Wikipedia claims that Jinki: EXTEND was adapted from an ongoing manga series, and hints (in the annoying way the site does) that quite a bit was lost in the adaptation. I have never read the Jinki manga, but I can definitely see that being true. A sense of compression is the show's greatest failing: it runs for thirteen episodes, and it can still barely contain the sprawling plot. As it is, it’s a mess. Fans of the manga may enjoy seeing the characters on screen, but they will doubtless be annoyed at the way the plot has been butchered. People like me, who have never read the manga, are likely to just be bored.
 The basic plot involves two young girls, Aoba and Akao, who are more or less unwillingly enrolled in the secret organization Angel, which is defending the world from the Kyomu. The Kyomu is causing a phenomenon known as “Lost Life”, which ... well, actually, the name is pretty self-explanatory. Both Aoba and Akao are also highly skilled cognates, meaning they can almost instinctively pilot the Jinki, which are the giant mechas that Angel and the Kyomu use in their war.
However, it turns out that the two girls also have connections to Kyomu, and that sinister forces have plans for them. These plans are mostly enacted through a cold-hearted but light-voiced young woman named Lady Shiva (who happens to look exactly like Aoba’s mother, Shizuku), but the real head of the organization (we quickly learn) is a masked man named Kokusho. Supporting characters include the tough but well-meaning Ryouhei; the technological genius Elnie; the playful mother figure Minami; and a slew of forgettable Kyomu minions. The cast is, for the most part, well-realized (at least in the Japanese version—the English dub of this particular show is appalling), and I teetered on the edge of liking some of them, but the show devotes so little time to its characters that I was never quite able to.
More time is spent on the show's story, which, with its many sub-plots and twists, goes from annoyingly vague to mind-bendingly convoluted in only an hour and a half. Here's the most obvious example: Aoba and Akao join Angel at different times, though we meet both of them at roughly the same time, so that episodes primarily centered on Aoba will occasionally flash over to Akao. We are given no indication that the characters' storylines are taking place at different times, and even when this becomes obvious, no explanation is given for the change in scenery. When Disc 1 ends with Aoba left at a mildly intriguing cliff-hanger, Disc 2 picks up Akao’s set-in-the-future story without so much as a whisper about Aoba’s fate, which in any case gets resolved in the most mindblowingly anti-climatic way possible. The plot-twists and new character introductions came and went much too quickly for me to care about them, or in some cases, even to figure them out. Any idea that seems well thought-out or intriguing is either misused or promptly forgotten. I think the ridiculous way this show deals with continuity can be defined by a scene where we learn of an important character’s death through a very short flashback.
 I haven’t mentioned the “mecha” part of Jinki much, mostly because there’s not much to mention. The Jinki are boring, stilted things, that move and fight much like the plastic models of them that Aoba obsessively collects. This problem is slightly remedied near the show’s end—climaxes obviously require bigger budgets than day-to-day battles—but it’s still no Gundam, and by then even battles of that caliber would be too little, too late. The fights are certainly not improved by the flat, boring landscapes that they take place in. The character animation is typically uninspired, with bland designs and absolutely no personality coming through the visuals. Oh, and there’s also some fan service, although it’s mostly of the variety that makes people start preaching about cultural differences, not the kind that is actually appealing.
I’m considering seeking out the Jinki: EXTEND manga, simply to see if it actually does something with the show's basically appealing concept. I suggest those of you interested in a new mecha fix do the same. Whatever else you do, though, stay clear of this box set.
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