Zegapain

Kyo is an ordinary student living in the futuristic city of Maihama and attending a nearby high school. As the sole member keeping the swim club alive, he spends his days heading to the school's indoor pool to practice while recruiting new members, paying no mind to conflicts with old rivals who harass him due to middle school grudges. One day, asked by his childhood friend Ryoko to help shoot a film for the Movie Research Club, Kyo lacks motivation and causes the filming to be interrupted after making mistakes. Glancing out the window, he spots Shizuno, a beautiful stranger standing atop the highest diving board of the pool. Assuming she wishes to join the swim club, Kyo rushes to the pool, but Shizuno leaves behind unintelligible words before performing a graceful dive and vanishing underwater without a trace. Unable to forget her, Kyo is soon visited when Shizuno suddenly appears in his room. Shizuno declares the start of a "game." Guided by her, Kyo is transported to another dimension, boards the giant robot Zegapain Altier clad in beautiful light armor, and defeats enemy characters alongside Shizuno. However, he soon begins to face various questions... Recurring feelings of déjà vu; classmates like Ryoko seemingly knowing things they shouldn't; Shimano, the student council president and commander, who seems wary as Kyo gets closer to the truth; pilots like Lucien who become angry that battles in Zegapain are called a "game"; and Kyo himself, operating the controls of the Zegapain he boarded for the first time without any sense of unfamiliarity. Is this battle waged by Kyo truly virtual? As various pains and emotions intersect, the world gradually reveals its true form, and Kyo finally confronts a cruel reality. The devastated Maihama spreading across what he thought was a virtual world... there lie destroyed schools and places holding memories with Ryoko. Shizuno said: This is real Maihama. And among the mobile weapons considered enemies in the game were the Abyss... beings known by that name, sub-humans. When Kyo begins to learn the cruel facts and truths, his true battle starts...!!