Martian Successor Nadesico

Akito Tenkawa wants a quiet life: despite growing up obsessed with the super robot show *Gekiganger 3*, he’d much rather work as a cook than climb into a cockpit. When his home on Mars is destroyed, he’s inexplicably transported to Earth with more questions than answers. A chance encounter leads him to Yurika Misumaru, the earnest captain of the privately owned battleship Nadesico, and Akito signs on with the crew as their cook in hopes of uncovering the truth behind what happened.

Akito’s nanite implants also make him capable of piloting the Nadesico’s mecha when needed, turning him into a convenient backup in the ship’s fight. The crew may look like a chaotic mix of oddballs, otaku, and airheads, but they’re actually carefully selected specialists, united by a mission that takes them back toward Mars—where the gap between mecha fantasies and the realities of war becomes impossible to ignore.