Tatakae!! Iczer-1

 Time for the next backlog series to be watched, in a desperate attempt to make at least something still of those 2024 anime numbers.

And Tatakae!! is a three part OVA series that was on the list for the backlog clearance, which aired from 1985 to 1987.

And it is centered around Nagisa, a schoolgirl who does the normal schoolgirly things, before she encounters a woman dressed in uniform.  Earth however is attacked by an alien race known as the Cthulhu, parasitic creatures infiltating society by taking over hosts.

When this is thwarted by a giant robot called Iczer-1, they go to plan a full invasion instead.  Iczer needs to find her synchronisation partner to unleash the power of the robot at the fullest, finding this in Nagisa, who quickly becomes a target and sees her classmates and parents transform into devilish creatures, forcing them to be killed.

One of the alien top rank officers, Cobalt, attacks in a giant mecha herself, but Iczer-1 stops her as Nagisa's rage over the death of her parents consumes her, and killing Cobalt in the process.  Lord Violet, ruler of the aliens, builds a Iczer of his own, piloted by Cobalt's partner Sepia.  As the world becomes a battlefield, Nagisa finds Sayoko, a young girl tending to her mother.  But they quickly are hunted by the aliens, and when her mother turns into one herself, as Iczer-1 is defeated in battle and regroups with Nagisa.

But when they try to kill Sayoko, Nagisa enrages and defeats Sepia and her robots.  She is captured by the aliens however and Iczer-1 must single handedly come to her rescue.  But under a strong mind control, Iczer-1 is forced to kill Nagisa.  However, her spirit merges with the machine, and for the first time it fully synchronises.  It is revealed she and Iczer-1 where created in tandem by an ancient wishgranting machine, as where the aliens part of an ancient prophecy.  

Iczer-1 overcomes the enemies and makes them fade from memory, as Nagisa returns back to the moment the series started, as time is being reset and the Cthulu never assaulted Earth, as Iczer-1 sets of to find a new homeworld.

Okay, there is something to be said for old anime, and not only the art style which breaths sheer nostalgia.  If this series was made today, you would find it instead on Hentai Haven with all it's nakedness and tentacles.  But overal, it was a so-so anime, so watch it for old school mecha heroines, but don't expect something special out of this...