Awesome / Aldnoah.Zero

• The ending of the first episode when one of the Knight Castles crashes right into downtown New Orleans lets us know right off the bat that this show is not playing around. Hiroyuki Sawano's signature Orchestral Bombing is what really sells the scene.
• Lt. Marito exhausts the ammo of his Aerion while fighting Trillram and his Nilokeras. Since he's covering his subordinate's escape, he pulls a knife and charges. When his mech's arm is annihilated by the Nilokeras' defenses, he, without missing a beat, pulls his pistol and empties its mag right into the Martian Kataphrakt's cockpit at point blank range. It doesn't work, but damn if the man didn't have guts to at least try.
  • Then the end of the episode reveals he survived.
• The entirety of Episode 3, in which Princess Asseylum shows us she will not just sit there and take your shit. She literally stands up to Trillram — one of the people who conspired to assassinate her — despite him being in a Kataphrakt that could vaporize her on contact. And her presence causes Trillram to freak the freak out!
  • To put it into perspective, Inaho's tactical skills and quick thinking allow them to destroy the Nilokeras — one of the Martians' flagship war machines — using minimal effort and with no losses.
  • Also, Slaine killing Trillram for his role in attempting to assassinate Asseylum. Total catharsis in watching this bullying bastard finally be gunned down.
• Episode 4 introduces the Wadatsumi amphibious assault ship through a Gunship Rescue complete with a badass Lock-and-Load Montage of its Kataphrakt squad unloading on the Argyre.
• The Argyre Kataphrakt is destroyed with the power of physics! Inaho certainly paid attention in science class.
• In episode 5 we see exactly why Slaine is that devoted to Asseylum. Five years before, she saved him from falling victim to liquid breathing. Without any hesitation, after his capsule crashed into her bath.
• Slaine's escape from Cruhteo's castle in Episode 6 is actually pretty understated awesome. For him to make his escape, he would have to have realised after informing the Emperor that his position was compromised. He then manages to Solid Snake his way out of the castle, stealing the sky carrier in the process. The icing on the cake was his beautiful shot that destroyed the Hellas' last Rocket Punch going for the Wadatsumi.
• In Episode 7, the captured Deucalion making its Big Damn Heroes moment, bursting right out from the cliff face and smashing right into the Hellas Kataphrakt head-on. Followed by Rayet delivering the killing shot to Femieanne.
• The Casual Danger Dialogue between Captain Magbaredge and her XO Mizusaki when discussing potential flight paths to the Earth Military HQ: it's startlingly awesome when you realize that Magbaredge is using Mizusaki's lack-of-dating life as a frighteningly accurate assessment of the ship's current strategic needs and goals. That's some Shocking Moments right there!
• Slaine being able to withstand the massive Cold-Blooded Torture session he was put through by Cruhteo. Even still being able to laugh at the Count. Though it ended with a Heel–Face Door-Slam moment, Slaine being able to cause Cruhteo to realize that Asseylum is still alive and that Saazbaum was responsible for trying to kill her manages to get him to say that Slaine "proved his loyalty to Vers a thousand times over."
• A villainous one for Saazbaum in Episode 8 when, after having been a manipulative Non-Action Big Bad up to that point, shows up in an absolutely terrifying Kataphrakt◊ that makes all of the previously encountered ones look tame by comparison, singlehandedly annihilates Castle Cruhteo and kills the Count himself before snatching up Slaine and blasting off like a boss.
• Inaho instantly disarming Rayet when she tries to commit suicide.
• The Deucalion needs to get Asseylum onto Castle Saazbaum so she can make her way to the Aldnoah Drive and forcibly shut it down. The plan? To ascend to 20,000 meters into the upper atmosphere and pull a high-altitude jump with the entire platoon of Kataphrakts on board.
  • And then when Saazbaum prevents the Princess from making her drop, Magbaredge has the Deucalion itself crash land into the Landing Castle.
• On the initial assault on Saazbaum's Landing Castle, Inaho basically clears out all of the anti-air defenses singlehandedly.
• Inaho using his collected knowledge and experience to completely demolish Saazbaum in a straight up fight. He would have ended Saazbaum's life right then and there if it weren't for Slaine's interference.
  • That same episode has yet another villainous moment for Saazbaum, after Slaine riddles him with bullets thanks to him shooting Asseylum, Saazbaum still has the massive balls to smile at Slaine and tap his own forehead, daring him to finish him off.
  • Combines with Tear Jerker, but when Slaine threatens Inaho not to get closer to Seylum, he turns around and smirks at his enemy before pulling his own gun, knowing he was going to die anyway. And he survives that.
• Inaho in Episode 13. When he confronts Frozen Elysium, which freezes everything around it in a one kilometer radius, Inaho methodically fires various rounds of ammunition at it to see what works, and discovers that extreme freezing temperatures will actually deflect bullets fired from long range. He then comes up with a plan to fire a chain of airburst grenades and fly through the explosions so that the heat from the blasts keeps his Kataphrakt from freezing. He then closes to point blank range on Frozen Elysium and destroys it.
  • Also, props to Yacoym, the pilot of the Frozen Elysium. Instead of throwing a tantrum when Inaho closes the distance, he instead smiles and gracefully accepts his defeat. Yacoym even says "Well done" to Inaho before he blows the Elysium to pieces.
• Episode 14: Inaho decimates Stygis platoon, landing shots on them with pinpoint accuracy despite the Asteroid Thicket's gravitational distortions (and the solar wind) throwing off everyone's aim. And then he duels Slaine, in a battle of pinpoint accuracy versus precognitive evasion. The icing on the cake is the use of "No Differences", a song that really highlights how Slaine and Inaho - and by extension, Vers and Earth - aren't really as different as they think.
• Episode 15: During the battle between UFE and Vers forces, Inaho once again engages Slaine and actually manages to land a hit on the Tharsis. When Saazbaum enters the battle Slaine leads him into a trap, by luring him into the path of a volley of bullets he had fired into Earth's orbit 6 hours ahead of time. Then, right before Saazbaum is destroyed, Slaine gives an epic The Reason You Suck speech to him, telling him how he had never intended to follow him anyways. Afterwards, Slaine takes advantage of Saazbaum's death to take his position as a Count. It's also hinted that Slaine deliberately let Inaho land the hit on him, as evidenced by Inaho's surprised reaction, to manipulate Saazbaum into protecting his newly adopted son. It looks like Slaine has finally taken a level in magnificent bastardy.
  • So yes, Saazbaum was Chekhovs Gunned down.
  • Also for Saazbaum... he even acknowledges Slaine perfectly orchestrating his death as a magnificently played move, and gracefully accepts death. Even to the end, Saazbaum is a badass.
• Episode 16: Marito has apparently overcome his PTSD and is able to pilot Kataphracts again. He even comes up with a way to defeat Count Mazuurek, with a little help from Inaho, who snipes Mazuurek's Kataphract from orbit. On the Vers side, Slaine does what an entire Vers army couldn't do and singlehandedly destroys Trident Base, simultaneously winning the respect of the regular Vers forces and silencing many of the Knights who oppose him.
• Episode 18: When dealing with Orbital Knight Selrakis, whose Solis Kataphrakt allows him to send out pin point Beam Spam to anyone in his vast range the Deucalion uses Inaho's eye ability for pinpoint targeting for their battleship cannons. They can hide behind the horizon since lasers can't travel around Earth's curvature while lobbing shells at the Solis at parabolic trajectories.
  • Slaine outsmarting Count Marylcian and his Herschel by luring him and his beam funnels into a narrow tunnel. This negates Marylcian's advantage of being able to attack from multiple directions simultaneously, and bunches all of the funnels together so Slaine can destroy them all at once. Slaine then kills Marylcian and seizes control of his assets.
  • Not to mention how he kills Marylcian... by beheading the Herschel, whose head doubles as the hatch to the cockpit. Exposed to the vacuum of space, Marylcian asphyxiates and floats into space. Cold as freak.
• As of Episode 19, Slaine has amassed so much political power within the Vers Empire in such a short amount of time that even Mazurek's allegations that he must have assassinated Saazbaum are dismissed off the bat. Count Barouhcruz lays out the reality of their situation to him:
  "Nothing can stop the rise of Count Troyard now."
• In episode 20, the Deucalion pulls a massive Big Damn Heroes flying straight into the battlefield, shielding Inaho and Marito from the Elektris Kataphrakt's attack, retrieving all the remaining Kataphrakt platoons while providing cover fire, and escaping the battlefield from the onslaught of three Martian Kataphrakts.
• Fighting against three Martian Kataphrakts and winning is perhaps awesome for the Deucalion's crew in episode 21. But the ultimate awesome has to be Inaho taking over the targeting systems of every UFE Kataphrakt deployed in that battle, in order to ensure a simultaneous hit on all the Ortygia duplicates.
• In episode 22 Yuki covering Inko's kataphrakt that carried her brother for insertion, when several Stygis team fighters spotted them right before. Also, the whole princesses escape attempt, with its own Big Damn Heroes moments and Heroic Sacrifices, but most notably Klancain single-handedly taking down a UFE spec-ops soldier with his bare hands.
• Episode 23's final moments: Princess Asseylum interrupts Slaine's broadcast of all-out war, denounces the entire conflict, rises from her wheelchair (complete with Repeat Cuts), declares herself Empress of Vers and effectively orders a cessation of hostilities. And, as the final episode shows, it works!
• The Grand Finale:
  • With his forces fractured and his plans in ruins thanks to Asseylum's broadcast, Slaine realizes he's lost and handles it with great dignity. He orders the forces still under his control to cease the fight and abandon the moonbase. Then, like a captain Going Down with the Ship, he gazes out at the starry sky, hangs his father's pendant around his neck and activates the base's Self-Destruct Mechanism.
  • Immediately afterwards, the display of Villainous Valor when Harklight, Barouhcruz and the members of the Stygius Squadron decide to remain faithful to their lord to the very end, even if it means defying his orders, and hold The Last Dance with the UFE.
  • Inaho and Slaine's final battle, a phenomenal, lightning-fast duel that culminates in Slaine falling into Earth's atmosphere and Inaho going in after him.
  • The massive Animation Bump the final episode received. Whatever one may think of the ending, it's hard to deny that the animation quality of the space battles for Inaho vs. Slaine, Marito vs. Harklight, and Inko/Yuki/Rayet vs. Barouhcruz wasn't awesome. Especially◊ for Inaho vs. Slaine.◊