is a mecha anime television series produced by Sunrise. It was written by Ryousuke Takahashi, who also created the series with Sunrise and shared directorial duties with Goro Taniguchi. The series is marked by an exceptionally detailed and convincing treatment of mecha design and operation, albeit within the context of the alternate reality of the story. Set in the near-future (at the time of release), a little-understood form of matter known as "Mile One" allows a powerful and influential Japanese family, the Gowa, to produce a bipedal weapon which they refer to as a Tactical Armor (TA). At this time a war breaks out between the US and the fictional Middle East country of Belgistan, much like the Gulf War. When US military forces attempt to seize the capital they are systematically wiped out by what appear to be rival TAs. The Gowa Family seizes this opportunity to demonstrate their weapon system, and civilian pilot Yuushiro Gowa and the military squad to