FUNimation's Latest Is 'Strain'

Recent Military Robot Anime

FUNimation has announced the acquisition of Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry, a 13-episode mecha series that aired on Japanese TV from late 2006 to early 2007.  Strain was directed by Tetsuya Watanabe and produced by Studio Fantasia, the studio behind Agent Aika and Najica Blitz Tactics.  Both Agent Aika and Najica Blitz Tactics (see “ADV Announces Najica Blitz Tactics”) are noted for their copious fan service and Strain is not lacking in that department either.  FUNimation plans to release Strain: Strategic Armored Infantry in one 13-episode box set in March of 2009.

The heroine of Strain, Sarah Werec, comes from a prominent military family and when her brother heads to the front in an interstellar war, she plans to follow in his footsteps, but the next time she sees him he is acting like a traitor and attacking the base where she is training.  Disgraced and broken down to the lowest level of pilot, she has to work her way back up in order to confront her brother again.  One of the most notable elements of this military robot series, which was influenced by the works of Frances Hodgson Burnett especially A Little Princess, is the scriptwriter’s penchant for killing off at least one “prominent” character per episode, a mechanism that keeps the viewers on edge and the plot moving.