Jinki: Extend - Anime Review

I got this series in a mystery box at an anime con. I never watched it due to it being an mecha anime, but now that I'm reviewing the backlog box sets I have no choice. Will this series be one of the few mech anime I keep or will it be rehomed?

Plot

Aoba loves to build model robots and lives alone with her grandmother. When she is left alone after her grandmother dies she is kidnapped to a secret base with giant robots used to fight in battles against the Jinki. In order to uncover the secrets of the robot fights against the Jinki Aoba works at the base to one day pilot.

Review

This anime starts off with Aoba as our main, but then halfway through after a midpoint it switches to another girl and their paths cross. It does get confusing because the anime doesn't tell you it's doing this or even a "a couple years later" it just switches to another set of characters. By the time I got the gist of what it was doing it was nearly over. The characters are interesting and so are the Jinki fights, but that means nothing when the story is hard to follow. If you like mecha anime, interesting characters and can keep up with a story that takes a jarring turn then give Jinki: Extend a test drive.