Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is an anime series produced by Production I.G.

The series is set in the distant future, and mankind has taken to the stars. The Galactic Alliance of Humankind has been formed, and is engaged in a war with an alien species called the Hideauze.

The protagonist of Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet is Ledo, a 16-year-old Ensign. He pilots a Machine Caliber, which is an AI-automated and humanoid-shaped battle suit; Ledo refers to it as "Chamber." During the first episode, Ledo is part of a failed attempt by the Alliance to destroy the enemy's super weapon. During a retreat, Ledo and Chamber and knocked into a wormhole, and Ledo loses consciousness.

Six months later, Ledo awakens to find he's in an unfamiliar place, and that Chamber has had him in cryo-stasis during this time in order for Ledo to heal his wounds. As Ledo takes in what's going on outside of Chamber, he sees there are people trying to open up Chamber. Neither Ledo or Chamber understand the language they're hearing.

By the end of the first episode, Chamber has been able to determine that they are on Earth, the birthplace of humanity. At the point the series is set, members of the Alliance only know of Earth's existence through stories and believed it was a myth.

The first episode of Gargantia of the Verdurous Planet is actually rather well-done. While the episode has to be spent establishing the characters and the premise, the pacing is just right. Roughly the first half of the episode is spent on the battle that Ledo and the Alliance are fighting, which has a lot of action that keeps the viewer engaged in what's going on. The second half takes place on Earth, and the episode ends with Chamber making the realization that they are on Earth.

I suspect that in the short term, the series will probably focus on Ledo trying to adapt to his surroundings and learning how to communicate with Earth's inhabitants. There's some good plot potential there, so hopefully the potential I'm seeing from this first episode will be fulfilled as the series progresses.

The animation in Gargantia of the Verdurous Planet is rather decent. While it may not anything overly impressive, it also doesn't look bad. The animation seems to complement the story that has been presented the series so far.

From what I saw in the first episode, there wasn't anything in the visuals that was terribly objectionable. In the subtitles, it's hinted that some profanity is said when Chamber is trying to figure out the language of the inhabitants of Earth; however, the way it's done is rather humorous, and the words themselves are never used. However, from Chamber's description, it's obvious that's what the Earthlings are saying.

Personally, I would recommend Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet to anime viewers who are 13 or 14 years of age and older.

Title	Episodes	Release Year(s)	Director	Studio	N.A. Licensor
Gargantia of the Verdurous Planet	12	2013	Kazuya Murata	Production I.G	N/A