I originally saw this show between February and May of 2001 when it originally aired on Adult Swim Cartoon Network. I decided to rewatch it in April 2025. In 2001 I thought I had missed the actual ending of the show so to return to it some 23 years later to learn that in fact that is how it ended is a bit of a let down. The pacing of the show isnt terrible. And there arent any characters that are particularly dislikeable. In so many ways this show is just average but it could have been so much better. Plot Summary The idea behind Pilot Candidate which is the Americanized version shortened down from The Candidate for Goddess is that in Star Year 5030 there is only one habitable planet left called Zion after an alien species called Victims destroyed the rest of the planetary systems in Star Year 4084. So humans created Ingrids i.e. super robots that look like giant goddesses to fight off these aliens. The story follows a group ofcandidates namely Rei Zero Enna sometimes referred to as simply 88 as this is his pilot number as they navigate the world they live in and their training to become pilots at G.O.A. Goddess Operation Academy. The Good Azumahttps://anilist.co/character/25479/AzumaHijikata Hijikata the instructor overseeing the training of the main characters is basically Auronhttps://finalfantasy.fandom.com/wiki/Auron Final Fantasy X. Kind of a hot head but ultimately wants his students to succeed. Zerohttps://anilist.co/character/8653/ReiEnna isnt an unlikeable character. I think the fact that he is intellectually average makes him more human and to an extent more likeable. He more naive than he is idealistic which I think is fairly refreshing in terms of main characters. Clearly this kid has been through some things and he is struggling to navigate very adult themes while only having a military instructor as a parental figure. More than that I think his character is an example on resilience but also a lesson how toxic optimism can be an unhealthy coping mechanism for trauma. That said hes got grit and refuses to let the world around him set his destiny and I think thats nice to see. Also Zero is basically Taichi Tai Yagamihttps://anilist.co/character/1907/TaichiYagami from Digimon. Animation is exactly what youd expect to see in an Anime made in 2000 to this end it is consistent. Probably the best part about this entire show is the music. The scores in the background are phenominal. Sometimes perhaps misplaced but its so good that I cant put it anywhere else other than the good. The Mixed Probably important to note that this show first aired in 2000 in Japan January and March and so were seeing more utilization of CGI Computergenerated Imagery at this time. This show makes a good effort at mixing traditional animation characters and most scenes with CGI Ingrids ProIngs Victims G.O.A. Ship and the Goddess vessel. That said I would have liked to have seen more variety with the Ingrids whereas I think a lot of effort almost all I would argue was put into the ProIngs which might make sense as this story is about a training school. This may be nitpicky but I also think that some of the outfits make sense student training uniforms formal attire and Repairer outfits but the outfits worn by the Ingrid pilots make no sense whatsoever. Most shows that revolve around mecha and in particular space have always captured the utility elements of the outfits but I think this show misses the mark. The Bad There are so many things left utterly unexplained. Not an exhaustive list but here are some that I have: Why is it that only boys can pilot the Goddesses even though No. 1 within the current squad of Goddess pilots is a woman Teela Zain Elmes? Why are Repairers only women? Where did the Victims come from? Why do Victim only go after habitable planets? To be eligible to be a candidate much less a pilot one has to be a boy that is between 1416 years of age with an EO blood type. But why that age range and when did EO blood type originate? Why that blood type? When did they discover the EX superhuman ability? How do they determine this potential? Why did Kizna Towryk who is Zeros repairer get cat ears for injuries she received as a child rather than just...prosthetic human ears? This is just a list of questions Id have loved to have seen more answers to and I think would have left viewers or maybe just myself with a better sense of what is happening in the world. Conclusion Final Notes/Thoughts The single worst part about this show is that it ends on a cliffhanger. While a 13th episode was released it failed to achieve closure. Ignoring this still leaves a lot to be desired with respect to the plot pacing and delivery. There is a manga series that was the basis for this show and adapted for American/English audiences that I have only read one volume of. Perhaps those books reveal a bit more of this information that is lacking in the show. Still worth a watch but could have been so much more.