Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen

 Found this actually decent mecha series that fell into obscurity because it does not appeal to Japanese Market which is saturated with Fanservice anime. If you are a mecha fan, Argevollen is no doubt one of the better Mecha Anime in the past few years because this show no doubt caters to our demographic.

 The premise of Argevollen focused around a young mecha pilot who is part of independent Military Task force that fought for the losing faction. And his story starts from his encounter with a protoype Trail Krieger which will change his fate forever as well as the tide of the war. While the young pilot serve as the main protagonist, his commanding officer actually will play greater role overall. Argevollen dwelt slightly deep in politics and economics. But what Argevollen did rather differently is that it includes some glimpse at the perspective of Weapon Dealers whose portrayal are even more sinister than Anaheim Electronics. They serve as the actual villain in this series because these nameless merchants of death played a significant part in prolonging war in order to make profit.

 World setting and Mecha designs are some of the most crucial elements for a mecha series and Argevollen nailed them quite well. While Argevollen can be considered as decent Mecha series, it is definitely not a commercially successful product for its local market. It is such a shame that Anime Industry are quite merciless at the weakness of this series.

From my experience, the main problem with Real Robot series that are heavily based on Modern Military is maintaining the interest of the viewer without getting too complex in technical stuff, which is the exact problem that Argevollen had. The series is not that flashy and ends in rather anticlimatic way. Supposedly there is a plan for second season for Argevollen to continue from the cliffhanger ending, but given how the sales bombed i suppose the plan will be shelved indefinitely. If Argevollen was made in 2000s the reception would have been warmer since the anime market nowadays are not very good for Mecha series. Nevertheless if you like Mecha series like Gasaraki or Gunparade, Argevollen would make worth for your time.