. By then, both Cosmo and Sheryl realize what Karala did and start to become friendly to her.
    • Also Gije and the Solo ship crew members though, unlike Karala, the tension is present after what Gije did in the first half. Gije is aware of this and is ready to accept whatever fate is in store for him. Though several members such as Cosmo recognize his piloting skills and after he becomes the pilot for Sol-Vainer, Gije is slowly accepted as a member of the Solo Ship.
  • First Church of Mecha: The Ideon is worshiped by parts of the Buff Clan's culture as the legendary "Giant of Ide". Depending on the interpretation of the beliefs though, Ideon is either a savior of all who live or a destroyer of the universe.
  • Foreshadowing: In the opening theme we are outright told that the titular mecha's power can rip apart the galaxy.
  • Funny Afro: Subverted: Cosmo has a HUGE Afro, but in-story, no one thinks anything of it.
  • Gainax Ending: As a result of suddenly having to cut down the episode count from 43 to 39 with little warning, the ending of the original anime is... bizarre to say the least. Not to mention incredibly sudden. The war is going on and then the Ideon just suddenly explodes in a flash of light killing everyone. Fortunately the movies helped to give the series a more proper, if still strange, conclusion.
  • Genre Deconstruction: One of the earliest for the Humongous Mecha genre.
    • It does not shy away from showing exactly what a Humongous Mecha would be used for in real life: war. And it is destructive on a scale we can't imagine.
    • In order for the Ideon to function, it needs an ungodly amount of power. The Ide is what supplies it the power needed in order to move. While most Humongous Mecha shows would use that to Handwave how the giant robot functions, it doesn't get glossed over here, as its infinite fuel source is the driving force for much of the conflict that happens in the story. When you have something that can supply infinite energy, everyone will be gunning for it, even if it means war.
    • Like other Super Robot shows, the Ideon is an Empathic Weapon that is influenced by those who pilot it. In a scary twist, the show reveals this goes both ways, and the Ideon begins to influence the crew that use it to carry out its will. And what does it want? Nothing less than the total eradication of all sentient life.
  • Gone Horribly Right: The Buff Clan's last ditch effort to destroy Ideon does succeed... which unleashes the Ide's infinite energy, destroying the entire universe.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: The Ideon is rather fond of hand-to-hand combat, either by choice or when the Ideon Gauge 'is low'.
  • Half-Human Hybrid: Bes and Karala's child, Messiah, who acts a bridge of peace between humanity and the Buff Clan.
  • Heroic Resolve: A very dark example wherein in episode 14, Cosmo watches Commander Camyula Lanban, who helped him cope with his PTSD after being ambushed by the Buff clan earlier, died right in front of him. He is in a state of shock at first but he quickly gets over it and boards the Ideo-Delta. Afterward, Ideon mercilessly wipes out a third of the Buff clan forces that were attacking the base.
  • Hope Spot: Ide teleports Karala and Joliver to Doba's main ship so that the father and daughter can meet and settle in ending the conflict between the two races once and for all. Unfortunately, Doba remains angry at his daughter for the trouble that she has caused. Despite Karala telling him that she's pregnant with Bes' child, who represents the hope that the two races can coexist peacefully, Doba is still disgusted by it and tries to kill her. Karala goes into defense telling her father that in order to protect her baby, she's ready to kill him. That meeting is supposed to be the last chance for the two races to make peace given by the Ide but instead, both the father and daughter blew it up with the former, declaring that he would stop at nothing to destroy Ideon and the Solo Ship. It's no wonder Ideon ends up invoking and destroying the the whole solar system they were in because it got sick and tired of the conflict.
  • Hot-Blooded Action Girl: Kasha, more so than the other Ideon pilots.
  • Human Aliens: The Buff Clan don’t just look human, they’re biologically identical to humans, down to having the same blood types and being able to have children together. They even call their home planet “Earth”.
  • Hypocrite: Many characters are this when one really looks at their words and compares them to their actions. Gije is one of the most obvious stating to fight honorably when casually killing defenseless civilians.
    • Especially noticeable when the main characters reach a friendly planet and Gije attacks said planet via Sub-Light Missiles that destroy entire cities, killing millions, then threatens to kill off 90% of the population in the same way if Ideon and the Solo ship aren't given to him, then he has the gall to call the defenders a "Brutal Race" for fighting back instead of giving into his demands.
  • I Have No Son!:
    • In episode 31, Bes' parents disinherit him after he disobeys the military's order to give up Ideon and the Solo Ship to them. Bes understands that this is for the best of them because he knows how powerful Ideon is and he doesn't want anyone outside the Solo Ship crew to be dragged into the chaos that he and the crew brought since the beginning.
    • Doba Ajiba, Karala's father, considers her a disgrace because many of their soldiers died and when they finally meet, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her.
  • Interspecies Romance:
    • You got Bes and Karala where their first meeting is the former mistaking the latter as one of the newly arrived colonists and then, ask her for a date. After he learns who she really is, he does his job as a soldier where he interrogates her about Ideon and the Buff clan despite Cosmo, Kasha, and Sheryl warning him not to fully trust her. Regardless of the stress and mistrust within the Solo Ship crew, Bes welcomes Karala with open arms and accepts her for who she is. Eventually, they fall in love with each other, and their love results in their unborn child, Messiah.
    • There's also Sheryl and Gije. Their first meeting is actually antagonistic where Sheryl holds him and Karala at gunpoint after correctly suspecting them as aliens. Then, Gije responds by shooting and punching her. Many episodes later, Gije ends up joining the Solo Ship after being abandoned by his superiors and saving Sheryl from being ambushed by the Moonland survivors. By then, the two became close due to their shared interest in Ideon.
  • Karmic Death: If you believe that being blown up by the Gando Rowa actully killed the Ideon instead of merely removing it temporarily from the universe, then it counts as this, given that the Ideon was the one who manipulated the war between Earth and the Buff Clan until it could annihilate both sides.
  • Kick the Dog: In episode 12, while begging Harulu to spare the Solo Ship and her crew, Harulu orders Guhaba to humiliate her by tearing off part of her shirt, then orders everyone else watching to laugh at her.
  • Kill Sat: The Buff clan's Gando Rowa, a 500 by 350km installation powered by a supernova. It can destroy a planet when powered up to 40% and eventually destroys the Ideon.
  • Killer Finale: In Be Invoked, Everyone dies. Heroes, villains, and the entire universe? No Survivors.
  • Laser Blade: The "Ideon Blade" is the absolute, undisputed heavyweight champion of this trope. It can slice one whole freaking planet in half, and it is speculated that its reach is potentially infinite.
  • Last Stand: In Be Invoked, the Solo Ship crew had no choice but to fight until the very end after it was cleared that both humanity and the Buff Clan are unable to negotiate for peace.
  • Lost Technology: The Ideon is described as the last product of a now-extinct alien race, making it and all of its sub-systems such as the infinite energy drive an irreperable, one-of-a-kind device that no race can replicate now.
  • Love Hurts: With this kind of series where Anyone Can Die, expect tragedy to occur.
    • Kitty Kitten's death. In the TV series, Cosmo was unconscious when this happens but when he wakes up, he's heartbroken. In Be Invoked, he witnesses her gruesome death and sees her head flying off.
    • Moera dies in episode 33 which really devastated Rapoh, the ship's doctor who has a crush on him.
    • After learning of Gije's death, Sheryl goes into an emotional breakdown while she's still mourning her sister's death. She even exclaims why the people she loved end up dying.
    • In Be Invoked, Bes loses Karala and his unborn child in the hands of Harulu while Cosmo is devastated to learn that Kasha died.
  • Macross Missile Massacre: The Ideon's chief weapon, and decidedly the Ur-Example. With the Ide-powered All Directional Multi Missile, missiles basically come outside of its entire body.
  • Maligned Mixed Marriage: Though they're not married, Bes and Karala's relationship is seen like this in the eyes of Doba and Harulu. They are both disgusted that not only Karala's actions led to a never-ending war but her getting into a relationship with a man who is on the opposing side and having a child on the way is considered treasonous for them. Doba even approves Harulu's murder of Karala because this is the way to salvage their reputation and keep the bloodlines pure. Unfortunately, their attitude slowly leads to Ide's invocation which is something Doba realizes too late.
  • Manly Tears: Some of the male characters invoked this such as Gije who feels regret for his actions as he defects to the Solo Ship, Cosmo who watches the people he cared for die, and in Be Invoked, Bes who learns about Karala's death.
  • Meaningful Name: The crew of the Solo Ship is on their own against the Buff Clan, as the rest of humanity rejects them at best and actively wants them dead at worst.
  • Mechanical Abomination: In an otherwise Real Robot Genre universe where ships and robots are just advanced military hardware, the Solo Ship and Ideon are an Empathic Weapon capable of infinite power and are in fact a living, sentient mechanical god, filled with the souls of an entire civilization that can bend those around it to its will... and has come to hate mankind for their destructive, war-like nature, to the point it wants them all dead. And in the end, it gets exactly what it wants.
  • Mirroring Factions: It's been mentioned many times that the Buff Clan and humanity are very similar which helps that the distance between Earth and Buff Clan's home planet is parallel with each other and there are instances where some Buff Clan commanders and the Earth Alliance leaders forge an alliance to destroy the Solo Ship and Ideon. Karala believes that there's a possibility that both groups can coexist peacefully, Unfortunately, her father remains stubborn, leading to another battle that killed Karala and her unborn child. Because of this, the Ide confirms that regardless of the similarities, there's no hope for a peaceful resolution between the Buff Clan and humanity. In the end, the Ide had both species wiped out.
  • No Animosity in the Afterlife: At the end of Be Invoked, the souls of the main characters are shown to interact peacefully with the Buff Clan.
  • Noble Demon: Despite being a devoted Buff Clan warrior bent on retrieving the Ide, Gije is the least asshole-ish member of his people who actually keeps his word anytime he interacts with Solo Ship's crew. Others are less mused with his antics because of this very mindset.
  • Not Hyperbole: The opening theme tells that Ideon can rip apart the galaxy. Obviously an exaggeration, right? You keep thinking that if you live in that universe. You will live happier for as long as you have left.
  • Offing the Offspring: Doba Ajiba is disappointed in Karala for her reckless actions and siding with the humans. In the last episode and Be Invoked, they met again through Ide but he warns her that she must explain herself before he plans to toss her out of the airlock. When Karala reveals that she's pregnant with Bes' child, he's so disgusted by it that he tries to kill her on the spot. As Karala and Joliver escape, Doba orders his men to kill at all costs. After Harulu does the deed in the movie, Doba approves it.
  • Off with His Head!: How Kitty and later Ashura die in Be Invoked.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: At the very end of the second movie.
  • Papa Wolf: The Ideon itself. New Powers as the Plot Demands are activated by children being in danger. Some of the more clever characters even try to deliberately utilize this.
  • Pietà Plagiarism:
    • In episode 37, Bes carries Lin's body in his arms after she was killed by the Ajian soldiers during the hostage crisis.
    • In Be Invoked, Daram's soul carries Harulu's around like this.
  • Please Kill Me if It Satisfies You: Due to a mental breakdown from losing her neighbors and friends in Planet Solo, Lotta attempted to kill Karala at one point since she thought none of the tragedies the Planet Solo refugees suffered would've happened if she never came there. Believing that Lotta has a point, Karala attempted to take responsibility by allowing Lotta to try to kill her.
  • Plot Armor: Deconstructed. The main cast survives impossible odds and forces that easily destroy entire planets, despite being Rag Tag Bunch Of Misfits who have barely any idea what they're doing. The ultimate reason however is that the Ideon is a Mechanical Abomination that needs a strong enough desire from one of them to be able to doom all of the current reality.
  • Poor Communication Kills: AND HOW! While the first act might come off as a horrible instance of poor communication between the Earth immigrants and Buff Clan, any attempt to actually facilitate proper communication between both sides afterward always fails horribly. Considering Ideon's plan to destroy the universe's sapient life, it might have deliberately pushed this trope to its logical extreme so that its plan won't be foiled.
  • Pretty Little Headshots: Subverted with Karala who takes three bullets in the face from her sister Harulu; however, we don't see the results.
    • Also averted - again, in a memorably nasty way - in Be Invoked. Ashura, one of the Solo Ship's orphan-mascot-type kids is killed brutally via a bazooka shot that just... obliterates the poor little girl's head in an instant. No time for blood or splatter - just boom
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Buff Clan doesn't allow us to forget that they are samurai.
  • "Ray of Hope" Ending: Everyone's souls are pretty cheerful and optimistic about... um... whatever they're anticipating next, good luck figuring that out. Granted, it can't be any worse than what they just went through.
  • Readings Are Off the Scale: At one point, the crew uses the most advanced computer humanity has ever created in order to analyze the Ide. It'd be safe to say that infinity would be considered WAY off the scale.
  • Redshirt Army: Whenever the human military gets involved, they stand absolutely no chance against the Buff Clan. They might be able to shoot down a few fighters, but then the Heavy Mobile Mechas and warships raze everything else.
  • Reflectionless Useless Eyes: The Buff Clan looks identical to humans, with the exception of their eyes.
  • Revenge: After breaking down from losing her friends and neighbors in Planet Solo, Lotta tries to shoot Karala once because of this.
  • Rivals Team Up: Gije, of all people, becomes the second-best pilot of Ideon. Too bad he doesn't live long...
  • R-Rated Opening: Be Invoked opens with the severed head of Kitty flying through the air after a brutal attack, and Cosmo roaring in rage and grief. Hope you enjoyed your popcorn.
  • Sanity Slippage: Sheryl in Be Invoked, after losing both her sister Lin and her lover Gije in the previous episodes. It reaches the point where she deliberately puts Lou in danger in order to increase Ideon's energy.
  • The Scapegoat: In episode 16, Sheryl commences a plan to use Karala as a hostage in order to stop the Buff Clan from chasing them, giving a leeway to go back to Earth. However, she and the deserters end up as hostages too in exchange for surrendering Ideon to the Buff Clan. Thanks to Cosmo's efforts, they all return safe and sound but Karala makes herself a scapegoat by lying to Bes and the rest of the crew that she's responsible for deserting. Cosmo figures out that she did this to prevent Sheryl from taking the blame and to keep the Solo ship crew united. Sheryl herself is disgusted for what she had done and realized Karala sacrificed her reputation to spare her from being punished.
  • Shameful Strip: During their reunion, Karala receives a slap from Harulu, who orders her men to strip her and laugh at her.
  • Shout-Out:
    • Several of Buff Clan's mecha are modeled after the Martians' tripod from The War of the Worlds.
    • One episode of the series is named "Violent Battle on the Planet of the Apes'', and its closing shot features an alien ape-man holding a bone and tapping it on the ground inquisitively.
    • The Ideon is a technology left by a possibly extinct civilization powered by the Ide/Id, like the Krell Machine of Forbidden Planet was a technology left by an extinct civilization powered by the Id from its users.
    • In some scenes, Sandworms are visible which look extremely similar to those of Dune.
    • The ending of Be Invoked has some planet scenes similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey.
    • In episode #7, Karala says that her homeworld is next to the Gido nebula, whose 2 halves are called Zenji nebula and Gundam nebula.
  • Sibling Murder: In Be Invoked, Harulu murders her sister, Karala, out of pure jealousy because Karala was able to have a child with the man she loves while Harulu doesn't have her lover, Daram, by her side because he was killed during the conflict.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Cosmo. While he acts and looks like a typical hot-blooded Mecha pilot, he's very perceptive to his environment and is good at making plans that help his teammates. In Be Invoked, he figures out what Ide's plan is and he's actually right.
  • Spiritual Successor: Many people say that this show is the "spiritual predecessor" to Neon Genesis Evangelion. It uses many of the same themes and even has a similar ending to Evangelion.
  • Spoiler Opening: The theme song basically foreshadows everything in the entire series. Yes, including the parts about the galaxy being ripped apart, the time of resurrection, and the birth of a new world. All this despite being cheery and catchy as hell.
  • Stern Chase: The Buff clan, no matter if it's Harulu's or Gije's forces, would never stop chasing the Solo Ship until they get their hands on Ideon. It doesn't help that Gije placed a tracker on the ship and not one of the crew realizes it until he tells them about it after his defection. But even without the tracker, the Buff clan still follows them to the point where some of the crew members speculate that Ide might have been responsible for it.
  • Swiss-Cheese Security: The Earth Alliance base where Bes and Cosmo were held has a very lax security system and Gije and Karala are able to sneak in easily.
  • Team Dad: Bes. He definitely cares about his crew, most especially with the children. In one episode, he's willing to go to great lengths to find Ashura and Deck, who wandered around the planet and got captured by Gije. After that, he gently tells Ashura not to wander off again.
  • Team Mom: Kitty Kitten was this for the orphans she gave a home to. Lin and Karala are also this, to a degree.
  • Team Pet: Rapappa, Deck's two-tailed squirrel. He always sits on his shoulder and even has his own spacesuit.
  • Together in Death: After everyone dies, they all reunited as spirits. This includes humanity and the Buff Clan, and they drop their grudges with each other. It's the only moment that doesn't make the series ending entirely a downer.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Gije, after he got Put on a Bus, tasked with studying Ide, and came back only to be abandoned by his new superiors.
  • Transforming Mecha: Ideon's components can turn into wheeled vehicles.
  • Translation Convention: The Buff Clan isn't actually speaking an Earth-based language, but it's hard to notice since there's only one line of dialog in the first episode with Karala turning on some kind of translator in her ear and affecting her vocal chords.
  • Tripod Terror: Some of the more...conventional Buff Clan mecha designs.
  • Troubled Child: Fard. Like most of the other kids, he lost his parents when the Buff Clan attacked the colony on Solo. Spends most of his time, moping, cries easily, is an Extreme Doormat, and carries a rag doll with him for most of the series.
  • True Love's Kiss: In Be Invoked, Kitty's soul awakens Cosmo's from a Convenient Coma like this after the last battle.
  • Tsundere: Kasha Imhof. After she sees Cosmo has a huge crush on Kitty, she gets jealous. When Cosmo asks if she's jealous, she denies it.
  • Villain Has a Point: While they treated Karala as an embarrassment to their family, Doba, and Harulu do actually have a point that her reckless actions in the first episode resulted in a war that led to the deaths of many people on both sides.
  • Wave-Motion Gun: The Ideon Gun, despite also being known as the Wave Leader Gun, is actually an aversion/subversion to the trope, as it doesn't fire the standard beam found within Wave Motion Guns. Rather, it fires miniature black holes in the form of a tornado of pure gravity. Needless to say, entire fleets tend to explode wherever it's aimed.
    • Not to mention the Buff Clan's Gando Rowa, which doubles as a spaceship AND a really, really big WMG!
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: In some of their encounters with Gije, Kasha and Sheryl are perplexed as to why Bes and Cosmo are unwilling to finish him off when they get the chance, to which both replied that they try to be as fair as possible like Gije.
  • You Are in Command Now: According to the official website, Bes became The Captain of the Solo Ship because all of the high-ranked officers were dead when the Buff Clan attacked Planet Solo.
  • You Bastard!: Cosmo's last words in Be Invoked, when the last Buff Clan fighter rams Ideon in a suicide attack and puts them in Gando Rowa's path.
  • You Can't Go Home Again: The colonists from planet Solo are forced to leave their homes after the Buff Clan attacked them and killed their loved ones. When they tried to go to Earth for help, its military rejected them because they unwittingly brought the Buff Clan to their territory. On the personal level, Earth is where Bes grew up and trained and his parents give up on him after he refuses to surrender Ideon and the Solo Ship to the military.
  • You Have Failed Me: Gije fails to defeat the Ideon for the umpteenth time and crashes on the Moon; his superiors just don't bother to pick him up anymore. He doesn't die like they expect him to though (yet).
  • Younger Than They Look: The military personnel including Sheryl looked like they were in their twenties. But the official website reveals that most of them are actually 17 to 19 years old. Justified, as nearly all military personnel in Solo were killed by the Buff Clan, leaving the younger officers as the main commanders.
  • World of Technicolor Hair: While humans have mostly normal hair colors (Cosmo's bright orange afro notwithstanding), the Buffs have wild and strange colors like lavender, pink, bright orange, crimson red, and in the case of Gije and the Ajibas, blue.

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