Vertex Force

バーテックスフォース

5.9(762)

MAL Score

Ranked #11797

Popularity #8548

Action
Sci-Fi

Duration: 23 min
Aired: Oct 3, 2026 to ?
Status: Currently Airing

Synopsis

In the tranquil town of northern Okinawa, Akira Toudou navigates the challenges of high school life alongside his mother and older sister, Haruka. Beneath their serene existence, however, lies a family secret: Haruka possesses an enigmatic ability known as "Engine," a gift inherited from their father that she has kept hidden from the world. In contrast, Akira struggles with feelings of inadequacy, believing he has been left without any special talents.

As unsettling phenomena begin to unfold globally, Akira and his friends find themselves at the center of a looming threat. With an unknown adversary drawing closer, Akira must confront his feelings of inferiority and partner with Haruka to uncover their true potential. Together, they embark on a journey that will test their strengths and their bond, revealing the crucial roles they may play in safeguarding the universe.

Otaku Consensus

Vertex Force opens with effective worldbuilding, a clearly defined emotional drive for Akira, and a planet-wide “Power Down” crisis that gives its super-robot setup immediate scale. Its premiere is fun and structurally sound, but clunky parental exposition, merely serviceable CGI, and striking yet disconnected ending visuals keep the execution below its ambitions—a split reflected in positive first reactions but weak early aggregate scores.

Why You Should Watch

Watch Vertex Force if you want tokusatsu-flavored super-robot anime grounded in sibling dynamics rather than military procedure or dense mechanical jargon. Its northern Okinawan setting gives the production a coastal identity far removed from the usual Tokyo skyline, while the full-CGI approach lets it move quickly from school-life unease to large-scale science-fiction disruption. The premiere’s best decision is making usefulness—not raw power—its emotional currency, so even the exposition is anchored to Akira’s frustration with his own perceived limitations. It scratches some of the same everyday-town-meets-tokusatsu itch as SSSS.Gridman, but foregrounds a brother-sister partnership and a globally destabilizing “Power Down.” Viewers willing to accept functional rather than premium CGI will find a compact, earnest genre hybrid with promising worldbuilding.

Key Characters

A
Akira Toudou(VA: Makoto Koichi)
Akira is an unusually transparent super-robot lead whose need to feel useful gives the premiere a more vulnerable center than the genre’s standard confidence-first hero.
H
Haruka Toudou(VA: Kaede Hondo)
Haruka functions as a genuine co-lead rather than a supporting mystery box, with her composure and concealed capability sharpening the contrast with Akira’s self-doubt.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment produces the series, which AniList categorizes as Full CGI; early viewers found the results acceptable rather than exceptional, making the visual format a clear part of its identity and its reception.
2
Kazuhiro Takamura simultaneously serves as director, co-series composer, and character designer, giving one creator unusual control over the show’s narrative structure and visual characterization.
3
The northern Okinawan setting and strong Coastal tag distinguish Vertex Force from Tokyo-centered urban fantasy, pairing seaside tranquility with robots, aliens, and tokusatsu-inflected escalation.
4
Episode 1 builds its science-fiction stakes around the worldwide “Power Down,” a setup specifically praised for creating immediate global consequences even by viewers who felt similar disaster hooks had been executed better elsewhere.
5
The ending animation drew attention for being surprisingly accomplished but tonally off-topic, an unusual case where the ED became both a praised production flourish and a criticism of the episode’s cohesion.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: Series composition is shared by Kazuhiro Takamura and Masashi Suzuki, while Gorou Kuji serves as assistant director.
Fun fact 2: The visual department credits Ryouka Kinoshita as art director, Toshiki Amata for art design, Mineyo Oonishi for color design, Masahiko Yagi as director of photography, and Akinori Mishima as editor.
Fun fact 3: Both principal roles use experienced performers: Makoto Koichi voices Akira Toudou, while Kaede Hondo voices Haruka Toudou.
Fun fact 4: Early audience data is notably cool despite broadly encouraging premiere reactions: the series held a 5.92 MAL score from 457 votes and a 54/100 AniList score, with 31 AniList favourites.
Fun fact 5: Vertex Force began airing on October 3, 2026, so its low MAL rank and popularity placement reflect an extremely early snapshot of an ongoing production rather than a completed-series verdict.